Grass Catcher Issue

[Andy Estes]

My Cub Cadet as a double bag grass catcher. The tube that goes from the mower deck to the bag attachment keeps getting clogged by grass. It does matter if it is wet or dry grass it plugs after one or two runs up and back on my lawn. I’ve cleaned it out checked for obstructions but can’t get it to keep from plugging up.

 

[mfrade]

I gave an potential answer on your other thread. Have a look.

 

[dschwandt]

You gotta go slow, run WOT and not take too big a bite.
I have been fighting that issue with mile like forever.
And found out it works better to pick up the grass after mowing when it has dried some.
Short answer is.....THEY SUCK...or more to the point, not very well.
Bough my GTX2154 brand new back in '12 when I retired thinking it would be the be all and end all for my lawn and garden duties. What a rude awakening that turned out to be and last year it developed PTO & wiring issues and has been sitting idle since. Parts NLA!

The pickup chute, where it hooks onto the deck, needs to stay on the ground and not ride up when encountering uneven ground on that side. That's when the plugging starts. If one hade a golf green level yard, it would probably work a lot better.
I need to replace that section on mine as it is all torn up worn through in several places, but at the $164 price tag, I'll probably just continue to put up with it and/or not use the damn thing at all anymore and go back to a pull behind sweeper which is a PITA as well when it comes to dumping.

 

[jkoenig]

Have you tried spraying the inside with Pam/silicone/Slip Plate/bedliner? I still remember when Dad learned that Pam cooking spray might help release snow from our shovels. He had them all hanging and gave them coat after coat...it helped for maybe five or six throws.

 

[-CӞ]

My Cub Cadet as a double bag grass catcher. The tube that goes from the mower deck to the bag attachment keeps getting clogged by grass. It does matter if it is wet or dry grass it plugs after one or two runs up and back on my lawn. I’ve cleaned it out checked for obstructions but can’t get it to keep from plugging up.

the more damp the grass, the more “sticky” it’ll be and tend to clump & plug.
the bigger the bite, the more its gotta chew (more material mass).

i doubt a couple prunes or prune juice will help keep it more regular, despite what they say.

 

[gary noblit]

Almost all of the baggers are highly overrated for the reasons stated.Simplicity made an inline blower that runs off a deck pulley,that works quite well,however adaptability to another deck would be challenging...The best answer is a pull behind with vaccum blower but even they don't like any moisture.I've used the pull type with great success on dry leaves but dry is the key...A couple small twigs crosswise will cause any type to plug..

 

[Oak]

I've not heard anything good about that type of bagger. I run a model 345 fan assisted bagger on my 3000 series but Cub also made a model 293 for the cyclops machines. These things are awesome and just about impossible to clog and are so much better than a pull behind sweeper. My housing is getting worn out and was causing issues wearing the impeller down as seen here.

Two years ago I decided to make a copy of the impeller out of 1/4" steel. I cut and weighed each piece to try and keep it as much in balance as possible. Yes, I know all about balancing equipment that I should have but don't. As a long time HVAC tech we use to balance fans using the old IRD Mechanalysis equipment so I know all about that.

I've been using this impeller with no issues(probably over 100 hours) and now I can send just about anything through it. The original impeller was spinning at 4800 RPM but I did slow this one down to around 2800 without any noticeable difference.

 

[gary noblit]

Oak ,that looks very sturdy.I didn't know cub made an inline....Is it belt driven from the deck pulley? I have 1 that mounts on the rear of a 1650 (others?) driven by 5 hp but capacity is small...How about a pic of the drive setup??

 

[Oak]

Yes, it is driven from the right side spindle. There is a drive pulley that screws on top of the spindle. Works great but my mower is a 21HP Kawi and it does take some power to run it.

 

[-CӞ]

Yes, it is driven from the right side spindle. There is a drive pulley that screws on top of the spindle. Works great but my mower is a 21HP Kawi and it does take some power to run it.
View attachment 151342

that is a BEAST of a bagging chute!
thanks for sharing the pic.

 

[gary noblit]

Oak, thanks for the pic..basically the same as a simp.

 

[gary noblit]

The one on the simp. mounts horizontal in line with discharge...yours looks much heavier duty...

 

[Doug Rusk]

Dry grass and mow often are 2 things that help a lot. Also any clover is a lot stickyer and juice sticks to pipe worse. Washing pipe right after finishing helps some too.

Got a 3 bag unit off a newer mower but it fits the mounts on the 2185. It took a bigger Dia pipe but it's not long enough for my set up so I use the old smaller pipe. There is a gap around it at the bagger hood but doesn't seem to hurt. In fact this set up rarely plugs and seems to work better than the 2 bag that is more correct for my 2185. I also mowed more often this year than I have been.