Has anyone made a homemade bagging system for the rider? I was thinking about that and trying to rig up something. I have sdeen lawn care people with baggers that look to be made from a plastic garbage can. Any ideas and or pics would be appreciated.
Spud
this works just fine pickup up grass clippings, leaves,sticks etc
" ground driven sweeper " That is likely a more elegant solution, I've had riders with baggers; and they were bulky & hampered maneuverability + didn't really work that well. I too bought a sweeper and just make a second pass rather than mow with it. The remains of the sweeper make a nice bucket hanger for other chores though.
I bought a bagger for my Craftsman mower. It works well and was worth the money after changing the all-purpose blades to high lift blades. For leaf patrol I tow a utility trailer with home made cap behind the mower and blow the grass/leaves into it. I made the cap from scrap plywood and some expanded metal.
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Eric in North TX wrote: ...
Have (and have had) several...while somewhat true about the added size (pretty much inevitable to obtain the functionality), they have and do work quite satisfactorily.
The particular versions are JD rear mount. The only one I have any complaint about hasn't anything to do w/ how well it functions but simply an ease of use issue--they went to a plastic pipe insert into a plastic fitting at the bagger end. When it gets dirt built up, the tolerances are such it's a pita to get in/out -- that's not needed often, but does make the occasional cleanout of a plugup more of a chore than necessary. I modified one by shortening the insert end significantly and added a soft gasket (piece of inner tube) pop-riveted around the opening. The older style used a square opening w/ a rubber seal arrangement that is much handier although not quite as air-tight.
Home brew would be doable but a working version would be a fair amount of effort; not sure worth the effort (altho they are pretty pricey for no more than they actually are, altho again, worth it for the functionality imo). Particularly leaf season if in area that doesn't stay perpetually wet is much handier, especially if have large dumpster or other place to simply empty into.
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It really depends on the lawn, I have lots of trees, and you can get pretty close if you bob and weave with your torso, and mulch out from the trunk a couple feet, but the discharge side is just useless with a bagger, + even with the giant setup with 3 bags, it seems to be a constant chore to empty them. Still we used them for years, mainly to gain compost and for weed control.
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Well, you simply have to use them as intended. You go 'round obstacles from the non-discharge side, obviously.
Two rounds clockwise clears the bagger discharge/chute from obstructions such as fences/hedges/house, whatever; then lay out the lands as appropriate for counter-clockwise mowing.
Excess stuff in the way of mowing needs fixing, anyway, bagger or not.
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Yep, I have a trailer bagger garbage can type following a JD 48 inch cut GT262 and it is all in the mowing strategy. All precision cuts are done on the left side, no problem. Tomes
Get a garden trailer for your rider and make a frame and cover it with mesh or chicken wire. Then hook a big pipe from the mower deck to the trailer. You may have to twist the last mower blade to give it more cfm's. You may also be able to buy a used one made for your tractor on craig's list or something.
do you have pics and where did you get the pipe for the deckm abd how did you attach to deck?
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Slight misunderstanding here. I did not make this, I bought it. Look up TracVac
See, I thought about making one then too. I had my visions of using a boxed trailer with the high lift blades whisking the stuff up into the box and then dumping it all at once into the pile. The trouble is that when I really researched it out I discovered that there was not enough power to get the stuff all the way to the top of the box - it is a long way against gravity for stuff that is heavy, unless one goes at the pace of the amoeba. So I would need an interim impeller to give it the extra boost. That's gotta be mounted and aligned somehow. Then I need the extra hoses for all that length. If one does not use steel reinforced hose it will not last long at all and will rip exactly when one does not need it to. Even with the good hose that comes with the bought unit it rips in between the ribbing and I duct tape it up. Then there is the big box. If it is too big it becomes unmanageable. That garbage can turns out to be a reasonable size that I can handle, yet holds a significant amount.
So I ended up just buying one that is well thought out and robust through the JD dealer.
If you do make this (and I wish you well for it), The JD or Simplicity dealers have the hose, but it is expensive (I believe over 10 bucks a foot?). They can sell you the adapter that fits your deck exactly and for safety I at least recommend that as there are a lot of forces involved at that point and you do not want it to blow off and have the metal flying around. My US$0.02, Tomes
The groves and orchards are more important than the mowing ease, so the layout will not be changed to suit mowing patterns. When you are mowing 50' X100' it is a lot different than mowing acres of trees.
It's both...mowing >20A here around the farm outbuildings, lots, etc., but certainly don't bag outside the yard around the house itself (but it's a couple A or so)...
But if it's actual production orchard, layout w/ maintenance in mind originally would have been the trick.
"dpb" ...
Yep the trees will not move. Still, mow in a pattern so that the cutting in is on the left side. No problem. Tomes
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