36” Mower that Quickly Converts from Bagging to Mulching

I have a Toro Proline 36”, fixed deck, gear-driven mower with the 12.5 hp Kawi engine. I also have the Toro mulching kit installed (baffles, plate, and blades). I live in NJ and just use the machine to mow my own lawn (about 1/3 of an acre).

I have really enjoyed using the mower for the past 2 years, but I have become a bit frustrated due to the excessive amount of rain that we received this year. The grass has been so wet that I have not been able to mulch with my Toro. It would just leave so many clumps that it did not make sense to use it. I initially was using gator blades, but then switched to the Toro recommended high-lift blades. Performance improved but not enough. As a result I have been forced to use my 21” bagger (a 7 year old Craftsman with a 6.5 hp Tecumseh) way too frequently while my Toro sat idle.

I never bought a bag for the Toro since I had planned to mulch all the time. I would buy the bag now (about $200), but the problem is that there is no simple or quick way to convert back and forth from bagging to mulching. It takes over an hour to fully unbolt the mulching kit. Any ideas?

Also, does anyone know of a different 36” commercial mower that quickly converts from bagging to mulching? I would be willing to switch to another brand (e.g., Snapper, Bobcat, Gravely, etc.) to obtain this functionality as long as dry mulching performance was similar to the Toro and the price was in the $2500 range. Thanks … David

 

Takes about 15 minutes to put on/take off mulching kit on mine. 36" TTHP eXmark

 

Thanks Elephant Nest. Nice machine. Is that 15 minutes to re-install all the bolts / nuts, the blocking plate, and all the baffles?

My machine must have 12 nut / bolt pairs—some bolts pass through the top of the deck, but many other bolts are underneath the deck in hard to reach places (buried in grass remains). Maybe I could get them off in 15 minutes if I really rushed, but putting it all back together would definitely take longer. The baffle geometry is fairly complicated and forcing it back into place takes some time.

Any thoughts whether bagging would work if I left the baffle in place and just removed the blocking plate?

I was just hoping that some other brands would have devised a more flexible, quick-change design. Toro’s is clearly meant for a dedicated machine.

 

The entire deck pops off in less than 20 seconds. Flip it over and you have access to the baffles, bolts, blades, etc. right in front of you. With air tools, 15 minutes or less.