Ariens Classic LM21SW Questions

[threeputtpar]

Hello All -

I just picked up a used Ariens Classic swivel wheel mower off of CL this week for $150. I've been looking for one of these since the snow melted, but many were just too far overpriced. Grabbed this one on Tuesday, and finally cut the lawn with it last night. Sorry, I don't have pics yet as it was dark by the time I finished up last night.

So, here's my issue. My grass was a bit longer than I normally let it get, so I ended up with those ugly lines of grass that didn't get fully mulched. I cut in the direction that would minimize the lines by going over the last line with each new pass, but it didn't work 100%. The weird thing is that the lines were coming from the left side of the deck, which is opposite of the discharge outlet. On my other mower, these lines would end up on the same side as the discharge outlet. It has the original blade on it yet and it was sharp enough. Ariens calls it a medium lift blade. Would a specific mulching blade be better? I always mulch, and only bag when there's leaves in the fall.

So, My plan is to make sure I cut the grass more often or raise the deck up if it's too long. If this doesn't work, does anyone have any experience or insight with this particular Ariens mower (even the non-swivel wheel model)? I've also noticed that I had to really set the height adjusters at the top end of their travel to get the same cut height as my Lawn Boy that was set in the middle of the range. This was on the driveway and measuring from the ground up to the bottom of the deck. I'm afraid that I won't have enough upward travel in the height adjustments if I ever have to cut really long grass.

I was also mowing at the slowest speed the mower will do. This thing really moves fast, as after a while I noticed that the speed adjuster had moved on its own to about 1/4 throttle and I could hardly keep up.

Thanks for the help.

 

[wag123]

Your mower has a mower deck that was designed for maximum BAGGING/VACUUMING performance. It has a high vacuum rolled lip deck similar to a Snapper Hi-Vac. If you want your mower to mulch better you will need to install the Ariens 711035 mulching kit which consists of a mulching dome and mulching blade.

 

[threeputtpar]

I did see that mulching kit on Arien's website. I'm still looking into another type of blade first, but if I must I'll spend the money on something that is purpose designed.

Anyone with this Classic mower that can comment on the cutting height issue?

 

[wag123]

Originally Posted By: threeputtpar
I did see that mulching kit on Arien's website. I'm still looking into another type of blade first, but if I must I'll spend the money on something that is purpose designed.

It is NOT just a mulching blade that you need. By itself, a mulching blade will not accomplish what you are trying to do, you will be wasting your money. If you want to convert it into a descent mulching mower, the deck itself needs to be reconfigured. That is what the mulching dome does.

 

[threeputtpar]

Pictures as promised







I really wanted to get the one with the 6hp Kawasaki but they are few because most people hang onto them. Or they want $450 for a 10 year old one.

 

[wag123]

There isn't anything wrong with the engine that you have.
If memory serves, the top mowing height is 3" on that mower. With a proper mulching kit installed and that much horsepower available, you shouldn't have any problem blowing through 8 or 9 inch tall grass. But, if you are trying to mow at too fast of a ground speed, the quality of cut will suffer. When mulching you should ALWAYS run the engine at it's top RPM setting and slow the mower's drive speed down from the transmission adjustment lever.

 

[jeepman3071]

A mulching specific blade would be best. If your mower has a mulching kit available for it, that would be even better in combination with the mulching blade.

When mulching, always use the 1/3 rule. You should only cut 1/3 of the total grass height off the top at a time. Make multiple passes over the lawn at different heights if the grass is too long, this will help prevent the clumps of grass. Also never mow wet grass. Trying to mulch wet grass will end up in a big mess. The grass must be completely dry to mulch.

 

[JTK]

SWEET mower! Is that an aluminum deck? Awesome if so. I like the drive system. I haven't seen one like that w/ the exposed wheels gears.

I agree with what wag says in regards to having a proper mulch kit on it, but IMO, the biggest part of your problem was trying to mulch grass that's too tall.

Sure you need a proper mulching setup, but the best setup in the world won't mulch properly if the grass to too tall, wet or any combination of the two.

 

[old1]

One little thing I thought I might mention. That B&S engine is good, and quite powerful, but you do know that it doesn't have anywhere near 6.75 H.P. don't you?

 

[threeputtpar]

Thanks for the responses. Unfortunately, it's not an aluminum deck and I almost busted a nut getting the 105lb machine out of the back of the minivan. The one issue with the exposed drive gears is that that back corner is where clumps of grass come out when they aren't mulched fully, and they get pulled into the gears. I needed to give it a good blast with the leaf blower to clear all of the debris.

For the price, I'm happy with the B&S engine. It has plenty of power to get through the grass in my yard. I'm on the fence whether or not to just get a mulching blade or go full in and get the mulching kit.

My only concern with the mulching kit is once it's installed, does that negate bagging or side discharge without having to remove the mulching kit?

Yes, this engine is probably old enough that the 6.75hp rating was before the engine manufacturers were busted for over reporting those numbers. Even so, if it still has 5hp, that's plenty good enough for my purposes. The other mowers that showed up on CL were the Kohler XT-7 powered ones, and they were only rated at 4.25hp at best. Not worth the money or effort.

 

[jeepman3071]

Originally Posted By: threeputtpar
Thanks for the responses. Unfortunately, it's not an aluminum deck and I almost busted a nut getting the 105lb machine out of the back of the minivan. The one issue with the exposed drive gears is that that back corner is where clumps of grass come out when they aren't mulched fully, and they get pulled into the gears. I needed to give it a good blast with the leaf blower to clear all of the debris.

For the price, I'm happy with the B&S engine. It has plenty of power to get through the grass in my yard. I'm on the fence whether or not to just get a mulching blade or go full in and get the mulching kit.

My only concern with the mulching kit is once it's installed, does that negate bagging or side discharge without having to remove the mulching kit?

Yes, this engine is probably old enough that the 6.75hp rating was before the engine manufacturers were busted for over reporting those numbers. Even so, if it still has 5hp, that's plenty good enough for my purposes. The other mowers that showed up on CL were the Kohler XT-7 powered ones, and they were only rated at 4.25hp at best. Not worth the money or effort.



I think it is a great mower!

The Briggs is superior to the Kohler in that application, at least in my opinion. Briggs are also extremely easy to work on and get parts for. That engine is probably around 6 hp, but should be plenty powerful.

I might be the only one on here who doesn't like aluminum decks. Most of the aluminum deck mowers I have seen have been severely corroded away underneath. Some of them were so corroded that they had holes in the deck. I've only seen a few rusty steel decks, and the only ones that really seemed to suffer were the cheaper box store mowers with extremely flimsy decks. The Toro, Ariens, and Craftsman steel decks seem to hold up pretty well. Clean the grass off the bottom occasionally and it should last a long time.

 

[wag123]

Originally Posted By: threeputtpar
My only concern with the mulching kit is once it's installed, does that negate bagging or side discharge without having to remove the mulching kit?

You do NOT loose the mower's rear bagging or side discharge capabilities, but you do have to remove the mulching dome and mulching blade and put the standard vacuuming blade back on if you want to use those capabilities.
After using the full mulching kit you won't want to do that, it mulches so well that all you will EVER want to do is mulch with it. You won't even need to pickup leaves in the fall, just run over them a couple of times at right angles and mulch them into the yard. It will chop them up fine enough that they will help to insulate the lawn against severe cold and will decompose completely by late in the spring, adding beneficial compost to your lawn.
BTW, the top mowing height of your mower is 3 1/4", not the 3" that I previously stated.

 

[threeputtpar]

Thanks for that information. I will likely try to find the full mulching kit later this summer. Good to know that it will mulch that well with the kit and I can still use the bagging feature without any hassles if need be.

Also, I cut the lawn a second time last night with it and still encountered some problems with clumps. I decided for the heck of it to speed up the mower and see what would happen and it actually performed better in not leaving as many clumps. I don't know why that it would be that way, but I'm not questioning it. I wonder if the clumping issue was the reason the guy was selling it at the price he was?

It worked out nice, as what would normally take me 45 minutes with the fixed wheel mower now only takes me 25 minutes with the swivel wheel one.

 

[afoulk]

That's a good engine on your mower. I have the 7hp version on my snapper and it handles even extremely tall grass with ease. Very easy to work on. Just make sure to keep the valves adjusted. When I bought mine off the original owner, he said it wouldn't start anymore and was [censored] because he thought snappers were supposed to be a quality mower and didn't understand why after 6yrs it wouldn't start. After I got it home, I tried starting it and it pulled real hard. This is usually an indication the valves are out of adjustment and the compression release isn't working. I adjusted them and it started no problem.

 

[threeputtpar]

Thanks for that reminder about the valve clearance. It starts great when cold with just 2 pushes of the primer, but when warm it pulls over noticeably harder and coughs and wheezes to a start. He told me of this before I bought it, and I immediately thought the exhaust valve must not have enough clearance when hot.