[crosstalk]

Hello. I bought a 1011 this summer and bought the bagger separately a month ago. I think the bagger was supposed to be from a 3813, but not sure. I then found out that the bagger didn't come with the support struts so I bought those separately too.

I tried to use the bagger today and the problem is that the bagger middle chute doesn't insert into the lower chute attached to the deck. It is missing by 1/4 to a 1/2 inch. I am not sure if the support struts are wrong (placing the bagger too far from the back of the machine) or the lower/middle chute is too short. Any ideas? How far is the middle chute supposed to fit into the lower one? My support struts have about a 4 inch offset--do the correct ones go straight up from the mounting point?

 

[larryccf]

i'm not familiar with the 1011, but on the 3813 the middle chute's junction with the deck chute was a female junction - ie, the deck chute inserted into the lower end of the middle chute - otherwise there;d be a lip exposed to the flow of air/grass flying thru it and causing turbulence and eventually jams

is it possible you don't have the correct pcs?

 

[crosstalk]

Thanks for the reply. You are correct the lower chute is supposed to slide into the middle chute. The bagger was supposed to be from a HTR-3009 not 3813 as I originally wrote. The struts are supposed to be from an HTR-3811.

I checked the GB1010 manual before I bought the struts (from craigslist) and it seems like the 3811 and 1011 use the same struts. So I suspect the bagger parts are incorrect and not model GB1010. Not sure exactly what model bagger I have. Maybe I am supposed to have a longer lower chute?

Here are some pictures of the struts and lower chute:


Uploaded with ImageShack.us


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

[crosstalk]

Any ideas out there how to best extend the lower chute to fit into the middle chute? I was thinking of bending a piece of cardboard into a tube and using a couple of large hose clamps to hold the cardboard extension to the end of the lower chute. Some flexible and strong plastic would probably be better, but I can't think of where to find a cheap sheet of plastic that can be bent into an 8.5" tube.

 

[larryccf]

couple of paths -
1) if you know how to work fiberglass, i've made tubes in FB and Carbon Fiber, sometimes using an existing tube for a male mold, or simply laying out a flat sheet of FB that when cured, and you roll it up, you can rivet it to the size you need

2) go by a sheet metal shop (look in phone book for duct work - there are shops that custom fab duct work for home heating systems - and they can size it to your needs

3) maybe the easiest but probably the most expensive - look for a "hose & belt" supply house in the phone book - here in richmond there's one outlet of a national chain (Sutton & Clark) that will have hose in all dimensions, in a lot of materials - some will be stiff enough for your use - i found them when i had to replace the accordion hose on my trailer mounted leaf vacuum -

they will also have plastic in sheets but you need to know the material specs in terms of abrasion resistance - cardboard wouldn't last 20 minutes

4) go to Mcmaster.com , punch in hose in the search engine to see what shows up - they have everything, in every material. They are to mfgrs and machine shops what sears & roebuck used to be to the commercial market in the 50s & 60s - they have everything from 3000 degree F ceramic caulk, every type nut & bolt, you name, they've got it

50 and not last, go to boats.net ( http://www.boats.net/parts/search/Honda/Riding Mower/Pre-1997/parts.html ) link is to their 1011 general page, they don't show a 1011 chute but do show on the same page a chute for the 3011 - suspect that'll be the same chute but you need to confirm that with them

 

[crosstalk]

Thanks for the good ideas. I have never worked with fiberglass, but maybe this would be a good first project. Where do you buy it? Seems like I could just mold a 6" wide piece using the end of the existing lower tube and then shift it up towards the middle chute and clamp it on.

 

[larryccf]

wicks aircraft supply is a good place to source some FB and epoxy

i'd suggest you look for a "starters" kit if they have one, just to get a few steps up the learning curve on working it

http://www.wicksaircraft.com/catalog/product_cat.php/subid=11586/index.html

2nd link is to their page of alvailable epoxy formulations - i'd suggest the MGS resins first and the West system as a 2nd choice and get ready for a shocker - epoxy resin + the hardner is above $300 a gallon, last time i priced it

you have to buy the resin and the appropriate amount of hardner

but i'll repeat, try their starter or learner's kit before ordering anything else

you'll also need some heavy cloth - here's the one i would use, and i'd plan on enough material to be able to wrap around the tube 3 times - fortunately it's fairly inexspensive, about $7 for a yard of material 60" wide


then there are some tips on how to work it - ie, if you're going to lay it up on another section of the same tubing, you need to wrap that portion with some saran wrap and then some wax paper - so the epoxy doesn't bond to the tube where you are molding it. You can lay up one pc that has the female socket as well as a portion of tube normal ID, and then simply snip it so it's collapse some and slip into the orig tube


while i was cutting the grass i noticed my neighbor's ERA real estate sign - it's actually the perfect material for this task - real durable, about 1/8" thick, and stiff - and about the right size, looks to be 30" H X 24" W. if too stiff to roll into a tube, some low heat would relax it some, then hose clamp it - when it cools it'll have nearly the new "shape memory"

lyou might call an ERA office to see if they have any old signs, that are faded and they aren't using, that they'll sell cheap - as they're meant to hang outside, they'll have good UV protection built into the plastic or vinyl they're using (and that is important).

hope that helps
while i

 

[larryccf]

just came across a bagger for the 1011 on ebay - the pix might tell you what you were originally asking

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Honda-Harmo...870?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cbd7325ae

 

[crosstalk]

Thanks. I noticed that on ebay too, but didn't really think about comparing with the photo. It looks like someone got a good deal on the 1011 itself. I thought about bidding on the bagger but it would have been a 160 mile roundtrip for me to pick it up.

It's hard to tell in the photo where the lower chute ends but maybe if I compare the picture to my whole setup I will see which tube is too short (maybe the middle chute).

 

[crosstalk]

Just a short update on this. I didn't find the real estate sign larryccf mentioned but i did use a couple of plastic garage sale signs and 2 4" hose clamps connected together. So far it's working well. It probably won't last too many times, but certainly is a cheap fix to get the fall leaves cleaned up.