Cleaning underside of mmm deck

[Rusty]

Has anyone found a way to clean the underside of a mmm deck without removing from the CUT, without lying on your back and reaching under with some sort of scraper, and without eating and/or breathing the accumulated grass that you remove?

 

[Birdman]

I bought a street elbow and put it on the end of the spray wand from my pressure washer, then screwed the tip holder onto that. Worked so well that I went back and bought a separate tube and tip holder so I would not have to have a pipe wrench around to go from angled spray to straight spray. If you try this be careful, and don't squeeze the trigger until the wand is flat on the ground. Just work it back and forth under the deck and try to avoid spraying directly in the center of the blades, where there might be bearings or seals that could be damaged.

 

[beenthere]

I like Bird's idea and leads me to thinking of building a wash bay where the excess water and grass can run off into the woods. Then just hook to a stationary pair of nozzles and stand back.

However, I keep my deck clean with a combination of mowing dry grass, a few hundred sticks that blow out of the trees into my lawn, and some hickory nut husks that rattle around in there for most of the summer from a couple dozen or more shagbark hickory trees. The deck for the most part stays pretty shiny. On the occasion that I change blades and run the tractor up on a ramp, I will take a wonderbar and knock down the dried stuff that sticks in the corners. But seldom get a full shovel of debris. Otherwise, I usually just clean down the mower deck and tractor with air after each use. Try not to use much water. Just my way, for what it's worth. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Jagmandave]

I find the long version of my air blower works pretty well, even if the grass is fairly wet......

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( long version of my air blower )</font>

That's what I use, also.

 

[WCarlson]

I took a length of 3/4" PVC two feet longer than my 60" MMM. Put a cap on one end and a hose fitting on the other then drilled 1/8" holes. every six inches except in the one foot overhangs. When I am done mowing, I put the pipe under the MMM, turn on the hose and engage the mower...I drive back and forth a bit and the mower is clean. The overhang precludes the blades sucking up the pipe. It worked so well that I assembled another shorter one for my lawn tractor's 38" mower deck.

Bill

 

[Freds]

What a nifty idea, Bill.
I remember one of my father's riding mowers (Wheel Horse maybe?) having a spot to screw a hose to the top of the deck for the same style of cleaning with water and the blades turning.

 

[OCDLubeman]

I was taught that it is bad to frequently wash your mower deck because warm bearings can draw in water past the seals as they cool. Thus, premature bearing/spindle failure.

Any truth to this?

 

[OhioGuy]

I was surprised by a similar warning in the manual on a new Cub. They really cautioned about cleaning with water. They even caution you about washing the exterior. I've been power washing my decks for years with no bearing problems?

On the smaller Cubs, it was easy enought to just remove the deck and use a putty knife to clean the underside. On my 1872 with a 60 inch deck, it's just too heavy too manipulate without a hoist so I really try to avoid cutting wet grass, but sometimes, that's your only option.

I bought a 880 lb electric winch and a 3/4 drive socket set from Harbor Freight, the ratchet is about 18 inches and the breaker bar that came with it is even longer. Between that and the winch the cleaning/blade changes got a whole lot easier. The winch was on sale for $79 and the 3/4 socket set was $39. Not MAC or even Craftsman quality but well worth the price for limited use.

Curt

 

[Bird]

I bought a new Cub AGS2130 in '95 and one of the spindles seized while it was still under warranty. They replaced it under warranty all right, but told me not to wash the deck with water, OR if I washed it with water to run it long enough to thoroughly dry it out afterwards. Now my current Toro ZTR has the coupling on top of the deck to attach a garden hose and run it to wash the bottom side of the deck and I've done that, but instead I usually just use the air hose.

 

[SeymourBota]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I was taught that it is bad to frequently wash your mower deck because warm bearings can draw in water past the seals as they cool. Thus, premature bearing/spindle failure.

Any truth to this? )</font>

This is EXACTLY correct!!! You should not fire water into the blade area until it it completely cooled. I had a Honda 5518 and the bearings went in just a couple of months from this. The dealer replaced under warranty but cautioned against using water when they were hot.

I allow a substantial cooling down time now before using the hose on it.

 

[hogboy]

I've had pretty good luck with a spray on product called Mo-Deck. I do, however, clean my mower deck with a putty knife after each use. There
is minimal build up of clippings. I spray the mower deck once a month. This also makes the annual cleaning (with the help of Larry's mower axle wheels,) a lot easier. I've been using this product now for 3+ years.

 

[Rusty]

WOW!!! The amount and quality of experience shared on this forum never ceases to amaze me. Thanks to all for your response. You have given me lots to think about. Thanks, again! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif