Many coatings are used under a deck. Some last, some don't! You'll see threads where guys use this, that, and the other, but seldom if ever come back with it lasted 1 mowing or 10 years!

Probably the best method, although NOT the easiest, is to jack front of tractor, crawl underneath and scape all grass off! Do NOT stick a water hose under and try to wash... you'll destroy the spindle bearings. At the end of the season, remove deck and repaint...2 coats primer and 3 or 4 topcoats. Bob

 

I find it to work if I just "take half a bite" ...don't go for a full width swath of mowing...it takes longer, but is less frustrating than stopping and scraping the deck and unclogging the chute

 

Where I am in northern Florida, the soil has a large sand content that actually sandblasts the underside of the deck with each mow. No coating of anything lasts any length of time. I also much mow only all 12 months of the year.

As MARK (LI) mentioned, you could try mowing in half swaths and another thing is not taking as large a bite. If the grass is 6 inches, or more tall, don't try to cut it 2 inches high. Instead, cut it at 4 inches and then another pass at the 2 inches.

 

Is the problem that there is so much grass that it clogs the output and causes the engine to die.

Or, is it that after mowing, there is some grass caked on the underside of the deck?

 

I have two problems. One the grass is collect8ng under the deck and the other is when I'm done mowing the top of the deck is covered to the point that the one spindle that has a cover is completely packed with clippings. North East CT. JD X350 48 inch Acel deck. I'm mowing at 3.5 inches at the advice of a lawn service.

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I always blow off the whole mower with my leaf blower when I am done mowing. I clean under the deck at least once a season. I doubt there is any coating that makes it a whole lot better, but I haven't really tried any. They all make claims that sound like snake oil to me.

 

Robs, I can't recommend or suggest this, but since '83 I leave the belt cover(s) of of my deck and blow the grass off after each mowing. I can't help with the underside other than scraping. Washing is bad for the bearings, blowing doesn't really help, and scraping is a real pita! Pick your poison! Bob

 

I have heard others suggest to take off that one cover. Not really sure what it's for. If covering one why not the other? And have also heard of some kind of baffles for the front of the deck. From John Deere? To help prevent the grass from blowing out the front while mowing. Any ideas about that?

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Helpful to blow off the topside of a mower deck (& the mower machine) after a mowing. Mower deck belt covers? Try to get under those also.
Undersides of mower decks collecting crud = nature of the beast. Cleaning 'em is now & then is just usually a have to do thing.
Been trying for 40+ yrs. - haven't yet come up with something to coat the underside of a mower deck that crud doesn't adhere to and/or lasts long.
Have tried various products. No matter the surface mowed, that area takes a beating.
Have thought about taking a clean stripped mower deck shell to Ziebart and have 'em put the good smooth pickup truck bedliner stuff on the underside.
That probably would help protect the metal but wouldn't keep grass, etc. from sticking to a mower deck's underside. Would still have to deal with that.

 

In spring my former lawn was very green, wet, and very sticky. I kept an "Ell" shaped 3/8" rod to pull chunks of packed grass out of the corners of my deck. It was long enough to reach into the middle blade bay and pull junk down. A bit easier that a putty knife and if you do it right after mowing, it will get most of the junk that turns into green concrete.

I found that my belt covers do their best, and most effective work, on the back shelf of the garage. They are very happy there, and so am I. They are looking as new as the day they arrived, truly a win/win.

As spring becomes summer, the grass tends to be a tad drier, so the back pack blower which I use every time without fail, tends to get most of the grass off the deck, out of the trans area, and out of the engine area and behind the dash. Fall gets the deck thoroughly scraped, brush scrubbed with outdoor cleaner, and power washed, and left out in the afternoon sun to dry. All that followed by primer and fresh 2 coats of Rustoleum JD yellow implement paint. It is surprisingly durable but don't count on any paint lasting in that environment. It is a consumable item.

 

A thought just came to me. What about spraying the underside of the deck with Fluid film? Either before the very first mow and or after a good scraping/cleaning? I know it probably wouldn't keep the grass from collecting. But maybe make it easier to clean?

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I tried that for awhile (spraying with Fluid Film and a variety of other similar products), and never noticed it making a difference on the next cleaning. Now, I'll scrape it out immediately when I mow a place where I know it's built up (tall and/or wet grass), so it's easy to clean out, or if it builds up over time, I'll soak it with water to moisten it up a little, then scrape it (or, if possible, mow some tall, wet grass/weeds, as it also builds up and gets the existing stuff also wet), which makes it easier to scrape out.

 

There is no coating that will prevent grass from sticking. Finishing the bottom of the deck with any coating is also going to be useless, unfortunately. The underside of the deck while cutting is a very violent environment. The powder coat that is put on there at the factory is gone within a few mows. When looking under a deck, you should see bare metal. You might get some surface rust over the winter, but that goes away after the first mow. In Florida, you may be mowing all year long.

The only solution is to cut grass more often at the height desired. The only explaination is that he is cutting too much grass at once, or there is possibly a lot of crab grass, which is always wet no matter how dry it is everywhere else. I cut no more than 1" at a time, and I do not have this problem. I do not cut wet grass. If this isn't possible, the only solution is to manually clean underneath after every mow.

 

Okay, let me clarify a few things. What he does do. He blows off the top side each mow and doesn't do covers, they only seal moisture in for sure. Being in North Florida, we do have some sandy soil, but he has largely St. Augustine and some Bahia. Bahia does allow some sand blasting to go on for sure, but St. Aug often grows in tight and allows little. Now some areas have a mix of weeds which seem to retain more moisture than grass. I have the same issue in some areas. I owned the mower myself from 2003 to 2013, but only remember doing some occasional cleanings here and there. I will say my 445 60" deck and the 1023's 54" deck seem to shed much of the grass before it gets stuck on the deck. The 1023 seems to be the best, however, the 60" had a fine cut quality rarely matched. So there may be something to newer decks having better technology or something along those lines. Maybe the aforementioned decks were simply bigger and shed grass clippings better. He cuts, in my opinion, overly high, so I doubt he could cut higher. I cut at 2 1/2" and it usually doesn't clump unless over many successive mows. Maybe he could increase over-cuttage, but I think you'd still one side with the same amount of cutting. Maybe if the opening end had less to cut it could shed more, but what of the next strip you do going in the opposite direction? I also have used a mulch kits on mine and have little to no issues, while he took his off. Could it be that that particular deck's weakness is just this issue? I mean it cuts well overall, but he said it was the worst deck he's ever had. I guess maybe the short answer, let some have suggested is that there are two, keep cleaning regularly or buy a new deck with better flow characteristics 🤷‍♂️

 

I also have a GT235 with the 48C deck. I'm not sure if his deck is this one, but I've not had any issues side-discharging. I can't speak for the 42" or the 54" deck that goes on the GT235. I also have St. Augustine, so I basically cut my grass with the deck in transport position and don't have any issues. I have a few weeds, but no crab grass. It sounds like he has the bases covered - not cutting the grass when wet and not cutting too much at once, so I'm not sure what to think.

The only other thing I can think of is something is going on with the blades or maybe one of the pulleys or spindles is not spinning at the same speed causing the grass not to be thrown out like it should. You said he removed the mulching kit - if he left the mulching blades on while side-discharging that MIGHT cause an issue. I don't know.

 

I just spent half the day in the process of cleaning caked moist grass of the underside of my 54” deck. I mow a little over 2 acres and it has been growing rapidly for the past few weeks due to some very warm and humid weather. Normally I go over the mower with a leaf blower after each mowing and drive it up on ramps to clean as much of the grass as I can. I just can’t get all of the stuck grass and it builds up over time. Today I decided I would pull the deck off my X390 and do a good cleaning. I ended up with 6 large shovel fulls of caked grass! I sharpened the blades, reinstalled the deck and fired it up only to hear a decidedly nasty noise when I engaged the PTO. I’m not a young man and I was already sweating profusely. The last thing I wanted to do was to pull the deck again but I knew the problem was probably the blades being out of balance. The blades were not out of balance, I bolted one of the blades without making sure the raised portion of the spindle was inside the blade hole. I’ll remember that one from now on. After two deck removals and re installs I am not a fan of grass clogging of decks. Like others have pointed out. Nothing seems to really work other than just plain manual labor.

 

What type of blades are on it? Is the chute down? St. Augustine is a wet grass to start with and the finer the cut, the more sticking there will be. If he has a gator blade installed that may be making too fine of a particle that is getting stuck under the deck. A regular high lift blade should move enough material out from under the deck to keep it cleaner.

 

What I do for my 2011 X500 52 Incher, 544 hours, and have no caking up under deck.
1 Mow at full "Rabbit." Adjust tractor speed with foot pedal ..
2 Set mower height to cut no more than 1 inch off grass.
3 Replace/sharpen dull blades and scrape off any caked on residue under deck.
4. Immediately after each use, use a leaf blower to clear grass residue, wash the mower deck underneath , hose off the top of the deck. See page 22 of the operating manual for connecting water hose to deck.
5. Grease the spindles at least 2, maybe 3 times, during grass-cutting season.
6. Don't to "bush-hog" with my unit. .
7. Don't usually cut wet grass.
8. Turn on mower at slow "Rabbit" and then put "Rabbit" in full speed to mow. Control tractor speed with foot control.
9. Go over these instructions with my wife twice weekly, before she begins mowing.

 

What I do for my 2011 X500 52 Incher, 544 hours, and have no caking up under deck.
1 Mow at full "Rabbit." Adjust tractor speed with foot pedal ..
2 Set mower height to cut no more than 1 inch off grass.
3 Replace/sharpen dull blades and scrape off any caked on residue under deck.
4. Immediately after each use, use a leaf blower to clear grass residue, wash the mower deck underneath , hose off the top of the deck. See page 22 of the operating manual for connecting water hose to deck.
5. Grease the spindles at least 2, maybe 3 times, during grass-cutting season.
6. Don't to "bush-hog" with my unit. .
7. Don't usually cut wet grass.
8. Turn on mower at slow "Rabbit" and then put "Rabbit" in full speed to mow. Control tractor speed with foot control.
9. Go over these instructions with my wife twice weekly, before she begins mowing.

1.) yep
2.) he mows super high
3.) yep
4.) yep, except the GT235 didn't have the hose deal
5.) I figure he does, but will check, the deck is 18 years old, so may need some maintenance
6.) he doesn't either
7.) yep, except for very rare occasions where it just doesn't get dry, we have literally had weeks of nearly non-stop rain, it's hurricane season at the moment and Elsa's here now, although not affecting us except for the aforementioned tons of rain.
8.) yep
9.) I can't imagine even my mother-in-law sitting on the tractor or Bobby even letting her

I think basically between deck design, age and grass type, he's just going to have to clean it more often. He's as good an equipment maintainer as I am and I hardly ever have grass up under the deck. Now two weeks ago, my son and I got caught in a nasty rain storm at a neighbor's house. Since we trailered the tractor there, I made the determination to finish what we started. I don't need any lectures, if there was ever a case in point for now mowing wet grass, holy crap ,the 16D was a stinking hay field mess. What was worse is the grass was high as well as wet. Mowed with deck all the way up. I always try to mow after 2:00pm or later to make sure the grass is as dry as possible, same with Bobby. But sometimes in Florida, the weather doesn't relent. Wet grass is not good for the lawn, equipment, deck or blades or tractor. My neighbor mows in the morning all the time and he has a X500. I'm like you have a nice tractor, how come you don't know how to use it??

 

 

Try a drive belt 1/2" shorter . You might have slipage of the blades,and not getting maxium RPM,s
reducing the air discharge speed .
I did that to my 42" mower and it was a great improvement in reducing the grass build up .
I also added a wash-out port ,opposite of the discharge chute .
I lower the deck all the down ,hook up the garden hose ,start the mower ,engage the blades turn on the water
and let it run for about 3 or 4 minutes.
I unhook everything and check the underside with a mirror ,nearly all the grass is gone .
Of coarse I do a total maintance once over at the end of the cutting season.

 

Suggestion: EZ-Slide RB95121 Graphite-Based Coating at Tractor Supply prevents grass and snow sticking. Thoroughly clean mower underlying surfaces. Apply the coating, perhaps in two coats. It will wear off, but should get you through a season and then some. I coat the inside of metal snowblower chutes with it also to prevent wet sticky snow from jamming the chute. It's a black surface and will be hard to get off your hands for a while, so you may want to wear disposable gloves. It comes in both a spray can and a paint can for brush application, which is less expensive per ounce.

 

Mowing since the 80's one acre
1) Spend the money on the very best mulching blade
2) Do not block the cut grass exit in any way
3) Buy steel wheel ramps from auto supply, then power hose under deck
4) If failure, then shop for new mower decks that have a water hose cleanout port built in

 

Hey if it's working for you great, but most people here would disagree with #2, part of #3, and #4. Here is why:

• If you are going to use mulching blades, you need to block off the outlet to let them do what they do best. If you are using Gator blades, don't have to, but they really aren't going to mulch that well.
• Power wash (I assume you mean using a pressure washer) is likely to put water in places it doesn't belong, which can lead to bearing failure. Doing it frequently also leads to more moisture which likely leads to more rust.
• The cleaning ports for the hose really don't work well, make a mess, and likely lead to water getting where it is not wanted/good

But as I said earlier, you have been doing this for almost 40 years and have been happy with your results, so I can't argue with that.

 

After ~375 hours on my GT52XLS I recently replaced the OE blades with the Stens Silver Streak 302-434 toothed blades and was quite pleased with the performance over the old ones. I cut at the highest deck settings and IMO I have a better cut, more lift (less front tire tracking), good discharge and smaller cuttings. It also seems these blades keep the underside of the fab deck cleaner than the OE blades did. Maybe a blade change is in order?

 

I cut my grass at the highest point. 4 inches high. I use a bagger. I don't like any dead grass laying on grass I just cut. The mower sucks up any leaves that has landed in the yard. I cut the grass in the evening when there is no mildew and the sun has dried it out. I've been cutting the grass twice a week since March and if it stays hot like it has been maybe once a week. I use mulching blades that I replace every year when I do a tune up. I never block off the chute. That's asking for trouble trying to mulch grass up and leave it in the yard. Now that will cake the bottom up every time you cut the grass. I use a leaf blower after each time I cut the grass. If the tractor is filthy I do hose it off and avoid getting the deck wet. I wax it too. I been doing that for 21 years without any problems. I have replaced the battery once in 21 years and the primary and secondary belts once in 21 years. I give it a tune up and replace the blades every year. I cut three quarters of an acre. I do have a wash port and tried it once but its not as good as a putty knife or wire brush. I'm thinking I may have between 1200 and 1500 hours on the tractor.