1 edit | Mower bagger issues Craftsman/Ariens Parents bought a riding mower few years back from Sears, it's branded Craftsman but Home Depot sells the same mower under the Ariens name.
As far as under $1k mowers go it's okay, engine is strong, easy to maintenance etc..
Only main issue is the engineering of the bagging attachment is the goddamn worst I've ever come across in my life.
It requires a plate to be mounted to the underside of the blade deck the plate is 1/8's in. steel and it totally defeats the curved edges of the mower deck which leads to the deck getting snagged on every root or rock in the yard unless you mow on the highest level, which one notch below that is where the snagging starts defeating the blade having any height settings at all. I've also had to pull the steel plate off twice now and beat it back flat as it begins to become bent putting the main part inside up into the blade edges destroying the blades, and making it more prone to digging into whatever small debris you're trying to pass over.
Secondly the actual plastic bagging attachment hose really doesn't fit well to the mower deck output itself causing issues with clogging since about 1/4 of what you're pushing into the bags flys out of the misfitting area between the deck and hose. Also part of the hose has started breaking on the part that secures it to the deck while the front edge vibrates it's way into the output hole which then contacts the blades and chews the shit out of the plastic.
Lastly the bags really don't hold enough of anything to make them useful, nor do they really work right. Tried cutting today and on my parents 3/4 acre lot I couldn't even make a full pass down the side of the lot without having to stop and dump the damn thing before the tube became clogged. The left bag fills up, overflows, and blocks the tube from filling the right side bag every damn time.
I swear I'd like the meet the guys who engineered this whole bagging scheme on this mower and punch them square in the nuts for every time I had to stop, unattach everything, and clear the fucking bagging tube out today. This is the only time of the year the bagger is useful and I put it all together, and it has proved itself nearly worthless yet again year after year.
Links:
Link to Mower on Home Depot Website
Craptastic Bagging attachment for the mower.
Edited for fraction fail. |
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 alkizmo
join:2007-06-25
Pierrefonds, QC
kudos:1 | Go mulch
Don't look back |
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 dosdoxiesPremium
join:2004-12-15
Wallingford, PA | reply to RipTides
said by RipTides:I swear I'd like the meet the guys who engineered this whole bagging scheme on this mower and punch them square in the nuts for every time I had to stop, unattach everything, and clear the fucking bagging tube out today.
Don't hold back. Tell us how you really feel. 
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The more people I meet, the better I like my dogs. |
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Dumb Engineering |
said by dosdoxies:Don't hold back. Tell us how you really feel.
I'll do one better, I made some notes on their .pdf "instructions" for the bagger. |
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 GrumpyPremium
join:2001-07-28
NW CT
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Consider if it works for your location -- mow or blow the leaves into the middle, then use a bamboo rake and a cheap blue poly tarp to move them. I have the luxury of a river to carry away leaves. Very handy. |
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 DataDocMy avatar looks like me, if I was 2D.Premium
join:2000-05-14
Greenville, NC | reply to alkizmo
said by alkizmo:Go mulch
Don't look back
+1 |
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