# mulching kit making a mess



## ballistic (Apr 5, 2011)

Hey guys, I recently purchased a craftsman yt3000 rider and had a mulching kit put on the mower. It worked beautifully at first but now it's making a mess. There is a ton of grass coming up on top of the deck where the belts are. The only thing I have changed is taking the cover off when cleaning and I dropped the deck down from a 5 to 4. At this point I am thinking about taking the the cover off and using side discharge. Can run the side discharge with a mulching blade still on or do I need to put on the original blades? I'm new to mulching so it could be something I'm doing wrong. In order to mulch properly do you want the deck pretty high and to drive slower than usual? Thanks for helping a newbie.


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## jhngardner367 (Apr 5, 2011)

Welcome to the forum,ballistic! Yes,it's ok to use the side-discharge with mulching blades.Almost all mowers will have clippings up by the deck pulleys,and all you can do is blow it out,when done mowing,although setting the deck lower helps,as long as it isn't low enough to dig dirt. Try a slower forward speed,and a higher blade speed.When done,lower the deck all the way,on a hard surface(driveway),and engage the blades, with water running under the deck.It'll clean the deck,in 2 mins.


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## Country Boy (Mar 18, 2010)

Remember that when you mulch, you want the grass dry. Don't mulch in the morning when the dew is still on the grass, and don't mulch at night when the dew starts to form. Also, don't mulch in the days following a rain. The grass soaks up a ton of moisture when it rains, and it takes a few days for it to normalize again. If you do have to cut the lawn wetter, remove the plug and just side discharge it. Also, when mulching, you need to cut more often than normal. Never cut more than 1/3 of the grass height at any one time. That deck is most likely a ventilated deck. That means there are air passages around the spindles where air can be drawn in. That's probably where your grass clippings are coming from. Not much you can do about that but keep them cleaned off the top of the deck. They will build up and can pose a fire hazard if they rub on the belts. I have personally seen mowers that have ash under the grass clippings on the deck because the belt was buried in clippings and the friction between the belt and those clippings got hot enough to make it smoulder.

Washing the deck can be a good idea, but make sure you let it dry before putting it in storage. If water hangs around the bearings, it can cause them to rust and seize over time. A couple hours in the sun should do the trick, or you can use an air nozzle on an air compressor or a leaf blower to blow the water off the unit. Anything you can do to keep the grass juices from hanging out under the deck is a good thing. They are very acidic and tend to rust out the decks in a hurry.


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## jhngardner367 (Apr 5, 2011)

The main reason you want to wash the deck,is to neutralize the acids from fertilizers,weed killers,etc. They'll eat a deck in a hurry. That's why the manufacturers are installing deck flush kits,and also offer them as add-ons for older machines. I did forget to say,in my last post,that after you wash the deck,let the blades run for a couple of minutes,to help dry out the deck,before putting it away.


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## ballistic (Apr 5, 2011)

Great information guys. I really appreciate it. I'm not going to give up on the mulcher just yet. I'll just have to take the time for cleanup but I'd rather do that then raking the grass clippings anyway .


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