Mower deck wash ?

[Cycledude]

Have any of you folks installed a mower deck wash ? Does it work well ?

 

[Roadworthy]

My mower came with a connector for the deck wash. I used it about twice. I don't have a feel for how well it washed the deck but it sure did erode my gravel driveway under the deck. It might be okay on concrete or asphalt but you'd have a mess to hose down. I wouldn't do it on the lawn for fear it would blast a hole.

 

[RandyT]

Water and lawnmowers are not exactly friendly. Water can cause rust issues both with the deck and the spindles, and is frowned upon by most dealers.

 

[cdaigle430]

I did on my 48 inch deck-was useless for me. So I bought a lawn mower jack from Harbor Freight and I clean the deck that way.....sooooooo much better. I still have the added nozzle but I don't use it anymore because it really didnt work.

 

[LittleBill21]

i will always be the odd ball, i installed them on mowers, they work great for me, you have to use them every single time or they will clog. my decks have used water for 10+ years at this point, they are not rusting out any faster then my other ones, and its 0 work, hook it up for 10 minutes, use my leaf blower and done, when i pull the decks at the end of the summer, they are spotless.

 

[Cycledude]

Thanks for all the replies.
Been running my mower up a set of car ramps for many years now to scrape the grass out by hand (pretty big job) but a couple days ago a friend was talking about one of those bolt in washers he had bought from True Value, he claims it works great and that’s what got me interested .
I think his John Deere might have a 4 foot deck, my Kubota has 5 foot deck and it’s not very smooth under there so that makes it harder to clean, I bet his John Deere is a lot smoother under there so the grass can’t cling as easy.

 

[oosik]

My JD X570 has a connector for under deck washing. I tried it twice. What a farce and PITA. I clean the complete tractor - every time - with compressed air.

I use a floor jack to raise the front of the mower. I clean the deck underside with a sharpened stick. Works for me.

 

[hube2]

I had one on a tractor and I tried it once. Made the grass that was stuck under the deck a mucky mess and even harder to scrape out.

 

[Wakey]

I had a cub cadet garden tractor years back that had those ports. I thought it did a decent job so long as you did it after each use. The problem is the plastic adapter you fastened on the hose tended to fail.

I have a zero turn now.. I sharpen an old 5 in 1 tool with a flap disc then use a mower jack and get to it. It’s a thankless task that I don’t care for.

The worst is, I hang the jack on the wall like everything else to free floor space. That sucker is kind of heavy and difficult to lift due to being oblong.

Needed to vent, sorry!

 

[5030]

Only thing that does (deck wash) is destroy spindle bearings. Use a putty knife and some elbow grease.

 

[Sono]

Dont use the deck wash unless you want to replace spindles often.The bearings are sealed and the grease fittings dont actually grease anything ( there is a youtube on this also ) but spraying that cold water on hot spindles after mowing... not a good idea ( this was shared with me from a mower mechanic ) when I bought my new ZT2 54"

 

[RandyT]

Dont use the deck wash unless you want to replace spindles often.The bearings are sealed and the grease fittings dont actually grease anything ( there is a youtube on this also ) but spraying that cold water on hot spindles after mowing... not a good idea ( this was shared with me from a mower mechanic ) when I bought my new ZT2 54"

Referred to as sealed bearings, but not exactly sealed. More like dust covers to keep most of the junk out. And studies were conducted years ago, that when they used one color grease inside the bearing and another color grease in the grease zerk, they found that there was some mixing of the two inside the bearing.

Something people don't realize also this same concept applies to ATV and UTV bearings on axles and differentials. The seals are designed to keep the oil in, but when dunked in cold water will cause water and other debris to be sucked past the seal, quickly leading to bearing failures.

 

[Sono]

Referred to as sealed bearings, but not exactly sealed. More like dust covers to keep most of the junk out. And studies were conducted years ago, that when they used one color grease inside the bearing and another color grease in the grease zerk, they found that there was some mixing of the two inside the bearing.

Something people don't realize also this same concept applies to ATV and UTV bearings on axles and differentials. The seals are designed to keep the oil in, but when dunked in cold water will cause water and other debris to be sucked past the seal, quickly leading to bearing failures.

The bearings are sealed on both sides so no grease will ever get into them the zerks are in the housing between the bearings.... watch this video.

 

[LittleBill21]

for all the people saying your spindles will be destroyed.. my mower is from 2000, has 600 hours on it, and the spindles are original. i have been washing the deck for 10 years. if i had to buy new spindles every 10 years i would do it, just in the convivence alone. my spindles are fine.

i also have it added to 3 push mowers, and my mothers mower, for the last 5 years. still original.

I don't even understand why people think it will cause a failure, they are sealed bearings, not in the spray path, yes they get wet, but its not like they are pressure washer directed angles.

 

[LittleBill21]

Something people don't realize also this same concept applies to ATV and UTV bearings on axles and differentials. The seals are designed to keep the oil in, but when dunked in cold water will cause water and other debris to be sucked past the seal, quickly leading to bearing failures.

My atv has seen more water and swamps then dirt, has 7000 miles on it, and has the original bearings... people really over exaggerate bearing failure.

 

[BleedingOrange]

Being retired, and being able to pick the time when I mow my lawn, I only cut the grass when it is completely dry. When I remove my deck to put on my snowblower in the late fall, there is very, very little grass attached to my mower. What little there is, is scraped off with a putty knife, and then I give it a nice coat of Kubota orange paint, so it is ready for next spring. I realize a lot of folks cann,t pick the time, so they mow wet grass, which contributes greatly to the grass build up under the deck.

 

[LittleBill21]

Being retired, and being able to pick the time when I mow my lawn, I only cut the grass when it is completely dry. When I remove my deck to put on my snowblower in the late fall, there is very, very little grass attached to my mower. What little there is, is scraped off with a putty knife, and then I give it a nice coat of Kubota orange paint, so it is ready for next spring. I realize a lot of folks cann,t pick the time, so they mow wet grass, which contributes greatly to the grass build up under the deck.

my mother shoots water 90% of the time when cutting grass.. it is what it is.

 

[bmg88201]

My JD x300 has that deck washing connection on the deck and it’s a waste of time. Tried it once and didn’t do much except make a mess. When I sharpen my blades I scrape the deck with a putty knife.

 

[bmg88201]

The bearings are sealed on both sides so no grease will ever get into them the zerks are in the housing between the bearings.... watch this video.

Great idea drilling holes in the spindle housing.

 

[RandyT]

The bearings are sealed on both sides so no grease will ever get into them the zerks are in the housing between the bearings.... watch this video.

And you believe a video where the guy drills a hole in the spindle housing for a weep hole that can allow water and other contamination inside the housing. Drives the shaft out with a hammer, and I know for a fact with that spindle the shaft is now bent. And then plies the seal out that easily and you think that grease can't get past it. And then says the overfilling will press the bearing out. maybe if he hadn't removed the inner seals, but in this case it now pops the outer seal out and create more issues than he fixed. And the housing doesn't have to be full of grease to do it. Just the resulting air pressure increase will pop out the seals. And then proceeds to tap the bearing back in with hammer where any body that sells bearings will tell you is a no-no because it can cause flat spots on the balls.

Murray conducted testing years ago where they put one color grease in the housing and another in the bearings, and then ran them for several hours and then removed the bearings from the housing and disassembled the bearings and determined that the two greases had mixed because the grease inside the bearing was a corresponding color of the two mixed greases.