Quick and Easy Mulch Cover modification to improve performance on Cub Cadet XT-1, XT-2, RZT.
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 พ.ย. 2022
- I really like my XT2 mower, but the mulch cover is kinda lame, especially if you are mowing thick grass or mulching a lot of leaves. Today I finally got around to fixing the cover once and for all.
- แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
![[TH] VCT Pacific Stage 2 - Week 4 Day 1 // PRX vs RRQ | GE vs GEN](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/iIi2_04jGr0/mqdefault.jpg)
Have this issue and decided to search TH-cam and found this Great idea!! I just bought mine this year 2024 and the mulch kit still has this same issue. Thanks for the video
I bought a Cub Cadet XT1-42" ZTR this spring, and have been struggling with the poor fit of the mulch plug on the deck. I think the ultimate solution will be to fabricate a metal cover (that has multipoint attachments to the deck) to replace the plastic plug, but this is a clever solution and it's working for me now. Thanks!
This is also the same as a Craftsman mower, thank you, this is the fix I was looking for 😊
Such a simple fix! This has been driving me crazy. Don’t why I didn’t think this! Thank you!
I bought a used Cub xt1 last summer that only had 8 hours on it. It had the bagger on it. I bought the mulch kit and it came with no instructions. I was not sure if the front hook pointed up or down. I found your video and saw that the hook points up. After watching your video, I looked at my kit and noticed that it had 3 holes and 3 zip ties with it. They must have implemented the holes after watching your video. Thanks for your great idea!
Just installed one and it was blowing off all day with tall grass, definitely going to do this. Thanks 🍻
Ich habe genau das selbe Problem mit diesen billigen Plastikabdeckungen. Aber auf diese einfache geniale Idee bin ich nicht gekommen. Danke für den Tipp.
Very Clever. I have heard of this issue with the mulch kits. We bought a 2023. Not sure if their engineers resolved these issue, ( I doubt it), so Now I've learned from you what to do. The complaints I'm aware of is with the mulching blades and plug, the grass ends up blowing all over you . Will try this. Ty.....
Good video with a good fix.❤
I'm going to do this now. Also, add some extra holes on the side. Frustrated that min leaves streaks of grass on the yard. After a few days I have lines of dried grass. End up getting my blower out. I noticed on the new kits have zip ties. Appreciate the validation.
You’re a god send. Thank you 👍🏽
Very nice, I will probably do this today
Perfect solution. Thank you so very much
For the people saying that the zip ties broke, Harbor Freight has stainless steel cable ties. 25 in a pack for 4.99. These might hold up better than the standard plastic ties!
I've been using the same four plastic zip ties for nearly a year now. I suspect the folks who are breaking zip ties are using really small zip ties or really cheap ones. Metal zip ties might be a good upgrade for these folks.
Good video. Practical and too the point. Thanks.
Nice videos....I had the same issues n I put one hole in the middle n use wire to pull it down
Perfect solution- thank you for sharing
Works so so…have to cut ties every time to clean underside of deck.
Thanks. It's a shame Cub Cadet abandoned their simple plug they used to use, where it just slid in & was held in place by the flapper. Now it's a much more hands-on install process and I don't understand why they did that.
The last walk-behind mower I had had a crescent shaped plug that completely filled the rear portion where the clipping bag would go and it encircled the mowing blade on one side. Zero grass got blown out from under the deck and it mulched grass really well. It's a shame there isn't something similar for the XT-2.
My new ZTS 42 uses the same plug, except I don't have the metal rod at the rear, just the plastic wing nut. We shouldn't have to rig our mowers to solve their deficiencies. My ZTS was $$$.
Yea, my old, basic Craftsman mower lasted 16 years before the engine block cracked when one of the bolts on the block under the flywheel loosened up and the flywheel clipped the head of the bolt. I liked the mulching cover on the old mower much better, but I love all the conveniences and features on the new mower so I'm happy to fix the sub-par mulching cover.
I ended up welding 3mm plate in as i got sick of grass blowing out or jamming with cuttings
Well that solves that problem forever! I like to bag my clippings the first few times I scalp the lawn in the spring, so that's not an option that would work for me. I really wish some enterprising fellow would manufacture a removable steel plate for this deck. I'd certainly buy one and I think a lot of other folks would too!
Thanks for the video. How did you remove the grass chute?
The chute separates from its mounting bracket fairly easily. I took the extra step of unbolting the chute bracket completely and installing some short bolts to fill in the holes in the deck where the chute bracket was mounted. I’ve never used a chute, I always mulch except for I few times in the spring when I scalp the previous years dead grass and bag the dead grass so the new growth gets more sunlight.
Is this the 631-08129 mulch plug (for XT1 LT50 FAB)? That's the mower I have but have heard bad things about both the plug (resolved for me w/ this vid) AND the mulch blades. Won't be buying the kit.
So, I want to buy just the Plug 631-08129 and use standard blades that it came with...
Is this doable? Thoughts?
Thanks in advance and thanks for the video Koolbob2. Very kool.
I bought mine from a local company that sells and services Cub Cadet mowers and they included the mulching blades and plug as part of the sale so I've never used the mower with 'standard' blades. Parts of my lawn have thick zoysia turf that grows to fast and thick that it bogs down the mower and so much grass clippings that I have to mower the same area two or three times no matter how slowly I mow.
I bought a pair of mulching blades that have three 'fins' on each end of the blade that are supposed to chop up the clippings better www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/cub-cadet-42-in-xtreme-mulch-blade-(s-shape)-490-110-c202 They were terrible, in addition to discharging a fair amount of clippings out the right side of the mower deck, they also spit out softball clumps of clippings out the left side of the mowing deck every foot or so. I switched back to the Cub Cadet munching blades.
If you find anything that mulches better than the Cub Cadet blades that come with the mulching plug, please let me know!
I just bought one of these and they now come with the holes on the bottom and the zip.ties
Coincidence? :)
Looks like a good solution, but did it work for you in the long run?
Once the grass has turned brown in the fall I change the oil and filter (no sense letting dirty, acidic oil sit in the engine all winter) and I cut the cut the zip ties off and removed the mulching kit. In the spring I attach the bagging kit and mow the grass as low as possible as soon as there is enough green grass to cut. I cut the grass short and bag the old thatch for the first two or three mowings and then I raise the deck to the normal height, sharpen the blades and swap the bagger for the mulching kit. I installed the mulching plug with four zip ties, just like last year and it really helps keep grass from blowing past the mulching plug.
Works ok… not great…have too cut Ty’s to clean deck every time.
I had drilled some holes and put in some short zip screws, the plastic eventually gave ou on this crappy mulch kit, curious how long this lasts for him
I cut the zip ties off in the fall when I switch to mulching and bagging leaves. So far the plastic mulch plug looks the same as the day I drilled it.
Whoever designed the cover should go back to school and whoever approved it for sale should be fired--that's what I always think when I'm "mulching." I had a modicum of success by installing a couple of stainless bolts in the lip of the deck to keep it from lifting outward.
Zip ties don’t work either. The pressure from the leaves will eventually snap the zip ties. Any other ideas?
I just noticed that mine snapped. I'll just put more on. They lasted about one season.
where did you get that wire ? what is it called? .
I think you are asking about the 'zip ties' that I used to hold the cover down. You can get them almost anywhere, Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, Ace Hardware, any auto parts store, Amazon, etc.
I just ordered the parts from Cub Cadet. If you have an XT-1, the mulch plug cover is 631-05195A, The support rod is 747-06686 and the wing nut knob is 720-04122. And, as @Koolbob2 said, those other black pieces are zip ties. I don't know what size I'll have to use for those, some people are saying the zip ties break easily so I'll see if I can use thicker ones.
Nice mod but after I did this the blades somehow cut the ties where it wraps around the inside of the deck works good until the blades cut the ties
I'm trying to imagine how the blades could reach the zip ties if everything was installed properly. Be sure to install them with the 'head' of the zip tie on the outside like in the video and pull them tight so they are tight against the mower deck. The tips of the blades should not be able to reach the zip ties unless they ties are loose, your mowing deck is bent, the mowing blade is an aftermarket blade that is too big or the blade was installed off center.
Did this when I first bought the mower. All stock parts but have the same problem. They get nicked when the deck brushes a bush and slides a bit laterally. Still use the fix though. Just need a goodly supply of zip ties. Nice to see someone else thought of it.
@@charlesheise9910 I guess the zip ties I got from Harbor Freight must be super strong, they lasted me all summer and are still on the mower today.
I tried this, and the zip ties lasted one mow
That’s odd, I’ve been mowing for many months with the same zip ties. Are you mowing where there are lots of rocks or sticks?