muzician21 wrote:
Have an old 21" Snapper pusher. For the first time in several years
I've decided to start bagging the grass instead of mulching it.
Problem is, I'm now finding that the grass clogs the chute in short
order. Very little actually makes it into the bag. The last time I
bagged the grass this wasn't a problem.

I tried cleaning the bag thinking maybe a lack of air flow was somehow
an issue - gave it a good scrubbing in the tub with lots of detergent.
Sharpened the blade. I found the bottom lip of the chute was splitting
so I formed some sheet aluminum to fit over the lip and pop-riveted it
in place to give the grass a smooth entry point. None of this has
helped.

Why would this now be an issue when it hasn't been in the past? Same
mower, same blade.

If the machine is the same, three factors besides moisture can cause
clogging:
The amount of grass you are cutting.
The stickiness of the stuff you're cutting.
The amount of air the mower is sucking.

Raising the cutting height can help a lot. It lets the machine suck
more air while reducing the amount of vegetation being cut.

Cutting more frequently will reduce clogging.

A habit of cutting too low in summer can change a lawn so that clogging
becomes a problem. After low cutting, the sun heats the soil more, and
that can allow weedy hot-weather grasses to take over. Cutting at 3-5"
can keep the soil cool enough for fescue to thrive. Fescue cuts nicely
in my experience.

Cutting higher may improve a problem lawn so that it becomes easier to
mow each year. A lawn that once caused clogging dry may improve so that
it cuts without trouble wet or dry.