New mower with bagger doesn't suck

New Craftsman 30" mower with bagger came with a 3 in 1 mulching blade. Had to go over grass and leaves 3 times before it was clean... left behind small sticks, along with deer and bear poop. Had to clean out chute after every pass. (One-size-fits-all socks never worked for me, either.) Learned that a high lift blade is not available. Snapper used to provide bolt-on wings to increase lift for bagging. I added my own lift wings to 3 in 1 blade... turned it into a 4 in 1 blade. Now, the unit sucks up everything on the first pass, including grass, leaves, sticks, and deer and bear poop. Chute remains clear, even when bags are topped out... yeah! Happy camper. I like things that work.

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I have always wondered about doing that. Did you have much trouble getting it balanced?

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Originally Posted by hemmjo

I have always wondered about doing that. Did you have much trouble getting it balanced?

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Superior skill, and cunning yielded perfect balance after the wings were added to the blade, so no further balancing was needed... well, a little luck didn't hurt, either. I'm, totally, overjoyed at the results of this easy modification.

I too have thought about that but felt nervous about incompatible materials, welding heat shrink differential, resulting stress and my neighbor down the block getting a schrapnel wound.

I want to do it make a serious leaf blower out of my zero-turn.

Or to do even more aggressive 'mow-tilling' (i do it now using old blades to flatten out all those pesky mole hills in my back field)
I'd add a bit down-ward to 'lower' the blades for a better buzz-cut.

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Originally Posted by CharlesWaugh

I too have thought about that but felt nervous about incompatible materials, welding heat shrink differential, resulting stress and my neighbor down the block getting a schrapnel wound.

I want to do it make a serious leaf blower out of my zero-turn.

Or to do even more aggressive 'mow-tilling' (i do it now using old blades to flatten out all those pesky mole hills in my back field)
I'd add a bit down-ward to 'lower' the blades for a better buzz-cut.

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I've considered negative possibilities, but since the positives far outweighed any rare/freak occurrences, I determined to give it a shot. So far, my failure rate on DIY projects is zero.

I'll be performing destructive testing on the modified blade next summer. I'll post my results at the end of the mowing season.

The photos, somewhat, distort the size of the added wings. They are both 1/8" thick, and measure 3.25" x 2.5" x 1".

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Originally Posted by Gadgeteer

New Craftsman 30" mower with bagger came with a 3 in 1 mulching blade. Had to go over grass and leaves 3 times before it was clean... left behind small sticks, along with deer and bear poop. Had to clean out chute after every pass. (One-size-fits-all socks never worked for me, either.) Learned that a high lift blade is not available. Snapper used to provide bolt-on wings to increase lift for bagging. I added my own lift wings to 3 in 1 blade... turned it into a 4 in 1 blade. Now, the unit sucks up everything on the first pass, including grass, leaves, sticks, and deer and bear poop. Chute remains clear, even when bags are topped out... yeah! Happy camper. I like things that work.

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I think I have the same 30" sears mower with same problem; added wings to blade about like you did. Chute stays clearer but sucking leaves up has not improved any.

You have converted your mower a lawn vac.

The effectiveness of a lawn vac is directly proportional to how close to the ground. If the blade is too high clean air is collected from above the debris, leaving it behind. Also wet leaves as are not as easily collected as dry leaves.

Just a thought.

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Originally Posted by seb fontana

I think I have the same 30" sears mower with same problem; added wings to blade about like you did. Chute stays clearer but sucking leaves up has not improved any.

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I'm interested to know the size and shape of your wings, and the angle that they make with the blade. I have huge silver poplar and cottonwood trees in my backyard, so that is the reason I needed the highlift feature.

Like hemmjo has mentioned there is a difference between vacuuming wet and dry leaves... dry leaves just flew into the bagger, while wet leaves were a bit slower. But, compared to the 3 in 1 blade that came on the mower, my modified blade is FAR superior. Luck is, sometimes, successful.

Template used for lift wing attachment, below.

I have pics somewhere with me on my machine doing leaves with a 1/2" of snow on them while it was snowing! Did surprisingly well.

Just in case someone, here, finds a large pile in their yard... this is what black bear poop looks like. Size 13 shoe in photo is for size comparison. Since I have a rather curious mind, I grabbed a small stick to poke the poop, and sniffed the end. Surprisingly, it was odorless to my human nose.

And I always thought "Bears pooped in the woods!!!"

Anywhere they want to.

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Originally Posted by hemmjo

And I always thought "Bears pooped in the woods!!!"

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I found it rather humorous that this bear stopped in front of my crittercam to leave its load whenever it entered the yard.

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Originally Posted by hemmjo

And I always thought "Bears pooped in the woods!!!"

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A few days, ago, a small black bear left signs of its ramblings in our backyards. Neighbor verified when he viewed his critter cam. Bear, also, left a surprise on the piece of ply, supporting his creek pump. This answers the question, "Do bears poop on the wood?"