On 10/05/2019 09:09, Harry Bloomfield wrote:
John Rumm pretended :
I have the same mower - mine is probably the 2007 model.

The clutch still works ok on mine, but its definitely a progressive
action. You can engage the blade gradually... usually wise if you are
not sure if the deck is clogged or not - saves stalling it.

Yes, it is very progressive and a clogged deck I find is a very regular
problem. It is never obvious that the deck is clogged up jamming the
blade rotation, which probably explains my clutch issues.

Because it clogged so often, I stopped using the grass collector on it
to make the deck and duct a bit easier to clear out. I'm thinking to
remove the duct entirely, to knock up a bit tin to convert it to side
discharge duct. If I just remove the rear discharge duct, it blows the
cuttings onto the pulleys and drive belts, causing them to slip.

The standard deck is not really configured to allow cut'n'drop, since it
blows all the clippings out of the central top opening. So you can cut
and collect, or block the outlet altogether with the mulch plug, and
then cut and mulch. I have tried defeating the grass collector
interlock, and just allowing the rear duct to discharge into free space
- but it has quite significant airflow, and you get plume of blown grass
that tails probably more than 10' behind you! Perhaps adding a baffle
there to redirect the stream at the ground would work.

(A side discharge chute could work - although because of the counter
rotating blades, the grass is being swept forward at the outsides of the
deck)

To minimise clogging on damp grass, I adopt a number of procedures... I
don't take off much at a time - start on the longest grass setting. If
worse comes to worst, then mowing twice without clogs is less hassle
than having to unblock it every 5 mins). Don't allow the collection bin
to get too full. Keep the glass collector interlock disabled, and have a
5 or 6' long bit of scrap timber handy. When it clogs I then take off
the collection bin, engage the brake lock, hold the seat down by hand
and engage the blades. Now with one hand holding the seat to keep that
interlock engaged, you can poke the duct with the wood. A quick stir
will normally loosen it enough to then blow out. (perhaps one of these
days I will wire up an interlock disable switch to knock out the grass
box, and seat interlocks)

I have toyed with the idea of taking an angle grinder to the back of the
deck and cutting away the back wall, so that it can be reattached with a
hinge mechanism, and some kind of two position lock. That way you could
close it and lock it shut to get the current mode of operation, fit the
mulch plug, then lock the flap open to allow grass to fall out of the back.

Armed with a tow behind sweeper, that would be quite handy for the
tricky first cut of the year when everything is a bit damp.

(once its got to this time of the year, clogging is pretty rare I find)

--
Cheers,

John.

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