Should You Bag or Recycle Your Grass Clippings?

[Briana]

Hello All,

I stumbled across this video and thought you might find it interesting:

According to Toro:

"Using a mower that recycles your clippings doesn't just make mowing faster and easier. Toro actually developed a completely different cutting system to do the most good for your grass... and the environment.

On Toro Recycler mowers, the shape of the cutting chamber was designed to keep the grass clippings airborne. And it's got these deflectors that "kick" the grass back through the specially designed blades. Now this is key -- because in order for the clippings to act as a source of nutrients for your garden -- they need to be chopped down to a minuscule size. These blades are also designed with these cool "wings," called "accelerators" that kind of act like a fan -- forcing the tiny bits of grass back into the earth."

Does anyone own a Toro Recycler who can testify to the health of their lawn?

 

[exotion]

Hello All,

I stumbled across this video and thought you might find it interesting:

YouTube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFKBPZ765ks&feature=share&list=PL9994FF533B4ABC5A

According to Toro:

"Using a mower that recycles your clippings doesn't just make mowing faster and easier. Toro actually developed a completely different cutting system to do the most good for your grass... and the environment.

On Toro Recycler mowers, the shape of the cutting chamber was designed to keep the grass clippings airborne. And it's got these deflectors that "kick" the grass back through the specially designed blades. Now this is key -- because in order for the clippings to act as a source of nutrients for your garden -- they need to be chopped down to a minuscule size. These blades are also designed with these cool "wings," called "accelerators" that kind of act like a fan -- forcing the tiny bits of grass back into the earth."

Does anyone own a Toro Recycler who can testify to the health of their lawn?

I run a toro super recycler "sr4" it has a briggs and straton quantum engine with a custom throttle cable. I also have a gator blade on it which is similar to the atomic blade toro uses.

This thing makes clippings disappear and seems to make the lawns look good hard for me to tell because I also fertilize. But clippings are hardly ever left behind

 

[jmarwill]

I have a Toro Timecutter 4260 - I had the recycler modification added a couple of months ago. I'll preface my comments by saying that we have had an extremely wet (and somewhat cooler) summer as has most of the SouthEast.

I notice that the clippings are smaller coming out of time cutter. Since it has been so wet this summer, I can't say whether the lawn is 'healthier' due to the recycler but I have used other recyclers in the past and believe that recycling is better for the lawn. During dry seasons, recycling helps the ground retain moisture.

The challenge I've had with the recycler is two-fold:
1. The recycler does not work well when the grass is wet (or damp). When I cut in damp conditions (ex. 2 days after a rain), I get a lot of clumping.

2. Related to #1, the deck gets very clogged with grass and is very hard to clean with the recycler baffles. I've tried using the hose/clean out port but have had to move to scraping the underside of the deck and/or using a power washer to remove the grass clippings. If I don't clean out the deck, the mower starts to stink as the grass starts to compost under the deck (it's quite amazing, actually).

Even with the above challenges, I'm hopeful that the recycler will prove to be the right solution when we return to more 'normal' precipitation levels.


Has anyone else found ways to effectively clean the a zero-turn mower with the recycler attachment?

Thanks,
Jeff