Honda HRX owners

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How does the honda HRX series mower bag grass?I had a HRR series, took it back was not a good bagger at all.I would like to stay with honda,but if they don`t bag well I might go with snapper or toro.
thank`s
 
Snapper hi vac = best bagger
Toro super recycler = Best mulcher
Honda hrx some where in the middle but not the best at either.
 
i have a hrx217hxa. bag works fine. When I remove the bag when full i get about a handful or two of grass that falls out before I get the bag upright. and i have filled the bag really full in the fall with leaves and grass that is so compact to the point it's hard to empty the bag.
i wouldn't think there'd be much difference between the HRR and HRX line, other than plastic vs steel.
I don't understand how some people can have such bagging problems, the bag must not be installed right on the mower or the bag not right on the wire frame. Or they have the wrong mower blade and it's not forcing air upward to throw gas into the bag, or the mower is so low to the ground it can't pull in air under the deck.
 
My HR215 is excellent at bagging/discharge but can bog down when mulching thick, juicy grass during peak growing seasons. I think most of what is required is another 1.0-1.5 HP. I believe a little while after mine was made they did just that by fitting a GXV-190 to the same deck as my GXV-140.
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Originally Posted By: 1 FMF
I don't understand how some people can have such bagging problems, the bag must not be installed right on the mower or the bag not right on the wire frame. Or they have the wrong mower blade and it's not forcing air upward to throw gas into the bag, or the mower is so low to the ground it can't pull in air under the deck.


Deck design has a lot to do with a mower's performance. I have not used a Snapper, but of the mowers I have used, the Lawn-Boy 8157 I have is, hands-down, the best bagging mower I've ever used. And by "best" I mean cut quality. There are no stray blades of grass that pop back up. The cut is extremely even and uniform.

I have an HR215 and it doesn't really excel at either. It bags good and mulches good, but for some reason, the lawn just doesn't have that super "crisp" look to it after I bag with that vs. the Lawn-Boy. Couldn't tell you why.

The Lawn-Boy 10330 I have is a super-efficient mulcher (nice, flat, staggered-wheel deck). But a bagging kit is available for it that I haven't tried. And a mulching kit is available for the 8157 that I haven't tried either.

In the end, there's a lot that goes into deck design, and I'm not smart enough about it to tell you what works and what doesn't. All I know is some do seem to work better than others.
 
Originally Posted By: Craig in Canada
I believe a little while after mine was made they did just that by fitting a GXV-190 to the same deck as my GXV-140.
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There is no GXV-190. The GXV-140 is the largest vertical shaft commercial engine. They have the GCV-160 and the GCV-190. Those are the overhead cam residential engines.
 
The current gxv is a 160 if I'm not mistaken.
On the subject of bagging, the hondas all use a very low lift blade.
The snapper offers a high lift blade. If you have ever seen one you would yall would understand what makes it the most powerful bagger. It will lift a quarter off the sidewalk with the deck on the highest setting.
 
Thank`s to all,I`ll look at the snapper.The honda that I had was brand new,bag was on right,cut height was at 3 inches.From what I have read since,that model (HRR) is pretty bad at bagging.
 
Originally Posted By: 660mag
The current gxv is a 160 if I'm not mistaken.


Ahh, you are correct, thanks for pointing that out. This must have been a relatively recent change. The last time I ordered some Honda engine literature, a few years ago, the GXV-140 was the largest "small" GXV engine offered (excepting the larger 340 and 390 here).
 
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Originally Posted By: Craig in Canada
I believe a little while after mine was made they did just that by fitting a GXV-190 to the same deck as my GXV-140.
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There is no GXV-190. The GXV-140 is the largest vertical shaft commercial engine. They have the GCV-160 and the GCV-190. Those are the overhead cam residential engines.


You're probably right, it's been years since I cared to look into it. That probably means they also "downgraded" to the GC series but with higher power.

On a related note, if this is true, Honda needs to make a GX series larger than the -140 if they ever want to see it compete seriously on anything that mulches.
 
660mag did correct me, and they do make a GXV-160 now.

Still, the GXV-140 (really only 135cc) does remarkably well for me and mulching. Though the engine itself is very heavy, it also seems to be plenty torquey for its displacement, and has a lot of power in reserve, at least in my experience. Then again, my lawn (Centipede grass) isn't all that dense (like Bermunda or KBG), so mulching isn't exactly a super-high effort affair.
 
Originally Posted By: 660mag
Snapper hi vac = best bagger
Toro super recycler = Best mulcher
Honda hrx some where in the middle but not the best at either.


I don't know, I think I'd disagree a with 660mag and Johnny slightly. I definitely agree that the Honda mowers are not high vac mowers. Their blade design does not give a lot of lift. But, I'd say they are at least on par with the Toro mowers that I have used when it come to mulching. My neighbor has a Toro and I've used his mower and it definitely didn't mulch any better than my Honda.

There does appear to be a trade off between high vac and mulching. I've never seen a mower that is both high vac and a great mulcher. That said, on the rare occasions where I've bagged with my Honda it did fine on the yard itself. Where I missed the high vac was on the sidewalks and driveway. Other mowers that I've owned that were high vac would do a pretty good job of removing clippings that got blown onto the concrete portions of my property, to the extent that often times I didn't have to break out the blower to finish up. The Honda doesn't do a good job at this so I always end up breaking out the Echo blower.
 
Originally Posted By: engineerscott
Originally Posted By: 660mag
Snapper hi vac = best bagger
Toro super recycler = Best mulcher
Honda hrx some where in the middle but not the best at either.


I don't know, I think I'd disagree a with 660mag and Johnny slightly. I definitely agree that the Honda mowers are not high vac mowers. Their blade design does not give a lot of lift. But, I'd say they are at least on par with the Toro mowers that I have used when it come to mulching. My neighbor has a Toro and I've used his mower and it definitely didn't mulch any better than my Honda.

There does appear to be a trade off between high vac and mulching. I've never seen a mower that is both high vac and a great mulcher. That said, on the rare occasions where I've bagged with my Honda it did fine on the yard itself. Where I missed the high vac was on the sidewalks and driveway. Other mowers that I've owned that were high vac would do a pretty good job of removing clippings that got blown onto the concrete portions of my property, to the extent that often times I didn't have to break out the blower to finish up. The Honda doesn't do a good job at this so I always end up breaking out the Echo blower.


Was your neighbors Toro a Recycler, or a Super Recycler. Major difference.
When it comes to mulching I can think of 4 factors.
1. does it bog
2. clipping size
3. quality of cut
4. and how much debris it leaves on top of the finished cut.

I say the hi vac snapper /ninja blade win the over all with a score of.
1.B
2.A
3.A
4.A
Add an fj180v and it's straight A's

The toro is really good at not boging even with a low powered engine. However they leave a mess on top of the turf as bad as the honda.
If your mowing thick tall grass that is.
 
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Honestly don't remember the model of Toro he has.

With respect to tall thick grass, basically you just shouldn't expect excellent results with any mulcher if you let the grass get too tall/thick, though some do much better than others. I'm cutting Kentucky Fescue (which can get tall and thick in the spring/fall in my part of the country). It's only given my Honda any issues maybe a couple of times in the last 10 years when due to weather or being out of town I was unable to cut the grass in a timely fashion.
 
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
660mag did correct me, and they do make a GXV-160 now.

Still, the GXV-140 (really only 135cc) does remarkably well for me and mulching. Though the engine itself is very heavy, it also seems to be plenty torquey for its displacement, and has a lot of power in reserve, at least in my experience. Then again, my lawn (Centipede grass) isn't all that dense (like Bermunda or KBG), so mulching isn't exactly a super-high effort affair.


At this time of year my lawn is super thick and juicy. Even if it's not "wet" when you mow it there's a lot of water in the grass. I seem to recall when I first moved to this house I mulched the front at a height of 3 or 4 (with 6 being max height). After some effort on lawncare (overseeding etc...) compared to the previous owners I started having trouble getting through it in the shoulder seasons. After I came to my senses and started cutting longer (to help discourage weeds) I always do the front lawn at 6. At that time it seemed "unstoppable" as a mulcher for a season or two.

Then, predictably, it started having trouble at 6. My only option at that point is to use the side discharge and make a huge mess when I see this problem coming. There is no "higher" setting to use and sometimes I'm already mowing 3 times a week to keep up. I've sharpened the blades numerous times - both myself and "professionally". I've obsessed about the throttle and governor linkages to be sure the throttle plate was opening 100%. I got a small gain there the first time but that's not it. I checked valve clearances "by the book", I've changed the spark plug, the air cleaner on schedule and tried different brands of gas.

This just seems to be "the way it is". This past weekend (only the second cut of the season - cold spring so far) I had to go at the minimum snail's pace of the mower and even then stop occasionally. Half swath cuts don't help. Nothing helps once it starts to bog. I will say that compared to the "character" I observe from the GC160 on my pressure washer and the 8hp Tecumseh SnoKing on my snowthrower, my GXV140 doesn't seem to "dig deep" in terms of torque. It just doesn't "feel" like my other OPE engines when it starts to bog down. It doesn't take on the same exhaust pressure (relative to no load) or intake snarl. I've wondered if it isn't the fabulous fixed jet EPA/California carb to blame. It gets great fuel economy - maybe it's too lean. Of course Honda only offers even leaner jetting for high altitude. I've thought about getting a spare jet and trying to make one just a little larger. The carb is squeaky clean.

In mid-summer, after the grass has gone through it's 'seed' phase and conditions are a little drier, I rarely have issues mulching. No matter what the conditions, I can bag or discharge easily with very little detectable engine load - this is exclusively a mulching problem.

I wish I could get a cost-effective fully adjustable carb, or an aftermarket jet that's a little richer to see if that's what's going on. I suppose it could also be retarded timing - anyone ever see timing wrong from the factory on a GXV?
 
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If the carb is indeed very clean, and your looking for reasons for power loss, the place to start is a cylinder leakdown test. A good ope shop would be willing to do this test for you on the spot. If the valves are sealing, and more than 25% of the air is being lost past the rings, then this could be the reason for your loss in power. We would charge you 13 bucks to do that test. Techs gota eat.
 
Are you using a twin-blade system on the mower? I'm sure that could either help or hurt mulching, but I'm not sure which one would be best. If you have two blades on it now, try taking the kit off and using just one. My HR215 has the kit on and I leave it on all year. I should probably take it off, because I primarily bag with that mower.

Also, a sharp blade is an obvious suggestion, but I figured I'd make it anyway.

When my GXV-140 loads down, you can really hear it in the exhaust. I know exactly what you're talking about there, and it does seem that your engine is missing that. Have you measured the engine's running speed and/or governor action?
 
Craig, just out of curiosity, how old is your Honda mower? I know I've pretty much neglected mine over the years. I've vacuumed off and reinstalled the ORIGINAL factory air cleaner element a few times (it always looks good), pulled, checked and re-installed the factory spark plug and I've maybe changed the oil 3-4x. I bought this mower new in the spring of 1999. I believe it was the first year of the GC series engines.

My grass has always been mostly closely-cropped weeds and I've never even had the blade off this mower! I'll probably never get it off now. I do scrape the underside after almost every use, but the steel is getting flakey underneath.

I did snag the cable that actuates the single-speed self propel axle on a branch and tore it right out of the gear box, so it hasn't been 'self propelled' in years. I also had a front wheel fall off due to a cracked aluminum casting for the height-adjuster. Mail ordered a new one from Plano Power cheap and fast.

I do run it out of gas in the fall, but it is becoming hard to start when cold. After about 10 pulls on full choke, I have to move the throttle lever all the way to idle, then feather it in to get it running. Once warm it runs like a top w/out skipping a beat. Probably a new plug would fix that.

As far as power and mulching ability go, this mower has always been awesome for my conditions. I love it to pulverize leaves in the fall. What a great job it does, plus it blasts the deck clean.

When it's time to buy another- which it may be real quick, I think I'll go with an aluminum deck Toro.

250x250__width__LAWNMOWER8-2.jpg


Joel
 
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Hey, I'd be willing to bet your throttle cable is not moving the control linkage all the way into choke. Happens to all of them. loosen the screw holding the cable, and pull it towards the rear of the mower 1/16 of an inch, and re tighten. May help your cold starts.
 
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