I do not use a mulch kit myself, just what my SIL has told me. He has an X540 with the 54C deck and uses the mulch kit. He uses the blades that came with it. He told me the kit works great as long as you don’t let the grass get too long. Otherwise he gets wind rows. (He does mow pretty fast, the less seat time for him the better. 😧)

 

I have the new variable mulch kit on my 48 C deck and love it. It has a handle just below the foot pan, above discharge chute and when I want to mulch I pull it back with my foot. And then when I am throwing all of the cuttings and leaves in one direction to a wooded area I use the open position and push it again with my foot. This is not the plastic thingy that bolts to the underside of the deck that permanently closes the deck.

 

I don't use a mulch kit. I keep my grass pretty long and cut it at 3.5 inches with the 48 inch deck, normally once a week. I'm in a mostly clay soil area, so except for August, most of the year, my lawn is between lush green/damp, to wet, so mulching isn't going to work for me. I'd have to cut 2 or 3 times per week to consider using a mulch mower successfully. My leaves are also too heavy for mulching. My yard is surrounded by very mature trees and I seem to get all of the leaves no matter which way the wind blows. 3 years ago, I settled on using a Cyclone Rake for fall leaf cleanup, and eventually, for every day mowing. That has been a total success for all seasons. Never looked back.

 

I live in the Pacific NorthWET. It is typically wet here most of the year. It can be really hard to find a time to mow where the grass isn't at least damp. Last year I bought a small self-propelled 21" mower. It came set up for mulching. I have been pleasantly surprised that it actually works really well. But, the last time I mowed the grass was really too long. It was more than mulching was able to handle. It was about two weeks worth of growth so not too surprising. The Deere "mouse type" for the deck says it is not recommended for the PNW, because it is always partially mulching.

I think mulching is great for the lawn. But, if you want the perfectly groomed lawn, you are going to have to be able and willing to mow frequently enough to only cut a little off the top, ie not 2" to 3" of growth and it had better be quite dry.

 

I have an X324 with power flow bagger with 48C deck. Just bought 2005 GX335 48C deck and put the big plastic mulch kit with blades on it. I prefer the GX335 it shows less grass clippings but more chopped leaves.
I have no place to dump clippings as all compost sites here have closed. I also have a cyclone rack and will sell it as mulching works for me.
I'm keeping both tractors using one that works best for conditions.

 

I had a mulch kit on my x534 with 54" deck. It worked well with the the Deere mulch blades that were part of the kit, if the grass wasn't too long. I have it on up for sale in the classifieds. I have a bagger now, and it was time consuming to switch between the mulch kit and bagger.

 

Thanks guys for all the replies. I've been mulching for a number of years now with my current tractor. I usually mow every 3 or 4 days depending on conditions. I'm bringing my X728 that I used at my in-laws farm to mow to my home. Both in-laws have passed away and we are selling the farm. We call it the farm but it is only 6.5 acres with a house and barn on it. Wife's grandparents did farm all but a small area around the house. My FIL farmed only a couple of acres.

Couple of more questions:
papashelby - does grass tend to pack up and cling to the under side of your SIL's deck or does the deck stay fairly clean? When I saw those big plastic parts that get attached to the underside of the deck my first thought there might be a lot of grass clumping up and packing on the underside of the deck.

inspectorudy - do you know if they make the variable mulch kit for the 54C? I think I saw a video clip of that and thought that was a cool idea.

RGrizzzz - did you have any problems with grass clumping up and packing on the underside of the deck? Or did the deck stay fairly clean? I realize there will be some grass sticking to the bottom of the deck, I just don't want to put the plastic mulch kit on and then have a heavy amount of grass clumped up on the underside of the deck.

 

......
RGrizzzz - did you have any problems with grass clumping up and packing on the underside of the deck? Or did the deck stay fairly clean? I realize there will be some grass sticking to the bottom of the deck, I just don't want to put the plastic mulch kit on and then have a heavy amount of grass clumped up on the underside of the deck.

I didn't get any extra grass sticking to the deck than normal. I did have clumping when the grass was long, and I wasn't happy with the performance of the mulch kit. It seemed to limit the lift and capacity of grass the deck would handle. I have tall fescue, which tends to be a bit floppy. If the grass got too long, the cut quality was poor and there was clumping. In the prime growing season in PA, I was cutting every 6-7 days, and there were definitely spots that didn't mow well. If I double mowed, it cleaned up better, but I'm not doing that for half of the growing season. April through October.

 

I do not know for sure about the 54C deck but JD always makes the same things for both the 48 and 54-inch decks. The nice thing about it is that you have both worlds in an instant. I have had no issues with it since I bought it. They do offer it with an electric switch to change it without using the foot lever.

 

Pretty sure the electric mulch is only available on the Accel deck.

 

@inspectorudy - What is your 48C deck? Is it an "edge" deck? The only mulch kits i seem to find for the 48c/54c edge decks are the plastic type similar to here. I see the mulch control kits for the A/Accel and HC/High Capacity decks but not for the C decks. Do you have a part number of the kit you're referring to?

 

Here is a video of the electric control mulch kit on a 534.

 

Looks like a 590, not a 534.

 

@inspectorudy - that video is for a Accel deck. It looks like the HC decks use hydraulic for the x700 series which makes a lot of sense.

It doesn't look like a mulch control kit exists for the 54C/48C decks, is this correct? If it does exist does someone have a part number?

I have gator blades and i was thinking that having a cover over the discharge would chop up the leaves smaller with fewer trips - i might just make something out of wood or metal. I wonder if it would work better with or without holes in it to allow the air to escape?

 

The mulch on demand is for the Accel deck...not the C decks. The C decks has the plastic insert you have to install to use, or remove for side discharge....facts