HR215 blade choice?

[JTW73]

Saw the request for mulching blade installation instructions.
I've had mulching blades on 3-Honda HR series mowers- HR214, HR215, & HR215 masters, and they all ran (and still run) great, with never any sign of power loss, unless the grass was very long, very wet, or if you tried running the mower in the 3rd power drive gear which exacerbated the long or wet grass slow down, and, by-the-way, the manual says not to use 3rd gear for cutting grass.

Anyway, while looking for the mulching kit instructions, I discovered that I have a brand new mulching blade kit stored in my garage along with a bunch of miscellaneous HR series mower parts, and even a couple of spare mulching plugs. A few yrs back a hobby of mine was buying other peoples throw away Honda HR series mowers (for almost give-away prices, and they sometimes also included the mulching plug). So, along with my Honda mower and 2- Honda mowers belonging to my sons, I've got spare parts for most repairs. One pic is worth a thousand words.View attachment 71451

That’s super! Thanks for the info exactly what I needed
Here is pic of my reburb HR 215 HRM. My son found it in his work junk area. Great lawnmower!!!!
One more thing,… do you find that there is a fair amount of effort to pull this mower backwards?? I have gone thru complete r/r on the rear wheels etc Appreciate your thoughts
It amazing that people throw these mowers away!!! Thanks again

 

[golfergordy]

At the rear of the mower there is (or should be) a piece of metal hanging down (called the safety shield) that spans from one rear wheel to the other, and it can freely swing upward in the back direction, and its purpose is to safely block (and protect) the mower operator from any things (stones, twigs, legos, etc.) that may become missiles shot off of the high rpm spinning mower blade. This shield hangs down pretty low, usually rubbing against the grass, and freely swings in a backward/upward direction, and doesn't cause very much of a drag force when pushing the mower (or running in power drive mode). However, when pulling backward on the mower (which I occasionally do), this shield does not freely swing as far in the opposite direction and therefore causes a noticeable drag force when pulling the mower backward.

Nice looking refurb job. Looks like you repainted it too, and the grass bag looks brand new. A few yrs back I collected other peoples' throw away HR214 mowers until I found one with a perfect engine (not even any smoke upon startup). I took the best parts from 4-different mowers and assembled them into one really nice HR214 which I'm still using (with the mulching blade)..

 

[JTW73]

Howdy! Your HR214 looks amazing…….i had the exact same mower….which had the smoking issue on startup……when I got my HR215 ….initially plan was to use the motor and a parts mower for my 214...however HR215 turned out to be repairable and it had the hydrostatic trans, and sold my HR214(sad to see it go,)
As for your Comment on pullback issues with the stone shield, I noticed that it seems to contribute to effort to pull mower backwards….thought of removing but not wise for safety reason. I notice on new models Honda went with a rubber type of guard. The HR215 weights over 100lbs certainly that contributes to pullback force…

 

[golfergordy]

Usually, you don't pull a mower backwards too often, so the total extra effort for the whole cutting job is minimal. One time I found a good deal on a HRC215 (commercial). The commercial mower is very, very heavy. The guy who sold it to me said his son (who mows his lawn) said the mower was too heavy and he liked another lighter mower better. The HRC215 looked like it was hardly used, so I fixed up and adjusted whatever needed it (including some painting on the deck), and gave it to one of my sons 7-8 yrs ago (who has a giant yard and uses a JD rider mower) to use as a trim mower to replace the light weight cordless electric mower he was using. Also, the HRC215 would be the backup mower for the rider in case anything went wrong with the rider. My son said it was too heavy and didn't want it. I wound up selling it (for a reasonable profit) - it ran and looked close to brand new.

Good luck with your mulching.