For those of us not handy enough to construct a bagger from scratch, Craftsman makes a fine alternative. I bought the 3-bin unit during purchase of my DYT 4000/48" deck tractor; it was on sale plus I received the common 10% additional off the price.
Installed it last night in 1/2 hour. Really a snap together operation, except for replacing two bolts on the rear of the tractor. These 'shoulder' bolts allow the bagger unit to pretty much clip on and clip off in seconds. Everything is a sturdy and rust-proof plastic, except a small frame which is painted or powdercoated black. It looks cool when mounted - pretty professional.
Just did about 45 min of mowing, primarily to pick up the leaves and the bagger works great! Not a leaf left over. Was wondering how effective the thing could be without an extra vacuum motor, but when the indicator said I had a full load, I had a Full Load! The bins, cover, and tube were chock full. After the first load, I watched the indicator more frequently and got better at timing the emptying operation for when the unit was full, but not overflowing.
During my 45 mins, I emptied 3 times a nice mulch of leaves and grass. This would be great for composting. After finishing most of the front yard, I dismounted the whole unit in about a minute, and then hooked up my new trailer to pick up sticks and walnuts in the back. Nice and efficient.
I am very pleased with the performance of this unit, and certainly glad I got the 3-bagger vs the 2-bagger.
Installed it last night in 1/2 hour. Really a snap together operation, except for replacing two bolts on the rear of the tractor. These 'shoulder' bolts allow the bagger unit to pretty much clip on and clip off in seconds. Everything is a sturdy and rust-proof plastic, except a small frame which is painted or powdercoated black. It looks cool when mounted - pretty professional.
Just did about 45 min of mowing, primarily to pick up the leaves and the bagger works great! Not a leaf left over. Was wondering how effective the thing could be without an extra vacuum motor, but when the indicator said I had a full load, I had a Full Load! The bins, cover, and tube were chock full. After the first load, I watched the indicator more frequently and got better at timing the emptying operation for when the unit was full, but not overflowing.
During my 45 mins, I emptied 3 times a nice mulch of leaves and grass. This would be great for composting. After finishing most of the front yard, I dismounted the whole unit in about a minute, and then hooked up my new trailer to pick up sticks and walnuts in the back. Nice and efficient.
I am very pleased with the performance of this unit, and certainly glad I got the 3-bagger vs the 2-bagger.