honda hrr 216 cutting issues
Posted: June 2nd, 2022, 11:15 am
Making a new thread as advised from old thread...
I have the HRR216K10VKA (bought at HD) and it doesn't cut well. Always leaves spots of uncut grass, specially grass that the wheels go over. I know this was an issue mentioned years ago in another thread...so I am assuming the problem is the same. From what I understand the problem is not enough suction to pull the grass up when mulching at 3" and above. I havent owned many mowers, so I can't compare to anything else but I am surprised suction is a thing as I haven't noticed much on mine.
Anyhow, I wanted to get some clarification on things:
1. It was mentioned on older thread that the suction is better on the left side because the mulch clippings are sent to the right side. I am confused because my mower doesn't have an opening on the right side. There is no mulching door on either side, I just assume the grass blades drop down. Did the older version have a mulch door? Or can someone explain why the grass clippings are traveling to the right side? I want to try the clockwise mowing and want to make sure this issue applies to me.
2. How do you guys overlap the mow? I personally try to just put the wheel inside the wheel mark of the previous cut. I am guessing this should work when I am overlapping on the left side and fail when overlapping on the right side. And is that why clockwise cut is recommended, because that would always overlap on the left side? I dont believe it was conclusive that the clockwise cut was superior so I want to confirm that.
3. What settings do you use for mowing height? I have tall fescue cool season grass and I want to cut at 3" or higher. However, I could never figure out the cutting height of the mower. I read the manual and tried to measure but couldn't figure it out. I thought maybe im just an idiot. But now I realize, that if some of the grass isn't being cut, its hard to measure the cutting height!! So can someone give a suggestion on cutting height? I think it should be something like 3rd notch in the back and 2nd notch in the front. I believe that is 3" in the back and 2.5" in the front.
4. The clip director sometimes gets lose form the mulch position and goes to the bag position during operation. So my theory was that I am losing suction from that door being shaky and not closed properly. From reading thie old thread, it seems that is confirmed to not be an issue. Can someone just confirm that again? I still don't feel comfortable with that clip director and want to investigate how I can have the door closed securely during operation.
5. Does the cutting issue cause grass to die because it is left too long and then cut the following week or later? I have been trying to get a perfect lawn and I think I am doing a lot of things right, but the lawn doesn't seem to grow evenly. I have a lot of bare soil spots or burned looking spots. Some of the grass seems to be growing perfect and others seem to be struggling. All within the same sq ft. I know it could be a lot of things and would be hard for you guys to diagnose, but I just want to know if you personally noticed what the effect of the uneven cutting did to your lawn. Or is it just a cosmetic thing that gets rectified a cut or two later with no harm to the grass?
6. Finally, let me know what mower I could replace this honda with as I dont want my lawn to be dying anymore. I was thinking about the timemaster 30". However, I am not sure my 8500 sq ft lawn is big enough for that. I am worried it would be heavy and the turns would be rough on the grass. I have one section that is around 4k sq ft that it might be fine for, but another section around 3k and another around 1.5k. And on some of the entryways, I have just bare dirt that I cant grow anything due to foot traffic and maybe this issue with the Honda mower. So I don't know if going to a bigger size would make things worse or better at this point.
I have the HRR216K10VKA (bought at HD) and it doesn't cut well. Always leaves spots of uncut grass, specially grass that the wheels go over. I know this was an issue mentioned years ago in another thread...so I am assuming the problem is the same. From what I understand the problem is not enough suction to pull the grass up when mulching at 3" and above. I havent owned many mowers, so I can't compare to anything else but I am surprised suction is a thing as I haven't noticed much on mine.
Anyhow, I wanted to get some clarification on things:
1. It was mentioned on older thread that the suction is better on the left side because the mulch clippings are sent to the right side. I am confused because my mower doesn't have an opening on the right side. There is no mulching door on either side, I just assume the grass blades drop down. Did the older version have a mulch door? Or can someone explain why the grass clippings are traveling to the right side? I want to try the clockwise mowing and want to make sure this issue applies to me.
2. How do you guys overlap the mow? I personally try to just put the wheel inside the wheel mark of the previous cut. I am guessing this should work when I am overlapping on the left side and fail when overlapping on the right side. And is that why clockwise cut is recommended, because that would always overlap on the left side? I dont believe it was conclusive that the clockwise cut was superior so I want to confirm that.
3. What settings do you use for mowing height? I have tall fescue cool season grass and I want to cut at 3" or higher. However, I could never figure out the cutting height of the mower. I read the manual and tried to measure but couldn't figure it out. I thought maybe im just an idiot. But now I realize, that if some of the grass isn't being cut, its hard to measure the cutting height!! So can someone give a suggestion on cutting height? I think it should be something like 3rd notch in the back and 2nd notch in the front. I believe that is 3" in the back and 2.5" in the front.
4. The clip director sometimes gets lose form the mulch position and goes to the bag position during operation. So my theory was that I am losing suction from that door being shaky and not closed properly. From reading thie old thread, it seems that is confirmed to not be an issue. Can someone just confirm that again? I still don't feel comfortable with that clip director and want to investigate how I can have the door closed securely during operation.
5. Does the cutting issue cause grass to die because it is left too long and then cut the following week or later? I have been trying to get a perfect lawn and I think I am doing a lot of things right, but the lawn doesn't seem to grow evenly. I have a lot of bare soil spots or burned looking spots. Some of the grass seems to be growing perfect and others seem to be struggling. All within the same sq ft. I know it could be a lot of things and would be hard for you guys to diagnose, but I just want to know if you personally noticed what the effect of the uneven cutting did to your lawn. Or is it just a cosmetic thing that gets rectified a cut or two later with no harm to the grass?
6. Finally, let me know what mower I could replace this honda with as I dont want my lawn to be dying anymore. I was thinking about the timemaster 30". However, I am not sure my 8500 sq ft lawn is big enough for that. I am worried it would be heavy and the turns would be rough on the grass. I have one section that is around 4k sq ft that it might be fine for, but another section around 3k and another around 1.5k. And on some of the entryways, I have just bare dirt that I cant grow anything due to foot traffic and maybe this issue with the Honda mower. So I don't know if going to a bigger size would make things worse or better at this point.