Honda hrr216 cutting problem

[LoneRanger]

Second for higher RPM.

[Overfloater]

Is it much louder at the higher speed? I have left mine on the first hole because I enjoy how quiet it is.

The suction is not impressive at the lower speed, that's for sure.

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[ligrass]

Is it much louder at the higher speed? I have left mine on the first hole because I enjoy how quiet it is.

The suction is not impressive at the lower speed, that's for sure.

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All I can say is WOW! You will be surprised at how much faster the blade spins. Amazing. It doesn't sound that much louder than the low RPM hole either (that was one of my concerns too, besides blowing up the mower). I noticed a definite improvement in suction! Random leaves that weren't right underneath the deck got sucked right in. This is what I've been looking for since I got it. The only issue was when I first started it up it shot a small flame out of the right side with a small explosion. It worked perfect after that. I did also remove the spark plug to clean it up underneath and forgot to put it back in on first attempted start. So maybe that had something to do with the initial bang - Not sure.

[LoneRanger]

^ Yep. .. a fist full of dynamite in the cylinder. .. a double shot of whiskey with a tequila chaser.

[krusej23]

I have definitely found that the longer the grass gets, the worse the mowing stripe left behind gets. That's because the grass gets laid down by the wheels on the one side. If you are going back and forth instead of in a square mowing pattern, the mower doesn't have enough suction to pull that grass back up to be cut. The only thing that pulls it back up is the rubber pad on the back of the mower which then makes you see the stripe.

Has anyone had issues with the knobs that allow you to put the handlebars down? I have had them break off twice now while I was mowing. The first time I took it in because it's still under warranty and they made me pay for the parts which I thought was insane. Now I have to go back in there again and I WILL NOT pay for it again.

[HoosierDaddy]

Second notched mine last night... whoa!! I think I was sucking in leaves from the neighbor's yard!

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[Overfloater]

How high are you guys mowing?

I tried the second notch at 4" and didn't notice much difference.

I lowered to 3" and suction was a bit improved, but it was not night and day IME.

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[tlinden]

Did you check it with a tachometer? It's also possible the spring itself is too springy. There are simple tachometer/hour meters for lawn mowers that you just wrap the wire around the spark plug:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ACDP6YU/

It also has the side benefit of keeping track of hours for maintenence, though that's less important for home use.

[TimmyG]

I'm mowing at 3" with my HRX 217 with the RPM increased from ~3000 to ~3300. I agree that the difference was not night and day. There was no "whoa" moment for me.

[Overfloater]

That's good to know TimmyG. I have started reducing my height a bit and it definitely stands up better at 3".

Probably doesn't help that my kids have been trampling it more than usual this year.

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[ligrass]

I'm at 3". I noticed a bigger difference in bag mode after changing RPM. Did the back yard in mulch mode and the difference wasn't as big (Although it is still noticeable and worth the switch). And I feel it mulches stuff even finer than before (it's so cool to finally get leaves and stuff to practically disappear after dicing them up!). Also, I don't know why but when I mow in mulch mode it still pushes air away from the deck at the front right wheel.

[Overfloater]

I have been mowing high (3-4") and have noticed that the deck spits a significant amount of air several feet out from under the right side of the deck.

I am going to try experimenting with different clip director settings and mowing/governor adjustments to try to get more suction. As it stands now, my hrx does a poor job standing the grass up.

Unfortunately, it seems there are no other blade options for this mower.


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[LoneRanger]

Opening the clip director a notch or 2 may release the over-pressure above the blade. This would create a better vacuum below the blade and remove the blow-out on the right side. This is all hypothetical of course.

[tlinden]

I've seen the air spit thing but thought that was the muffler. I'm curious to see your results and to compare.

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[Overfloater]

Sounds reasonable. In fact, it has been noted, and I experienced it myself, that the clip director does leave a small open gap on the plug even when in the full mulch position.

I adjusted my clip director so it was fully closed while in full mulch so maybe that's part of my issue.

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[tlinden]

Ah I have yet to fix mine lol maybe it leaks clippings by design

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[Overfloater]

That's possible. The manual does address the fact that clippings will blow out the chute even when in full mulch and says that's normal behavior.

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[plynn7]

I found the solution for the suction and missed grass blades issue, it was to buy a new mower, LOL! I have had the same issue as many of you, poor suction missed blades of grass, so I purchased a Cub Cadet. I can tell you the suction is far more superior then my Honda as it pretty much obliterates leaves and almost no missed grass bladed. I did have a tach on the Honda and it was running at 3200 rpm. I do miss the power the Honda had, it never bogged down, the CC will bog in higher grass and the CC is running at 3300rpm. I still have the Honda and would go back to using it in a heartbeat If we could figure out this suction problem.

[Darkshadow]

Has anyone had issues with the knobs that allow you to put the handlebars down? I have had them break off twice now while I was mowing. The first time I took it in because it's still under warranty and they made me pay for the parts which I thought was insane. Now I have to go back in there again and I WILL NOT pay for it again.

How are the knobs breaking for the third time? They shouldn't be coming into contact with anything that would touch them besides doing a quick check every few mows to be sure they are hand-tight.

[Overfloater]

Well after some significant experimentation the last few days, I have a bit more insight.

The spitting was actually the muffler. Surprised I didn't put that together.

I adjusted the door so there was a tiny gap in mulch mode, as it originally came out of the box.
Didn't make any difference since the small gap quickly clogs with clippings.

The mower does a much better job lifting the grass when in bagging mode. That's not surprising since it's basically a vacuum at that point. I also bumped it up to the fast hole on the governor.

I experimented letting the clippings blow out the back instead of into the bag and it works fairly well. The problem is that it will blow the clippings out the rear deflector at an angle that causes them to land in the left wheel track that has been pushed down, leaving a very distinct and unwanted line of clippings.

If you run it in bagging mode without the bag, a significant amount of air comes from under the deflector and does a decent job pushing the grass the opposite way that the rear shield does, effectively standing the grass up a bit better.

It seems to stand grass up a bit better at lower HOC. I went to 2.5" and it was a bit better than at 3 - 3.5"

Overall, it does a decent job standing up the grass in bagging mode, but not great. Problem is, I want to mulch, not bag.

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