Leaf Collection system

[critter986]

Have a John Deere 345 and I could purchase a MC519 system. Just wondering if anyone knew how the system would do on my tractor?

[critter986]

And how it would perform sucking up the leaves.

[pennwalk]

I don't have your exact rig and I'm not sure exactly what you have but I think that you will find that while it isn't perfect it is so far ahead of raking you won't believe it. On my 425aws with the old 54" deck I get some leaf blow out on the front right side of the deck. The cart makes the rig quite a bit longer so I can't get into all the places I normally can. I really only use it for 2 or 3 weeks in November when the leaves are falling heavily. Other times I use the bagger. I wonder if the newer "c" deck and the new blower cure the blow out problem.

Chris

[beenthere]

I wonder if the newer "c" deck and the new blower cure the blow out problem.

The newer c deck is much worse for blowout. I have the X485 and 54c" deck with Power Flow to use with my MC519 and really was disappointed in the amount of blowout. So I bought a used 425 AWS with 54" deck just to dedicate to the MC519 cart. I get some blowout (nothing like the 54c deck) and plan to add a plate at that front right deck corner to see if it helps. Am still happy with the 425/519 combo for keeping the 6 acres cleaned up. The hyd. ram on the cart to dump is very handy.

Have no experience with the 345 on the MC519 cart, but think the 345 should be able to handle it just fine. Others may have more to offer.

And as pennwalk says, it is far better than raking.

[critter986]

Yeah I have the 54C deck on my 345.

[weldoman]

I use the mc519 cart with my gt275 and it does great with my 2 acres of leaves. A little blowout doesn't bother me, I'm not going for the perfect lawn just trying to get the bulk of them. Beats the **** out of the rake and tarp method!


I think it would work fine with your 345.

[gjsnow]

Blowout! Yikes!
A big pain in the butt.
Here are some suggestions. Learned these the hard way, of course.

1. Check to see if the company makes a blowout baffle for the deck.
2. Make sure the pitch of the deck is such that when the blade is front to back, the front of the blade is about 1/3 inch lower than the back of the blade. There should be an adjustment. If not, it can be accomplished by increasing the air pressure in the rear tires a bit.
3. Get the high lift blades off the machine and go with a low lift blade. The lawn may not look as good because there is less vacuum action but it will still look clean and cut. Gator's work too.
4. Make sure the powerflow is functioning properly. Is the belt tight enough?? Is there enough ventilation in the collection apparatus?
5. Drop the deck while cutting so the front of the deck can create some suction.
6. If all else fails, a homemade baffle in front of the deck on the discharge side may help.

Hope this helps.
GJSnow.

[kansas john deere]

I have the mcs519 cart on my 318 for a few years now and its does a pretty good job at getting all the leaves. It does have some blowout if the leaves are real heavy. But all I do is go back over the spots and it get them the second time around. Also the regular blades work a lot better then medium lift blades.

[JDTank]

I'm trying to figure out a system for leaf collection myself.

People seem to rave about the cyclone rake, however, I see running 2 engines at the same time as highly inefficient. It's double the fuel usage of just running over the lawn with the tractor alone. Not to mention, ANOTHER bloody engine to change oil, plugs, and filters on.

[Gittyup]

At least on the 425 decks, there is an option for a mulching kit. In that kit, there is a rubber piece that seals around the front edges of the deck back to the chute. It really helps with the blowout. Not sure, it might be possible to purchase just that piece. Mine finally wore out (~14years) and I'm going to be looking into buying a new one come spring time. I don't like the mulching kit, but do like that rubber piece.