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capt bob · #1 08-15-2012, 08:20 AM

Anyone have one of these ?

I am interested in adding a Mulching kit 60 inch deck , curious
about mulch kit performance , I just bought this mower recently.

capt bob · #2 08-15-2012, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by capt bob

Anyone have one of these ?

I am interested in adding a Mulching kit 60 inch deck , curious
about mulch kit performance , I just bought this mower recently.

I am also looking for opionon 's , likes - dislikes on this mower , I purchased it second had but it only had 34 hours on it (long story) , I will putting up my 52 Ex Mark 28 Kaw. 500 hours up for sale soon , so far the JD is a worthy replacement , just need to get the mulch thing going for my Residental
Accounts , I made a Plate out of 10 Ga steel and added mulching blades
But still feel I need the kit , I have some blow out on dryer yards above
3.0-3.5 That I never had on my Ex with chambered Mulch kit.

olmod · #3 08-15-2012, 10:34 AM

I have used the mulching kits on exmarks and Deere so I can give you what I know. They both perform very well. I found that with the exmark kit which you have it does a good job but clumps when you get into heavy or wet conditions. The cut is as good with the kit as it is side discharging. Now the Deere does a amazing job as well. The difference is when you get in those heavy and wet conditions the Deere loses some of it's cut quality but hardly ever leaves a clump. Saying that the cut quality isn't that much worse and some people would probably not notice any difference but I am a perfectionist. The Deere kit is also not built as heavy duty as exmarks either but I never had any issues with them. I believe you will be very happy with a kit on that mower. I was going to buy a 997 when I bought my Kubota ZD331 but the Kubota is a lot smaller machine and for the properties I maintain I was afraid the extra size of the Deere would cause issues. They are nice machines and I haven't heard much bad about them. Any other questions I would be happy to answer.
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capt bob · #4 08-15-2012, 05:06 PM

Thanks , I am gonna have to buy the Kit ASAP for the Deere if the yard is sandy or thin it's a NASCAR yard left turns only a right turn will give a nice dirt blast , I think the shape of the blades and the rounded edges and corners of the deck create a lot of lift causing the blow out Hopefully the Kit will cure all that , if it does as well as the Ex I will be totally Happy, wonder how the Gators will do with that deck too. I love the shaft drive deck that is just Sic.
I looked up that Kubota that's a nice machine , I am a believer in the Diesel power plant
Way quiter and gobs of Torque/power . I plan on making a little rear bumper system I can just see my Son spinning around and crunching the Fiberglass cowl on a tree or house
Although it does not stick out much further than my Ex I would hate to damage it.

Ridin' Green · #5 08-15-2012, 05:29 PM

I haven't run the 997 with a mulch kit, but I have owned a bunch of other 60" Deere mulch kits, and they work great. They come with the OEM wavy mulch blades. They have enough lift to cut cleanly, but will help eliminate the blowout. There are a bunch of us here with 900 series Z's that have the MOD decks, and we use the wavy blades with them. I can say for sure they cut way down on blowout, and do a great job of mulching grass and leaves.

Don't use gators with the mulch kit, they aren't designed for that. The Oregon rep here has stated that many times now.

The Deere kits I have owned, or still own, are pretty heavy duty, so if the Exmark kit is even heavier, it is overbuilt for what it is designed to do.

jrs.landscaping · #6 08-15-2012, 05:30 PM

We have two, one with a bagger and one SD. We looked into a mulch kit so I too would like to hear from people that have them. As for the machine I feel it is a great machine, we looked at others before we made our choice. 1700 hours later and we are not dissappointed. We mow some nasty properties with these mowers and only have around 14 days of downtime in 6 years between the two of them.

capt bob · #7 08-15-2012, 06:25 PM

Thanks Guys that is what I wanted to hear , Will order the Kit in the next couple of days
my not so local dealer is 50 + round trip away and would have to order the kit so i will look online I suppose.

Any good stocking dealers for ordering JD parts online maybe some less than MSRP or at least fair shipping prices Prob east coast as I am in Florida.

Appreciate the help guys I do think I will be really liking this "Tank" of a Mower.