Mowing GR2120 + 54 inch deck + mulch kit

[zoltanthegypsy]

Hi all,

I'm at a loss coming up with a solution/compromise/fix for this. Hoping someone has figured this one out:

I've got a large lawn. Mostly vertical. Over inside the deer fence, I've got veggie beds, berry patches, SWMBO's flower beds, and a boat shed/guest house with windows at grade. Grass paths between/around all - about 1.5 deck widths or so.

After one too many times sliding down the grassy hill on the Deere 425, I gave it to bro-in-law and got my GR. I love the traction of the thing.

Unfortunately the deck + mulch kit leave a nasty-looking line of clumped clippings along the rt side of the deck. Grass length and deck height don't make a noticeable difference. On top of that, the front tires flatten the grass and the deck doesn't provide enough lift - so I end up with two broad stripes of longer grass after mowing.

After a season of this the dealer provided a set of gator blades to try. With the mulch kit on, they do pretty much the same thing - although the lift seems a little better. With the kit off, it's a totally different story. Not really a mulching cut, but close enough. Lots of lift and a nice even cut.

However - the discharge is something else. With a careful pattern I can keep the majority of the clippings out of the planting beds around the lawn. It's another reality inside the deer fence. The violent discharge will murder the veggie seedlings or fill the beds with grass. No big for the berries, but a deal-breaker when it comes to SWMBO's flowers. Breaking (any more) windows isn't that appealing either... With the mulch kit on, discharge isn't an issue.

The Deere mulch kit had an adjustable discharge gate. I had it set for just enough throw to avoid the line of clumped grass but not enough to disturb anything. It worked very well. The Kubota kit has a total block off on the discharge side that's part of the one-piece plastic mulch kit.

Anyone know of a 3rd-party kit, or a mod that can improve this? My fab skills are pretty close to zero I'm guessing that this is a problem with all the K decks and kits - not just the GR and 54.

Thanks and sorry for the long post,
Z.

 

[csr0831]

Gypsy....

Until very recently I owned a GR 2100......essentially the same machine you have and I know it's the same deck. My problem was that rubber chute deflector pointed down at too much of an angle causing the the grass to bunch up and clump coming out of the chute...espically if it was wet and/or long. What I did was cut a piece of wood about an inch wide, quater inch thick and maybe 10 inches long. I placed this between the underside of the deflector where it meets the top of the deck. I drilled through it in two places and put a small bolt and nut through each hole to keep it there. That raised the chute just enough to prevent the grass from clumping but not enough to allow it to shoot sticks and what not through my picture windows. Maybe some variation of that would work for you?

 

[zoltanthegypsy]

I run with the discharge chute removed when the mulch kit in installed. Safe since there isn't any discharge with the kit on. The problem is the wads of grass that roll out from under the right edge of the mulch kit.

Thanks for the suggestion though. Keep them coming...

Z.