60" Deck for JD 455

[vincent721]

I have a question and hoping someone can help me out. I just purchased a JD 455 with a 60" Deck (Both are 1997 models) this past spring. The Deck says Mulcher Compatible and I have mulching blades installed. There is a side discharge chute that the grass comes out. The grass seems to be cutting in small pieces but I have noticed that I am getting clumps of grass which I thought was because I had let the grass get a little tall. I did cut in in several passes and cut a little bit off each time.

My question is as follows: Is there something I need to do to the deck to get it to mulch besides installing the mulching blades?

 

[coasterez]

The mulching kit has a plate with adjustable baffle that covers the side discharge shoot. It bolts on under the deck. I had a mulching kit on my 54" deck mounted on a 425. Hated it. You have to cut your grass very very often, and never when wet, and you have to keep it clean underneath too. Take the kit off and get yourself a set of regular blades. If you have to get rid of the clippings, buy a power flow unit.

 

[jeffinsgf]

Coasterez is right. Mulching kits require you to mow no more than a small fraction of an inch off the grass. If you are mowing that often, mulching blades and the discharge chute will do just about the same thing.

To have a groomed look you have two choices this time of year: mow every three days or use a collection system.

I have the MC-519 collection wagon with a PowerFlow blower that runs off a double pulley on the right hand deck spindle. It works like a charm and on my acre of lawn I only have to dump it twice.

Another option is a sweeper. I recently purchased a tow behind sweeper from Sears. I bought it to pick up the plugs after I core aerate, but after using it, I am convinced that it will be useful for those times when I don't use the MC-519 and get a few "windrows" where the grass is heaviest.

Each option has its merits. People who favor mulching will tell you that the cut grass returns nutrients to the soil. Which is true, but of little consequence if the piles of grass kill the grass they're laying on. Sweeping is sort of in the middle, since the fine particle cuttings are going to be below the top of the grass and only the big chunks and piles are going to be collected. Catching gets it all done in one pass, but might mean you have to fertilize a little more often.

 

[TimS]

I had the opposite experience with the mulch kit on the 48" deck on my 455 - I liked it! Sure, it preferred dry grass and frequent cuts, but overall it worked pretty well. In wetter or longer grass it left more clumps, but still much less than it did when discharging. I liked being able to mow in both directions, since I wasn't spraying grass onto the driveway or into the flowers. The mulcher did seem to use a lot of power, though - even on the smaller 48" deck it was clearly working my 455 pretty hard. I switched to a 60" deck, and I don't have a mulch kit for it, so I will be trying a set of Gator HD blades - haven't got them on the tractor yet, so no results to report.

Tim

 

[workinallthetime]

I had the opposite experience with the mulch kit on the 48" deck on my 455 - I liked it! Sure, it preferred dry grass and frequent cuts, but overall it worked pretty well. In wetter or longer grass it left more clumps, but still much less than it did when discharging. I liked being able to mow in both directions, since I wasn't spraying grass onto the driveway or into the flowers. The mulcher did seem to use a lot of power, though - even on the smaller 48" deck it was clearly working my 455 pretty hard. I switched to a 60" deck, and I don't have a mulch kit for it, so I will be trying a set of Gator HD blades - haven't got them on the tractor yet, so no results to report.

Tim

i dont know if this is true or just a sales pitch but i was in the j/d lawn dealer the other day and a guy was looking for gator blades for his mower and the guy behind the counter said " gator blades are made to work on any mower set up but facotory blades with a mulching kit installed work better" duno just herd him say it.

 

[jeffinsgf]

I have Gator blades on my 60" deck. I like them alot. Right now I am collecting, but when discharging, the particle size is smaller with the Gator blades than with the JD High Lift blades.

Tim, did you sell your 48 deck? Did the mulching kit go with it? I still have my 48, and am undecided about selling it. Having a mulching kit on it would give me all three options for various conditions, but the price of the kit new is a little salty.