do they work? riding mower baggers

[searcyfarms]

I am looking at getting something to collect grass clippings / mulch leaves in the fall and wondering if they work very well.

I see the power driven ones off the deck pulleys that drive an impeller of some sort i presume which i am sure would help but i was wondering if something like the little ones on a cub cadet or craftsman or deere work very well?

I could see moisture being an issue but outside of that just curious before i pull the trigger

 

[robstaples]

I’ve had 3 different versions:
1 belt pto powered off a 10 hp garden tractor with vacuum tube running down to the deck fitting,
2 deck blade pulley powered blower pushing into attached carrier on rear of 20 hp garden tractor
3 and current, rear pto driven vacuum with tube to deck fitting on B3350 (33hp)

Each worked and each had progressively bigger vacuum tubes and would clog progressively less.

Short dry grass is the easiest to pick up and most any should work. Small sticks start the grass dam.
Wet grass or damp long grass will still plug my current, on occasion. I just slow down and let more air thru .

 

[Citydude]

I have a bagger on my Deere LA 125. Great for leaves in the fall. Not so great on green grass clippings as it clogs up from time to time.

 

[MossRoad]

I've got a rear discharge deck and a tow-behind ground powered sweeper. It works great for grass clippings. It works great for uncut leaves, but fills up ridiculously fast. It works so-so for cut leaves, depending on if they are dry or have been rained on.

If I could, I'd buy a self-powered gas engine bagger and tow it behind my machine, but my machine is not conducive to that.

 

[Bird]

I used to have a Toro time cutter ZTR mower with the twin bags that worked very well UNLESS the grass/leaves were wet. Then I'd sometimes have the chute clog up.

 

[oosik]

I have a JD G100 ( no longer made ) riding mower. It has a side discharge collection bag setup. It would work just fine on a normal lawn, dry grass, frequently cut.

My "lawn" is field grass that I've mowed for 38 years now. It slowly filled in and looks like a normal lawn. However, the grass is course, very succulent and does not blow well. I've done away with the collection system and just chop it up until it mulches in.

 

[searcyfarms]

i was thinking more about driving over after the clippings have dried a day or so - i have a big mower that i mow with but from time to time i would like to clean up the clippings and put on my garden and maybe leaves in the fall and i also need a lighter weight mower to mow areas that are WET and my CUT is too heavy for w/out making ruts - i was thinking about picking up an inexpensive craftsman or deere used for that kind of thing so they wouldnt have the power driving blower type just the chute that goes on at the deck exit.

 

[MossRoad]

If I get small windrows of clippings and let them sit for a day or two to dry out, they don't mow over well, and you can still see where they sat on the lawn in lines. Kinda like leaving a garden hose laying in the lawn. It takes a few days to go away. I think it's better to either mow over the lines one more time to spread them out, or bag them VS waiting a few days to mow over the clippings again. Just my personal preference.

 

[MossRoad]

i was thinking more about driving over after the clippings have dried a day or so....

Around here, we call that mowing the lawn again! :laughing:

We've had so much rain (frequency, not so much volume) this month that the grass needs mowing about every 3 days, but it's too wet to get on it. So I've been having to mow over the thing two and three times to get the clippings spread out if I don't use the tow-behind sweeper.

 

[searcyfarms]

i have seen those sweepers with a rotary broom thing do those work just as well as a bagger type and trying to mow/blow - same here such a wet year its been more than challenging

 

[MossRoad]

i have seen those sweepers with a rotary broom thing do those work just as well as a bagger type and trying to mow/blow - same here such a wet year its been more than challenging

I don't think it would work as well as a powered vacuum. But it's good enough for me.

 

[cdaigle430]

Powered vacuums = more maintenance and will still clog. I have he yth2448 more with a 3 bin bagger and I love it. Yes you will get clogs, yes you cannot use it when grass is wet. Clogs are easy to clear and this tractor along with high wind Husqvarna blades work very well.
Simple, easy to addon and remove and clean and compact enough to store anywhere.

Pros
Easy to install
Not too expensive
Durable
Easy to empty
Compact
Light
Easy to clean
Holds a lot of volume for a little tractor

Cons
May need to unclog periodical
Does not work well in damp grass or leaves
When its clogged will mulch grass.

 

[CMNTMXR57]

Crapsman 2-hard bin setup, I think they work great. Occassionally the chute will clog and I find the bin closest to the chute will get filled faster blocking the way in to the second bin, but they still work nice.

I will say, with the hard bin setup, I'm not sure why they came up with the two piece bin design. Why not just make it one big can, instead of having to make sure those tabs are engaged.

 

[BoylermanCT]

I have a Craftsman 3 bin setup on my backup mower. Works great in the fall for leaves.

 

[Thomas]

2 or 3 bagger you might consider some kind of front weights if mowing slopes more so if grass wet.

 

[mark02tj]

I don't think it would work as well as a powered vacuum. But it's good enough for me.

I have one of these as well. I paid for $40 for it used 5 years ago and it still works when I need it. Looks like heck, but it works! LOL!

I just saw a guy on another forum sell a USED powered, vacuum for $2800. It sold in about 24 hours. New, it was about $5000. I guess it comes down to how much do you want to spend? I try to not have to pick up any clippings, but as MossRoad said, this time of year, sometimes you can't avoid it. I don't pick up leaves either - I just mulch them and aim the discharge chute towards my woods.

If I had a 5 acre yard full of big oak trees and an actual "lawn" that I wanted to look pristine, I'd consider a big, expensive vacuum. But for the acre of grass (out of our 5 acres) that I cut, my $40 sweeper does what I need.

 

[MossRoad]

It's rained every day for the past 7 days, except Sunday, Father's Day. I wasn't gonna mow the lawn on Father's Day. :laughing:

It is supposed to be sunny this afternoon, so I should dry the 8-10" high lawn out enough to mow tonight, however, the clippings will windrow something awful. So, I'll break out the tow behind sweeper and pick the clippings today, or I'll get dead stripes where they lay in a couple days.

 

[herm0016]

i have a 3 bin on a CC 1641. it picks up stuff well with the correct blades fitted. no extra blower or any of that.

 

[searcyfarms]

thats good info to know guys i really appreciate it - now to pick my weapon of choice!!!

 

[searcyfarms]

picked up a nice lil LX280 deere to go with my powerflo bagger now just have to get them mated up!!! mowed some wet areas with the 280 this weekend its a ice lil mower