Honda HRC 21"..Am I doing something wrong?

[lmollstl]

I paid $1300.00 for a new Honda HRC commercial self propelled mower last year to replace my 30 year old Snapper heavy duty S/P mower which had finally worn out. After reading dozens of positive (and very few negative) reviews I decided on the Honda. I would have purchased another Snapper but they no longer make one with the BBC, which I find useful for bagging.

The Honda is very well built and rugged and starts easily, however I find that I have to bag the clippings (which works fine) or the mower clogs. It does not seem to have the suction power that the Snapper had but that could be because it is designed to be more of a mulching mower.

The mower is supposed to be excellent at mulching but if I try to mulch more than 1/4" of grass at a time the mower clogs and bogs down to the point where the engine almost dies. I even purchased a side discharge chute but that even clogs when more than an inch of grass is cut. The only way to get the mower to work when mulching is to cut only half the width of the mower and set the ground speed at it's slowest setting.

I have about 1/2 acre lawn which consists of very thick, well growing Fescue with no weeds that I only cut when dry. Is the mower supposed to work like this, or am I doing something wrong?

Thanks

 

[Snapperfreak]

My Snappers will do that if I have them set-up for mulching but don't use a mulching blade. I just got a ninja mulching blade and it mulches great now. Does yours have a mulching blade?

 

[lmollstl]

It has the Honda "Micro-Cut" twin blades on it. I was looking into using a different blade...something with more lift and better mulching capabilities but so far I cant find a blade that will replace the double blade set-up. I used the Ninja on my Snapper and it worked great, but I'm not sure I can get it to work on the Honda.

 

[robert@honda]

Honda's design engineers created the current generation of HRC mowers to have twin mulching blades. However, certain grasses and conditions warrant the use of a single blade to improve cut quality.

After some testing, it was realized removing the upper blade would sometimes help under the right conditions. However, just a single blade was not structurally correct, so Honda created a special spacer to replace the upper blade and provide the correct strength and position of the lower single blade when used alone. Any Honda dealer can get this part, and it is as easy to install as swapping blades. Be sure to use a torque wrench and tighten the blade bolts as required. The kit part number is 06725-VK6-000, list price of $4.64. Here are the instructions:

 

[lmollstl]

Thanks! I ordered the spacer. Must the original blade be used or does Honda make a high lift blade that can be used as a single blade on this mower? The blade that came with the mower does not have much lift capability.
Thanks Again

 

[robert@honda]

Thanks! I ordered the spacer. Must the original blade be used or does Honda make a high lift blade that can be used as a single blade on this mower? The blade that came with the mower does not have much lift capability.
Thanks Again

Yes, only the original lower blade is recommended if going with a single blade & spacer: