Try raising or lowering your mower by one notch and see if that helps. I know with my rotary it can make a difference on how well it sucks stuff up or blows it out from the bottom. I have a JD JS45. Not the same but should work.

My concern would be scalping the grass. It is a pretty thick St. Augustine turf..and I don't want to cut it too short and burn it up.

Try raising it one notch then and see if that helps. Might also want to check the owners manual and see what it says. With it being a HiVac mower it should be sucking stuff up better. You haven't changed the blade have you? Or contact the dealer you bought it from and see what they say.

Don't mean to insult you, but is the blade installed upside down? I've never used a Snapper Hi-Vac, but everything I've heard indicates that it's the best at sucking up leaves, and if yours is blowing the leaves away from the deck it sure does sound like a blade installed wrong.

When I look through the chute and slowly pull the rope...the sharp edge is going clockwise. That is correct...isn't it? When I bought the mower from a long time..well known shop, bolts were falling out of it. Actually THREE came loose and went missing. So much for pre-delivery inspection!! I wouldn't discount anything!

Sounds like it's correct. I don't know...maybe the blade was replaced with an aftermarket that has no lift. I would think that if that is a stock Snapper blade it should vacuum much better than what you are seeing.

The curved part of the blade that creates suction should be on top. If you are picking up leaves on bare dirt then some will blow out without the Snapperizer attachment.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:2118177}}