Grass Catcher Built From Salvaged Parts
“I wanted to use a grass catcher on my MTD riding mower, but I didn’t want to spend the money for a commercial unit. So, I decided to make my own using a 50-gal. plastic drum. It holds much more material than anything I could have bought so I don’t have to empty it as often,” says Harold Madison, Smiths Grove, Ky.
The grass catcher mounts on back of the mower with one 14-in. long pin. The 50-gal. plastic drum was split lengthwise and expanded with a pair of 1/2-in. thick plywood panels to fit the mower’s chassis. It has a total capacity of about 95 gal.
“I built it entirely from salvaged parts. A comparable commercial bagger would sell for about $400 and would be smaller and more difficult to mount and remove from the mower,” says Madison.
The 7-in. dia. plastic tube that leads from the mower deck up into a hole in the hinged plastic cap was salvaged from an old grass catcher, as was the cap. The bin has a 13 1/2-in. wide sliding door on back of it that allows easy access for unloading.
He attached a metal frame to the front part of the drum and then used 1/8-in. steel plate to make 4 mounting brackets, 2 upper and 2 lower, that attach the bin to the tractor. Slots in the lower brackets fit over the 5/8-in. rod at the bottom of the mower chassis; holes in the top brackets are pinned to the mower chassis with a single 3/8 by 14-in. long pin, which allows for easy removal and reattachment of the bin.
“I didn’t need to install a blower because this deck creates plenty of air flow and I used a 7-in. dia. tube off an old grass catcher. At first I tried 4-in. dia. pvc but it would plug up.”
When not in use the tubing stores neatly inside the drum, notes Madison.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Harold Madison, Smiths Grove, Ky. (haroldmadison@windstream.net).
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Grass Catcher Built From Salvaged Parts FARM HOME Miscellaneous “I wanted to use a grass catcher on my MTD riding mower but I didn’t want to spend the money for a commercial unit So I decided to make my own using a 50-gal plastic drum It holds much more material than anything I could have bought so I don’t have to empty it as often ” says Harold Madison Smiths Grove Ky The grass catcher mounts on back of the mower with one 14-in long pin The 50-gal plastic drum was split lengthwise and expanded with a pair of 1/2-in thick plywood panels to fit the mower’s chassis It has a total capacity of about 95 gal “I built it entirely from salvaged parts A comparable commercial bagger would sell for about $400 and would be smaller and more difficult to mount and remove from the mower ” says Madison The 7-in dia plastic tube that leads from the mower deck up into a hole in the hinged plastic cap was salvaged from an old grass catcher as was the cap The bin has a 13 1/2-in wide sliding door on back of it that allows easy access for unloading He attached a metal frame to the front part of the drum and then used 1/8-in steel plate to make 4 mounting brackets 2 upper and 2 lower that attach the bin to the tractor Slots in the lower brackets fit over the 5/8-in rod at the bottom of the mower chassis; holes in the top brackets are pinned to the mower chassis with a single 3/8 by 14-in long pin which allows for easy removal and reattachment of the bin “I didn’t need to install a blower because this deck creates plenty of air flow and I used a 7-in dia tube off an old grass catcher At first I tried 4-in dia pvc but it would plug up ” When not in use the tubing stores neatly inside the drum notes Madison Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Harold Madison Smiths Grove Ky haroldmadison@windstream net
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