Cutting hole in mulching deck?

shibby

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Hey guys, had a quick question. I'm thinking about buying a Husqvarna Rider 155 (42" mulching deck). I'm in desperate need of a mower, as my John Deere 125 just gave up the ghost. I can get a good deal on this Rider 155, and always wanted to try them out anyway. I didn't realize they use a mulching deck, which will NOT work with my lawn. I live in a black dirt region and have VERY thick grass that grows FAST. My question is, can I just cut a slot out on the side of the deck (and mount a chute/deflector) to make it a side-discharge? Will it still throw grass out, or does the design of the deck itself play a role? Any help is really appreciated, thanks!
 

bertsmobile1

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There are several decks available for the Rider 155
And no cutting a hole in the deck for a discharge chute is highly unlikely to work
There was a side throw, rear throw & mulch deck ( yes 3 different decks like their should be.
However all of the decks are fairly shallow so will not handle large volumes of clippings.
My customers with them often mow every day in a good season.
They were designed for European laws that don't grow in the winter and are not much more vigerous in the summer.
Excellent for a fine couch lawn or winter grass.or any round leaf grass .
 
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shibby

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Hmmm, well that sucks. lol Ok thanks for the feedback, appreciate it! Guess Ill hold out for something else, doesn't sound like that would be a good mower for my lawn. Thanks!
 

bertsmobile1

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Hmmm, well that sucks. lol Ok thanks for the feedback, appreciate it! Guess Ill hold out for something else, doesn't sound like that would be a good mower for my lawn. Thanks!

We got container loads of them a decade or so ago when they were declared unsafe for the US market.
The design was modified so they went slower, the track was increase & the turning radius also increased to prevent brain dead idiots from rolling them doing tight turns on slopes at speed.
The retirees with lawn phobias love them
But they have the time to mow daily .
They tend to mow too low for local conditions

The people who are "living the dream" were bitterly dissapointed because once the grass gets over 4" high the mower can not handle it.
I love them, a very well designed, easy to work on mower, a mechanics delight
But the 2 WD suffer badly on dished surfaces because the drive wheels can hang.
The 4wd ones are magic,
Down here I buy shear pins for the blades by the box full because the owners never remove tree branches before they mow.
 

shibby

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Thanks for the feedback, I took your advice and stayed away from it. Glad I did, because I just STOLE a nice mower from someone. lmao Guy was selling a Craftsman ZTS 6000 (26hp, 52") for $300! He even delivered it, which was great because my truck is currently down. Anyway, he listed it on Facebook, saying it had some issues. It would only start on starter fluid. He cleaned the carb several times, and even bought a new one, but couldn't fix it. He said it's "just how those motors are." Well, I discovered that the choke linkage was just dangling, not connected to anything. I pushed it up with my finger, and it started with no problem. lol It also needed a battery (bought one for $40 at Tractor Supply), and he said the blades belt started to come off all the time. I put the belt back on, and mowed my entire property with it (mind you, my grass was about 14" high from not mowing it for 2 weeks) and the belt never came off once. I'm thinking maybe he was routing it the wrong way? Anyway, this thing still looks like new, and everything functions properly as it should. Runs absolutely perfect and cuts beautifully! I couldn't be happier. I've never seen these below $1200 used.

My question now is, are rear baggers worth the hassle? I've never owned a mower with one. Like I said, I live in the black dirt region of southern NY, so the grass grows THICK and FAST here. I normally just have a pattern that I mow in certain directions to just keep blowing it into one direction (towards the ditch/woodline), but it takes a lot more time and is more wear & tear on the mower obviously. Would I benefit from having a bagger, or do they clog often and have to be emptied on every pass with a lawn like this? Also, could I rig up most any bagger to this, or does it have to be specific to this model mower? I can fabricate a mounting system no problem, just wondering how they connect to the deck.

Any help would be great, thanks guys! :)
 

shibby

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Also, I would like to mount a single 8" LED light bar on the front. Is this possible on a mower that didn't come with any lights from the factory? If so, should I stick with a single 30W or 60W light? Thanks!
 

lefty2cox

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Don't know much about that model but I have a 16-year-old toro 42-inch z-turn, a consumer-grade z-turn. The chute will clog with hi-lift blades if I'm trying to bite off too much too fast or if the grass is wet. I'll sometimes run a set of mulching or medium-lift blades with them and collect some while leaving some for the worms. Allows me to go a little faster without clogging. I love having the bag option but you'll probably pay more for the bagging system than you did for the mower if you go new. At least that was the case with mine.
 
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