converting side discharge finish mower to rear discharge

[Dan H]

Has anyone ever tried this?

I have a Sitrex 5 foot side discharge finish mower and want to convert it to rear discharge.

Can I cut the baffles,( I guess that is what they are called) around the blades out and cut out the back and weld a piece over the side discharge hole? Will this work?

Thanks for any help.

 

[ninefinger]

I can remember a couple threads about doing this. They may be in the attachments forum. I am not sure just what terms to use to do a search, if I find something that works I will repost but yes you are on the right track on converting.

 

[alchemysa]

No but I converted a rear discharge ride-on mower deck to dual side/rear discharge.

A couple of things that may help you. I didn't dispose of the metal that I cut from the deck to make the new discharge chute. I cut it out but then I reattached it with hinges so it formed a flap that I could swing up when necessary. This also allowed me to easily revert back to the original configuration if necessary.

And my original deck had a pressed stiffening rib around the bottom. I did not want to reduce the strength of the deck too much so i did not cut through the rib. This means my new side chute has a horizontal rib near ground level. It has not been a problem. That may not be a practical option in your case.

I have no regrets about my 'experiment.'

 

[ninefinger]

In attachments search "side discharge to rear discharge" . The banner will not permit me to do a forum search there. Just tried that search here and got a few hits that may help you.

 

[Dan H]

Thanks for the info. I will have it done next week. I think it will work.

 

[AndyG]

Dan, How did you come out on this project? I want to do the same thing to my Befco mower.