# Please help!



## Mike128 (Jul 22, 2011)

So I am very new to all this. Just bought my first home a month ago. I also just bought a Husqvarna yth22v42 ride on mower. I did not get the bagger because I'm young, stubborn and don't want to spend the extra $300 on it. So I mowed for the first time on Tuesday, and side discharged. It left a pretty thick blanket of clippings covering my lawn. It looked horrible. I ended up leaving them there because by the time I finished it was getting dark. The next day I had to work late, but I did buy a mulching cover and mulching blades. I came home from work yesterday (thursday) and put on the new blades, and installed the cover. I had hoped that I could set the deck pretty high and go over all the clippings and pulverize them and make them disapear a little. This was NOT the case. It looked just as bad after I went over them. I tried all different deck heights, with no avail. All it did was mix up the clippings and leave a messy trail of clippings and clumps behind the tractor. Mind you, it is dry here right now (New England) with temperatures being in the 90's all week, and even up to 100 today. So the grass is not wet. I ended up having to rake the entire yard last night and put all the clippings into bags and bins to take to the dump (about ten 45 gallon trash bags). Any advice on what to do would be very appreciated. I have about 3/4 acrea of lawn, and it's pretty thick in the back yard. I really wanted to get away with mulching because I don't really have a good spot for an ugly compost pile. Plus it would be nice not to have to dish out another $300 on a bagger when I'm about to make my first mortgage payment. I would have thought that going over the dead clippings with the mulching blade would've chopped em up better and got rid of them. Was I completely wrong thinking this? What am I doing wrong? Please help
Thanks!


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## Thomas (Nov 1, 2006)

Welcome to TF Mike.
Depending on type grass/clover I set my mower deck at the setting I want,after first mowe round I than mow half deck also oppsite derection,plus plastic/metal discharge I agle about 45 degrees...if clumping try slower traveling speed or less grass for mowing deck to chew on.

That's my nickles worth.


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## Country Boy (Mar 18, 2010)

You can mulch, but you have to remember that you will need to mow more often than with side discharge or bagging. You want to cut off about 1/2-3/4" at a time when mulching for best results, though cutting off an inch will work with more clumping. If your grass grows extremely fast, mulching may not be for you. If you mulch, you probably won't want to fertilize because it will cause faster regrowth, and therefore more mowing. If you can find them, look into Gator Mulcher mulching blades by Oregon. They have a standard cutting edge for a better cut, but the blade lift is segmented and twisted to act like a shredder, cutting up the clippings much better than standard mulching blades. We sell them at the shop in town, and my boss uses them for his lawn. He really seems to like them.

If you decide to bag the grass, and don't want a mulch pile, the community yard waste site is probably your best bet for disposal. If you have a garden, you can apply the clippings between the rows for mulch, though there is a limit to how much you can put on at a time without smothering your plants.


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## Mike128 (Jul 22, 2011)

Thanks for the tips. I may look into Gator blades. I think I will give the dealer that I bought the mower from a call today. I mowed again yesterday and was not happy with the results again. It's been very hot and dry here, so the grass is not growing much at all. I will be very busy all week, so I wanted to get the lawn mowed while I had time, even though it didn't really need it yet. Even with a dry lawn and barely cutting anything off, I still got alot of ugly clumping and trails behind the mower. I first tried cutting on setting height "3", and I guess that was too low - lots of clumps and the cutting deck was making all kinds of noise and moaning and groaning. I then went to setting 4, and it did a better job, but still not that great. And I was cutting so little off it was hard for me to see where I had mowed and what still needed mowing. There was one spot on the lawn that had a lot of clumps on it, so I ended up going over it about 10 times with the mower. This basically did nothing except move the clumps around. I would think that going over a spot 10 times would pulverize the grass. I think something is off here, so I'm going to give my dealer a call and see if he has any words of advice.


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## Mickey (Aug 14, 2010)

I've got gator blades on my Cub and I've not been impressed with their mulching ability when used on my deck. Actually didn't look any better than with the OEM blades. Oregon makes good products but these blade are not a god send for all.

One thing you might do is make sure the deck is set up properly, that is being level across the full width and proper front/back tilt. Not going to do anything for the mulching but will make sure you're getting the best cut the deck can provide. Need to make measurements at the blades and not the deck housing itself.

Made this adjmt on my machine this spring as it hadn't been done in several yrs and what an improvement it made to the appearance of the cut.


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## Mike128 (Jul 22, 2011)

Thanks for the advice. I called my dealer and told him what's going on. He's going to come by and pick up the machine tomorrow and take a look at it. I'll see what he says and go from there I guess.


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## Country Boy (Mar 18, 2010)

A thought just occurred to me... you do have the blades on the correct way, right? I've had several machines come in over the years with cutting issues only to find that the blade was put on upside down. Probably not the case here, but it doesn't hurt to check.


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## Mike128 (Jul 22, 2011)

I made sure to put the side stamped "grass side" down. My dealer is supposed to pick up the machine today and give it a look. I hope he finds something wrong. This should be the easiest time of the year to cut the grass. If I'm covering my lawn with clumps now with such dry weather and barely trimming anything off the top, I'll be screwed in the spring and fall when the grass is damp and growing faster.


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## Priority1 (Jun 28, 2011)

Have you been running the throttle wide open?? If not do so.


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## Mike128 (Jul 22, 2011)

Yes, I've been sure to run with full throttle. I'm hoping my dealer gets to take a look at it tomorrow and lets me know what's going on. I just really hope he doesn't say "everything looks fine" or something like that. I should be able to eat up the dry grass that I have right now with ease.


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## jhngardner367 (Apr 5, 2011)

Welcome to the forum,mike28! May I ask,is this a NEW machine,or a used one?The reason I ask,is that some times,on a new machine, the paint on the pulleys/blades will affect the cut,due to slippage,and paint on the blade edges. Every time I install new blades on a customer's machine, I do a "prep grind",to clean the edge,and balance the blades.If it's a used machine,it could have a slightly loose belt,causing a poor cut.


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## Mike128 (Jul 22, 2011)

This is a brand new machine. 
I did an experiment on my last mow - I took off the mulching blades, and put the bagging/side disharge blades that came with the mower back on. I left the mulching cover on and mowed the lawn. It actually did a much better job of cutting, and left far less visible clippings and almost no clumps. I thought this was kind of funny - the bagging blade did way better than the mulching blade for mulching. Anyone have any similar experience? The mulching blades are sharp and look good, but just do a horrible job with my lawn.


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## Brother-Al (Jul 22, 2011)

Hi Mike,

Congrats on your house! And Welcome To the Forum! 

I've experienced that with push-style mulch mowers after changing blades to generic type replacements. IMHO, The whole "special" blade-type is not unlike any other flashy "upgrade" for anything... Looks cool, but costs more & doesn't work/last as good/long as the stock stuff. There are definately some great ideas/suggestions above, if the dealer doesn't find an issue. 
PS After Todays Rain, you'll need pontoons on the tractor. LOL!


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## trucker101 (Jan 16, 2011)

Mike128 said:


> This is a brand new machine.
> I did an experiment on my last mow - I took off the mulching blades, and put the bagging/side disharge blades that came with the mower back on. I left the mulching cover on and mowed the lawn. It actually did a much better job of cutting, and left far less visible clippings and almost no clumps. I thought this was kind of funny - the bagging blade did way better than the mulching blade for mulching. Anyone have any similar experience? The mulching blades are sharp and look good, but just do a horrible job with my lawn.


How about an update? What was/is the problem?:tractorsm


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## dangeroustoys56 (Jul 26, 2010)

You can buy aftermarket univesal baggers, or lawn sweepers - actually its best to leave the clippings on the yard ( dispersed) - the easiest way to spread the cut grass around : use a bungee cord and lift the discharge chute - ive done that for years . And doesnt cost anything.....


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## Brother-Al (Jul 22, 2011)

That's partially true up here, but it depends on where you are I guess.... 
Up here in New England, that doesn't work too well in the Spring/Summer or in the Late Fall because of the heavier rain patterns we get during those periods. most of the river plains and valleys of the Northeast are heavy in clay content and weekly mowing/mulching often holds in too much moisture. A lot of folks that mulch too much, often see mold issues and mushroom problems develop, even during the hottest parts of the year. Personally, I do 1 mulching for every 4 mows.
The particular area in which I live has a high sand content, so moisture buildup isnt too much of an issue for me per se, but if I much more than 2x a month, I have found that I still end up with mold/mushroom issues. Since I've reduced my mulching to 1x a month, my issues have gone away... now if only I could find a magic bullet for the damn crab grass.


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## dangeroustoys56 (Jul 26, 2010)

Im down in Florida - its sandy soil here too - ive noticed a few wild shrooms in the front yard , but then again its rainy season here......

I like the fact that i dont have to clean the decks underneath - sand sandblasts em clean.


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