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glen_or_linda

Snapper mower with mulching blade

19 years ago

Hello,

I have a Snapper push mower and because we have a huge cottonwood tree with zillions of leaves we thought it would be a good idea to replace the regular blade with a mulching blade, take off the bag and attach the cover that goes on the side and mulch the leaves instead of bagging them up for the land fill.

When trying the mower out I became really frustrated because the leaves and debris are all shooting out from under the left hand side and the front of the mower and it doesn't seem to be sucking stuff up into the mower deck but blowing it away as I mow over the area. It is mulching most of the grass and leaves but it is also making a huge mess that I have to keep mowing over and over again to get it all mulched. Any ideas as to why this is happening?

Thanks so much,

Linda

Comments (15)

  • 19 years ago

    HELLO LINDA.ARE YOU USING THE NINJA BLADE? IF YOU ARE IT PROVIDES VERY LITTLE SUCTION.TRY A REGULAR SNAPPER MULCHING BLADE.THAT WAS THE SAME ISSUE I HAD.

  • 19 years ago

    greenman, thank you so much for getting back to me. I don't know what kind of blade I am using. I do know it cost $40!!! I will call Mr. Mower where I bought it and see if I can find out anything. Thanks again.
    Linda

  • 19 years ago

    Well, I just talked to the fellow at Mr. Mower and he said that he sold me the Ninja blade and that is the regular Snapper mulching blade. Is there two separate blades that you can purchase. greenman, do you have a number for your particular blade? Thanks
    Linda

  • 19 years ago

    You may want to try a "Gator Blade" It is an aftermarket blade, It should be Gator part # 99-920

    Here is a link that might be useful: Gator Blade

  • 19 years ago

    hi linda the blade # is 7100242 that blade is of the easy line mowers it is a 3 in 1 blade seams to work great for me.do you have a hi vac deck or mulching deck? the hi vac deck creats alot more suction then the mulching deck.

  • 19 years ago

    Hi greenman,

    I have the 21" Easy Line Model SPV211. I am not sure as to what kind of deck I have.

    I called Snapper and talked to a guy who says he is a technical Snapper person on the phone yesterday and he is supposed to call me back. At first he said that the Ninja blade doesn't fit on my model but then he said he talked to someone else and they told him that it had been approved to use. He said he would find out for sure and wanted to actually talk to an engineer about it and would get back to me. His name is Sid.

    Your blade number matches the original blade that came on my Snapper. With the bag on, it doesn't mulch at all but I have not tried it in mulching mode with the cover over the opening. I am going to go out and test it today.

    If that blade is a mulching blade why didn't the Mr. Mower guy just tell me that instead of selling me a $40 blade that doesn't work? ( I really know the answer, I am just typing with sarcasm.)

    You have been very helpful. Thanks so much.

    Linda

  • 19 years ago

    I'm pretty sure that the deck on the EZ Line is the same as the EZ Speed and the older Hi Vac. And would assume the crankshaft dimensions and blade hub are the same. So I would expect all the regular 21" Snapper blades to fit it, including the Ninja. The plain-vanilla blade that came with your mower will mulch - just about any blade will to some extent. The Ninja mulches grass much finer, though, which can be a nice benefit. I would give the original a try, and you could consider the Gator blade as recommended also. I find it to be a good compromise solution.

    BTW, did the $40 you paid for the Ninja include installation? Because otherwise that seems way too high a price. I think maybe $20-25 is more like what the blade typically costs over the counter. Even at that, I would say that $15 labor is pretty steep for the 5 minutes or less it would take a shop to swap blades.

  • 19 years ago

    matt21, Oh dear, I am so sad to hear you say that about the cost of the blade. The price did not include instalation.

    Here I was thinking I was doing the best thing by going to a lawn mower shop so that I could get the help I needed when I needed it. I figured it would be wiser and more cost efficient in the long run than buying my mower at a big box place. I wish so bad that things were like they used to be in the good old days where you could trust people.

    I am glad to have this forum. I have learned so much from you guys.
    I am going to go out and test the different blades today. Thanks for all your help.

    Linda

  • 19 years ago

    Linda, you should be correct that going to a mower shop is the best way to buy a good mower. Hopefully I'm missing something and they didn't really overcharge by that much. Call around to other shops and check my facts (or maybe one of the mower techs here can verify).

  • 19 years ago

    Mattv21, I am sad to say that you didn't miss anything. I was going to use the Mr. Mower store to do all my seasonal maintenance but now I don't think I will. I will just figure out how to clean my mower and service it myself.

    When I went to Mr. Mower the other day, where I bought my Snapper last spring, the fellow there should have told me that the original blade was fine to use for mulching, that I just needed to put a cover over the opening.

    I put the original blade back on this morning and with the cover over the opening it did just fine just like Greenman said it would. In fact it mulched better with the original blade than it did with the Ninja.

    That fellow just knew that I didn't know anything so he made some money on me. It does make me sad but hopefully I learned another lesson. I just should have come in here on this forum and asked my questions before I went to his store and asked him. :-(

    Thanks again for all the help I received here. You fellows have been very nice.

    Linda

    P.S. You should see my little back yard now. It is beautiful!!! :-)

  • 19 years ago

    glen -or linda-your dealer is an idiot-loose them. the ninja is not desighned to mulch leaves-it has no vacume and cannot lift the leaves to mulch. it is a great mulcher for grass. you need the gator blade mentioned above! it mulches and bags as well so its the only blade you will ever need. you can also buy a plug to go down the chute so you dont have to install a cover to mulch. snapper with a gator is the best leaf mulcher $ can buy. i am a lawn service operator and know what i am doing-unlike your dealer

  • 17 years ago

    I bag with my ninja blade fairly often. It works fine but I can't compare to the Hi-Vac blade which would likely do better. I like to mulch most of the time but bag sometimes. it just depends but it does work.

  • 17 years ago

    I just bought a Snapper Ninja 21" blade for $34.03, including 6% sales tax, from a Snapper dealer who discounts parts. $40 is probably list price for this part, so probably your dealer was not ripping you off. The Ninja blades are complicated compared to other blades, more difficult to manufacture, and therefore cost more.

    You asked for Snapper's mulching blade and your dealer sold you the Ninja which is Snapper's mulching blade. He probably was selling you what he thought you wanted.

    Many people think highly of the Ninja for mulching. Make sure your deck is clean and the leaves and grass are dry. You can not mulch well in wet conditions or if the grass is too high.

  • 17 years ago

    many people on here say the ninja blade has no suction but I bag quite well with my ninja blade and Hi-Vac Snapper. Better than my commercial rear bagging snapper with a standard blade. Only problem is the ninja blade does rob some power. It takes a strong motor to keep it going strong. It is almost like having 2 blades on the mower by design and cuts the grass multiple times. I have no issues with my Ninja blade and leaves either. Sometimes I will go right over a large pile and there is nothing left but some fine powder that blows away. Can bag the leaves quite well too with the Ninja blade.

  • 17 years ago

    Snapper offers 4 blades for its 21" HI-VAC and mulching models:
    1) Standard Lift Punched (Part # 1-9795) with High Lift Deflectors (Part # 1-9795) installed, for bagging or side discharge.
    2) Standard Lift Unpunched (Part #7026691), primarily for bagging or side discharge, but can mulch also.
    3) Recycler (Part # 1-7168), primarily for mulching, but can bag or side discharge also. Probably, Snappers best all purpose blade.
    4) Ninja (Part # 7026407), for mulching, but posters state they can bag with this blade too.

    I listed these in order of performance going from the best bagging/side discharge to best mulching performance.