The short answer,
My new landscape feature in my front yard compelled the conversion of my mowing deck for a clean cut that would keep clippings from depositing in the landscape rock by sheer force, plus I wanted to simplify some clean-up on the drive with grass on the cars and under (ejecting clippings 25-30' against wind will put them on the cars). That's one area I have now eliminated the blower time from. It was that simple. The quality of cut was compromised a bit maybe, for removal of the gator blades, maybe. The jury is still out on that one.
It's my hope the part numbers will help simplify the search for this conversion, for those that have one of these 48" fabricated decks, regardless of the top mounts, pulley configuration, and brand name. These decks are not built by Husqvarna, they are used on many different brands and on zero turns. The brand may determine features but the basic deck will be the same.
As for the long answer that is apart of the decision;
I prefer the gator blades with this deck. This deck can move air with a lot of force, and it has the power to move the gator blades. One of the most striking, at least to me, when you first use this deck, is the intense blade sound verses mechanical mixed with other decks I've been exposed to. The sound from this deck is similar to aircraft propeller or air-boat propeller sound and it will eject the grass clippings easily 25-30 ft out the chute and the air volume it produces can be used as a blower. By the way, I prefer the blade sound.
A note here about the air, I became much more aware of this decks ability to eject things out toward the street and neighbors and such, that I was entertaining the idea of installing one of those commercial deck actuator controlled gates for the protection of passing cars to relieve the extra electric PTO use. The mulch kit is a cheaper way to go for sure. It's also for this reason, that grass catch accessories installed don't have to have a dedicated means of blowing the clippings into the containers (an extra blower motor adding to the total cost).
If someone has rough lawns like pasture and such that may have debris like rocks or sticks, you probably would not opt for mulching, but I will still leave this observation, the mulch plate is plastic and would probably be fine on other decks, the power of this deck will turn these things into little missiles and a metal plate would be preferable under these conditions. If your lawn is well established and well groomed, the plastic will probably be just fine. It's just a thought at this point.
Pay me now, pay me later does comes to my mind in the type of deck used with the balancing of expectations between your finished results, a brand name, color, material used, fancy trademarks, etc. don't guarantee a well cut lawn, specifically. Also the grass on a golf course most likely will have a different standard of cut quality verses a neighborhood with HOA specifics, climate zone, soil quality, personal financial commitment level, and the last because, some zones are easier to grow a thick healthy lawn than others that may equate to the amount of extra regular expense, and intended lawn use, etc. all play a part in the standard that might be used in determining a quality cut.
This deck (again I'm referring to GEN-2) is powerful enough to blow the clippings into the catch containers on that type of accessory, on its own, making an accessory purchase like that, cheaper than some others out there just to try and create word pictures as an example of force and volume.
This is what I've learned so far about rotary decks, also, a sharp blade is healthy for the grass (verses the nylon of a weed wacker ripping the grass), a spin momentum in the 3000 rpm's gives the optimum chance of getting a clean cut, and the more air volume you can move, contributes, with baffles, to the longer suspension of grass cuttings, exposing them to more cuts, which break down the grass to hopefully a fine mulch that can break down organically faster to add nutrients back to the lawn. The purpose of baffles increases blade efficiency much like the fan shroud that encases a propeller or fan on a hover craft, and the like.
If this is true, than the better decks for this are going to inherently have more blade noise than mechanical noise, better quality of transmission of power to the blades, such as pulleys with greater surface contact with belt, stronger hubs that can hold up to greater tension, or just pure direct power from a drive shaft.
Going back to the blades, like a propeller, the more aggressive the pitch, the more torque (or air pressure/volume) can be produced and the more drag is created. It's this increase in drag, at least in part, that will demand more HP/TQ to achieve maximum propeller efficiency (3000's RPM), as well as the transmission of power to the blades.
I installed a front yard landscape barrier (curved concrete footer) with a layer of wall stone brick and filled in with 5-6 tons of landscape rock. I was concerned with the gator blades being too powerful with the mulch containment gate on that it would still blow clippings out from under the deck from all sides and deposit on the rock. I have a mix of Argentine and Pensacola Bahia grass in mostly direct sun. The less aggressive blades do still influence an area approx 1' all around the outside of the deck and with the quality of cut still being acceptable (at 3"- 4"), I'll leave it for now.
I also left the extra baffle off for now to test if I thought it was needed. The extra baffling would allow for a great grass shelf (perhaps not great for the deck) to collect on and if it was not needed, I felt it would be healthier for the longevity of the deck to leave it off. I suspect if I put the extra baffle on it would eliminate that last bit of clippings that still escape from underneath, maybe.
If you leave the original deck chute on with the mulch cover installed as designed, it would be very easy to take the mulch plate off if you wanted, because no tools are needed. I removed the original chute on mine because of all the current ground implement work I do and it was constantly getting in the way, by the extra awkward width it contributed too. If I was using this mower for just grass cutting and trailers, I may have left it on.
