" Some mowers have grass boxes and some have a 'mulching system' and no
box.

What exactly is a mulching system and could I easily convert my existing
petrol rotary mower to a mulcher.


My machine (Hayter 10/30) claims to do both but came without the mulching
adapter. For most of the year I use the collector and the clippings make
good compost. For the first few cuts after the lawns have been fed and
weed/moss treated I like to mulch so made my own adapter as in
http://share.ovi.com/media/Muddymike...uddymike.10032
The idea being that the clippings can't escape from the deck up the
discharge chute and therefore get chopped up a lot more by the blade and
finally fall into the grass. It does work but does not leave the lawns as
tidy as when using the collector. Quite a lot of clippings are left on the
surface which do get trodden onto the paths and even into the house. The
main downside of mulching is that I can't cut as fast and the grass needs to
be really dry or else the deck clogs up. When it clogs up it leaves great
soggy clumps of cuttings and sometimes damages the turf. I don't believe
this is anything to do with the mulching plate being home made as it is all
but identical to the gen part.

Mike