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HRX 217 issue bagging leaves going forward

#1

BudLight

BudLight

My HRX 217 tends blow leaves out the right side of the deck and really doesn’t even mulch them. When I pull the mower backwards, it does a much better job pulling leaves up off the ground and bagging them. No issues with grass clippings. Anyone know of a fix for this?


#2

O

olgeezershonda

Have you tried the suggestions in the Mowing Tips/Fallen Leaves section in your owners manual?


#3

BudLight

BudLight

Have not. I didn’t realize that the manual had anything like this. I’ll certainly take a look. Thanks…


#4

BudLight

BudLight

I looked at the manual. They’re describing a mulching process for the leaves. The illustrations show the mower without the bagger. I want to bag the leaves but do it more efficiently than currently able to.


#5

O

olgeezershonda

Sorry about that, you mentioned mulching in your opening sentence so I just assumed.

I would play around with the deck height settings, your ground speed, overlap, and the size of the bag/mulch door opening. I found for bagging leaves lower deck height settings work better than higher ones. I found poplar leaves to be the worst as they don't crumble easily and tend to blow out the side a lot more than other varieties.


#6

O

olgeezershonda

Maybe others will chime in with their own experiences.


#7

BudLight

BudLight

Understood and thanks. I’m in SC and over seeded my fescue lawn a few weeks ago so I’m limited on how close I can cut. Additionally, I have some oak trees that are just starting to drop some leaves which can smother the new growth. I’d like to minimize the damage those leaves are doing to my new grass.


#8

E

enigma-2

Set the front of the mower two settings higher than the back. Slow your ground speed. In mulching, set on #9 (almost mulching) and empty often.


#9

O

olgeezershonda

BudLight said:
Understood and thanks. I’m in SC and over seeded my fescue lawn a few weeks ago so I’m limited on how close I can cut. Additionally, I have some oak trees that are just starting to drop some leaves which can smother the new growth. I’d like to minimize the damage those leaves are doing to my new grass.
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I see. Just thinking aloud but what about a leaf blower to sweep the fallen leaves away? The new seedlings should be somewhat rooted in by now and not be disturbed as long as you don't point it too close in front of you.


#10

BudLight

BudLight

I’ve been thinking along the same lines. I think I’m going to try that this week. Thanks.


#11

BudLight

BudLight

enigma-2 said:
Set the front of the mower two settings higher than the back. Slow your ground speed. In mulching, set on #9 (almost mulching) and empty often.
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Thanks. I’ll try this.


#12

BudLight

BudLight

I tried raising the front by one then two settings while also adjusting the mulching setting. Couldn’t really tell of any improvement. Actually with the front up two notches it seems to kick out more leaves on the right side. Ultimately ended up lowering the entire deck by a full inch and was able to get a substantial improvement in vacuuming up the leaves. I just don’t think the grass is thick enough to prevent the blowout situation. Had to weigh out damage by the leaves covering the new grass or potential damage to the grass by cutting shorter.


#13

E

enigma-2

Glad you got the right setup to get the leaves up. Oak leaves contain tanic acid and is very harmful to grass.


#14

BudLight

BudLight

enigma-2 said:
Glad you got the right setup to get the leaves up. Oak leaves contain tanic acid and is very harmful to grass.
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I didn’t know that. We have three water oaks that I consider to be very non-desirable. I had five of them removed last year but wanted to keep some shade.


#15

O

oldenough2knowbetter

BudLight said:
My HRX 217 tends blow leaves out the right side of the deck and really doesn’t even mulch them. When I pull the mower backwards, it does a much better job pulling leaves up off the ground and bagging them. No issues with grass clippings. Anyone know of a fix for this?
Click to expand...
I had a GVC190 (2012) that recently died (my fault and it lasted @10 yrs). I loved most of it. I used the right blower to clean the sidewalk and driveway without bringing out the leaf blower so I uh "repurposed that part of it". Now I have the much noisier (t's bad and so is my hearing so it's really bad) HRX217VKA and I mostly love it. I'm still using the blower to blow and my tire settings were at the highest (4) then I moved them to 3 and logically, I guess, that picked up a litter more. Wonder if lowering it more would help (I prefer the blower action).


#16

BudLight

BudLight

oldenough2knowbetter said:
I had a GVC190 (2012) that recently died (my fault and it lasted @10 yrs). I loved most of it. I used the right blower to clean the sidewalk and driveway without bringing out the leaf blower so I uh "repurposed that part of it". Now I have the much noisier (t's bad and so is my hearing so it's really bad) HRX217VKA and I mostly love it. I'm still using the blower to blow and my tire settings were at the highest (4) then I moved them to 3 and logically, I guess, that picked up a litter more. Wonder if lowering it more would help (I prefer the blower action).
Click to expand...
I lowered mine to 2” and it did much better.


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