[tonymazz]

ello - I have a question...

I just bought a JD x500 and already have put 7.9 hours on it...and conducted my first oil change per the manual....so...

When you guys are done mowing your grass, I have a question concerning the proper clean up etc....

What do you guys do ?
I had an L120 and I used to jack it up , scrape and spray with a pressure washer etc...next thing I new in 1-2 seasons I am rebuilding the deck with new spindles....I did that for the entire 9 years I owned it but replace 4 sets of spindles....

So I have this new mower....I have used the wash port (for whatever good that does) but am wonder what is the BEST idea for longevity, effectives of the mower deck....I want to do this right....

To-day I have used the wash port and simply an air hose to blow the grass off....damp towel to clean up the finish and stow her away until next time....

Appreciate any thoughts

Thank you !!

 

[Jere39]

You are going to get varied opinions in response to your question. And this will be one of them. I do not use water on my deck. I don't use it on top of a deck with hot spindles, I don't use it underneath to further moisturize the build up of grass, and I don't use it in the wash-out port. I try to mow my lawn when it is dry to the touch, but not dusty dry. That reduces the build-up underneath dramatically. Then, I clean the underside whenever I have the deck off, which, in my case is 2-3 times a year. I also sharpen the blades then, remove the covers, clean them well, wash the top of the cold deck, and throw a coat of a good cleaner/wax on it.

For my every mow clean-up, I use my leaf blower to blow off the entire tractor including deck, under the hood, and my radiator screens.

And, when the mood strikes, and I am washing my truck/car, I roll the tractor out to a shady spot for a wash, but again, only when the tractor is cooled, so there is no excess heat from engine, exhaust, moving/spinning parts, even the seat is cool.

My tractor does not ever look new (after 4 years and 265 hours), but it never looks abused either. There is no rust, top or bottom.

 

[rfowler]

Like Jere39, I too only cut my grass when it is dry. I don't like using water on my equipment hot or otherwise. I wash my tractors about once or twice a year and always dry it off. When I get finished cutting the grass I always blow off any grass and/or dirt with my portable air compressor. I stop the tractor, open the hood to let things cool for a bit while I plug my air compressor in. Then I blow off the tractor paying particular attention to the deck. I too have no rust issues. Also, I take my deck off at the end of grass cutting season (because I use my tractor with a blade to plow snow) and I clean any build up from the bottom side at that time.

 

[davidg]

IMO the wash port is good for making green slime on your drive. If you use it while parked on the grass then you will get dead spots from the engine heat, so you have to do it on a drive or other grassless location. Even then it really does little to clean out under the deck, maybe ok for someone cutting 1/4 acre lot but in my personal experience after cutting 2-3 acres it barely knocks a dent in the grass.


my advice would be to blow the outside the deck with a leaf blower, and scrape under the deck every few cuttings. It is easy to get the deck on/off for most folks, and if you can do it easily you may find remvoing and flipping the deck to be best. otehrwise just put the front end up on stands and go at it.


BTW, the constant replacing of the spindles on the L120 was not necessarily due to water. They were low quality to begin with. I actually kept 3 spindles on the shelf in my shop because i would replace at least 1 each summer on my L130!

 

[X485SENoob]

You are going to get varied opinions in response to your question. And this will be one of them. I do not use water on my deck. I don't use it on top of a deck with hot spindles, I don't use it underneath to further moisturize the build up of grass, and I don't use it in the wash-out port. I try to mow my lawn when it is dry to the touch, but not dusty dry. That reduces the build-up underneath dramatically. Then, I clean the underside whenever I have the deck off, which, in my case is 2-3 times a year. I also sharpen the blades then, remove the covers, clean them well, wash the top of the cold deck, and throw a coat of a good cleaner/wax on it.

For my every mow clean-up, I use my leaf blower to blow off the entire tractor including deck, under the hood, and my radiator screens.

And, when the mood strikes, and I am washing my truck/car, I roll the tractor out to a shady spot for a wash, but again, only when the tractor is cooled, so there is no excess heat from engine, exhaust, moving/spinning parts, even the seat is cool.

My tractor does not ever look new (after 4 years and 265 hours), but it never looks abused either. There is no rust, top or bottom.

Couldn't have said it better...

And since you have already used the washout port, I'd jack it up or remove the deck and give it a good scraping. There's bound to be some green sludge under there.

 

[MNvet]

Then some apparently prefer a total rinse. :ROF:ROF

 

[Singalo]

I don't know why, but I feel the need to weigh in on this topic every time it comes up. It's a bit of a OCD thing with me.

As I have said in the past, and continue to maintain, the wash port was put on a deck for a reason. Most of us, that is to say in general, the majority of home owners which may not include the participants of this forum who tend to be slightly more anal, only clean there deck once a year in the fall, of for some twice a year, once mid summer and once in the fall. During that time, you are going to get build up of grass under your deck. That Grass will be moist no matter how dry you think the grass is when you cut it, unless it is all brown. During that time, you have moist grass stuck to your deck, and that is having a negative effect on it overall.

What the wash port allows you to do is do is a quick, but incomplete cleaning each and every time you mow the lawn. In so doing, you are helping to keep the build up of grass down. If you leave the wash port running for a good 5 min each time you mow, it does a surprisingly decent job of removing the worst of the build up. It's not perfect by any means, but it’s a decent middle of the road option to taking your deck off and cleaning every single time you mow. The problem is, just like everything else in life, that the wash port only works as good as YOU make it. Water tends to wash grease away, especially when the grease is hot. So after running your deck for 5 min with the wash port, hit your spindle zerks with some fresh grease. If this step of re-greasing your zerks is a pain in the backside to you, then either don't use the wash port, or, accept that you will be replacing them every couple years.

They don't make decks the way they used to. My father had a stamped steel deck on a 12hp Honda that as far as I know is still in operation after 25 years. And it was only cleaned once a year, and had no wash port. Mind you, I don't ever recall dad greasing it either. I don't even know if it had zerks. But you won't get that kind of longevity out of pretty much any deck today, wash port or not. The best you can do is get a Fabricated deck, which tends not to get the same kind of build up as stamped steel decks do to start with, and they tend to be made of better steel.

People talk about water on their equipment and wash ports in general as being the spawn of Satan. But I think it's all a bunch of hogwash. Your equipment will last for as long as you treat it with respect. Greasing your zerks after using the wash port will go a long way towards cancelling the ill effects it has on the grease. Using the wash port will go a long ways in keeping your deck from rotting by maintaining an overall better state of cleanliness. And disrespecting your equipment will put it in an early grave.

People tend to make WAY TOO MUCH out of applying water to their equipment. It is what you make of it.

 

[Displaced Hokie]

Singalo nailed it. Good post!


Sent from the MTF Free App

 

[Mach-1]

I take my deck off 3-4 times a year and scrape it, no big deal. I do not use the wash port, as I believe it to be the spawn of satan.:229:

When I am done mowing, I just blow the machine, screens and mower deck off with a leaf blower and put it away.

Wash, wax, & detail a few times a year.

 

[Tulkas]

The phrase "only cut when dry" kind of cracks me up. I live in the Great North Wet outside of Seattle. I do use my wash port every time and the deck looks really nice underneath. But any way you cut it I am going to cut a lot of wet grass.

 

[mikgran]

Every afternoon I drive by the town`s community services dept. And every afternoon they are out power washing the underside and topside of their mower decks. The mowers range from an LX277, a GT275, an X749, commercial mowers and tractor pulled gang mowers. I know the dept. supervisor personally, and have asked him about this. They do not have problems with spindles.

 

[JDjoel]

I wash with water and I use my wash port. I mow, let the mower cool down while I am trimming and blowing (usually takes me about an hour). Then I blow any loose grass with my blower, then I wash. I do believe it is a great idea to grease on a regular basis. Don't use cold water on hot metal. We have had double rainfall in the Upstate od SC this year and while I agree it is better to cut when dry, this year no chance.

 

[attaboybob]

after each use I use a leaf blower under deck as best I can. I also blow the engine area and generally all over. I use a "California duster" after each use. I brush the top and sides to keep it clean. Occasionally, I use a spray wax and wipe.

 

[Oldoak]

I never put my 318 away without cleaning the underside of the deck after mowing by scraping any accumulated build up. After 30 years all I have is surface rust on the underside. Never had a need to change a single spindle bearing either. And by the way they have no zerk fittings. I am more anal when it comes blowing all the debris off the engine and fins under the sheet metal with an air wand and compressed air.

If I get the same overall service out of my new X758, it will be the last GT that I will ever have to buy.