MMM - Rear or Side Discharge

[Neophyte]

Understanding all the pros and cons of MMM versus RFM (thanks to TBN), I think I have decided to go MMM. However, now I have the choice of rear discharge (RD) or side discharge (SD). I have also read about the pros and cons of this issue (thanks to TBN) and I'm leaning towards the NH 72" RD MMM (I just love those acronyms /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif).

NH seems to be one of the only companies that offers a rear discharge MMM. Why is this?

Anyone out there with a NH RD MMM care to comment about your experience with it? How do you like it and do you wish you would have went with SD?

Also, how long does it take to attach/detach the NH 72" RD MMM from the tractor? Do you need to lift the front wheels off the ground to accomplish this? If so, can you use the loader to lift the wheels or do you need a jack?

Thank You,
Neo

 

[frank_f15]

was not aware of the fact that anyone offered MMM with RD. be interesting to hear the comments if anyone is familiar with them.i do like RD on RFM.

 

[RCannon]

I can't comment on how they work, but I am considering this option when I do buy my tractor in the next few weeks. However I can comment on the lifting of you tractor with the FEL because I asked a salesman the clearance when the deck is lifted to its max. He said if you need higher clearance for cleaning just lift it with your FEL. Maybe somebody who actually has a tractor will comment on this. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[thcri]

I have the 72" side discharge and I am kicking myself in the A$$ because I let my dealer talk me out of the rear discharge. I was told that the rear discharge tends to plug up too much. If I go with it I would have to mow religiously. Well I do mow religiously. But I was told the taller grass that I don't mow so much I would not be able to mow with the rear discharge so I went with the side. Shame on me to not knowing about TBN first.

As far as removal. You can take them off without lifting the tractor unless you have Super-Steer. I have Super-steer and we can not get mine off without lifting the tractor with the loader. It is not a big deal and even if you don't have Super-steer it still is just much easier to take off with the front wheels lifted up some.

murph

 

[Hoeman00]

I've got a 84" RD MMM and it is a fine mowing machine.
Because of dad's accident I don't get to mow often enough and I usually have to cut 4-6" off the grass.
Back in early June the oil cooler line broke at the cooler and I was w/o my mower for 15 days so u can imagine how high my grass was, still mowed right along.
It leaves 3 small windrows behind mower w/ the tall grass but I can still mow at 6mph, slower doesn't change the windrows.
I have mowed in hood high grass and just raise the mower up so it's about 6" off ground, it has the gator blades as standard too.
I think the gator blades are shreading or ripping the grass and it makes it kind if fluffy so it lays in the small windrows instead of mixing into the grass.
In normal mowing u can't even see the clippings.
I've NEVER plugged it up, unlike my old woods RFM, the outlet would plug up really bad in tall grass.
I've said before how I can put the mower on/off in 5 minutes or so w/o a loader.
I use 1' long RR ties and drive front wheels up on them so the mower rolls right out.
W/ the SS I can trim around the many small pines I have planted, 8-11' apart and w/ the MMM I go between them close to one of them then turn wheels sharp and trim close to the other one in one pass.
The combination of SS,hydro, and MMM is GREAT, I won't use anything else now.
I mow around 5-7 acres.
Because of the higher cost of this mower I was debating about going to a TN55 or so and a 12-15' finish mower but am happy w/ what I got.

 

[Inspector507]

I have the 60" 914A RD MMM on my TC18. I have to admit it does clog up with grass real bad if it's the least bit damp from dew. You can tell when it's clogging, the RPM of the tractor starts to lower fast. Stop the tractor, raise the deck and let RPM come back up, then step on the clutch. As the blades come to a stop, all of the grass clippings come flying out from underneath.
I can go hook up the RD RFM and mow the yard with water standing and it never skips a beat.

 

[Neophyte]

It would seem to me that the SD should clog first given that it uses one exit path for all three blades as opposed to the RD, which allows it to freely discharge through rear. There is no single path to clog up in a RD. What is getting clogged exactly in a RD why would it be any better with a SD?

 

[Inspector507]

The salesman mentioned the RD is a mulching deck whereas the SD is not. I suppose it keeps the clippings in there longer and they get clogged up.

 

[jwstewar]

I have the 60" RD MMM on my 24D. Does a great job in normal grass. Really can't even see the clippings. If the grass (or in my yard the weeds) are tall it'll want to bog the tractor. What I'll do is slow my forward progress (easy w/ the hydro) and keep going. I usually don't push the clutch in or raise the deck. Sometimes I'll completely stop if it is really bad, but usually just slow down. It'll leave a pretty nasty clump of grass though if you come to a complete stop. Now that I'm getting more routine in my mowing it seems to be better. Overall I'm glad I got the RD over the SD, but first couple of times I was starting to wonder if I had screwed up - of course that was when the owner's manual was pinching off the air to the engine too. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Hoeman00]

What setting are the rear discharge plates set at?
I've got mine in the middle holes, manual says to put in lower holes for more mulching or all the way up for less.
I've got some standing water down by the swamp that I mow thru and it just keeps right on cutting and throwing clippings.
I got caught mowing one of the front sections by one of the 'downpour rains' and kept mowing since only 1/2 done,u couldn't see any difference.
I also had to dump the water out of my boots.