Bagger OMGX25572 issue

I finally decided to get a bagger since I have so much hay in my yard. For some reason, it would only pick up a few hand-fulls of grass when I used it for the first time. I ended up needing repairs on my LA115, and told the repair man about my issue. He looked at the blades that came with the bagger and was surprised...they packed mulching blades with the bagger! After he got me the correct high-lift blades, everything worked great to pick up my leaves. However, when I started cutting at the beginning of the season, my bagger seems to mulch or only want to pick up grass in certain areas of my yard.

The engine is at full throttle, and I'm driving slowly. The mower and bagger system is clean. My blades are sharp and not worn. My belt is good, pullies and spindles are good also. My yard is dry. The only thing I could see causing the problem would be that my property is very hilly...but that doesn't make sense to me because I would think the air-flow would not be affected by that. However, I'm not a lawn-care expert and could be wrong. I've seen yards like mine before, and their's is nice and free of hay. What could be causing my bagger to not work correctly?

CajunMan89 said:

I finally decided to get a bagger since I have so much hay in my yard. For some reason, it would only pick up a few hand-fulls of grass when I used it for the first time. I ended up needing repairs on my LA115, and told the repair man about my issue. He looked at the blades that came with the bagger and was surprised...they packed mulching blades with the bagger! After he got me the correct high-lift blades, everything worked great to pick up my leaves. However, when I started cutting at the beginning of the season, my bagger seems to mulch or only want to pick up grass in certain areas of my yard.

The engine is at full throttle, and I'm driving slowly. The mower and bagger system is clean. My blades are sharp and not worn. My belt is good, pullies and spindles are good also. My yard is dry. The only thing I could see causing the problem would be that my property is very hilly...but that doesn't make sense to me because I would think the air-flow would not be affected by that. However, I'm not a lawn-care expert and could be wrong. I've seen yards like mine before, and their's is nice and free of hay. What could be causing my bagger to not work correctly?

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The main issue I usually ran into here at the shop is that the customer forgets to lift the little black metal flap when installing the chute. Make sure you lift both the big plastic deflector as well as the smaller black metal flap. That will open the hole on the deck twice as wide.

Will1988 said:

The main issue I usually ran into here at the shop is that the customer forgets to lift the little black metal flap when installing the chute. Make sure you lift both the big plastic deflector as well as the smaller black metal flap. That will open the hole on the deck twice as wide.

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This is as far as I can get them to open without holding them back with a rope or bungee cord. I open the plastic one, hold it open, then open the metal one and turn it until it gets in the notch that lets it stay open on its own. Here is a pic of the chute, as well as my hopper. I assume I put the screen of the hopper in correctly?

CajunMan89 said:

This is as far as I can get them to open without holding them back with a rope or bungee cord. I open the plastic one, hold it open, then open the metal one and turn it until it gets in the notch that lets it stay open on its own. Here is a pic of the chute, as well as my hopper. I assume I put the screen of the hopper in correctly?

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Thanks for the pictures. Looks like you have it attached correctly. I'm assuming you installed the bottom of the chute into the channel on the deck. If so, the bagger should work. You say you have hay in your yard. About how much grass are you cutting off? I have found these baggers work the best if you're only taking off 1-1.5 inches of grass. If the grass gets too tall, the bagger will work, but the chute may clog up more often. Also, if you have alot of dry dead grass already laying on top of your yard, the dry grass can create static electricity in the plastic chute, which will slow the clippings down as they go up the chute, and contribute to the clogging problem.

Will1988 said:

Thanks for the pictures. Looks like you have it attached correctly. I'm assuming you installed the bottom of the chute into the channel on the deck. If so, the bagger should work. You say you have hay in your yard. About how much grass are you cutting off? I have found these baggers work the best if you're only taking off 1-1.5 inches of grass. If the grass gets too tall, the bagger will work, but the chute may clog up more often. Also, if you have alot of dry dead grass already laying on top of your yard, the dry grass can create static electricity in the plastic chute, which will slow the clippings down as they go up the chute, and contribute to the clogging problem.

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Yes sir, it's inserted in the channel of the deck. The only thing is, throughout the last 10 years or so since I've purchased the mower, the deck has gotten a dent or two on the edge above the hook toward the rear of the discharge area (where the accessory strap secures to). I noticed it, bent it back, then that caused my blades to jam...so I dented it back like it was so my blades wouldn't jam. I wouldn't think that would be causing a suction problem, would it?

As to how much grass I'm cutting off, I always set my level at 2. The left-over hay is usually evenly spread in my field. Sometimes, I cut the opposite direction to push the clippings toward the middle, then pick them up with the bagger. But, that only works in the rest of my yard; never works in my field. I just can't understand how it works very well in some areas, and not at all in others.

CajunMan89 said:

Yes sir, it's inserted in the channel of the deck. The only thing is, throughout the last 10 years or so since I've purchased the mower, the deck has gotten a dent or two on the edge above the hook toward the rear of the discharge area (where the accessory strap secures to). I noticed it, bent it back, then that caused my blades to jam...so I dented it back like it was so my blades wouldn't jam. I wouldn't think that would be causing a suction problem, would it?

As to how much grass I'm cutting off, I always set my level at 2. The left-over hay is usually evenly spread in my field. Sometimes, I cut the opposite direction to push the clippings toward the middle, then pick them up with the bagger. But, that only works in the rest of my yard; never works in my field. I just can't understand how it works very well in some areas, and not at all in others.

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When you set your level at 2, I am curious as to what height you are actually cutting. To find out, you would have to measure from the floor to your blade tip. For example, I had a customer a month ago who was setting his level at 3, but was actually cutting at 1.5 inches. I had to adjust the height of his deck so he was cutting at 3 inches when the level was set at 3. I usually recommend cutting about 3 inches. This is usually the height where the system works the best. My suspicion is that if you are cutting too low, there may not be enough air flow going up the chute to get the grass all the way up it. This depends on how thick or wet your grass is, or how much thatch buildup you have, etc. The blades have to suck air in under the deck in order to stand the grass up to cut it. That same air then helps propel the grass up the chute. If you are too low, the airflow could be getting choked off. You can also try powerwashing your grass bags. The air escapes through them, and if the fabric gets plugged up, that can contribute as well.

Will1988 said:

When you set your level at 2, I am curious as to what height you are actually cutting. To find out, you would have to measure from the floor to your blade tip. For example, I had a customer a month ago who was setting his level at 3, but was actually cutting at 1.5 inches. I had to adjust the height of his deck so he was cutting at 3 inches when the level was set at 3. I usually recommend cutting about 3 inches. This is usually the height where the system works the best. My suspicion is that if you are cutting too low, there may not be enough air flow going up the chute to get the grass all the way up it. This depends on how thick or wet your grass is, or how much thatch buildup you have, etc. The blades have to suck air in under the deck in order to stand the grass up to cut it. That same air then helps propel the grass up the chute. If you are too low, the airflow could be getting choked off. You can also try powerwashing your grass bags. The air escapes through them, and if the fabric gets plugged up, that can contribute as well.

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Sorry it's taken a while to get back. Every time I had a chance to get a measurement, it would rain LOL! Luckily, I beat it today, but not by much.

With my deck set at 2, the lowest edge of my blade, the end, measures at 1 1/2 inches. The highest edge where it curves up is at 2 1/4 inches.
Should I try cutting at a higher level, then lower afterwards?

I thought I remembered in my bagger's manual that it said not to get the bags wet, but after reading through it again today, I didn't see that mentioned. I usually blow out the bags with my air compressor, but perhaps pressure washing them would be better. I'll just have to make sure to hang them up to thoroughly dry.

CajunMan89 said:

Sorry it's taken a while to get back. Every time I had a chance to get a measurement, it would rain LOL! Luckily, I beat it today, but not by much.

With my deck set at 2, the lowest edge of my blade, the end, measures at 1 1/2 inches. The highest edge where it curves up is at 2 1/4 inches.
Should I try cutting at a higher level, then lower afterwards?

I thought I remembered in my bagger's manual that it said not to get the bags wet, but after reading through it again today, I didn't see that mentioned. I usually blow out the bags with my air compressor, but perhaps pressure washing them would be better. I'll just have to make sure to hang them up to thoroughly dry.

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If you are mowing at 1 1/2 inches, that is definitely going to be a problem. Your deck is too low to the ground and is not going to perform well with a bagger.
It is usually recommended to mow between 3 and 3 1/2 inches.
Based on your information above, you may have to set your height lever at 3 1/2 in order to mow at 3 inches.
You can verify that by measuring the blade tips again with the handle in the 3 1/2 position.
If you are at least close to the 3 inch height, go mow and see how it does.

Will1988 said:

If you are mowing at 1 1/2 inches, that is definitely going to be a problem. Your deck is too low to the ground and is not going to perform well with a bagger.
It is usually recommended to mow between 3 and 3 1/2 inches.
Based on your information above, you may have to set your height lever at 3 1/2 in order to mow at 3 inches.
You can verify that by measuring the blade tips again with the handle in the 3 1/2 position.
If you are at least close to the 3 inch height, go mow and see how it does.

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Thanks for the tip! I'm hoping that it will be dry enough for me to cut by mid week, next week. My grass is about 8 inches tall in some areas with all the rain!

In the meantime, since I'm more of a visual person, is there any Youtube video that you'd recommend showing me how to correctly level my deck so that the height lever would be accurate?

CajunMan89 said:

Thanks for the tip! I'm hoping that it will be dry enough for me to cut by mid week, next week. My grass is about 8 inches tall in some areas with all the rain!

In the meantime, since I'm more of a visual person, is there any Youtube video that you'd recommend showing me how to correctly level my deck so that the height lever would be accurate?

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You're welcome! There are youtube videos out there, but none that I like from a professional standpoint. I will include a link at the bottom of a video that will get you on the right track. The guy in the video does it correctly, but doesn't explain the procedure thoroughly enough for someone just learning to do it.
To adjust the deck is simple:
1. Buy a deck leveling tool as referenced in the video. They are fairly cheap. (There are guys out there that use pieces of wood and measure off the deck shell. Do not do this! It is not accurate!)
2. Set your tire pressures. 12-14psi in front, 10-12psi in rear.
3. Park machine on a level surface and set your lift height handle at the 3 position.
4. Check your side to side level. Reach under the deck and turn the blade until it is pointing side to side. Using the deck leveling tool, measure from the ground to the outermost blade tip. Do this for the right and left blade. The measurement should be 3 inches, plus or minus 1/16th inch. (the naked eye won't be able to tell if you're off by 1/16th inch)
5. Locate the adjusters mentioned in the video, and adjust your deck up to 3 inches.
6. For the front to back level, we will just use the right blade since we can access it easier. Point the right blade front to back. Adjust the front link as shown in the video to set your front to back level. You will want the measurement at the front tip to be 1/8-1/4 inch LOWER than the rear tip as explained in the video. This ensures the front tip does all the work as the blade is spinning. If it were perfectly level, both tips would be cutting, thus creating twice the load and overworking the machine.

https://youtu.be/pigBRailqTY