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• PRO

  Richard Gadsby June 6, 2015 at 8:20pm

  I'm pretty sure they don't exist !!!
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    Paul McNulty > Richard Gadsby June 6, 2015 at 8:39pm

    Yep, Richard, I've never even seen the option on any of the pro roller mowers.
    
    Roller mowers are compromised by the extra parts around the rear, so poor wet collection and reliability. The plus side is that they give that perfect striped finish, which isn't what a mulching mower does.
    
    There are a lot of mowers that claim to mulch. My 4-wheeled has a plastic plug that blocks the rear chute, but it really isn't a mulching mower. You might need to think about a dedicated machine with the proper blades if you have enough jobs to justify it.
• PRO

  Seth Burgess June 6, 2015 at 9:14pm

  The new etesias with the trailing rear roller (so still a 4 wheeler) should be able to do it as they;ve got a scraper built into the roller (unlike say the aftermarket rollers (to my knowledge)).
• PRO

  Gary RK June 6, 2015 at 9:58pm

  Is it not a Paradox ?
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  Busy Bee Garden Services Limited June 7, 2015 at 8:37am

  Our Honda Pro's all have rollers and mulching blades on them, run them for three seasons like this now which works well for us.
  • PRO

    Gary RK > Busy Bee Garden Services Limited June 7, 2015 at 8:43am

    Are they pukka mulching blades and in that configuration, do you collect or truely "let mulch" ?
• PRO

  Nick @ NM Garden Services Ltd June 7, 2015 at 9:01am

  We have mulching blades and plugs on our Kubota mowers (they are basically Kaaz machines) and I am always surprised at how good the finish is.
  
  One thing to watch out for is if the grass is long or wet it can collect on the rear roller and is deposited on the lawn when the mower is turned. It can be sorted by going around with a blower at the end though.
  • PRO

    Gary RK > Nick @ NM Garden Services Ltd June 7, 2015 at 9:11am

    My take was that a Roller's fundemental purpose ( and only difference to a 4 wheeler ) was to lay the grass 'over' to impart that vital 'stripe' ... and to cut grass as well !

    If you're mulching, the grass just 'cut' goes back onto the lawn and impares the finish, especially if you are not cutting at least weekly..... 

    In that case, why not just use a 4 Wheeler with superior ground speed performance  ?   
    • PRO

      Nick @ NM Garden Services Ltd > Gary RK June 7, 2015 at 9:28am

      The roller mowers with mulch kits leave stripes whereas 4 wheeled mowers with mulch kits don't tend to stripe....
    • PRO

      Harry@VWGS > Gary RK June 7, 2015 at 9:30am

      +1. Imo you are defeating the purpose of using a roller mower to get a superior finish and stripe on your clients lawn, if you mulch your just putting clippings back on an area you've just cut ruining the crisp finish, especially if you cant cut weekly. I have tried this on lawns that didn't need a superior finish and maybe I am just picky but I could see it had been mulched and I didn't like the finished lawn...