I have a ZD326P zero turn with a RCK60P-331Z deck. I also have a ZD3161 Grass Catcher/bagger attachment for it. I bought the machine used but complete a couple of years ago. I typically mow without the bagger through the summer and only use the bagger in the fall to pick up leaves. When I bought it I had looked at the fan blade in the blower assembly of the bagger and it looked okay. It had some nicks and small pieces of the bladed missing, but all in all for a used unit I thought it looked pretty good.
The first season I used it, and it worked well. By the second season it was getting worn down more and there were more pieces broken off the blades, so I ordered a new one from my local dealer. The part number is K6045-41100, FAN, 6 WINGS. When I got it, I was surprised at how big it was…the old one had worn down a lot more than I thought! I put the new one in, and it worked great! The problem was that it didn’t last long, and it picked up something, probably a small rock and took out a couple of the blades on the fan. I called the dealer and asked them if there had been any changes in the fans from its original design, because the old one just seemed to wear down slowly over time much like a mower blade would, but this one just broke a couple of blades off completely. They checked and said there were no changes to the blade but got me a replacement under warranty. The replacement did the same thing, only lasted a little over an hour of run time. They replaced it again and that one did a little better, but eventually the same result. When it broke, it took out two blades next to each other which really threw it out of balance. I took the fan out and cut the opposite two blades off to balance it back out. I ran it this way for about an hour, but eventually the other two blades broke off. I may have got 8-10 hours total run time on it.
The blade is a plastic material of some sort, but it just seems to be way too brittle. So, that all said, has anyone else ran into similar problems with the fan on their blower? Any ideas on how to make them last longer? Any aftermarket solutions? Upgraded fans, steel, aluminum?
The first season I used it, and it worked well. By the second season it was getting worn down more and there were more pieces broken off the blades, so I ordered a new one from my local dealer. The part number is K6045-41100, FAN, 6 WINGS. When I got it, I was surprised at how big it was…the old one had worn down a lot more than I thought! I put the new one in, and it worked great! The problem was that it didn’t last long, and it picked up something, probably a small rock and took out a couple of the blades on the fan. I called the dealer and asked them if there had been any changes in the fans from its original design, because the old one just seemed to wear down slowly over time much like a mower blade would, but this one just broke a couple of blades off completely. They checked and said there were no changes to the blade but got me a replacement under warranty. The replacement did the same thing, only lasted a little over an hour of run time. They replaced it again and that one did a little better, but eventually the same result. When it broke, it took out two blades next to each other which really threw it out of balance. I took the fan out and cut the opposite two blades off to balance it back out. I ran it this way for about an hour, but eventually the other two blades broke off. I may have got 8-10 hours total run time on it.
The blade is a plastic material of some sort, but it just seems to be way too brittle. So, that all said, has anyone else ran into similar problems with the fan on their blower? Any ideas on how to make them last longer? Any aftermarket solutions? Upgraded fans, steel, aluminum?