bye bye mulch kit

[simple_john]

well i give up.. ive gone through 3 belts this season.. using my mulch kit... im gonna remove it and just go back to side discharge...


after the 2nd belt i melted, i had the dealership check it and all was fine.. nothing bent or anything... just too much grass or buildup...


i let my lawn go and its pretty high.. but i had just cleaned the deck and only got about 3 passes when the thing started to bog.. I was cutting at crawl speed...

the mulch kit seems to do great as long as there is not a lot of grass.... or really thick grass...


im gonna remove it, go back to the old side discharge... i really only have 1 more cut for the season.. (except leaves) but the grass is about 5-6" high now and the mulcher just does not do the job...

the dealer warned me when i got the mulch kit...

id consider a bagger.. but they are big money - i think 6-700$ if i am correct...

[MowHoward2210]

Time for some Gator blades maybe?

[simple_john]

gators were the reaon i switched to a mulching deck.. i put gators on my side discharge and it was a mess... did a crappy job cutting and blew grass everywhere...

i could always try putting the gators on with the mulching deck...

but i cut for 2 seasons with the side discharge and it did fine... id occasionally have to sweep the lawn..

the mulching setup does ok but leaves clumps if the grass is at all high..

and i end up sweeping the lawn even more as it tends to bog down when there is much grass at all...

[DeereBob]

SJ,
The solution to your problem is very simple. Just change from a Red tractor to a Green one and your mulch kit problems will be a thing of the past!;) :Tractor2: Also, mowing your grass when it's a bit shorter would help also! :tsk:

[mbkerk]

Had the same results (clumpy grass) when I used my old push mower in the mulching mode... whenever I let the grass get too high. I could always tell if I needed to bag, or get by with mulching just by looking at the height of the grass.

Mulching always looked great if I got to it on time!

Now with the GT, I just bag 100% of the time. It is pretty easy with the setup I have, and the way I get rid of the clippings.

[DYT4000]

Hey John, where is that picture of the fuzzy Simplicity?? ROF

[simple_john]

Hey John, where is that picture of the fuzzy Simplicity??

im sure Duc has it... i think he uses it as a screen saver....ROF

[dirtybernie]

sj. you should put that shark that hangs around in your yard to work. maybe it could munch the tall stuff and make less work for the mower! ROF

[Argee]

I purchased some straight blades from Agri Supply. The cutting edge is stright across (no curves) and they're heavy duty. The cut is great and they will be easy to sharpen and maintain.

[Mower_Man42]

I just bought and installed the mulch kit and also the leaf shredder kit. It came with the high lift blades, it rain the day before I put it on and the leaves were wet,but it did fine job, grinding the leaves up. Maybe just remove the block off plate, only two bolts hold it in place, and use it that way John, at least the deck won`t look fuzzy. LOL I have a set of gator blades the edge just needs a little touch up with the big ba$tard file I have. One reason you maybe smoking your belt the Gators are much heavier then the reg. cut blades. The Eliminators are way to expensive at $28.00 and change each to even try, that`s over $90.00 with tax added and a 50 mile round trip to the dealer. Just my $0.02 worth...

[ducati996]

back by popular demand!! :fing20:

sorry to hear the mulcher setup is causing you headaches...
Is it more a permenent mulching plate covering the discharge? or does it give you the ability to remove the plate easily to go from side discharge to mulch in seconds....My cub has that on the 44" and its an awesome setup especially when I mulch leaves for my self and others (5 acres or more total) of solid leaves....I see no reason as why you machine cant perform the same way....I think I would go back to stock blades first before scratching the whole idea as well as making sure nothing is hampering your belt system ( too many belts being destroyed)


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v171/ducati996/BadSimplcityCutScareCrowBlowoutKit.jpg

[simple_john]

thanks duc.... somehow i knew that pic would pop up....ROF

the side discharge plate does come off fairly easily.... just a few bolts. i probably should have just tried that.... But, since removing the mulch kit, i feel it just cuts better... i have cut through minor brush and heavy grass with no bogging down at all....
the same brush i tried to cut with the mulch kit, broke a belt earlier this year with the regular deck, it plowed right through it...

maybe next season if i get bored ill put the kit back on and keep the side discharge open... but having no side discharge was one of the things i liked most about the mulch kit

[Mower_Man42]

Are all the bearing spinning freely, I had to move the spring for the idler pulley up off the deck, it was wearing itself thin from rubbing against the deck had a slot that it went through, not a good design with it rubbing like that.