After further consideration, I think I might be wrong about it being the original blade. Today I got a "universal" 21" blade from Home Depot but the center hole isn't wide enough. Think it would make any difference if I reamed out the hole as opposed to finding a Snapper blade that fits? Anything special about Snapper blades?
You wont ream it evenly, it will make it unbalanced and will have to be balanced, but I bet it has a mulch blade, the best. CR has mulch ratings you can compare, I bet your machine rates well so its your conditions making it clog.
I never pick up now, mostly out of need. Big lawns are tough, and sometimes it gets too long. That would really clog things. I don't even have a mulching blade, or blades I should say. Feed the earth worms. Most Chem lawn yards don't have earth worms.
In the old neighborhood, nobody had earth worms afer all the chemical treatments mostly in the 70's and 80's. I actually started to replant earth worms in the old yard after the parents stopped using Chem Lawn for many years.
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.
A universal blade will not work on a Snapper. Go to a lawnmower shop and ask for a snapper bagging blade. It's has a higher lift than the std Snapper blade. Take your current blade (the one that fits) with you to compare length and center hole.
even though this technique takes a bit more effort the end result is a cleaner better looking job...
I've got two Snapper self propelled run behind mowers and the only problem I've ever encountered with them is they don't bag wet or damp grass very well.
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