Snapper HI-Vac walk behind 21 inch mower suction

[jorddavi]

Does anyone know if there has been a significant design change in the housing of the walk behind 21 inch Snapper Hi-Vac decks? My two new mowers do not vacuum nearly as well as my 20 year old re-engined unit. Both the new mowers have the "rolled under" vacuuming deck lip, not the "rolled out" mulching deck lip. I have installed a high lift blade with wings, but this has not helped much. For mowers costing $850-$1200 (Kawasaki and Honda engines), I would expect better performance.
Any thoughts?

 

[Voyager6]

Does anyone know if there has been a significant design change in the housing of the walk behind 21 inch Snapper Hi-Vac decks? My two new mowers do not vacuum nearly as well as my 20 year old re-engined unit. Both the new mowers have the "rolled under" vacuuming deck lip, not the "rolled out" mulching deck lip. I have installed a high lift blade with wings, but this has not helped much. For mowers costing $850-$1200 (Kawasaki and Honda engines), I would expect better performance.
Any thoughts?

You might want to check engine RPM. I would think that affects vacuum as much as anything else. Many newer engines have had the speed lowered. I believe the safety rules now specify a max blade tip speed and the larger the deck, the slower the engine RPMs. I think a 21 inch deck is supposed to be 3250 RPM.