# Discharge Chute keeps clogging and clogging and clogging...



## guest

Last season.. I had a problem with grass clippings building up on my 50" deck (prestige)
I wrote to simple and they said, yes, its a common problem... we will send you out a baffle kit. 
Since installing the baffle kit, the chute gets clogged all the time and it does a pretty poor job of cutting... well it cuts fine, but leaves clumps all over the lawn.. 

See pic below.. 

<img src=http://www.tractorforum.com/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=47903>

now since last year, i have done 3 things... 
1. Added the baffle kit
2. Changed to AG tires
I mention the AG tires because technically, i think they are a little shorter than my turfs, so i am wondering if that may be causing the problem.
3. switched to gator blades. 



I called the dealer and he indicated that the baffle kit tends to lower air flow and that may cause the discharge problem.. 
I inquired about just swithing to a mulching deck.. He did not recommend it, as he said you have to cut the lawn more often and it cant be wet.. ect ect..... 



The 1st thing i wish to try is removing the baffle kit.. 

if its between grass clipping buildup and a crappy looking lawn.. ill stick with the grass clippings. 

I also want to check the deck heights to see if they are correct. 



Anybody out there with a mulching deck? you happy with it? 
anybody add a bafle kit? did it cause any problems? 


FYI: in this pic the grass was very high but it clogs at all grass lengths.. 


Any thoughts or suggestions would be welcome..


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## DeereBob

SJ,
I have a JD 48C deck with a mulching kit. I started to notice it wasn't cutting that well so I thought my blades needed sharpening. Took the deck off and grass was caked pretty heavily above each of the three blades. I first scraped the big chunks off and then power washed the entire underside and put on the newly sharpened blades. Finally I lubed all the spindles and guide wheels. The other thing I did which appears to have made a difference, as hard as it is to believe, is lowered the cutting height from 3" to 2.75". My lawn now looks better than it ever has since I got the tractor 2 years ago. I have no discharge chute, only the mulch plug which will not work with gators. I believe the improvement may have came from a combination of cleaning the caked grass and lowering the cutting height but I don't know for sure. When I use the Power Flow Bagger in the Fall and Spring for leaves, I use the gators and a lip kit on the deck with no chute clogging problems even when the grass is more moist.

I usually take my deck off once every six weeks or so to sharpen the blades and lube everything. This was one of the few times when there was a really thick build up of grass on the underside. Usually I just scape of the big pieces and don't need to power wash it.


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## viper8u2

Whoooooooaaa John,

I never had that problem like that with my baffle kit. How long is the grass you are cutting?

Even when I was cutting about 4" off in some areas it wasnt like that. Since then, I now have the mulching kit. I love it, it chops up the the grass blades to about 1/4" and disperses them to the lawn. I can tell that it circulates them in there for a while, if you do a tight turn, or stop and back up, it will leave a small clump which I basically runover in the next pass. All in all, not bad at all.

<img src=http://www.trailtamer.com/letsrace/landscapeweb/july-2004/lawn1.jpg>

<img src=http://www.trailtamer.com/letsrace/landscapeweb/july-2004/lawn2.jpg>

These pictures were taken last week.

I do cut about every 3-4 days and usually cut about 1.5" off.

Hope it helps,

Mike


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## viper8u2

forgot to mention, 

I do have the same tractor as John, Prestige with 50" deck.

Also, when I said I usually cut 1.5" off at a time, that is the minimum, it usually varies between 1.5"-2.5" in my yard that I am cutting off. I cut it at 4" height.

FWIW,

Mike


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## guest

Thanks DB: I should have clarified..

I regularly pull the deck off and clean it down to bare metal.. before this last cutting.. it was cleaned & greased.. 

I also have put WD40 on the deck and most recently put about 4 coats of mo-deck onto the deck & chute.... 

I never thought about trying to alter the height... id think lowering the height would only cause more grass to be cut.. but ill give anything a try...


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## guest

viper, 
this time out the grass was high but usually i cut it every 4-5 days... and it still clogs...


did you go from a side discharge w/ a baffle kit then to a mulching kit? 

the dealer really swayed me from getting a mulching kit.. do you need to cut 2 times a week? how does the muclhing kit do on high grass?? 


if you had just the baffle kit and saw no problems.. that would lead me to believe my AG tires messed up the deck level or height!! 


thanks
sj


ps. Viper: your lawn looks great... did you enter the simplicity beautiful lawn contest? if nothing else.. you'll get a hat!


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## Live Oak

Is the grass thoroughly dry when you cut it? If it is wet or juicey grass; it will clump up.


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## guest

chief pretty dry.. i always wait till evening on a dry hot day prior to cutting...


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## Live Oak

Usually one of three things that cause this:

grass is too tall (try to cut no more than 1/4 to 1/3 the height of grass)

grass is too wet or juicey

mower has an excess amount of built up grass cutting stuck to the under side of the mower blocking the ejection pattern of the grass clippings.


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## DeereBob

> _Originally posted by simple_john _
> *...I never thought about trying to alter the height... id think lowering the height would only cause more grass to be cut.. but ill give anything a try... *


SJ,
It surprised me too but perhaps the slightly lower cutting height plus removing the caked grass created a little more air space above the blades to improve the mulching action. The only reason I mentioned the cutting height is I have had it set at 3" every since I got the new tractor 2 years ago. I lowered it slightly to see if the lawn would look better between weekly mowings. It may be that every deck has an optimal mulching cutting height based upon it's design and I just happened to stumble into mine. An unintuitive result which is why I posted it.


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## viper8u2

SJ,

did you go from a side discharge w/ a baffle kit then to a mulching kit? 

Yes, I dont know if you remember, I posted the pictures of what the mulching kit consisted of... http://www.tractorforum.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3318

the dealer really swayed me from getting a mulching kit.. do you need to cut 2 times a week? how does the muclhing kit do on high grass?? 

I do try to cut twice a week. It really ends up being about every 4 days. Last week it was really tall, I ended up cutting about 5" off at one time. I did have clump spots and ended up cutting the other direction to go over it a second time.

I did enter the checker board picture you see last week, dont see anything up on their website.

Mike


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## jodyand

sj your belt isnt slipping that maybe your problem your blades might not be turning as fast as they should. Just a thought how old is it :question:


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## guest

thanks mike, 
I remembered the pic of the mulching deck.. did not remember if it had a baffle on it initially....

the dealer said it was fairly expensive for the mulching kit.... (he indicatedd it would be around 200$) do you recall what you paid? does that sound right? 

i still may go with a mulch kit... just have to cut a little more often..


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## guest

jody: belts only a few years old.. it does not sound or appear to be slipping... just gets too much grass under the deck when the chute clogs... 
sj


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## Stewart

The only thing I have is good sharp blades, clean deck and don't let it get too long.........More tractor time!!!!:tractorsm


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## viper8u2

SJ,

Mine was $135. I think $200 is a little steep.

Mike


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## Chris

Viper --- WOW! What a yard.......fabulous looking place you have there and really great pride in that yard...really shines! 

Andy


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## viper8u2

Thanks Andy,

End of august will be 1 year from when I seeded, plain old fashion seeding here.

Early spring I was going to rip it all up and start over because it was 50% weeds. I decided to try weed-b-gon first. That and fertilizer did the trick. Now its so thick, you cant even tell that I seeded.

We do spend alot of time in the yard, too much sometimes but it keeps me out of trouble.

Here is a close up of one of the many beds we have

<img src=http://www.trailtamer.com/letsrace/landscapeweb/july-2004/bed1.jpg>

And a dark one from the shade of the front

<img src=http://www.trailtamer.com/letsrace/landscapeweb/july-2004/yard1.jpg>

We still got alot to do.

Thanks for the kind comments,

Mike


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## Stewart

Man Viper you and SJ and your yard an tractor pics!!!! Just keep rubbing it in!!!!!!!

Just kidding that is one nice looking yard!!!


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## guest

mike you posted before about the rocks getting stained with your iron water... did you ever get that resolved?


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## ducati996

> _Originally posted by simple_john _
> *Last season.. I had a problem with grass clippings building up on my 50" deck (prestige)
> I wrote to simple and they said, yes, its a common problem... we will send you out a baffle kit.
> Since installing the baffle kit, the chute gets clogged all the time and it does a pretty poor job of cutting... well it cuts fine, but leaves clumps all over the lawn..
> 
> See pic below..
> 
> now since last year, i have done 3 things...
> 1. Added the baffle kit
> 2. Changed to AG tires
> I mention the AG tires because technically, i think they are a little shorter than my turfs, so i am wondering if that may be causing the problem.
> 3. switched to gator blades.
> 
> ============================================
> SimpJ,
> 
> I'm inclined to think its the gator blades, so hopefully the original blades are still around and in good shape, I would try them to see if improvement. Gators seem to interfere with the vaccum of the deck with some brands...I find most stock setups of new machine's will cut the best they way they are - I would tend to keep it that way
> 
> And yes tire height has an effect as well, requiring a adjustment for leveling...I had a simliar when last year I used Turf masters, and this year I used Super lugs -about an 1" in height difference
> and made the deck cut poorly until adjusted
> 
> 
> Ducati*


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## viper8u2

Thanks Stewart  

SJ, Yeah I still have the problem, the only thing I found that would take care of it is a 5 tank system and it was going to run about $15k.

I think I will live with the discolored rocks from now. I may try to clean them and put a sealer on it to see if that helps, I heard in advertisement on the radio or something for them.

We'll see what happens,

Mike


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## Chipmaker

Something keeps telling me it has to be the chrome hubcaps! Dunno why, but I would pop them off and see if it makes a difference!:furious: 

Really I would check all thats been mentioned, and perhaps try using your original stock blades. My friend bought a set of Gators for the mower deck we made for his ATV, and he uised them about 2 or 3 times and saiys the original blades worked a lot better. Checking with a tach the gators actually slowed his speed down over 600 rpm........as compared to the regular blades. The gators were fine if he cut his grass frequently but if it got just a tad bit too long the gators did not work as well as the originals did. Even if the AG's are lower in profile readjusting the deck to make up for it should make up for any differences. For some reason I can't see how a baffle kit can reduce air flow, as the lips and baffles on the JD decks increase suction and lift, and reduce areas under the deck from buildup.......


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## guest

*not the deck height...*

well i adjusted the deck height and had the exact same problem.. im gonna pull the deck clean it and put back my original blades and see if that helps... 
granted the grass is extra thick this time of year but i did the exact same thing last year and never had a problem..


Viper was it a big deal to install the mulch kit? it looks fairly straight forward...


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## viper8u2

Hello SJ,

I had it installed in about 20 minutes or less. The square cutouts on my deck were already punched out.

Again, I used the same original blades, the mulch kit comes with blades but I didnt see much difference and I have no problems.

Good Luck,

Mike


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## viper8u2

SJ,

Ever get your cut figured out? I just changed my blades and cleaned my deck tonight. I put the blades that came with my mulch kit on.

This may sound stupid but do you have your blades on the right way? Also, do you have them aligned right? I noticed when I put my first blade on I had it out of alignment with the other 2 and redid it.

Just a thought,

Mike


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## guest

thanks for the info mike.. i ended up bringing my OEM blades to a local guy to have them sharpened (a week ago-still waiting on his ass) 
I was gonna use this little dremel sharpener but it was a little small.. so ill pick up a file but in the interim i wanted to see what a good sharp blade looks like so i would know..


i hope to get them today and clean the deck and try them this weekend some time.. 


what do you mean out of alignment? was the spindle bent? or was the blade not level?


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## viper8u2

by alignment, I think the blades are suppose to have the same position on each spindle, so if one was horizontal, the other 2 are as well. I think it would matter or make a difference for vacuum and lift under the deck.

I never thought of it until I changed my blades for the first time last night.

Mike


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## viper8u2

I also meant, are the blades upside down? The reason I ask is because the sudden drastic change in your cut

Mike


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## guest

no ive got the gators and they are on the correct way.. ill replace them with the eom's.. 


which im sure ill put in upside down... 
:furious:


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## guest

Well just ordered a mulch kit...

The guy who has i dropped my blades off to have sharpen is apparently on vacation... after seeing how well the mulch kit does ive decided to mulch... if i have to cut a little more often... so be it... 

Im sick of cleaning the chute out.. every other pass the damned thing gets clogged... so i give up.. im gonna mulch...

135$ is worth my peice of mind... it pisses me off to see all the damned clumps..

PS: Duc: please buddy.. no corn row comments...


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## ducati996

> _Originally posted by simple_john _
> *Well just ordered a mulch kit...
> 
> 
> PS: Duc: please buddy.. no corn row comments... *



hehehe Ok then no comments!! I have to say your are a patient man - and have also keep us on the edge of our seats since you first posted about this problem on 7/26....
We all think its the gator blades -but as of yet you have not put the originals back on - and its 8/21 ...hehehehe 

Duc


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## guest

> _Originally posted by ducati996 _
> *
> We all think its the gator blades -but as of yet you have not put the originals back on - and its 8/21 ...hehehehe
> 
> Duc *


ok you bastard... Just kidding.. and yes i guess im a bit slow.. 

but on my behalf.. i was laid up for a week + when/my knee was done 7/27.. 

as soon as i was up and around.. i adjusted the deck height and cut the lawn... 

when it was still clumping.. i tried to sharpen my blades with a little dremel sharpener and did not like it.. i did not want to replace my gators with dull blades.. 

so i brought my blades to be sharpened and that was over a week ago.. (last time i go to that local guy) 

and yes im thinking it was the gators too..(even though the dealer thought it was the blowout kit) but its a good excuse to get a mulch kit.. besides.. the chute guard makes it too big to fit into my shed!!

and again on my behalf.. since 7/26 ive run all the electric in my garage, put up lights, painted the front, done shelves, and put most of my free time into it... also it took me some time to break 2 sets of front brakes... 

so cut me some slack will ya duc?? 

:furious:


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## viper8u2

hehehe:spinsmile


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## ducati996

SJ,
I wouldve cut so you some slack if you just left it at your knee being the reason....but then you mention the following:

"and again on my behalf.. since 7/26 ive run all the electric in my garage, put up lights, painted the front, done shelves, and put most of my free time into it... also it took me some time to break 2 sets of front brakes... "

These all require the use of ones knee to bend correct? LOL 

:furious: :furious: :furious:   army 


just kidding with ya SJ -

besides the season isnt too much longer, you might as well use the dull blades through the fall and mulch the leaves 

Duc


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## guest

> _Originally posted by ducati996 _
> *SJ,
> I ... "
> 
> These all require the use of ones knee to bend correct? LOL
> 
> :furious: :furious: :furious:   army
> 
> 
> just kidding with ya SJ -
> 
> *


man your tough... i did the garage electric the past 2 weekends... 

anyway i really want to see if i can get it cutting or discharging by seasons end.. 

Stay tuned duc.. Im sure you will be fascinated to hear what happens next...

:furious: :furious:


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## guest

finally a good cut... 


well i put on the miulch kit yesterday.. what a great improvement..
the lawn was wicked thick and about 6" high.. still it did a much better job.. and for the 1st time in 2 years... no grass clippings on my left boot... 

I dont know if it was my year design or what.. but i would always leave a ton of clippings on my left foot.. even with the baffle it did.. finally now that the mulch kit is on.. no clippings..


I may even wax her up today...


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## DeereBob

SJ,
Glad this saga has a happy ending. Happy mulching, just in time for the fall leaves!mg:


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## AlbanyBob

John:

I hate to say it if that was the first sight I ever saw of a Simplicity cut I would never buy one. But I know better, as I own 2 of them and will not ever own anything else.

I am thinking 2 things maybe, it may sound stupid but are the blades on with the air lift up, so it pulls the grass up and not pushes it down. The second thing is the wetness of the grass.

Your clumping problem may be solved very easy. Try using BLADE NUMBER 1706094 on the discharge side of the deck. It is a high lift blade designed for bagging. It moves a lot of air and will help to get the grass out of the chute.

Hope this helps and I will also post this in the form as well.

Good luck and please let me know
Bob

:tractorsm


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## guest

hey bob welcome.. glad to see a multiple simplicity tractor owner.. 

What kinds do you have? 

FYI: the blades were on properly.. but the grass has always been damp this season.. we had rain off and on all of august... i only cut in ther afternnoon after a good hot sunny day.. but my lawn is always damp.. chalk it up to living on swampland... 


As i PM'd you.. the clumping is resolved.. i guess it was the gators... 

since going to the mulch kit.. its been cutting great..


What is that blade you mentioned? is that one of simples mulching blades? 

again welcome to the forum.. and post a pic of your simple tractors for us when you get a chance..



sj


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