Accelerator bagger with extension

[promower]

Well I bit the bullet and bought the 6 cubic feet accelerator bagger with extension attachment. I would like to get some feedback from others who are using the same set up and how ell it works.

 

[tiedeman]

I personally have never used the extension before, just the regular bagger part. But I have talked with others that have said they didn't care for it

 

[Runner]

They say that by the time it's getting full, you are leaving bad streaks in the lawn from the mower cutting too low on the right side. If you try to counter it, then it's cutting crooked when the hopper is empty.

 

[Thirdpete]

I've seen people attach burlap bags to the back of their regular grass catchers and drag them around, saves you twenty pounds from the regular catcher extension.

 

[promower]

Now that you mention that runner that sounds like it could be a problem. I dont bag any lawns, bagger will be for leaf cleanups only. As long as the leaves are somewhat dry, there should be less added weight then a bag full of grass. I will post my thoughts on how well it works when I get it and try it out first hand.

 

[tiedeman]

They say that by the time it's getting full, you are leaving bad streaks in the lawn from the mower cutting too low on the right side. If you try to counter it, then it's cutting crooked when the hopper is empty.

That is the problem I had just with the main bagger unit

 

[PeterA]

Tiedeman,
If you are having trouble with deck tilt there are a couple of things you can do to minimize it. One clever way is to weld or attach a nut to the left deck support (I am assuming you have a floating deck mower), with a long screw that touches the top of the mower deck. This prevents the opposite side of the deck from rising if the catcher weight pulls it down on the other side. When you are not using the catcher, just back out the screw a bit for a full float on the deck. Deck tilt seems to be quite variable between users. We have some people who use our jumbo on 36 inch mowers and have no problem at all. I think it has to do with deck weight as well as how the geometry of the deck suspension is worked out. If the suspension arms are towards the edge, it is harder to tilt up the other side. If the deck arms are more towards the center, it tilts more. At any rate, if anyone has a problem with our catchers, we will do our best to help out with a solution.

 

[Runner]

here's an idea...How about some sort of real lightweight caster for the bottom. It can be adjusted so it glides along JUST above the ground (touch alot of times) and only allows a slight bit of dip. This could bare a great amount of the weight as the catcher gets full....just a thought

 

[tiedeman]

Tiedeman,
If you are having trouble with deck tilt there are a couple of things you can do to minimize it. One clever way is to weld or attach a nut to the left deck support (I am assuming you have a floating deck mower), with a long screw that touches the top of the mower deck. This prevents the opposite side of the deck from rising if the catcher weight pulls it down on the other side. When you are not using the catcher, just back out the screw a bit for a full float on the deck. Deck tilt seems to be quite variable between users. We have some people who use our jumbo on 36 inch mowers and have no problem at all. I think it has to do with deck weight as well as how the geometry of the deck suspension is worked out. If the suspension arms are towards the edge, it is harder to tilt up the other side. If the deck arms are more towards the center, it tilts more. At any rate, if anyone has a problem with our catchers, we will do our best to help out with a solution.

I appreciate the info. Don't get me wrong, its a great bagger unit, it just seems that when it does get heavy it leans and pulls to that side. I do appreciate that you would take the time as well to help solve the problem. THanks again.

 

[PeterA]

Thanks for the nice remarks. I've thought about the caster idea a bit, but I am worried that the catcher would tend to come off the mower when the caster hit the ground. I might try a couple of prototypes next year with this and see how it works. We could also supply a small folding arm that could support the catcher at the rear and would bolt to the main mower chassis. The simplest solution seems to be the welded nut with long bolt.