Post by ndknight on Aug 21, 2017 7:20:36 GMT
Hello, I came across this website while researching some troubleshooting issues for my Raven 7100 tractor and my recent purchase of a 3-baggage grass catcher attachment accessory made specifically for the Raven tractor and planned to post a topic/thread requesting help, but recently discovered and corrected the issues myself regarding my tractor and the attachment for it and thought I'd share my experiences with you in case you're one of the internet travelers searching for similar solutions for your tractor for problems I had that you might also be facing, whether made by Raven or not, I'm sure it can apply to other models, designs and manufacturers, and I hope it can be helpful or even insightful.
I've owned my Raven tractor for just over a year and I absolutely love it, especially since it doubles as a generator for times when power goes out, and where I live we can usually expect a power outage at least once every year, and so far it happened once last year and once this year and the tractor generator was used each time and it was a major help in keeping our refrigeration and freezer online and keeping our food fresh. The unit came with a 3-year service warranty and we've had it serviced one year from purchase and we plan to have it done 2 more times on its purchase anniversary before it expires, or if we have the option to extend the warranty. We had it cleaned, oil changed, battery changed, blades changed, air filter changed, and even had components of the computer and motors on the blade housing deck changed out. We only paid for the new oil put in, which was a great deal and I hope future services continue to have this level of maintenance done.
I own a home with a large front/back yard, the backyard alone is at least an acre, so a tractor is necessary when cutting the grass and for a while, just cutting it and letting the grass clippings remain on the ground was okay, but I wasn't truly satisfied with how healthy the grass was and its strength in growing, it'd be a while before I would have to cut it again(almost a month) and the lawn looked kinda brown or gray, almost dead. It was never a healthy green color/look. I figured the grass clippings was stunting the growth of the grass, even with regular seeding and watering. Even when cutting at notch 4 of the blade deck level, little improvement was seen, and at the time I didn't even consider notch 5(highest deck level). I began searching for a solution.
After cutting the lawn I would rake up the grass clippings, which often clumped together into mulch, and raking even half an acre of the stuff just into a pile was heavily exhausting, let alone bagging it and hauling it to a dump for disposal, I quickly gave up on this method after only two lawn-cutting sessions. So I jumped on the internet and purchased this 3-baggage grass/leaf catcher attachment. Despite costing nearly $500, I knew it would be worth it to save myself all the time and energy and frustration of raking up all that grass and then bagging it. This would automatically do all the work for me and be way more efficient, probably collecting 90% of the clippings whereas raking it, I was probably leaving more than 50% on the lawn.
Unfortunately, but not surprisingly and almost expected-ly, problems came up. First off, I wasn't aware that there are two types of blades available that can be installed for the tractor: mulching and high-lift. I had thought when having purchased the attachment that it came with a complimentary set of blades. I didn't know they needed to be installed specifically for this baggage catcher attachment, something the manual might have specifically stated to educate the layman, but only included instructions for installation. So you can imagine my confusion when the mulching blades weren't sending the clippings up the tube shute to the bags. Further research on the internet instructed me to install the high-lift blades that came with the attachment, as they are specifically designed to create a kind of upward turbulence that will send the grass clippings high up into and through the shute to where it can be deposited and collected into bags at the rear of the tractor. A few hours later, it was done.
What a difference! The catcher was working... but only for one session on the front yard. When I went to cut the backyard, it wouldn't collect anymore. I was cutting at notch 3 at the time, but didn't think deck level was a factor at the time, in my opinion, it really shouldn't be, but conditions vary. The next problem was constant clogging right at the base of the shute. This was happening almost every two minutes, which was unacceptable. Now, taking the bottom shute off to clear the clogging was very annoying because the unit comes with very tight rubber straps that connect the bottom shute to the deck dispenser to catch the clippings. Of course, attaching and removing them only a few times eventually caused the fatigued rubber material to snap and break, leaving me at a loss for the attachment. I was about to contact the manufacturer for replacement parts, but that would take too long and can't risk having it happen again if I'm to keep regularly removing the bottom shute for maintenance, and the grass wasn't going to wait for me, so I had to think of a better way and something I can pick up from a hardware store that day, and I hope a representative or someone from Raven sees my suggestion and perhaps incorporates it for their product for future selling because it's much easier and durable and reliable.
I first tried bungee cords but no matter how tight I made them, they kept slipping and eventually breaking. And constantly trying to fight against the strain of stretching the cords for attachment was killing my hands and arms. Then I got the bright idea of using eye-to-hook turnbuckles. Let the idea of simple mechanics do the work of tightening and releasing for me. This was a miracle wonder, it made everything so much easier. Now, FYI, the distance between the bottom shute connection and the hole on the blade deck housing, when the attachment is fully secured on the blade deck housing dispenser, is approximately 7", so you need a turnbuckle that is less than 7" when fully closed. I was able to find one at Lowe's that was 5" in length when closed, which means I need to have it connected to something that is less than 2" long, and after some experimenting, I found simply using strong wire ties was working for my needs, as I can adjust the distance from the holes on the blade deck housing connection and the closed turnbuckle. This ensured the bottom shute attachment would never go anywhere and was super tight, even tighter than what the manufacturer provided. And the best part, I now simply use a hand-clamp to tighten/loosen the turnbuckle at will, and the shute pops off and clips on with ease.
One more problem down, a few more to go. Now, the tractor had just been serviced only a few months ago, but because I didn't have a torque wrench, my next step in troubleshooting was checking blade tightness, speed and whatnot. The manual said to have the blades tightened at 40 ft-lbs. Again, no torque wrench, so I just grabbed my 10" adjustable wrench and simply tightened as much as my strength would allow. The manual also said the tractor must be run at full throttle when collecting grass for it to work. So, does the speed of the tractor also influence the speed of the blades? With some experimenting I couldn't be sure, and the internet had mixed answers, some yes, some no. I was pretty sure that the blades should turn at a fixed speed whether traveling at full throttle or the slowest speed possible, but it wasn't until I got everything corrected that I could say for sure that no matter how fast you go, the blades should always run at the same speed when everything is in proper working order, so the correct answer is NO, the speed of the tractor does not influence the speed of the blades, if you have to go at 1-MPH to get your job done, then by all means, the blades should turn at the same speed if you're going 1-MPH or 15-MPH. Not sure why it was included in the manual, but I think it's worth mentioning that their saying to tighten the blades to 40 ft-lbs is the recommended minimum tightness, I'm sure what I have them at now is stronger than 40 ft-lbs. Also, there were a bunch of grass and dirt clumps stuck in the housing with the blades as I was tightening them, and I cleaned it all out very thoroughly. While I'm sure it helped, it didn't resolve the main problem.
I checked the oil, ran at different deck levels, followed the manual and all its troubleshooting suggestions, like not cutting when the grass is wet, and it was still either getting clogged or not sending the grass into the shute at all. I was about to call the technician who serviced the tractor to see if he had any knowledge of this attachment or suggestions that I have not yet tried or thought about, when, for the heck of it, I checked the air filter. It was recently changed so I didn't think it could have possibly gotten fouled that soon already. But, it was very dirty. I cleaned it(do NOT use water, use an air compressor or something to blow all the dirt and debris off it and from between the fins) and put it back in, started it up and immediately noticed a difference in the performance and noise of the engine and running blades, it seemed... healthier, and definitely stronger and faster. Being able to recognize proper noise and operation of the equipment is important when troubleshooting. It was surprising to see such a difference with a simple component between it being either dirty or clean because like I said earlier, it was new and only a few months old at best. But, the way the tractor ran almost felt brand new. I quickly tested it on the lawn with the attachment and it started to work but wasn't quite there yet. I was still running at a 3 blade deck level, but because the lawn had at least 3 weeks growth while I was fixing and troubleshooting everything, I set the deck level to 5, and it worked beautifully and magnificently. I was so happy. I was afraid my $500 investment was going to be worthless, but now it's worth every penny. I've used it almost a dozen times since then, and with minor cleaning and some simple quick maintenance checks, it worked easily every time. Now my lawn looks green and great, and I decided to use deck level 5 from now on, since it works perfectly at that level and I'm not about to change it. Don't fix what ain't broke, right? It became clear to me what happened(I guess that comes to all of us with experience).
There's a dirt road between my lawn and a forest, where I had planned to dump the collected grass clippings, since it's just easier to drive over there with the tractor and dump it rather than transfer the clippings from one bag to another, load the bags in my car and then drive a few miles to a dump and drop it off. I had been running the tractor engine and blades while crossing the dirt road to empty the bagged grass clippings, and the cloud of dust that generated fouled up the air filter, which significantly impacted the performance of the tractor, so if you're having trouble with your unit and its attachment, I highly recommend starting there with your troubleshooting. From now on, for me, I keep 2-3 spare air filters on hand in my shed at all times(thankfully they're fairly cheap), and I never run the engine or the blades when I have to cross the dirt road, I run it on the battery. Also, when using a grass catcher, I highly recommend cutting at only the highest level setting(a 5 for Raven tractors). You might not be pleased with the grass being that long, but trust me, it's still a great-looking lawn at that level, especially when it means having working equipment and making a job like that much easier in your life, even if you may have to cut it a bit more frequently. If you want it shorter, you'll still probably need to cut it initially at the highest setting, then go over it again at your desired level(something similar also mentioned in the manual). Make sure the grass and your equipment are dry before using/cutting, as any moisture will clump up the grass, making it heavy and difficult to send up the shute to the bags, and most likely cause clogging.
Some other sites for other tractor models suggested possibly waxing underneath the blade deck housing or even in the shute itself to help with allowing the blades of grass to flow more freely in the spaces and prevent sticking and clumping and clogging. I haven't tried this and I'm not even sure exactly what waxing material you would need for this or how much to apply, but I can say it's unnecessary as long as you keep the equipment fairly clean and using the equipment and cutting the lawn while everything is dry. Plus, the idea of waxing the equipment in these spots is simply frustrating as the space in the deck housing and the shute is awkward and difficult to get yourself and a rag in there to do the job. Thankfully it doesn't have to be done, and hopefully it's something you won't have to do.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading, I know it was a long read to rival War and Peace, but I hope it'll help those needing additional troubleshooting advice that maybe the manuals didn't include for your tractor and/or those who also bought this grass catcher attachment accessory. If you have any other stories about any other accessories and your work-around troubleshooting ways that might be useful for others, feel free to share. If you have questions, feel free to post here and I'll try to check back regularly to try and give you a timely response, as we all want to get answers quickly and not have to wait two+ weeks on the internet to provide solutions. And if I remember anything else that I did with my equipment that might be useful information I'll post a follow-up message to this thread. Thanks again for reading and I hope it helped you understand your tractor a bit more. Best of luck to you all out there and enjoy your equipment!
I've owned my Raven tractor for just over a year and I absolutely love it, especially since it doubles as a generator for times when power goes out, and where I live we can usually expect a power outage at least once every year, and so far it happened once last year and once this year and the tractor generator was used each time and it was a major help in keeping our refrigeration and freezer online and keeping our food fresh. The unit came with a 3-year service warranty and we've had it serviced one year from purchase and we plan to have it done 2 more times on its purchase anniversary before it expires, or if we have the option to extend the warranty. We had it cleaned, oil changed, battery changed, blades changed, air filter changed, and even had components of the computer and motors on the blade housing deck changed out. We only paid for the new oil put in, which was a great deal and I hope future services continue to have this level of maintenance done.
I own a home with a large front/back yard, the backyard alone is at least an acre, so a tractor is necessary when cutting the grass and for a while, just cutting it and letting the grass clippings remain on the ground was okay, but I wasn't truly satisfied with how healthy the grass was and its strength in growing, it'd be a while before I would have to cut it again(almost a month) and the lawn looked kinda brown or gray, almost dead. It was never a healthy green color/look. I figured the grass clippings was stunting the growth of the grass, even with regular seeding and watering. Even when cutting at notch 4 of the blade deck level, little improvement was seen, and at the time I didn't even consider notch 5(highest deck level). I began searching for a solution.
After cutting the lawn I would rake up the grass clippings, which often clumped together into mulch, and raking even half an acre of the stuff just into a pile was heavily exhausting, let alone bagging it and hauling it to a dump for disposal, I quickly gave up on this method after only two lawn-cutting sessions. So I jumped on the internet and purchased this 3-baggage grass/leaf catcher attachment. Despite costing nearly $500, I knew it would be worth it to save myself all the time and energy and frustration of raking up all that grass and then bagging it. This would automatically do all the work for me and be way more efficient, probably collecting 90% of the clippings whereas raking it, I was probably leaving more than 50% on the lawn.
Unfortunately, but not surprisingly and almost expected-ly, problems came up. First off, I wasn't aware that there are two types of blades available that can be installed for the tractor: mulching and high-lift. I had thought when having purchased the attachment that it came with a complimentary set of blades. I didn't know they needed to be installed specifically for this baggage catcher attachment, something the manual might have specifically stated to educate the layman, but only included instructions for installation. So you can imagine my confusion when the mulching blades weren't sending the clippings up the tube shute to the bags. Further research on the internet instructed me to install the high-lift blades that came with the attachment, as they are specifically designed to create a kind of upward turbulence that will send the grass clippings high up into and through the shute to where it can be deposited and collected into bags at the rear of the tractor. A few hours later, it was done.
What a difference! The catcher was working... but only for one session on the front yard. When I went to cut the backyard, it wouldn't collect anymore. I was cutting at notch 3 at the time, but didn't think deck level was a factor at the time, in my opinion, it really shouldn't be, but conditions vary. The next problem was constant clogging right at the base of the shute. This was happening almost every two minutes, which was unacceptable. Now, taking the bottom shute off to clear the clogging was very annoying because the unit comes with very tight rubber straps that connect the bottom shute to the deck dispenser to catch the clippings. Of course, attaching and removing them only a few times eventually caused the fatigued rubber material to snap and break, leaving me at a loss for the attachment. I was about to contact the manufacturer for replacement parts, but that would take too long and can't risk having it happen again if I'm to keep regularly removing the bottom shute for maintenance, and the grass wasn't going to wait for me, so I had to think of a better way and something I can pick up from a hardware store that day, and I hope a representative or someone from Raven sees my suggestion and perhaps incorporates it for their product for future selling because it's much easier and durable and reliable.
I first tried bungee cords but no matter how tight I made them, they kept slipping and eventually breaking. And constantly trying to fight against the strain of stretching the cords for attachment was killing my hands and arms. Then I got the bright idea of using eye-to-hook turnbuckles. Let the idea of simple mechanics do the work of tightening and releasing for me. This was a miracle wonder, it made everything so much easier. Now, FYI, the distance between the bottom shute connection and the hole on the blade deck housing, when the attachment is fully secured on the blade deck housing dispenser, is approximately 7", so you need a turnbuckle that is less than 7" when fully closed. I was able to find one at Lowe's that was 5" in length when closed, which means I need to have it connected to something that is less than 2" long, and after some experimenting, I found simply using strong wire ties was working for my needs, as I can adjust the distance from the holes on the blade deck housing connection and the closed turnbuckle. This ensured the bottom shute attachment would never go anywhere and was super tight, even tighter than what the manufacturer provided. And the best part, I now simply use a hand-clamp to tighten/loosen the turnbuckle at will, and the shute pops off and clips on with ease.
One more problem down, a few more to go. Now, the tractor had just been serviced only a few months ago, but because I didn't have a torque wrench, my next step in troubleshooting was checking blade tightness, speed and whatnot. The manual said to have the blades tightened at 40 ft-lbs. Again, no torque wrench, so I just grabbed my 10" adjustable wrench and simply tightened as much as my strength would allow. The manual also said the tractor must be run at full throttle when collecting grass for it to work. So, does the speed of the tractor also influence the speed of the blades? With some experimenting I couldn't be sure, and the internet had mixed answers, some yes, some no. I was pretty sure that the blades should turn at a fixed speed whether traveling at full throttle or the slowest speed possible, but it wasn't until I got everything corrected that I could say for sure that no matter how fast you go, the blades should always run at the same speed when everything is in proper working order, so the correct answer is NO, the speed of the tractor does not influence the speed of the blades, if you have to go at 1-MPH to get your job done, then by all means, the blades should turn at the same speed if you're going 1-MPH or 15-MPH. Not sure why it was included in the manual, but I think it's worth mentioning that their saying to tighten the blades to 40 ft-lbs is the recommended minimum tightness, I'm sure what I have them at now is stronger than 40 ft-lbs. Also, there were a bunch of grass and dirt clumps stuck in the housing with the blades as I was tightening them, and I cleaned it all out very thoroughly. While I'm sure it helped, it didn't resolve the main problem.
I checked the oil, ran at different deck levels, followed the manual and all its troubleshooting suggestions, like not cutting when the grass is wet, and it was still either getting clogged or not sending the grass into the shute at all. I was about to call the technician who serviced the tractor to see if he had any knowledge of this attachment or suggestions that I have not yet tried or thought about, when, for the heck of it, I checked the air filter. It was recently changed so I didn't think it could have possibly gotten fouled that soon already. But, it was very dirty. I cleaned it(do NOT use water, use an air compressor or something to blow all the dirt and debris off it and from between the fins) and put it back in, started it up and immediately noticed a difference in the performance and noise of the engine and running blades, it seemed... healthier, and definitely stronger and faster. Being able to recognize proper noise and operation of the equipment is important when troubleshooting. It was surprising to see such a difference with a simple component between it being either dirty or clean because like I said earlier, it was new and only a few months old at best. But, the way the tractor ran almost felt brand new. I quickly tested it on the lawn with the attachment and it started to work but wasn't quite there yet. I was still running at a 3 blade deck level, but because the lawn had at least 3 weeks growth while I was fixing and troubleshooting everything, I set the deck level to 5, and it worked beautifully and magnificently. I was so happy. I was afraid my $500 investment was going to be worthless, but now it's worth every penny. I've used it almost a dozen times since then, and with minor cleaning and some simple quick maintenance checks, it worked easily every time. Now my lawn looks green and great, and I decided to use deck level 5 from now on, since it works perfectly at that level and I'm not about to change it. Don't fix what ain't broke, right? It became clear to me what happened(I guess that comes to all of us with experience).
There's a dirt road between my lawn and a forest, where I had planned to dump the collected grass clippings, since it's just easier to drive over there with the tractor and dump it rather than transfer the clippings from one bag to another, load the bags in my car and then drive a few miles to a dump and drop it off. I had been running the tractor engine and blades while crossing the dirt road to empty the bagged grass clippings, and the cloud of dust that generated fouled up the air filter, which significantly impacted the performance of the tractor, so if you're having trouble with your unit and its attachment, I highly recommend starting there with your troubleshooting. From now on, for me, I keep 2-3 spare air filters on hand in my shed at all times(thankfully they're fairly cheap), and I never run the engine or the blades when I have to cross the dirt road, I run it on the battery. Also, when using a grass catcher, I highly recommend cutting at only the highest level setting(a 5 for Raven tractors). You might not be pleased with the grass being that long, but trust me, it's still a great-looking lawn at that level, especially when it means having working equipment and making a job like that much easier in your life, even if you may have to cut it a bit more frequently. If you want it shorter, you'll still probably need to cut it initially at the highest setting, then go over it again at your desired level(something similar also mentioned in the manual). Make sure the grass and your equipment are dry before using/cutting, as any moisture will clump up the grass, making it heavy and difficult to send up the shute to the bags, and most likely cause clogging.
Some other sites for other tractor models suggested possibly waxing underneath the blade deck housing or even in the shute itself to help with allowing the blades of grass to flow more freely in the spaces and prevent sticking and clumping and clogging. I haven't tried this and I'm not even sure exactly what waxing material you would need for this or how much to apply, but I can say it's unnecessary as long as you keep the equipment fairly clean and using the equipment and cutting the lawn while everything is dry. Plus, the idea of waxing the equipment in these spots is simply frustrating as the space in the deck housing and the shute is awkward and difficult to get yourself and a rag in there to do the job. Thankfully it doesn't have to be done, and hopefully it's something you won't have to do.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading, I know it was a long read to rival War and Peace, but I hope it'll help those needing additional troubleshooting advice that maybe the manuals didn't include for your tractor and/or those who also bought this grass catcher attachment accessory. If you have any other stories about any other accessories and your work-around troubleshooting ways that might be useful for others, feel free to share. If you have questions, feel free to post here and I'll try to check back regularly to try and give you a timely response, as we all want to get answers quickly and not have to wait two+ weeks on the internet to provide solutions. And if I remember anything else that I did with my equipment that might be useful information I'll post a follow-up message to this thread. Thanks again for reading and I hope it helped you understand your tractor a bit more. Best of luck to you all out there and enjoy your equipment!