Hey all,
I won't go into the details now - but last week I found myself in need of a mower so I picked up one of the TPE self propelled 3 speed ones with the Honda GXV160 engine. I didn't have much choice as I needed a mower right then and there... so I just asked the guy at the shop "does it do a good mulch cut". "Yep" he says.
Well yes it's got plenty of power, but quality of cut and especially mulching capability is pretty much crap compared to my electric mower!! Instead of leaving really small size grass leaves, it smashes it all into something like a grass paste and then the rubber flap hanging down at the rear of the mower kind of smears these clumps all over the lawn rather than just letting them fall and disperse naturally & evenly.
Smeared dark green mess (right side of lawn). In a few days it would have really stood out after it turned into light brown mess:
Confirmed excellent cut:
The same lawn mulched: (not the best angle or time of day to show it off, but you can see how clean the lawn looks)
Is this a known problem with these type of mowers? Is there any way to fix it, or am I best off getting rid of this and getting another one that just mulches better?
If any of the Husqvarna shops had them in stock I would have gone for the 53cm BioClip dedicated mulcher. Right now I am thinking that I'll sell the TPE and get the Husky. For the last ~2 years I've been doing mulch (some side discharge for heavier stuff) exclusively and plan to keep doing so. The Husky will be a spare/backup machine.
I mentioned the Husky to the guy at the shop and he was like "yeah but the TPE will cut down to 20mm". I checked the Mean Green, on concrete set to the lowest cut height I can slip a piece of 70x35mm timber under there so it's lowest cut height is definitely no lower than 35mm, even higher as there was a bit of wiggle room. So being able to cut at 20mm is a non-issue, I don't see myself using that kind of cut height ever. The Husky will go down to 30mm so thats fine with me. As it is I still have to watch it on the lowest cut as that will easily scalp on some uneven sections. And I'd say that having ~35mm as the "lowest" cut height has saved me from the Australian epidemic of cutting grass way too low.
This TPE has been an absolute pig to use, feels like it weighs twice as much as the Mean Green. The weight leaves wheel tracks in the lawn, plus the weight of clippings in the catcher changes the cut height slightly (lower) as it gets full. At least this experience has made me realise that I haven't missed much by not having a catching mower (although I'm going to make up a catcher for the green machine as I've got to admit it does come in handy in certain situations). It is easier to push and manoeuvre the Mean Green than it is to use the TPE, even though it's self propelled! The extra 1" cut width (TPE 21", Mean Green 20") is nice to have, but 20" is good. Today I actually nearly got stuck at a gate with the TPE! (Yes it is smaller than the average gate...)
Anyway - I guess my mind is made up that the TPE has to go (anyone looking for a near-new low hours mower?), unless anyone can suggest how to make it mulch much, much better?
And does anyone have experience with the Husqvarna BioClip dedicated mulching mower?
Cheers!