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Hello,

While agonizing over what mower to purchase, the discharge opening on the Raptor SD deck was a detractor. I read several posts were individuals groused about it. For a number of reasons I purchased it anyway with the idea that I would work on the discharge fairly soon. The chute itself sticks out about 1/2 mile and prevents you from getting remotely close to anything. On my first mow I just used a bungee to hold it up. This weekend I took off the chute and modified the deck using Lexan to cover the big hole on top of the deck. Images are attached. For some reason they are in reverse order but I have them numbered for you to see.



I made a pattern with some poster board, cut the Lexan with tin snips, made a few small holes in the deck and voila. I had enough material to make two pieces so I did just to get a little added strength. Lexan is pretty tough material and I can trim or fiddle with until I finalize exactly what I want. I've not cut with it just yet but for now I have a see-through deck. :smile:

Thought some others might be interested in this.

Very good idea! It is well made and probably cheaper than an OCDC.

Certainly cheaper. To my knowledge nobody makes an OCDC for the Raptors that I have found. This is probably due to that crazy hole in the top of the deck and the flap would have to wrap a little around the leading edge of the deck. Once I get it a little more refined (if needed) I hope to work with the Grassflap people to see if we can make one to fit this Raptor SD. Their system with a foot pedal seems to be ideal. I would think with the high number of these mowers on the market it might behoove them to make one. Who knows. They offer a model for almost all the other Hustler mowers.

Stay warm!

Definetly worth contacting the Grassflap people.

Usually, to my knowledge, most grass flaps are made universal. You buy them and you arrange yourself for it to fit.

Thanks, it was a nice day today. Not cold for once.

Years ago I made a similar modification to my John Deere lawn tractor. What I found after about a half of summer was I was sick of being plastered by grass on windy days. I also found that my discharge pattern wasn't quite as nice and what I wrote it off to was the fact that the discharge chute sort of created a back pressure which actually threw the grass a little better..... kind of like putting your thumb over the end of a garden hose. I wasn't too crazy about the Raptor discharge chute when I saw it myself but I've kind of learned to adjust my patterns and live with it. Add to that I've got a lot of people that walk by my house on the street and it's a little nerve racking to have anything but the normal stuff on there just in case a little stone happens to get picked up.
I wound up going back to the normal discharge chute on my Deere lawn tractor but I had a tiny block of wood glued on the deck underneath it so it was lifted just ever so slightly... it wound being the perfect balance.

kraky said:

I wound up going back to the normal discharge chute on my Deere lawn tractor but I had a tiny block of wood glued on the deck underneath it so it was lifted just ever so slightly... it wound being the perfect balance.

Click to expand...

Kraky I hear you. I too will have to give mine some time before I decide if I really like it. On two other mowers I have I removed the chute on one and just pull up the chute on the other. With those I was happier with it out of the way. Fortunately, I have enough room in my neighborhood to not worry much about hitting anything important. I also didn't saw my OEM chute off or modify it like I have seen other do so it is on the shelf, ready to go, if needed.

Thanks for the insight. :thumbsup: ....... Rhett

What I did was cut the flap that came on it off at the seam. Still covers the blades but makes it a lot shorter, gets the tip of the shield back to where it's not dragging the ground and stops the windrowing on the discharge. This can be done with the shield still in place with a tin snip in a couple of mins.

I recently did this mod, thanks to your original post. Works great, I hated oversized plastic discharge chute.

GregCasteel said:

I recently did this mod, thanks to your original post. Works great, I hated oversized plastic discharge chute.

Click to expand...

Thanks for saying "Thanks" it is always nice to read when I help someone.

RhettWS said:

Hello,

While agonizing over what mower to purchase, the discharge opening on the Raptor SD deck was a detractor.

Thought some others might be interested in this.

Click to expand...

Good work!

I always mow counter-clockwise around obstacles so my chute never gets in the way.


I kid, I kid, and I know exactly what you mean. I actually like the chute. Though a bit ugly, it's very simple and {should be} cheap to make or buy a replacement.


It looks like the chute is deliberately designed thin and flexible so it will survive an encounter with a bush.


I have considered attaching a cable to raise it if the need arises. It's also handy to raise the chute for parking and putting on a cover.


I have tried mowing without a full chute. Most times, it's fine. However, on windy days, I end up eating a half pound of clippings, dirt, and mold. So I do like a long chute that hugs the ground.


I think a chute could be made from nylon cord reinforced rubber mat. It could be long enough and shaped to protect you from blowing debris, yet flexible enough that it will not break.

Lexan can be heated in hot water and easily shaped, but I suspect you know that. A little sun, and it becomes very brittle. There may be UV protected Lexan, I'm sure you would know.

kraky said:

Add to that I've got a lot of people that walk by my house on the street and it's a little nerve racking to have anything but the normal stuff on there just in case a little stone happens to get picked up.

Click to expand...

Learned my lesson on this last week. My wife was mowing while I was picking up branches from a recent windy thunderstorm. I kept a respectful distance from the Raptor, but I caught a thumb-sized piece of branch right on the temple. I saw stars, and it drew blood... and it was 30 feet away. I turned my back on the mower the rest of the mowing session. Later, a small piece of wood hit me right in the butt, and it stung like a BB hit me. No more! I will now pick up the yard before the mower is even cranked from now on.

I got hit with debris from my old mowers many times, but it never felt like a bullet. I have never been afraid to re-design things, but I will try my best to get along with the stock equipment before I modify the bullet deflector.

Have_Blue said:

Learned my lesson on this last week. My wife was mowing while I was picking up branches from a recent windy thunderstorm. I kept a respectful distance from the Raptor, but I caught a thumb-sized piece of branch right on the temple. I saw stars, and it drew blood... and it was 30 feet away. I turned my back on the mower the rest of the mowing session. Later, a small piece of wood hit me right in the butt, and it stung like a BB hit me. No more! I will now pick up the yard before the mower is even cranked from now on.

I got hit with debris from my old mowers many times, but it never felt like a bullet. I have never been afraid to re-design things, but I will try my best to get along with the stock equipment before I modify the bullet deflector.

Click to expand...

Wow, that was close! I'm with you, I don't modify any of the safety equipment on my mowers. I might if it were just my lawn and nobody was nearby while I was mowing. But since I do lawn care for other people I like to keep the "bullet deflector" in good working condition.

The opening on the deck also needs to be made bigger on the SD,,the little bar/ramp on the bottom needs to be cut off,,the mower leaves a windrow in wet weedy lawns,,even good grass too,,first thing Im doing is cutting the deck chute hole bigger when my warranty runs out if i still have the machine.

RhettWS said:

Hello,

While agonizing over what mower to purchase, the discharge opening on the Raptor SD deck was a detractor. I read several posts were individuals groused about it. For a number of reasons I purchased it anyway with the idea that I would work on the discharge fairly soon. The chute itself sticks out about 1/2 mile and prevents you from getting remotely close to anything. On my first mow I just used a bungee to hold it up. This weekend I took off the chute and modified the deck using Lexan to cover the big hole on top of the deck. Images are attached. For some reason they are in reverse order but I have them numbered for you to see.

View attachment 27897View attachment 27896View attachment 27894View attachment 27895View attachment 27893

I made a pattern with some poster board, cut the Lexan with tin snips, made a few small holes in the deck and voila. I had enough material to make two pieces so I did just to get a little added strength. Lexan is pretty tough material and I can trim or fiddle with until I finalize exactly what I want. I've not cut with it just yet but for now I have a see-through deck. :smile:

Thought some others might be interested in this.

Click to expand...

Rhett,
Although an older thread, curious on your thoughts on how well the chute mod has worked. I've looked into the GrassFlap for the Raptor, which covers about the same amount of the top chute area as the lexan cover you made, and curious if it has negative effects on the clippings discharge in any way.

Mulch kit plate solves this problem as well and it looks more neater.

Nate243 said:

Rhett,
Although an older thread, curious on your thoughts on how well the chute mod has worked. I've looked into the GrassFlap for the Raptor, which covers about the same amount of the top chute area as the lexan cover you made, and curious if it has negative effects on the clippings discharge in any way.

Click to expand...

Nate,

Sorry for the slow reply. Between work and flood recovery I've been a bit distracted for a while. To your question, I still have my modification in place and I still like it. The clippings disperse better than with the chute in place without a doubt. As others have pointed out it is less safe than with the chute but I have so much room between houses, etc. that it is not an issue for me. I think a grass flap chute would be even better so you can shut the hole as needed.

However, a modification of the deck opening will be my next project. I had no issues with grass plugging the discharge outlet last year. I planted rye grass in November 2016 to add a green crop to my yard through the winter. Rye by nature is high in moisture, low in lignin, and grows fast. Thus it has a tendency to start clogging the opening. Others have made the opening a little wider by cutting a triangle out. I will move in this direction once all flood repairs are finished.

I hope this helps. Rhett

Alrighty ladies and gentlemen, I too have entered the world of Hustler Modifications. Now I can say I'm running a Modified SD if this is a class. I know how this is going to work out. Next thing I'll be doing is trying to find another mile per hour, a quicker hole shot, better traction for a better hole shot. This isn't going to ever end and before we know it, this ugly yellow machine is going to end up painted Coca-Cola Can Red.

Well, to the mod.

I've adopted 577Jersey's belt guard mod and it works nicely, although I think Jersey's looks a bit better. The way I made my mod was to keep some dumb arse from sticking a toe into the pulley if for some reason they manage to get near the mower while it is running with the blades engaged. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. Hopefully the photos will attach today.

There is one more modification planned for the current mod and that is to place plastic 1/4 inch black expanded wire behind the holes when I give the mower to a kinfolk at some point in time.

Let me know what you think.

mhavanti said:

Alrighty ladies and gentlemen, I too have entered the world of Hustler Modifications. Now I can say I'm running a Modified SD if this is a class. I know how this is going to work out. Next thing I'll be doing is trying to find another mile per hour, a quicker hole shot, better traction for a better hole shot. This isn't going to ever end and before we know it, this ugly yellow machine is going to end up painted Coca-Cola Can Red.

Well, to the mod.

I've adopted 577Jersey's belt guard mod and it works nicely, although I think Jersey's looks a bit better. The way I made my mod was to keep some dumb arse from sticking a toe into the pulley if for some reason they manage to get near the mower while it is running with the blades engaged. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. Hopefully the photos will attach today.

There is one more modification planned for the current mod and that is to place plastic 1/4 inch black expanded wire behind the holes when I give the mower to a kinfolk at some point in time.

Let me know what you think.

View attachment 31721View attachment 31722

Click to expand...

Sweet modification how did you get the hole so uniformed and neat? Did you use some type of machinery to cut holes? This is a great idea being the guard is completely covering the belt!

Man that mower is clean,how many hours on her now?? lol

I should have done a video on it.

It is very simple really. I'll see if I can explain it step by step clearly. If you don't understand, please let me know.

Items required include: 3/8 inch socket and driver of some sort, Pencil Compass, 1/8 inch drill bit, 3/16 to 1 3/8 inch step drill bit, drill motor, pencil compass.

1. Remove your guards.
2. Wipe them clean on the bottom contact areas so they will make a good flat contact on the work surface.
3. Find the distance between the roll over at the top where it makes a tapered area down to the bottom ridge. You'll be finding the width of the flat area that wraps around the guard where you see the holes in my cover . Once you have found the distance, divide it by two, set the pencil compass so that it scribes dead center.
4. Once you have this center point located and the compass set, place the pointed side of the compass on the work surface against the very bottom of the belt guard and the pencil side on the belt guard in the center of the wide flat area. Keep the compass vertical, drag the pencil against the belt guard while holding it upright and perpendicular to the world.
5. Once you have the line drawn, lay the guard back over your deck and align the guard retainer holes over the holes in the deck.
6. Stand back, square up with the deck at a 90 degree and find the center as if you're making a ninety degree line from the mower frame rail to the center of the round area near the pulley area.
7. Draw a thin line to mark that center. It will appear off center once you pick up the guard. That is fine as it is where you want it.
8. Drill the 1/8th hole where the two lines intersect.
9. Using the step drill thru the guard until you are slightly smaller, your choice, than the flat surface and then chamfer it with the next size step. Do not drill thru.
10. Turn over the guard, chamfer the back side.
11. Lay a measuring device at the edge of the first hole, measure over .750 thousandths (3/4") and make a mark. Repeat your first 10 steps until you are satisfied with the amount of holes required to blow out the guard efficiently.

There you have it. Happy hole drilling.

Tom,

Why you wanna pick on me like that? lol

Actually, I took a damp paper towel and wiped it off for the pictures. lol

I just checked for you. 26.5. I'm wearing it out! Wide open all the time.

Tom, PM me.