Mulching leaves We just ordered this lawn mower, and expect it to arrive sometime next week. I'm curious to know how well it does mulching leaves. Is the motor powerful enough to handle them and grass? I don't plan to use the bag. We have a medium-sized back yard and a smaller front yard....with plenty of trees everywhere shedding leaves. Mulching leaves We just ordered this lawn mower, and expect it to arrive sometime next week. I'm curious to know how well it does mulching leaves. Is the motor powerful enough to handle them... » Read More Mulching leaves We just ordered this lawn mower, and expect it to arrive sometime next week. I'm curious to know how well it does mulching leaves. Is the motor powerful enough to handle them and grass? I don't plan to use the bag. We have a medium-sized back yard and a smaller front yard....with plenty of trees everywhere shedding leaves. « Show Less
292712
I used my CMM1000 to shred leaves this year. Raked them into 4" to 6" high piles, went over the piles with the mower with collection bag attached. Then raked 4" to 6" high piles again, and mowed over them a second time. Any leaves remaining after two passes were raked up the old-fashioned way :-)The bag fills up fairly quickly, so I had my wheelbarrow nearby and just kept dumping the shredded leaves from the bag into it. Had to keep making sure the chute between the blade and the collection bag was kept clear of debris too.I thought it worked pretty well. How did things work out for you?Regards,Mark Widmer (New Jersey, USA) I used my CMM1000 to shred leaves this year. Raked them into 4" to 6" high piles, went over the piles with the mower with collection bag attached. Then raked 4" to 6" high piles again, and mowed over them a second time. Any leaves remaining after two passes were raked up the old-fashioned way :-)The bag fills up fairly quickly, so I had my wheelbarrow nearby and just kept dumping the shredded leaves from the bag into it. Had to keep making sure the chute between the blade and the collection bag was kept clear of debris too.I thought it worked... » Read More I used my CMM1000 to shred leaves this year. Raked them into 4" to 6" high piles, went over the piles with the mower with collection bag attached. Then raked 4" to 6" high piles again, and mowed over them a second time. Any leaves remaining after two passes were raked up the old-fashioned way :-)The bag fills up fairly quickly, so I had my wheelbarrow nearby and just kept dumping the shredded leaves from the bag into it. Had to keep making sure the chute between the blade and the collection bag was kept clear of debris too.I thought it worked pretty well. How did things work out for you?Regards,Mark Widmer (New Jersey, USA) « Show Less
292713
Yes, it works fine for that as long a pile is not super high. If you get it into a foot high pile of leavs the leaves, it will stall out and there is a thermal protection circuit that will keep the mower off for about 60 seconds and you can restart it after that time is up. You did not mention if you planned to bag the leaf pieces for mulching or mulch on the spot. For mowing leaves on the lawn and pulverizing them into tiny pieces in the mulching mode, it works fine.
292714
The mower mulches the leaves in place really well. I've been doing it for three years instead of raking and I think it has contributed to my lawn's steady improvement every spring. I have a lot of trees on my property so each fall I have to be pretty frequent with mowing to keep ahead of the curve. If you let it go, the mower won't do the whole yard in one shot. In the fall of 2007, the trees in my area of the country seemed to hang on til the last minute. Then in early December, whoosh! The shear volume was a little too much. So I bought the plug-in version, the MM875, to supplement the effort for next year. The mower mulches the leaves in place really well. I've been doing it for three years instead of raking and I think it has contributed to my lawn's steady improvement every spring. I have a lot of trees on my property so each fall I have to be pretty frequent with mowing to keep ahead of the curve. If you let it go, the mower won't do the whole yard in one shot. In the fall of 2007, the trees in my area of the country seemed to hang on til the last minute. Then in early December, whoosh! The shear volume was a little too much. So I bought the plug-in version, the MM875, to supplement the... » Read More The mower mulches the leaves in place really well. I've been doing it for three years instead of raking and I think it has contributed to my lawn's steady improvement every spring. I have a lot of trees on my property so each fall I have to be pretty frequent with mowing to keep ahead of the curve. If you let it go, the mower won't do the whole yard in one shot. In the fall of 2007, the trees in my area of the country seemed to hang on til the last minute. Then in early December, whoosh! The shear volume was a little too much. So I bought the plug-in version, the MM875, to supplement the effort for next year. « Show Less
2104677
This style of mower does not create suction like a rotary mower and therefore will not pick up leaves. The cutting action is created by the rotating blade contacting the straight blade in the back. Great for cutting a consistent heigth grass.
36711
Should be no problem with the leaves & small acorns. Live down in the south where there's mostly pine trees, magnolias, and burr oaks. Picks up and shreds magnolia leaves just fine and magnolia leaves are even worse than oak leaves with regards to being thick and never decomposing. This Toro I'm sure would have the suction to pick up the acorns, but I don't know how much they'd actually be mulched or what it may do to the impeller blades. Live and learn.
508648
No, I don't think this mower would shred leaves. It's very light weight and would get choked down. I would suggest a mower with a mulching blade.
989324
I haven't used mine in vacuum mode yet but I believe that the power with which it blows grass and leaves it will easily pickup grass clippings and much more. Like you I am skeptical about most manufacturers claims but this blower works so well and much better I expected, I don't think you can go wrong in buying it and will be more then pleased once you have used it. When I was reading the reviews on this blower/vac the only complaint I read was that it picked tree twigs as well as the grass and I guess this individual couldn't figure out that all he had was to not hold the vac tube so close to the ground. I haven't used mine in vacuum mode yet but I believe that the power with which it blows grass and leaves it will easily pickup grass clippings and much more. Like you I am skeptical about most manufacturers claims but this blower works so well and much better I expected, I don't think you can go wrong in buying it and will be more then pleased once you have used it. When I was reading the reviews on this blower/vac the only complaint I read was that it picked tree twigs as well as the grass and I guess this individual couldn't figure out that all he had was to not hold the vac tube so close... » Read More I haven't used mine in vacuum mode yet but I believe that the power with which it blows grass and leaves it will easily pickup grass clippings and much more. Like you I am skeptical about most manufacturers claims but this blower works so well and much better I expected, I don't think you can go wrong in buying it and will be more then pleased once you have used it. When I was reading the reviews on this blower/vac the only complaint I read was that it picked tree twigs as well as the grass and I guess this individual couldn't figure out that all he had was to not hold the vac tube so close to the ground. « Show Less
1891683
I've let my lawn get to about 6 inches and it struggles a bit. I mulch not bag but you really can't let it get long. The mower isn't as powerful as a gas one. It's best for a small to mid size lawn that is mowed very regularly.
90835
Not quite sure what you mean by "mulching." It chops dry leaves and bags what it's chopped. If you mean actual mulched leaves (e.g., leaves that have fermented into a soil-like material), it would likely only chop that material if it were dry enough and in small enough pieces to get sucked into the chopping system.
1787654
have not tried that yet, good on leaves in tight garden spots. Id say get a regular rake for grass.
2245954
Not on my mower - the normal blade cuts up grass and leaves like they are a jar of herbs and the bagger sucks it up. Just unreal. I still love this bagger! Think it is probably about the best money I ever spent!
2049729
Yes, it works quite well for leaves and such. The real test will come next spring, for maple tree seeds, but I expect that to be fine, too. I use it with a Weed Eater WEB160 blower. Get a good grip on the tube before you turn the blower on...it's fairly powerful.
1457471
Sorry, I have not had a chance to do much leaf mulching with the CH5, but from past experinces with several differant machines I have found that really wet leaves when processed too quickly can pose some problems unless mixed with dry ones. It's not that the flails cannot pulverize, but that screens can become clogged on almost all machines when really wet marerial is fed too quickly. If mixed with dry leaves most can handle them, but you may wish to check with the Gxi folks that build this machine to see if they have any further info. They can be located online, and have been very helpful regarding most questions I have had. If there are many wet leaves then some raking to loosen them up and allow to dry a bit; which doesn't take too long; can help avoid clogging most chipper/mulchers.
186520
I've not had a good past experience with mowers when trying to mulch. So my expectations were really low when trying this mower for mulching. It must be the blade design. This lawnmower works great mulching. No, awesome. Best value mower I ever bought. My house lawn is 5/8 acre in California.
1933575
When I use a bag it works pretty well. The grass needs to be fairly dry because the mower is not as powerful as a gas powered mower. At any rate I cut high and rarely use the bag. Sometimes I have to rake a bit but I have chickens and they love fresh cut grass. The rest of the grass clippings feed the lawn.
2071308
I bought mine almost 2 months ago and I really like it. I cut my grass every 3-5 days so I've had lots of opportunities to use it. One thing I've noticed is that grass tends to build up around the edge of the deck underneath. It's pretty simple to clean it off, especially right after mowing. Best part about cleaning the mower is that you can tip it and you don't have to worry about gas leaking out. It does take some practice with the cord... Mow the same way for 4 or 5 times then you'll learn how to manage the cord so you can go in different directions.
2071309
I have had it almost a year and it is still going strong. I think I prefer the previous one the LM175 6 1/2 amp. It is not a mulching mower like the MM275 and has a smaller motor, but it is 5 lb lighter and lasted 4 years in spite of real abuse. My yard is lumpy, root and cane stump laden. I have steep hill on a creek and swamp like conditions in half the backyard. My lot is 100 X 116 which requires 125 feet of power cord to reach the corners. Next time I will go back to the smaller, less powerful version. I am still quite happy with the performance of both.the LM 175
1252740
Maybe,,,, I purchased to pick up small leaves, junk in the lawn. Like some of the others,,, does miss some I would give it about 60%,,, windy 40% I have Bermuda grass,,,, I have very small tress have not used it the fall for a big job of raking... It does pick up the dried grass ( I use a grass catcher when I mow) leaves spots sometimes,,,, so when I go over the these spots it does pick up 50% I'm Okay with the product Not Excited A lot of the stuff flicks out of the front,, if you lower or elevate the opening gets bigger so stuff flicks out,,, if you get the cover down to ground to hard to roll..tears the grass up Again it's ok Probably would not recommend,, but a better quality sweeper.. Maybe,,,, I purchased to pick up small leaves, junk in the lawn. Like some of the others,,, does miss some I would give it about 60%,,, windy 40% I have Bermuda grass,,,, I have very small tress have not used it the fall for a big job of raking... It does pick up the dried grass ( I use a grass catcher when I mow) leaves spots sometimes,,,, so when I go over the these spots it does pick up 50% I'm Okay with the product Not Excited A lot of the stuff flicks out of the front,, if you lower or elevate the opening gets bigger so stuff flicks out,,, if you get the cover down to ground to hard to... » Read More Maybe,,,, I purchased to pick up small leaves, junk in the lawn. Like some of the others,,, does miss some I would give it about 60%,,, windy 40% I have Bermuda grass,,,, I have very small tress have not used it the fall for a big job of raking... It does pick up the dried grass ( I use a grass catcher when I mow) leaves spots sometimes,,,, so when I go over the these spots it does pick up 50% I'm Okay with the product Not Excited A lot of the stuff flicks out of the front,, if you lower or elevate the opening gets bigger so stuff flicks out,,, if you get the cover down to ground to hard to roll..tears the grass up Again it's ok Probably would not recommend,, but a better quality sweeper.. « Show Less
2005073
I agree with the first sentence written by Marc but what is hard to visualize is what the back side of the Brinly looks like and how it is attached to the mower deck. If you will send me an email with your email address on it I will send you some pictures that I just took, they should clear up alot of your questions. I really like my Brinly- my only problem is the sandy soil that I have. I pick up the sand and dirt and blow it out the back causing a big cloud as I drive around. My email is ........ hardinvariety@yahoo.com