Disappointed with walker leaf collection

[Greenery]

Originally Posted by dirtandhoops

Your problem has me puzzled because my Walkers have great vaccuum power (although my Walkers are 48" deck) I have newer mowers with the bigger blowers now but I never had a problem a dozen years ago with smaller blowers. For the 50% leaf coverage you are talking about, I typically leave my deck in its normal position. A little heavier coverage and I put the front up a notch.

Ya it has me puzzled also it's like it just doesn't have enough lift to suck the leaves out of the grass if I drop the cutting height way down it does a little better but then i'm scalping everywhere and it's just too short.

[$wheelinjimbo]

Another thing that you could check that I'm sure you probably already have is your screen in your hopper. Make sure it's clean. I figured I'd throw that out there.

[Greenery]

Originally Posted by $wheelinjimbo

Another thing that you could check that I'm sure you probably already have is your screen in your hopper. Make sure it's clean. I figured I'd throw that out there.

Yup forgot to mention that it isn't plogged whatsoever.

[Greenery]

Wheelinjimbo, before you replaced the blower on yours what were the issues you were experiencing? Were they similar to mine?

[$wheelinjimbo]

Lose of suction during the season. So I brought it to my dealer. He told me I needed a new impeller but your better off replacing the hole blower because the blower housing would be next to wear out. So I tried to get threw the rest of the season but a month later the housing had a hole threw it. They told me it usually last 1000 -1500 hrs depending on conditions

[Mowbizz]

I don't own one but I see many Walkers all season long and they all seem to do a great vacuuming job on cleanups...Grass looks like a carpet afterwards.
My Exmark does a great job as well but on a lush growth of lawn there definitely is more suction than on harder lawns or surfaces void of thick grass.
I hope you figure out the problem...

[XLS]

i know this is nuts but lift your deck and look over your discharge chute alot of times depending on the hours on the deck it will rub thin and mess up ,get uneven and if it gets an airleak( hole) it will not vaccum .
also if the blower is wore out most of the time it will lock up from the grass after you clean it out it will start to throw your debris out and it will hang the housing screaching the belt , i have seen it do it alot on a bad blower . hope this helps

[XLS]

also remember your blades need to hit the debris to clean it up because it is your blades ,not the vaccum that moves the debris , hit it and it gets throwed to the tube.
doubt this just remove the blades and then run through the leaves and see how muck the vaccum actually bags.

[lawnproslawncare]

I'll make a checklist for you to go through. This is all stuff I've had issues and/or all that I can think of.

I'm sure some or all of this is a repeat.

- Check blades (Make sure they are not on the wrong direction
- Check Blade Timing
- Check all chutes for wear and make sure the chute going into the blower from the deck is aligned with the blower intake. (look carefully, My spring broke and it was just sliding along the ground when I lowered the deck from full tilt.
- What height are you at? The decks perform beautiful at 2.5 or less (Personally I don't think any lawn should be at less than 2.5" if you live where tree's drop leaves).
- Check the Screen in the hopper.
- Check for excessive blower wear or holes in housing.
- Is the deck level all the way around? Consult your manual for leveling

[lawnproslawncare]

Also, I think XLS will confirm this.

Is this deck leaving more debris in the middle of the cut? Does it vacuum well on the edges??

This is a sure sign your either travelling too fast or something is prohibiting proper suction ability of the unit.