Mowing Mulch Kit Clogs Radiator

[MoreCowbell]

Ever since I installed the mulch kit for my BX2350's 60" regular cut MMM, the lower quarter of my radiator gets clogged almost instantaneously with clippings. I'm not surprised since the mulch kit does cause the mower to kick up a lot of debris. Has anyone else experienced this? As anyone with a BX knows, they are already hot running, and this doesn't help.

There is an opening in the chassis/frame directly under the radiator which I assume is where the clippings are coming from. I'll cover it with cardboard as a test to see if that resolves the issue. If so I'll devise a more permanent solution. However, I figured I would just ask if this sounds familiar to anyone. Thanks.

 

[dodge man]

Yeah, mine does it also. The truth is, I don't know if the mulch kit has anything to do with it. I didn't put my mulch kit on right away, but fairly early on. I'm not sure if the mulch kit made it worse or not. It seems to be a fairly common complaint that the radiator clogs up.

 

[mozark]

I think the screen over the radiator will plug the hole in the bottom when properly in place. I get a lot of fine low level clippings even without the mulch kit and I was actually contemplating making some sort of baffle to go below the steering wheel so that the air intake would be much higher and hopefully eliminate picking up so much of the fine stuff on the screens and radiator.

 

[MoreCowbell]

Thanks for the replies. I think I'll try jury rigging a baffle to see if that helps.

 

[aczlan]

There is a pair of plastic plugs that goes under the radiator on our BX2660 and keeps the clippings out. If they are missing, the radiator will clog very fast.

Aaron Z

 

[billyii]

I also have a BX-2350 with the mulching kit and Gator blades and a clogged radiator screen is a constant problem. While mowing under dry conditions, I have to keep my eye on the temperature gauge and clean the screen way more often than if the Kubota had a reliable cooling system.

With that said, I installed the mulching kit a couple of weeks after getting the tractor in 2010 and used Kubota mulching blades about one time. The Kubota blades did not do a good job of mulching. I previously used Gators on my old Honda tractor, with a mulching kit and had some overheating problems unless I cleaned the screen fairly often. But the Honda did not have near the overheating problems that I have experienced with the Kubota.

MoreCowbell, if you or anyone else finds a solution or partial solution to this problem, I would appreciate your posting the solution and maybe some pictures of what you did.

Thanks

Billy