Mulching kits, myth or fact?

[bullet bob]

Last fall I added a OEM chute blocker to my Gravely Hd Zt 60, along with Oregon mulching blades. The idea was to go after the leaves in the yard. But with the blocker, seems like all I did was blow the leaves away from the mower before I could mulch 'em up. I suppose because the discharge chute was blocked. Ended up taking it off and making multiple passes. Now I'm wondering if I didn't fully commit to the project and need to go all in and get the complete kit which will include the baffles. Hate to drop another ~ $180 just to have the same problem, leaves being blown AWAY from the deck. I generally mow around 4.5". Your thoughts?

 

[bertsmobile1]

Gators are designed to be used with an open discharge chute.

 

[Mower King]

Last fall I added a OEM chute blocker to my Gravely Hd Zt 60, along with Oregon mulching blades. The idea was to go after the leaves in the yard. But with the blocker, seems like all I did was blow the leaves away from the mower before I could mulch 'em up. I suppose because the discharge chute was blocked. Ended up taking it off and making multiple passes. Now I'm wondering if I didn't fully commit to the project and need to go all in and get the complete kit which will include the baffles. Hate to drop another ~ $180 just to have the same problem, leaves being blown AWAY from the deck. Your thoughts?

Everything has to just RIGHT for a mulching kit to work right. They won't work on all mowers as, all mowers are not created equal. Just because they sell a mulching kit for a certain mower, is no guarantee is works good, and most don't!
At the dealership I work at, the mower sales dept., tries to deter people from a mulching kit.....and they sell some big a** mowers!

 

[cruzenmike]

Last fall I added a OEM chute blocker to my Gravely Hd Zt 60, along with Oregon mulching blades. The idea was to go after the leaves in the yard. But with the blocker, seems like all I did was blow the leaves away from the mower before I could mulch 'em up. I suppose because the discharge chute was blocked. Ended up taking it off and making multiple passes. Now I'm wondering if I didn't fully commit to the project and need to go all in and get the complete kit which will include the baffles. Hate to drop another ~ $180 just to have the same problem, leaves being blown AWAY from the deck. Your thoughts?

The more and more that I see posts like this it makes me wonder who thought it would be a good idea to market Gators (and alike) as mulching blades!!!! These types of blades are nothing more than serrated sail, high lift blades. The perception is, and most people believe, that Gators are "mulching" the grass when all they do is (sometimes) cut grass and (most often) leaves into finer pieces, BUT they are only intended to discharge, hence the taller sail. "Mulching" blades, which are wavy and have a very low lift, are designed to recirculate the grass clippings underneath the deck and to also push those clippings back down into the turf. The best mulching of any material will have to be a combination of: a clean deck, sharp mulching (wavy) blades, deck baffles, dry grass, paced mowing speed and only cutting off 1/3 of the clippings. A deep deck and lots of engine power help but aren't necessary if the other conditions are present, it just helps.

Most people are disappointed in mulching kits as they are truly exceptional on well manicures, frequently mowed lawns and truly terrible on anything else.

Try different combinations of blades, baffles and chute blocks to suit your needs. A little trial and error will help in finding what works best for the lawns you mow.

 

[bertsmobile1]

The problem is money.
It all comes down to money and rather making mowers cheap.
Not all hat long ago you could buy a dedicated mulching deck
Top shelf mowers like Walker still make dedicated mulching decks .
However most companies are too cheap to do this so they invented the universal deck
Bags poorly, mulches poorly & throws poorly
The better of the universal decks for mulching will have overlapping blades that are timed.
The Husqvarna bio-clip decks come to mind .
But people will not buy 2 decks and expect a single deck to do everything, which it can not and never will regardless of the shape of the blades.
Expecting a single blade spinning under a sheet of steel to lift the grass at the front them munch it up in the middle followed by depositing the clippings at the rear is a really big ask as far as airflow is concerned.
Not to mention that no clippings are allowed to escape and even fewer are allowed to form clumps.

 

[Hammermechanicman]

As has been said. Dedicated mulching decks do a decent job IF you do everthing right. Cut off only a little, mow slow, dry grass. Etc. One of my customers has a JD with dedicated mulching deck. Timed blades, no discharge, true mulching blades. Used correctly leaves a beautiful lawn. Used wrong looks like wind rows to be baled like hay. I put Gator blades on my 61" Ferris. Cuts grass finer than stock blades and disperses grass better but they are not mulching blades. Most folks are too lazy to mow often enough to mulch and bitch about how bad a mower is. If you really want to mulch buy a true mulching mower and use it properly and get that golf course lawn. Otherwise get a side discharge.

 

[Bob E]

For leaves I've found restricting the discharge without stopping all of the air flow works the best. It's kind of a balancing act. The deck baffles will help, but the air has to go somewhere. A low lift wavy blade would probably work best, but I haven't seen one. I usually use old blades with worn out wings.

 

[Mower King]

For leaves I've found restricting the discharge without stopping all of the air flow works the best. It's kind of a balancing act. The deck baffles will help, but the air has to go somewhere. A low lift wavy blade would probably work best, but I haven't seen one. I usually use old blades with worn out wings.

View attachment 53887

They make an assembly like that called an Advanced Chute System. It lifts with a handle when you want it up and goes back down easily....it's real sturdy built, costs about $200. I have installed a few of them.

 

[Bob E]

Like an OCDC? That would be nice. Kind of pricey though...
I'll add when mulching grass I think it works better to keep the discharge blocked. No need to worry about the grass blowing away in front of the deck, and I think letting air flow through the discharge breaks up that swirling motion of the grass clippings they always talk about with mulching decks.