Clogged Leaf Bag on old Snapper?

[sleddriver]

I fired up the beast today to wake it from its Winter slumber. It was in the mid-70's and it's time to short-cut the dormant grass and Winter weeds.

I've had problems in the past with the leaf chute getting clogged. Thought maybe the blade was the wrong type. Then today it occured to me that maybe the grass catcher bag is so old and clogged, that it's too restrictive. Sort of like a clogged cat or muffler: It affects everything upstream.

I took the garden hose to it with a stiff spray, which helped somewhat. However, I then decided to just soak the thing in a large tub with some bleach, enzyme-based clothes detergent and some trisodium phosphate thrown in.

Might take a few days for the enzymes to work and the detergent to work on the (considerable) dirt.

Anyone ever had a grass bag that was so dirty you suspected it was affecting your mowers vacuum performance? My neighbor gave me this old Snapper push mower he bought during the late 80's, so it's seen A LOT of use.

 

[PhilsSmallEngine]

I wouldn't have put bleach in unless the bag was moldy. I've cleaned my lawn mower bags and leaf vac bags in the past. First you take compressed air and blow out as much of the loose dust as possible. Then disassemble the bag from the frame, (the most important part coming next) wait for the woman of the house to leave and throw it into her washing machine. If you fear the last step, go to your local laundromat.

You don't need to hit it with detergents or the like, you get the heaviest dirt out through agitation.

 

[bubbatime]

If you are referring to the 21" Snapper HI Vac mower, then yes, the bags need to be in good condition. This mower has more suction than any other mower on the market, and the bag needs to be able to breath properly or the bagging performance will suffer. Maybe try a side discharge chute (available at any Snapper dealer) when mowing really heavy stuff? Then back to bagging once the heavy stuff is knocked down?

I have four Snapper 21" mowers in my fleet. Two high vacs and two Ninja mulchers. Best mowers on the market in my opinion.

Edit: Snapper sold a bunch of different style blades that fit the Snapper mowers (low lift, medium lift, high lift, mulching, ninja mulching, gator mulching). If you have the wrong blade installed or it is excessively worn, it wont bag properly. The hi lift blade is the best for bagging.

 

[TFB1]

I used the 1987 Snapper(that's my new one) with bagger a couple days ago without issue, but I could see a clogged bag would cause operation more as a mulcher vs bagger... Bag is as old as mower, maybe it worked because there are several small holes that lets it breathe...

After the winter junk was cleaned up out back I used the Hondaized 1983 Snapper with scatter chute, mother nature takes care of the clippings...

Grandpa Snapper(1979, yes was my grandfathers)is still asleep, but will get used when two of us are cutting at same time...

 

[sleddriver]

I seriously thought about the washing machine.....but thought I'd do the soak outdoors first. Didn't really investigate removing the bag from the metal frame, but I'll have a closer look tomorrow. For now, I'm letting a slow-soak do its work with little agitation. I'll report back how it goes.

Everything else about the donated Snapper has been great. Without bagging, it really throws the clippings. But I do like to catch the oak leaves at this time of year, toss them in the compost pile to break down, then put them back on the lawn during the late Summer with a bit of fertilizer.

Why buy compost when you can make your own?

My two cents....

 

[sleddriver]

Originally Posted By: PhilsSmallEngine
....Then disassemble the bag from the frame, (the most important part coming next) wait for the woman of the house to leave and throw it into her washing machine...You don't need to hit it with detergents or the like, you get the heaviest dirt out through agitation.

Well the detergent and enzymes are dissolving their way through the caked on dirt, mud and dried grass...slowly but surely. I didn't see a way to remove the bag from the frame. It appears to be stitched in. If I can remove it, it'll go in the machine for some agitation now that the worst has been softened up.

It'll be interesting to see if this makes a difference in bagging performance. Otherwise I'll have to consider a blade change. I only use the bag when I need to shred leaves or some weeds. The rest of the time, the mulching plate is installed.

Thanks to all for chiming in.

 

[sleddriver]

Originally Posted By: bubbatime
If you are referring to the 21" Snapper HI Vac mower, then yes, the bags need to be in good condition. This mower has more suction than any other mower on the market, and the bag needs to be able to breath properly or the bagging performance will suffer. Maybe try a side discharge chute (available at any Snapper dealer) when mowing really heavy stuff? Then back to bagging once the heavy stuff is knocked down?

I have four Snapper 21" mowers in my fleet. Two high vacs and two Ninja mulchers. Best mowers on the market in my opinion.

Edit: Snapper sold a bunch of different style blades that fit the Snapper mowers (low lift, medium lift, high lift, mulching, ninja mulching, gator mulching). If you have the wrong blade installed or it is excessively worn, it wont bag properly. The hi lift blade is the best for bagging.


It is a hi-vac. I saw it on the bag. It came out of its soak looking really clean, so I hung it up outdoors in the Sun to dry. Meant to take a picture today. Haven't tried it out yet. However, this will rule out the bag.

It was so dark brown inside and coated with grass/dirt caked on something tough, hard and dry. The detergent enzymes + TSP really did the trick!

Since you sound familiar with them, I'll report back the type and number of the blade next time. It'll be interesting to see what it is.

 

[sleddriver]

Update: Here's my previous BITOG post concerning the current blade. After re-reading it, sounds like the blade that came with the mower is the mulching blade. For better vac performance, I need the 'bagging' blade. Correct?

 

[bubbatime]

You need the hi-lift blade. It has a curved edge like a fan that creates a lot of suction/air volume and really throws the clipping up into the bag.

I use the Oregon 99-103 hi-lift blade. Made in USA, very thick steel, high quality item. Currently available via Amazon at $16.61/delivered. Click on the 7 new from 9.95 button to get to the $16.61 price.

http://www.amazon.com/Oregon-99-103-Snap...03+blade+oregon

 

[sleddriver]

Thanks for your reply! The Snapper 17168 currently installed has a very long cutting edge. Much longer than the Oregon blade. Right now my yard is disappearing under an increasingly growing blanket of Live Oak leaves, which I'd like to bag, then dump in my compost pile.

OK..this is starting to make sense. He might have installed the mulcher blade years ago as the mower came with a side-discharge chute, mulcher plate and bag chute. I'll check and see if he still has the 'bagging' blade. Else I'll pick up one.

 

[Now]

Sleddriver, I have that same mower about 20 years old. It was sold with a Robin 2-cycle, but the grass cutter man where I worked used straight gas. Toasted the cylinder. I took it and installed a new B&S L-head engine.

Are you operating your engine at WOT?

 

[sleddriver]

Update II:
After some calling around locally, I found a Snapper dealer with the std lift blade I needed in stock! Model #: 7026691BZ. He extended me a great price of $12.50 inc. tax! This is an OEM Snapper blade too.

He showed me that this is the same blade used on the new 21" Hi-Vac push mowers as he had them on the floor.

A different shop had the Oregon blade mentioned above for ~ $24.

With this solved, I can attach the newly-washed grass bag, sharpen & balance the new blade and get to oak-leaf-shredding for compost.

 

[bubbatime]

Originally Posted By: sleddriver
The Snapper 17168 currently installed


I'm showing that blade as being a Snapper high lift blade, not a mulching blade. Hopefully the new blade you just bought will perform better for you.

And as another poster said, make sure your RPM is up. I like to kick the RPM 100-200 RPM up from factory stock to get a little more power and suction.

 

[sleddriver]

Originally Posted By: bubbatime
Originally Posted By: sleddriver
The Snapper 17168 currently installed


I'm showing that blade as being a Snapper high lift blade, not a mulching blade. Hopefully the new blade you just bought will perform better for you.

And as another poster said, make sure your RPM is up. I like to kick the RPM 100-200 RPM up from factory stock to get a little more power and suction.


Hmmm...perhaps I have the wrong number then. The new blade has a much longer "wing" compared to the old, which just has a small "kick" at the very end. After sharpening & balancing, I tried it out yesterday and experienced NO clogging of the chute....which is a welcome change. A good section of the tall grass with leaves was even wet! Still no clogging. So the new blade is working MUCH better than the previous one.

Now, if only the grass bag was bigger.....

 

[bubbatime]

Originally Posted By: sleddriver
The new blade has a much longer "wing" compared to the old, which just has a small "kick" at the very end.


What you describe I consider the low lift or medium lift blade. I think you will be much happier with the new blade.

 

[sleddriver]

Originally Posted By: bubbatime
What you describe I consider the low lift or medium lift blade. I think you will be much happier with the new blade.

I asked the dealer about various "lifts" of blades. According to him, there is just this blade, within the OEM Snapper line.

Perhaps other manufacturers make various "lifts"?

 

[bubbatime]

Originally Posted By: sleddriver
Originally Posted By: bubbatime
What you describe I consider the low lift or medium lift blade. I think you will be much happier with the new blade.

I asked the dealer about various "lifts" of blades. According to him, there is just this blade, within the OEM Snapper line.

Perhaps other manufacturers make various "lifts"?


I've worked on tons of Snapper's over the years. They are kind of my specialty. I've seen about 5-6 different styles of OEM Snapper blades. Remember, they have been making the same style mower for over 40 years. The blade that the dealer recommends and sells today could be drastically different than what Snapper put on 40 years ago.

I use three different replacement blades today, depending on what the customer wants. Gator mulcher for side discharge/mulching (Oregon 96-620), hi-lift blade for bagging (Oregon 99-103), or the OEM Snapper Ninja for mulching (Snapper 7026407)

 

[sleddriver]

Obviously, you know more about Snappers than I. I don't know much about their line, nor blade designs over the years. From your response though I see you're talking about Oregon blades and I was referring to Snapper's. So we weren't on "the same blade", thus the confusion on my part.

The end result is the new blade I installed works great when used with the bag and that was the goal. Thanks for your assistance!

 

[sleddriver]

Update:
I finally got the compost bins set back up and began mowing everything in sight to pickup leaves. Not a single chute clog! One area was leaves covering heavy mulch with a weed fabric a few inches below that. It not only vac'd up the leaves, but the mulch as well...and with the blade height max'd out! I did that to avoid rocks and wood chunks.

With all the light stuff vac'd off, I can go back with a garden rake and remove the rocks, wood chunks, etc. and dispose of them.

All the vac'd mulch went into the compost pile with the leaves and a little bit of grass.

The old Snapper is truly one tank-of-a-lawnmower!