Lawnmower Rant / Idea for Lawnmower hack

[DFZ]

I hate with a passion SIDE DISCHARGE LAWN MOWERS!

Why would you design a mower deck that cuts a blade of grass on the left side, bunches it up with all the other blades of grass being cut, and throws it out the right side of the deck, possibly on top of areas of uncut lawn or where you dont want the clippings?!?

How can a person mow a strip of grass between the driveway and house without throwing clipping against the foundation or into the driveway? (This is a rhetorical question, I don't need advice on how to drive my lawnmower.) I don't believe in bagging my grass clippings. Too much time stopping and dumping, besides, why would you remove the nutrients from the lawn.

Why can't you find a lawnmower anymore that has rear discharge? We have a rear discharge Woods Finish mower (RD7200) at the farm that does a fine job of distributing the grass clippings. If we ever need to pick up the grass clippings we use a sweeper, but it is easier to just increase the mowing frequency so the clippings disappear.

John Deere does offer one rear discharge model, the X350R?, but it was designed for a rear bagger. Grass clippings are actually thrown up a chute over the rear axle to the bagger. A diffuser can be put in place of the bagger to drop the clippings on the ground, but reviews say the chute can plug where it is trying to throw clippings up, over the axle.

Years ago, we had a Craftsman rear discharge mower. It had its problems, the blades needed to be timed, but when it was working properly it did a great job of cutting.

I have an idea to find either a lawn tractor or a Zero Turn with a scrap deck for cheap and mount a Rear Discharge Finish mower under it. Remove the gearbox from the mower and change the belt layout to run directly off the engine pulley.

I know you can't really compare tractor engine HP and lawnmower engine HP, but could a lawn tractor with a 24HP+ engine power a light duty 48" finish mower and propel itself in most lawnmower conditions?

Just wondering. Hope somebody else hates side discharge as much as I.

 

[showcrop]

You need to hire a landscaping service and use the time you save to clean and arrange your tools.

 

[Jaden]

I use a mulcher deck on my John Deere rider, which takes care of the problems you mentioned.

 

[Janicholson]

Nice mulching blade cures the issue. With a rear discharge the blade/s can throw rocks or ? right onto your legs. Lawers would love to have at the law suits resulting. Weld a plate over the discharge. Jim

 

[David Snipes]

Honda makes a "professional" model that is rear bag or discharge. It's very well built and heavy duty, and has a high price tag. My son uses one and loves it.

 

[gtractorfan]

I've thought the same...would be good to mow close to objects on either side. My dad had a John Deere rear steer- like a combine- (F 911 I think) that discharged in back the width of the deck.

 

[Crazy Horse]

Good one Showcrop, good one. Meanwhile, I'm sure there are reasons for why these machines are mostly designed as they are, probably the most efficient way to do it I'm guessing.

 

[JayinNY]

Wow! Why don?t you just buy a mulching mower, one that has the discharge closed off?

 

[johnofnewhaven]

Ditto... mulching deck.

 

[moresmoke]

Depending on conditions, rear discharge deck can leave windrows. Looks like someone cut the lawn with a mini haybine. Fine if you pull a sweeper, but otherwise looks awful.

 

[casecollectorsc]

Should be able to. My 446 JI Case 16 hp has a 60" three blade deck and does a fine job...but it is a left hand delivery. They made center delivery decks also

 

[steve_in_mo]

I think many people are like me and dislike having grass clippings in their shoes.
Like other other guys posted, get a mulching deck or make one by
installing mulching blades and covering the discharge chute.

 

[jeffcat]

WOW..this sounds like some of the discussions people have about left or right cut field choppers and right or center pickup balers. You might want to look into a set of "sand" blades. These are designed for mowing in very sandy conditions. Sand just destroys decks. The blades are almost perfectly flat with no lift. Your cut grass will do a bit more than dribble out of the discharge chute.

 

[Mexico46958]

Just thinking....how about a reel type mower?

 

[Straw Boss]

The last six lawn mowers I've owned have all been rear discharge and you couldn't pay me to go back to a side discharge.
Check out Hustler zero turn mowers. They sell rear discharge in 6 sizes from 48" to 104".
As others said, they will windrow a bit if you're "mowing" tall heavy grass but if you're just "trimming" your lawn, you won't notice much difference. For farm use I could care less if there's a windrow. I'm not trying for a manicured lawn. I'm just trying to cover as many acres as quickly as possible.

 

[big jt]

Grasshopper has them. I have a 72 inch front mount on a 725d zero turn.

 

[Bill(Wis)]

John D Rockefeller, who's wealth in today's dollars would be about 330 billion, employed a special breed of sheep to keep his lawns and golf course finely and evenly "clipped". I forgot the name of the breed. They had teeth that could really get down close.

 

[4play]

There are pros/cons to using both, I won't go over them here, but 99 out of 100 mowers are side discharge. Almost all of the big names in the business make at least one model in rear discharge.

 

[Russ from MN]

Most mowers we have have a mulch option, easy to change. Our newest JD zero-turn blows it out with such force you don't even see it.

 

[Traditional Farmer]

Get a flail or reel mower like they use on golf courses.One key to keeping the grass from piling up is to cut it often.

 

[jm.]

I guess it would work and I can say this with experience Land Pride makes on of the better rear discharge finish mowers for you project. My question is why several zero turn mowers on the market with rear-discharge decks. I have been selling mowers and tractors for years and the reason you do not see more is quite frankly folks just plain do not like rear discharge decks. One has to mow more frequently if you want a nice looking yard. Kubota has tried several variations off rear discharge decks and finally has one that is acceptable .

 

[Donald in MN]

i believe hustler and grasshopper both have a rear discharge deck option.

 

[DR. EVIL]

I've been mowing for 57 years with Cub Cadets, from an Original, to a 70 that's restored out in the shop, my 72 I bought well used in 1980, and the 982 I bought in 2000, the 129 and 44A deck was a great mowing combination, it had been rode hard and put away wet daily for years before I got it. And the Cub Cadet TANK I bought 4 yrs ago is without a doubt the BEST mowing machine I've ever been on. You can make it bunch up clippings, simply mow during a downpour of rain, but if the grass is dry, walk across the yard, toes of your work boots stay dry, it will not bunch up clippings. The blades must run twice as fast as any other Cub Cadet deck, a 850 cc Kawasaki 27 hp engine refuses to slow down in a hard pull from the 54 inch deck, can mow up to 12 mph if your yard is smooth enough.
I don't see a front mounted rear discharge mower deck working well. I'm not a huge fan of the foot long discharge chute guard on my CC zero-turn, but it needs something to keep the clippings down close to the ground. I blow clippings on my driveway all the time, I can blow clippings clear off the driveway in 10-12 ft wide swaths in a single pass. The mower is designed to mow back and forth the yard, 54 inch swath, non-stop 180 degree turn, and back, you have a 100 to 108 inch wide clear swath in the yard, another 180 degree turn and your blowing clippings evenly over both of the prior passes. I don't always mow as often as I should, but every time I get done mowing the yard looks GREAT.
I don't think anyone could interest me in a rear discharge deck.
I built a yard vacuum 20 years ago to use with my Cub Cadet #72 with 38 inch deck specifically for mulching and disposing of leaves in fall. Lost a HUGE amount of fertilizer from the decaying leaves, I don't do that anymore.

 

[timcasbolt]

(quoted from post at 19:52:26 03/14/20) Good one Showcrop, good one. Meanwhile, I'm sure there are reasons for why these machines are mostly designed as they are, probably the most [b:93904bf557]efficient [/b:93904bf557]way to do it I'm guessing.

Change the word "efficient" to "profitable" and you've got your answer.

 

[Texasmark1]

Had a Sears reel mower with lift the handle and it would self propel, drop and it stops forward movement, engine and blade running the whole time. On St. Augustine grass in my yard, when I was doing the mowing while growing up, it cut a golf course lawn. On Dallas Grass, it couldn't reliably handle the stems...to name one stemmy nuisance for a lawn.

In comes the era of the rotary mower that hammers the leaf into, rather than cut it, leaving ragged edges, but cuts everything (within reason) in it's path which is what we purchased the next time a new mower was needed.

Most were 4 cycle, but one kid in the neighborhood had a 2 cycle and that was back when you used 30 wt HD motor oil in a 24:1 to regular gasoline mix. When that guy mowed a lawn you't think that the city's mosquito Jeep WWII surplus sprayers were spraying mosquitoes.

 

[fixerupper]

My neighbor tried out a rear discharge deck on his Grasshopper. He seems to think it is the best thing to come along since sliced bread so he ended up buying the deck. He mows the church cemetery and without that chute sticking out the side he can squeeze between stones easier and he no longer throws grass clippings onto the stones. When he was trying out this deck he dove into some heavy thick grass and he said the deck did not bunch. I did not actually see it so I have to take his word for it.

 

[ss55]

If your mower has an option for mulching grass, or a mulching kit, that might solve most your complaints.

 

[jddrawbar]

What I hate about the side discharge is, if the wind is blowing it will cover you up with dust. I have a rear discharge finish mower that I pull with a small tractor that eliminates that problem.

 

[Texasmark1]

I hate the side discharge clippings blowing back in your face when mowing in a cross wind.....which is the normal here during the summer when the grass is dry enough to get a good clip without clogging up the deck and making piles of wet clippings.

I looked into rear discharge to overcome the wind problem and the reports I read indicated that you had clumping problems similar to a rotary 3 pt mower with protective chains across the rear that cause clippings to clump.

One thing I like, when size matters is the two blade machines with stamped decks, Husqvarna and Craftsman 46" to name a couple. Get good clipping and discharging and they don't clog on damp grass like 3 blade welded decks do. So I use them when I need to do a small cut and the dew is still on the grass.

 

[DFZ]

I don't think Mulching blades would work very well. I live in the Pacific Northwest and the grass is always damp in the spring. I have heard that if the grass is damp at all mulching decks clump up even worse than side discharge.