Cub Cadet 100 Mower issue
 

Hope you all have some ideas? I have a model 100 with a 3 spindle deck. everything works fine except for the fact that the grass clippings that come out, are the length of the grass:2, 3, or 4 inches. The grass does not get chopped up. Could this be because of no baffle under the deck?
Thanks for any help.
:BangPC:

Yeah, that would cause it. The baffles help lift and hold the grass above the blades so they'll chop it up more. A mulching deck has the baffles all the way around the blade, to create more lift and hold it there longer.

What happened to your baffles?

I've used gator blades and love them! I need to get a set for my 1650! I hate having long grass clippings all over the yard.

But with no baffles, would the Gators actually do much better? I love my Gators too, but the baffles are there for a good reason.

So true the baffles are a must have. Sorry I wasn't clear on the baffle issue.:beer2:

I am baffled on the baffles

I also have a 100 with the 42" 3-spindle deck and have the same issue. Haven't been able to find out if the deck was supposed to have baffles in the first place, and if it did, what they would look like & how they'd mount to the deck. Curious what others have to say about it.

So far I've waited until the grass gets a little long, 6" probably, kept the standard issue (not Gator blades) Cub Cadet/MTD blades sharp, overlapped by roughly a 1/3 of the cutting width to recut the clippings and have had good luck with getting the clippings down to a reasonable size. I usually cut the grass to 3.5" in length. The lawn looks better after I run over it with the tractor alone than when I use my walk behind Toro mulching the grass alone. I'm happy with the results so far so I haven't gotten too bent out of shape about the deck missing the baffles.

All of the decks had baffles from the factory that wraps around the back third or so of each blade. Unfortunately I don't have a picture.

As I understand it, it's all about vacuum. Your deck is creating a suction upward by the rotation of the blades. That's why the high-lift blades like Gators cut clippings finer. And the baffles increase the upward suction by creating a housing around the blade, that will localize the vacuum effect.

So as I said, the mulching decks surround the blade more completely, creating more vacuum.

Thanks fellas, after taking a closer look, it looks like my baffles are rusted away. I f I can't find new ones, I will make some. That could good winter project while checking out rest of deck.
Thanks again.