Mulching problem with BX

tobypineo · May 31, 2006

Hi all. I am mostly a lurker because I can usually find something in the search, but no luck this time so...I have a BX 2230 with a 60" mower with a mulching kit. I am not too impressed so far! It is leaving "windrows" on the right side of the tractor (where the discharge chute normally is).

My guess is that there is a "leak" in the suction on that side, and it is allowing clippings to escape there, rather than being chewed up as it should.

I have tried about 4 times to get the mower set up perfectly, by the book I mean. I have gotten it pretty close, but I do not think that it can be done perfectly. I can get 3 anti-scalping rolls at the proper height, but if I try to adjust for the 4th, the other 3 go out of whack.

I am not a (total) idiot with a wrench or anything, but this thing is kicking my butt. I guess I really have 2 questions:

(1) Are any of you having problems with leaving highly visible rows of clipped grass with your mulching kit? and
(2) Is it possible to get that darned thing PERFECT. If I can do that I can eliminate the argument that my deck is simply not level and this is allowing the clippings to slip out the side.

I am not trying to mow too much height off, when it is wet, etc. Also, one final note, the grass is not sucked up after my front tires go over grass, and I suspect this is because I am losing suction too. BTW, what a great site and there is a mindboggling amount of knowledge here, so here I am...Any ideas?? Thank you very much.

tobypineo · May 31, 2006

Hi all. I am mostly a lurker because I can usually find something in the search, but no luck this time so...I have a BX 2230 with a 60" mower with a mulching kit. I am not too impressed so far! It is leaving "windrows" on the right side of the tractor (where the discharge chute normally is).

My guess is that there is a "leak" in the suction on that side, and it is allowing clippings to escape there, rather than being chewed up as it should.

I have tried about 4 times to get the mower set up perfectly, by the book I mean. I have gotten it pretty close, but I do not think that it can be done perfectly. I can get 3 anti-scalping rolls at the proper height, but if I try to adjust for the 4th, the other 3 go out of whack.

I am not a (total) idiot with a wrench or anything, but this thing is kicking my butt. I guess I really have 2 questions:

(1) Are any of you having problems with leaving highly visible rows of clipped grass with your mulching kit? and
(2) Is it possible to get that darned thing PERFECT. If I can do that I can eliminate the argument that my deck is simply not level and this is allowing the clippings to slip out the side.

I am not trying to mow too much height off, when it is wet, etc. Also, one final note, the grass is not sucked up after my front tires go over grass, and I suspect this is because I am losing suction too. BTW, what a great site and there is a mindboggling amount of knowledge here, so here I am...Any ideas?? Thank you very much.

Tom_H · May 31, 2006

Windrows can occur with or without the mulch kit if the grass is too tall. I have tall fescue which does grow tall during the spring. We have rainy winter and spring and the grass doesn't dry until late spring. By then, it's close to a foot tall. On my first several passes, I do have windrowing. (BX2200, 60"MMM w/ mulch kit). Even when I was using the bagger without the mulch kit, the same thing happened. Each time I cut I take a bit more off. By the time the grass is cut down three inches or less, the stems are stiff enough in relation to height, that they spring right back up.

What type grass do you have and at what height are you cutting it? If you get it shorter, the windrowing should disappear.

Tom_H · May 31, 2006

Windrows can occur with or without the mulch kit if the grass is too tall. I have tall fescue which does grow tall during the spring. We have rainy winter and spring and the grass doesn't dry until late spring. By then, it's close to a foot tall. On my first several passes, I do have windrowing. (BX2200, 60"MMM w/ mulch kit). Even when I was using the bagger without the mulch kit, the same thing happened. Each time I cut I take a bit more off. By the time the grass is cut down three inches or less, the stems are stiff enough in relation to height, that they spring right back up.

What type grass do you have and at what height are you cutting it? If you get it shorter, the windrowing should disappear.

tobypineo · May 31, 2006

I have the green kind. Sorry Tom, I just don't know!! I am cutting at 2.5". Once a week was too much to take off, so this week I mowed Wednesday and Saturday, didn't seem to help much though. I guess I am going to go through that #*$*#&@ adjustment procedure again. I think you are right though, this grass doesn't want to spring back up at all, it lays over and stays there. I thought a mulcher would "suck" it up, especially with the power of a BX vs a typical riding mower. Thanks for your reply.

tobypineo · May 31, 2006

I have the green kind. Sorry Tom, I just don't know!! I am cutting at 2.5". Once a week was too much to take off, so this week I mowed Wednesday and Saturday, didn't seem to help much though. I guess I am going to go through that #*$*#&@ adjustment procedure again. I think you are right though, this grass doesn't want to spring back up at all, it lays over and stays there. I thought a mulcher would "suck" it up, especially with the power of a BX vs a typical riding mower. Thanks for your reply.

Volfandt · May 31, 2006

I don't have the mulching kit but I have a few thoughts on what you might check.
It almost sounds as if your adjusting your MMM to the anti scalp wheels as opposed to the blade tips. You should be adjusting to the blade tips for both side to side and front to back measurments. You should be able to get real close (within a 1/4").
I'd also guess that you'd probably wouldn't want to mow any higher than 2.5" so as to keep the MMM lower to the ground to reduce blow-out.

I watched my dealer installing one of those kits and it appeared that each blade was totally enclosed within it's own chamber, with no cross flow in between. Are your blades totally enclosed within their own chambers with no openings?

I made a home made mulch plug last season and it did pretty well as long as I didn't have to take off more than a 1/2" or so. If the grass was wet or too tall or I went too fast I'd leave a windrow on the blocked discharge side. I never got around to trying a set of Kubota's mulching blades and I coudn't find a set of gator blades to fit so I eventually went with side discharging into several windrows and picking them up with a Cyclone Rake, discarding my home made mulcher. I knew there wouldn't be any way it would work as well as the factory mulch kit but it was worth a shot anyways /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Good luck
Volfandt

Volfandt · May 31, 2006

I don't have the mulching kit but I have a few thoughts on what you might check.
It almost sounds as if your adjusting your MMM to the anti scalp wheels as opposed to the blade tips. You should be adjusting to the blade tips for both side to side and front to back measurments. You should be able to get real close (within a 1/4").
I'd also guess that you'd probably wouldn't want to mow any higher than 2.5" so as to keep the MMM lower to the ground to reduce blow-out.

I watched my dealer installing one of those kits and it appeared that each blade was totally enclosed within it's own chamber, with no cross flow in between. Are your blades totally enclosed within their own chambers with no openings?

I made a home made mulch plug last season and it did pretty well as long as I didn't have to take off more than a 1/2" or so. If the grass was wet or too tall or I went too fast I'd leave a windrow on the blocked discharge side. I never got around to trying a set of Kubota's mulching blades and I coudn't find a set of gator blades to fit so I eventually went with side discharging into several windrows and picking them up with a Cyclone Rake, discarding my home made mulcher. I knew there wouldn't be any way it would work as well as the factory mulch kit but it was worth a shot anyways /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Good luck
Volfandt

teachdocs · Jun 1, 2006

I bought a mulch kit with my previous BX2200. Dealer tried to talk me out of it. I should have listened.
Never could get it to do a decent job. Maybe highlift blades would have helped. I tried it with the Kubota mulching blades and the regular blades.... couldn't tell much difference.
I took the kit off and its still in the garage somewhere.

I agree with adjusting the deck to the blade tips, not the wheels. You should be able to get that really close. Remember the front tips should be about 1\8 - 1\4 inch lower than the rear for a cleaner cut.

Don't listen to anyone about mowing at anything less than maximum RPM. RPM's equal blade tip speed. Faster blade tips work better.

teachdocs · Jun 1, 2006

I bought a mulch kit with my previous BX2200. Dealer tried to talk me out of it. I should have listened.
Never could get it to do a decent job. Maybe highlift blades would have helped. I tried it with the Kubota mulching blades and the regular blades.... couldn't tell much difference.
I took the kit off and its still in the garage somewhere.

I agree with adjusting the deck to the blade tips, not the wheels. You should be able to get that really close. Remember the front tips should be about 1\8 - 1\4 inch lower than the rear for a cleaner cut.

Don't listen to anyone about mowing at anything less than maximum RPM. RPM's equal blade tip speed. Faster blade tips work better.

Tom_H · Jun 1, 2006

teachdocs,

I am really sorry to hear that you had so much difficulty with your mulch kit. Since we have dry summers, I irrigate, always on Mon. and Tue. Then I can count on having dry turf by weekend. Having dry grass is important with a mulch system. The clippings are light enough to float around in the top of the chamber and be really shredded into small bits. The height and texture of the particular species can make a difference as well.

I like my mulch system so much that I sold the bagger I had to another TBN member. I have been much pleased with my mulch system as I no longer have to empty bags and with the nutrients returned directly to the soil, I no longer have to fertilize.

Different conditions can make a system work fine in one situation and not work at all in another. Advice on TBN is usually quite good, but it also pays to get advice from others in one's own locale as well.

Again, sorry yours didn't work out for you.

Tom_H · Jun 1, 2006

teachdocs,

I am really sorry to hear that you had so much difficulty with your mulch kit. Since we have dry summers, I irrigate, always on Mon. and Tue. Then I can count on having dry turf by weekend. Having dry grass is important with a mulch system. The clippings are light enough to float around in the top of the chamber and be really shredded into small bits. The height and texture of the particular species can make a difference as well.

I like my mulch system so much that I sold the bagger I had to another TBN member. I have been much pleased with my mulch system as I no longer have to empty bags and with the nutrients returned directly to the soil, I no longer have to fertilize.

Different conditions can make a system work fine in one situation and not work at all in another. Advice on TBN is usually quite good, but it also pays to get advice from others in one's own locale as well.

Again, sorry yours didn't work out for you.

JoeL4330 · Jun 1, 2006

I have a mulching kit on a big rear mount Befco ...according to the instruction manual, 2mph top speed for mulching ...takes time to cut the blades of grass several times, so says the manual

JoeL4330 · Jun 1, 2006

I have a mulching kit on a big rear mount Befco ...according to the instruction manual, 2mph top speed for mulching ...takes time to cut the blades of grass several times, so says the manual

teachdocs · Jun 2, 2006

Tom_H
Those are really good points you make.
I don't irrigate the majority of my 5 acres, so usually pretty dry. Different conditions and different types of turf are great examples of what may work for one person, and not for another.
I prefer to mulch versus bag for the benefits you mention. I usually bag a couple of times in the spring growth spurt for a big compost pile that is ready by fall for all of the planting bed renewals. That works pretty good for me.
I wonder what types of grass typically grow in Maine and California. Here in the Midwest, we have a blend of fescue, rye, and bluegrass.
Regardless of mulch kit or not, my lawn was the envy of the entire neighborhood. Lots of JD fans around here. Bringing the "Orange" on the street raised some eyebrows. By the end of my first season, everyone was saying "I gotta get me one of those!" The Kubota BX with MMM will give you excellent results.
Glad to hear the mulch kit works for a lot of other folks.

teachdocs · Jun 2, 2006

Tom_H
Those are really good points you make.
I don't irrigate the majority of my 5 acres, so usually pretty dry. Different conditions and different types of turf are great examples of what may work for one person, and not for another.
I prefer to mulch versus bag for the benefits you mention. I usually bag a couple of times in the spring growth spurt for a big compost pile that is ready by fall for all of the planting bed renewals. That works pretty good for me.
I wonder what types of grass typically grow in Maine and California. Here in the Midwest, we have a blend of fescue, rye, and bluegrass.
Regardless of mulch kit or not, my lawn was the envy of the entire neighborhood. Lots of JD fans around here. Bringing the "Orange" on the street raised some eyebrows. By the end of my first season, everyone was saying "I gotta get me one of those!" The Kubota BX with MMM will give you excellent results.
Glad to hear the mulch kit works for a lot of other folks.

Hootie · Jun 2, 2006

I bought a blade height measuring device at the local JD store. You slide it under you deck to check the blade tip height. Handy little tool.
I too have a mulching kit for both the ZG23 and the Bota 2200, I use neither. I am using the Gator blades and they have made a REAL difference. They really chop up the clippings.

Hootie · Jun 2, 2006

I bought a blade height measuring device at the local JD store. You slide it under you deck to check the blade tip height. Handy little tool.
I too have a mulching kit for both the ZG23 and the Bota 2200, I use neither. I am using the Gator blades and they have made a REAL difference. They really chop up the clippings.

imported_timalabim · Jun 7, 2006

I have a BX24 with a 54" MMM with Kubota Mulching kit/blades installed. I mow to 2 1/2" and only have one area where the grass is particularlly thick and grows wild due to poor drainage where I get some clumps. My old Wheelhorse tractor could barely get through this area unless I mowed with about 1/3 of the deck. I just go over this area twice and it looks like a million bucks. The rest of the lawn also looks fantastic. I never knew my lawn could look so good! I have never been a fanatical lawn guy, just mow and hope for the mid to late july burn to set in so I don't have to get out there so often. Now it looks so good I am actually thinking of watering and fertilizing. What has this BX done to me!?

imported_timalabim · Jun 7, 2006

I have a BX24 with a 54" MMM with Kubota Mulching kit/blades installed. I mow to 2 1/2" and only have one area where the grass is particularlly thick and grows wild due to poor drainage where I get some clumps. My old Wheelhorse tractor could barely get through this area unless I mowed with about 1/3 of the deck. I just go over this area twice and it looks like a million bucks. The rest of the lawn also looks fantastic. I never knew my lawn could look so good! I have never been a fanatical lawn guy, just mow and hope for the mid to late july burn to set in so I don't have to get out there so often. Now it looks so good I am actually thinking of watering and fertilizing. What has this BX done to me!?