[Gator73]

Hello all. I am new to the forum and I am looking for some advice on the possible purchase of a Snapper mower that I will use for mulching. The model I am contemplating is the commerical CRP21850 Ninja mulcher. I have looked at most of the other brands and have weeded them out due to various reasons (cutting height, build quality, etc) and keep arriving at the Snapper as the machine I would like.

However, after searching through posts on this and other sites, I see that the Snapper gets mixed reviews on its ability to mulch. This appears to be especially true of the Hi Vac models. I haven't seen too much on how the Snapper mulcher deck performs with the rolled out lip. Can anyone chime in with any experience using the Snapper deck dedicated to mulching? By the way, this would replace a 2003 Toro 20017 Recycler that does a decent job and I would be happy if the Snapper would match it. Also, anybody have any experience with the 850 Professional Series Briggs engines? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

Gator

 

[toros'r'us]

First off, :MTF_wel2:

I don't know about Snappers, but I have used the Briggs 850 Series. It's an okay engine. Since they're not that old, I can't tell you how long it will last. But if it's like most Briggs, it should last a while with non-commercial use. You could get one with a Honda. Those are very good engines, but the best engine on those is the Wisconsin Robin. You can find these used.

Have you looked at the Toro 20092? I have one it's a good mower. The Personal Pace is a bit gimmicky, but it's fine for me. I'm sure the Snapper guys will be around.

 

[Gator73]

Toros'r'us, how well does the ready start/fresh start feature work on the Briggs engine? As far as Snapper commercial mowers, I believe the Honda is only available on the Hi Vac unit. Yes, I have looked at the 20092. It is a nice machine and I actually really like the personal pace system on my 20017 recycler. I don't know how easy it would be to adapt to the Snapper system. Anyway, even though the 20092 is nice, I really don't like the wash out port and those quick fold levers on the handle. Also, I think the Kohler and Briggs engines are Chinese built. I think they have also switched to a composite material for the transmission housing rather than steel. It just seems that the build quality is diminishing somewhat. That is kind of why I am interested in the Snapper. The deck is made in the USA and I checked with Briggs and the 850 is also produced in the US.

 

[rscurtis]

I used a Ninja mulching system on my R21500T2 for a number of years, and it worked well, but I didn't have a really full lawn. The lawn will actually look better when the bag or side discharge are used. Using the Ninja blade with side discharge provided a good compromise. Of course, the Ninja blade will not bag.

You are on the right track with the Snapper, the drive system is second to none and is easily repairable with cheap parts. Many Toro's and high-end Honda's end up in the scrap pile when a repair of the drive system = half the cost of a new machine. The worst you'll have to do to the Snapper is replace the drive disc on the deck after many years of use.

 

[89YT12]

I got the ninja kit on my Snapper YT and on my 21" walk behind and its GREAT .... but for the mulcher on a budget I would go with Gator blades, they work well too

oh yea :wwp:

oh and on how long they last, my walk behind is a 1988 and my YT is a 89, well taken care of they will outlast you

 

[lawnboy dan]

if mulching grass-you want the ninja. if mulching leaves you want the gator.

 

[johnsonmk]

Hello all. I am new to the forum and I am looking for some advice on the possible purchase of a Snapper mower that I will use for mulching. The model I am contemplating is the commerical CRP21850 Ninja mulcher. I have looked at most of the other brands and have weeded them out due to various reasons (cutting height, build quality, etc) and keep arriving at the Snapper as the machine I would like.

However, after searching through posts on this and other sites, I see that the Snapper gets mixed reviews on its ability to mulch. This appears to be especially true of the Hi Vac models. I haven't seen too much on how the Snapper mulcher deck performs with the rolled out lip. Can anyone chime in with any experience using the Snapper deck dedicated to mulching? By the way, this would replace a 2003 Toro 20017 Recycler that does a decent job and I would be happy if the Snapper would match it. Also, anybody have any experience with the 850 Professional Series Briggs engines? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks
Gator

You need to talk to Lawnboy Dan. :fing32:

 

[lawnboy dan]

yes i really know snappers but dont have any experience with the rolled out lip deck model. its bound to preform diff.

 

[Gator73]

Thanks to all who have replied. I actually found a 2003 snapper with the mulching deck on Craigslist and bought it. It has the AIR (Adjustable Intake Recycling) deck whatever that is. Has the 6.75 OHV Briggs. It needs a good cleaning but should work well enough to give me an idea of how well the mulching snapper will work without dropping over 700 to find out. I'll try to post a couple of pics.

 

[toros'r'us]

I"m glad you found what you wanted. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

 

[89YT12]

I KNOW the old snapper with the painted "SNAPPER" on the deck will mulch like crazy with a ninja blade and almost as good with a gator

 

[Gator73]

Yeah, the older one is a new acquisition too and I haven't had much of a chance to do anything with it. The only drawback to the older Snapper is the deck only raises to 3 inches. I have heard of people cutting additional notches in the adjusters but I don't think I want to do that. I'll probably clean it up and give it a try in the spring. Had to have a Robin powered Snapper when I started to find out more about them.

 

[Gator73]

Looks like I get to update my own posting with first-hand experience. I put a brand new Ninja blade on the 2003 recycling Snapper pictured above. It ran well enough to do a test of how it could mulch. This was the first cutting of the year and my grass was somewhat tall but no where near as thick as it will be later in the spring. I went right for the thickest area in my lawn where the lots drain.

The results are that the Snapper does not mulch well at all. I had it on the second to the highest height setting and it seemed like it was cutting a little lower than it should have been. You could really tell that the engine was working hard and almost instantly the whole right side of the mower was getting sprayed with grass and the wheels were covered in grass clippings as well. The wheel treads would get so much grass on them that they would fling off clumps every once in a while I made several passes and that was enough for me. Almost stalled the mower once because it bogged down so much. I looked underneath the deck when I was done and it was nearly packed. The Ninja blade basically made mulch paste out of the grass that stuck everywhere. When I did drive it onto the cement, grass flew everywhere. Way worse than any mulching mower that I have seen. I am really disappointed in the mulching performance of this machine. I put fresh gas in my econo Toro Recycler and it started in two pulls. Finished the lawn with no problems, no bogs, no packing the deck. Night and day difference between the two machines.

It would almost seem that the Ninja blade works too well and blends/purees the grass. This combined with the design of the deck leads to packing of the grass in the deck rather than letting the clippings drop down into the grass. I wonder how the standard Snapper mulching blade would work. I am not going to waste anymore money buying a blade for this machine. Maybe I'll try a standard mulching bladeon the Wisconsin-powered machine sometime but this experience has definately given me a new appreciation for the ease and simplicity of my Toro.

I am now in pursuit of a little bit older Super Recycler and possibly a new one if I can't find a suitable older one. I wonder how long I can make my 20017 Recycler last. It has been a great machine for me so far. Anyway, the experience has a bright side in that it saved me from purchasing a new Snapper that would have more than likely performed the same.

 

[lawnboy dan]

try mulching leaves /gator blade and you will see what the snapper excels at. they also side shoot well too. try the ninja on the wis rob one -it will preform better . the briggs dosnt have the hp to run the ninja.

 

[Gator73]

lawnboy dan, do you bag when you mulch leaves or do you use the mulch cover? I was thinking I would keep the Wisconsin powered unit to mulch leaves when the day comes. I also thought about trying the side chute just to see how it works. I also recently scored a 2-stroke version of the Wisconsin on the same Snapper Extra Tough deck so I have a pair of WR Snappers. I'll keep them as part of the collection because they are really neat.

 

[Jackass]

You may also want to try the ninja setup later in the season when the grass dries out. I had the same "soup" issue this spring using a Gator and trying the mulch the extremely moist grass. I had to swap back on regular blades on my JD and my LB since the Gator was just making a complete mess. I do know that later in the season, the Gator is far superior when the grass gets a tad drier.

 

[TheDodgeGuy]

I bought a '89 Snapper 21" self-propelled with a Briggs 3.5 HP "MAX" engine on it, and as a side-discharge machine it was awesome. As a mulcher with the standard hi-vac blade, it was downright awful. The grass just collected underneath with no ready exit, till it finally just snubbed the already slightly anemic engine.
I was about ready to give up till I remember reading some threads here about Gator blades on them, so I stopped by Fleet Farm to see if they might have one for this machine. To my disappointment, my Fleet Farm discontinued carrying the Gator blades, but I did stumble upon a cheap universal 3-in-1 mulching blade from Arnold Industries. I fitted it to the Snapper and reattached the mulch plate, and went out mowing. I was stunned... It mulched excellent, and didn't seem to overly tax the engine compared to just regular side-discharging.
I don't know how it would compare to a Snapper mulch blade, but so far I've been very impressed. Just for the sake of original equipment parts, I might get a mulch blade from Snapper (eBay) and see how it compares.
Long story short, these cheap universal mulching blades work way better than I ever expected. Well worth the ~12 bucks I paid for it.

 

[Gator73]

Thanks for sharing TheDodgeGuy. I was planning on getting a standard Snapper mulching blade to give it a try. I think they are around $15 or so. I might try it on the 2003 Snapper test mule before I junk it because the engine is essentially shot. If it works I can hopefully get some use out of my two Wisconsin-powered Snappers. I'll post my results here.

 

[lawnboy dan]

forget using the ninja -these engines just dont have enough hp to turn one fast enough to cut well.