Toro Commercial Titan HD 1500 Mulch Block Off Plate?

I haven't been able to find anything specific to the Toro Titan HD 1500, model 74451 in regards to a mulch block off plate for the deck. We strictly use this mower in a residential capacity and don't want grass or debris blowing all over the place. Last year was the first year we mowed and we were always careful to make sure the side discharge was not pointing in the direction of traffic, as there is a busy roadway that borders our property.

I have some scrap steel that I am considering making a block off plate out of. I wouldn't modify the deck at all, as there are a couple of factory holes that I would use to bolt my plate over the side discharge. But I wanted to see if there were any aftermarket options available. Since this is a commercial deck, it is very square, so affixing a flat piece of steel over the side discharge would be very easy.

I saw that some mowers have the option for a user-controlled plate, where they can toggle between mulch and side discharge on the fly. We don't need that control and would be happy to block the side discharge at all times.

I myself have an old 1992 Craftsman 36" lawn tractor with the rounded deck, I couldn't find any mulch plugs, so I made one out of an old semi truck mud flap. It's not pretty but due to the very unusual shape of this side discharge, it was the best I could come up with on the fly without some major fabrication. Nonetheless, I am very satisfied with the result of this versus the messy side discharge getting all over my freshly cut lawn!

Thanks in advance!

Stock photo of mower in question:

Blaine B. said:

I haven't been able to find anything specific to the Toro Titan HD 1500, model 74451 in regards to a mulch block off plate for the deck. We strictly use this mower in a residential capacity and don't want grass or debris blowing all over the place. Last year was the first year we mowed and we were always careful to make sure the side discharge was not pointing in the direction of traffic, as there is a busy roadway that borders our property.

I have some scrap steel that I am considering making a block off plate out of. I wouldn't modify the deck at all, as there are a couple of factory holes that I would use to bolt my plate over the side discharge. But I wanted to see if there were any aftermarket options available. Since this is a commercial deck, it is very square, so affixing a flat piece of steel over the side discharge would be very easy.

I saw that some mowers have the option for a user-controlled plate, where they can toggle between mulch and side discharge on the fly. We don't need that control and would be happy to block the side discharge at all times.

I myself have an old 1992 Craftsman 36" lawn tractor with the rounded deck, I couldn't find any mulch plugs, so I made one out of an old semi truck mud flap. It's not pretty but due to the very unusual shape of this side discharge, it was the best I could come up with on the fly without some major fabrication. Nonetheless, I am very satisfied with the result of this versus the messy side discharge getting all over my freshly cut lawn!

Thanks in advance!

Stock photo of mower in question:

Click to expand...

Toro sells a mulch kit for this model. I’d recommend calling your dealer to get a quote. I have the Advanced Chute System on my 1500 and it works well but does not help with mulching. It does help a lot with being able to block the chute when mowing around windows, beds and cars. Hope this helps.

When you say that it does not help with mulching, what do you mean? Does it lessen the quality of cut? From what I can tell, the blades appear to be of a mulching style, very similar to the Atomic or Gator blades. I was just performing a service yesterday, sharpening the blades and changing the oil at 11.8 hours (that's all it was used for the entirety of the 2018 mowing season!) They appear to be a suction blade just like any other that I have seen. When I devised the rubber discharge cover for my Craftsman tractor I did not see any lessening of cut quality, actually I think it improved because I also switched to Oregon Gator blades and additionally, there is no discharge over my cut! Side discharge sucks!

Do you happen to have a part number for the Toro kit that will fit this mower? I didn't have any time yesterday to see if my scrap steel would fit as a block off plate. Of course I can always buy more if needed as well. The grass is starting to grow and turn green, pretty much since late March. Not time to cut yet but it will be in short order I bet!