Whatever you feel like thread.

[MossRoad]

I wonder what the underside of Arly's deck will look like after a season or two?

 

[5030]

Always keep in mind that 99% of mower manufacturers DON'T produce their own blades, they contract them out. There us an outfit on SR49 just inside Ohio that produces most all the blades for most every builder ands they produce ALL the Oregon branded blades. It takes large and expensive machinery to stamp out blades, not something maufacturers would be conducive to invest in. Back before I retired, I delivered many loads of steel strip to them.

 

[WinterDeere]

I wonder what the underside of Arly's deck will look like after a season or two?

I envy you guys who sandblast your decks and blades with dry sandy soil. Ours are always a crusty mess of rust scale and clumped grass, as our grass is nearly always very damp and high in water content, all spring and fall. Blades last forever in our environment, I honestly have had blades over 50 years old still in use, but steel decks rust.

 

[5030]

I wonder how long the stamped steel deck on the Ego mower will last before it rusts through? Most owners NEVER clean off the crud underneath and over the off season, that crud absorbs moisture and rusts the deck. Why I prefer a fabricated deck, not a stamped (sheet metal) one.

 

[WinterDeere]

The Ego deck is definitely noticeably thinner than the "7-Iron" deck on my Deere ZTrak. I assume "7-Iron" is Deere code for 7 gauge stamped steel.

My deck is stamped, but with tubing welded around the perimeter to reinforce, along with the usual assortment of welded and bolted-in baffels.

 

[DK35vince]

The Ego deck is definitely noticeably thinner than the "7-Iron" deck on my Deere ZTrak. I assume "7-Iron" is Deere code for 7 gauge stamped steel.

My deck is stamped, but with tubing welded around the perimeter to reinforce, along with the usual assortment of welded and bolted-in baffels.

Yes there is a definite difference between a 7 iron (7 gauge steel) and most other stamped decks

 

[5030]

So lo0ng as you keep the crud off the bottom in the off season, even the thin ones will last a good long time but you don't clean it in the off season, they will rust out. Grass cud under there is acidic.

The Deck on my Kubota is a weldment and it's heavy too. I believe about 400 pounds. All I know is I have to use a long wrecking bar under the edge to reposition the rear anti scalp wheels. Probably why there is a cast counterweight on the back as well. Positively loaded with grease fittings as well. In fact the entire machine is 'festooned' with grease fittings.

 

[WinterDeere]

Yeah, my deck is also several hundred pounds. I remember that even after I stripped all of spindles and running gear off it, just moving the bare pan around was an undertaking.

What was real fun was moving the mower with the deck removed. I could grab a front caster with just one hand and easily lift the machine into a total wheelie. Had to be careful driving it that way, as I could have easily flipped it onto its back.

This was all done to sandblast and repaint the deck last year. I do scrape it clean in the off-season, but usually not until after Christmas, which is usually a few weeks after the final mowing of the year.

 

[Gem99ultra]

I wonder how long the stamped steel deck on the Ego mower will last before it rusts through? Most owners NEVER clean off the crud underneath and over the off season, that crud absorbs moisture and rusts the deck. Why I prefer a fabricated deck, not a stamped (sheet metal) one.

My first mower, a HusquvarnaI Rider 155, came only with a stamped deck. My mowing needs increased, so I needed a second mower as well. also had reservations about buying another mower with a stamped deck, so I bought my second mower with a 7 ga fabricated deck. Unfortunately the second mower with the better 7 ga deck crapped out after 5 years. On the other hand, the Husqarna Rider with the stamped bio-clip deck has lasted 21 years, and still cuts beautifully. I does, however, has a couple of really thin spots that are rusting through; not so much as to allow clippings to fly, but those days are ahead.
In short, I think the stamped decks are better designed than the fabricated decks. My thinking is that if a stamed deck would hold up for >21 years, and still doing just fine, I would not opt for a fab deck at a higher cost again.

 

[ArlyA]

My first mower, a HusquvarnaI Rider 155, came only with a stamped deck. My mowing needs increased, so I needed a second mower as well. also had reservations about buying another mower with a stamped deck, so I bought my second mower with a 7 ga fabricated deck. Unfortunately the second mower with the better 7 ga deck crapped out after 5 years. On the other hand, the Husqarna Rider with the stamped bio-clip deck has lasted 21 years, and still cuts beautifully. I does, however, has a couple of really thin spots that are rusting through; not so much as to allow clippings to fly, but those days are ahead.
In short, I think the stamped decks are better designed than the fabricated decks. My thinking is that if a stamed deck would hold up for >21 years, and still doing just fine, I would not opt for a fab deck at a higher cost again.

good and thoughtful post.

 

[Grumpycat]

My first mower, a HusquvarnaI Rider 155, came only with a stamped deck. My mowing needs increased, so I needed a second mower as well. also had reservations about buying another mower with a stamped deck, so I bought my second mower with a 7 ga fabricated deck. Unfortunately the second mower with the better 7 ga deck crapped out after 5 years. On the other hand, the Husqarna Rider with the stamped bio-clip deck has lasted 21 years, and still cuts beautifully. I does, however, has a couple of really thin spots that are rusting through; not so much as to allow clippings to fly, but those days are ahead.
In short, I think the stamped decks are better designed than the fabricated decks. My thinking is that if a stamed deck would hold up for >21 years, and still doing just fine, I would not opt for a fab deck at a higher cost again.

I think the point demonstrated is that neither manufacturing method guarantees durability.

There are plenty of poor quality stamped steel mower decks. In past decades it was common to see a riding tractor parked by the curb free for the taking, without a mower deck. The mower deck failed, owners found out how much it cost to replace, bought a new mower instead.

 

[WinterDeere]

I think the point demonstrated is that neither manufacturing method guarantees durability.

Spoken like an engineer.

My Chevy Silverado pickups appeared to have been built substantially heavier than either of my Ram pickups. But neither Ram has ever broken down on me, ever, whereas those Chevy pickups left me stranded on more occasions than I could ever care to remember.

"Well built" is almost never in the obvious details. Or looking at my old Silverados, heavier sheet metal, hubs and control arms don't mean squat, when your 4wd solenoids, ECM's, exhaust, or brake lines all fail on relatively-new trucks.

Every system has a weak link, and beefing up other parts of the system does very little to resolve that.

 

[Rebeldad1]

So, I just called the aforementioned cousin, who's mowing 2.5 - 3 acres with his Ego. He says he's in his 4th season now, and if there's been any degradation, it's not enough that he's noticed it, given his property size / mowing frequency.

I'm sure the batteries degrade, of course they do. But I don't think it's anywhere near quick enough to be thinking on a 3 year time scale, for most homeowners with a zero turn. They're actually warrantied for 3 years, so you have to expect their fail rate must be near zero, on that time scale.

I have a fair amount of Dewalt 20V and 60V batteries that get used a lot. A couple are over 7 years old. I havn't replaced any.

 

[5030]

Spoken like an engineer.

My Chevy Silverado pickups appeared to have been built substantially heavier than either of my Ram pickups. But neither Ram has ever broken down on me, ever, whereas those Chevy pickups left me stranded on more occasions than I could ever care to remember.

"Well built" is almost never in the obvious details. Or looking at my old Silverados, heavier sheet metal, hubs and control arms don't mean squat, when your 4wd solenoids, ECM's, exhaust, or brake lines all fail on relatively-new trucks.

Every system has a weak link, and beefing up other parts of the system does very little to resolve that.

For some reason (probably cost, American auto makers use steel brake lines instead of Ni-Cop brake lines like the Europeans use on their automobiles and trucks and steel brake lines eventually corrode, especially up here in the north so you have to eventually replace them with Ni-Cop brake lines. Had that happen on my 97 F350 that never sees snow but still corroded. The brake line that feeds the rear axle failed and I replaced it with Ni-Cop which will never corrode. Had to replace ALL the brake lines on my wife's long gone Ford Transit as well. I like Ni-Cop as it's easy to work with, unlike rigid steel brake lines. Easy to bend (with a proper bending tool) and lasts forever. Ni-Cop lines don't corrode and every auto parts store sells it in various diameters and it's easy to bubble flare or double flare (again with the correct flaring tool).

 

[5030]

So long as you remove the caked on grass cud from the underside of a deck during winter layup-storage and keep the underside of the deck painted or oiled as the case may be, a stamped deck or a fabricated one will last probably longer than the engine will.

I keep my wife's ZTR as well as my Kubota (fabbed deck and stamped decks) clean in the off season. Hers is 8 years old (stamped deck) and looks as good as when it was new. I do have to replace the anti-scalp wheels regularly but I get them from ASC and those come with molded in grease passages so they get greased which makes them last longer up here in the sandy soil. Her blades do fail every year from the sandblasting they get and it's always the 'kick up' on the blade that erodes off, not the blade itself. I get them from ASC as well. Much less than the cost at the tractor dealer.

 

[ArlyA]

Mowed again yesterday, for the 20th time this summer. (just a guess, been a good growing year) Love this machine and would get another.

 

[5030]

Gotta keep the Chinese in business right? Last time I checked all the EGO stuff was made in China. Maybe when the Chinese build the assembly plant in Mexico and start flooding the US market with their automobiles and light trucks, you can off your little Bronco and buy one of theirs instead. I'm sure they will be very competitively priced.

The Chinese are building that plant for the sole purpose of evading the import duties. Sort of why American automakers build their stuff in Mexico. Cheap labor and no imposed duties.

Why Volkswagen is contemplating closing some of their German auto plants. The Chinese are flooding Europe with their vehicles and VW, being the largest manufacturer of vehicles in the EU (they employ over 650,000 workers in direct manufacture as well as indirect) are contemplating a severe downsizing. Europeans just like here, love a bargain but at what cost overall?

I'm sure you like the electric mower, I looked at them at Home Despot some time ago, they just don't work for my application and my utility bills (electric) are high enough as it is and not getting any cheaper either. Michigan is kind of unique in that utility (electric) providers can increase rates based in anticipated use and the MPSC usually rubber stamps their increases. You live in Michigan, just like I do. Between utility bills and insurance costs here, it's kind of hard to stay solvent, especially in these inflationary times.

Just keep the underside of the deck clean while it's parked for the winter and you'll be good. You must be a lawnee. I think I've mowed the farm yard and the rentals 4 times this year, but then I'm not a 'lawnee' or a 'yardee' like my wife calls you people. Guy down the road is one. Has to mow his patch every week at least, but he has a gas mower, not a sparky one. he keeps looking at my Kubota diesel mower but I don't believe he can afford the price of admission. I can and did.

 

[ArlyA]

Gotta keep the Chinese in business right? Last time I checked all the EGO stuff was made in China. Maybe when the Chinese build the assembly plant in Mexico and start flooding the US market with their automobiles and light trucks, you can off your little Bronco and buy one of theirs instead. I'm sure they will be very competitively priced.

The Chinese are building that plant for the sole purpose of evading the import duties. Sort of why American automakers build their stuff in Mexico. Cheap labor and no imposed duties.

Why Volkswagen is contemplating closing some of their German auto plants. The Chinese are flooding Europe with their vehicles and VW, being the largest manufacturer of vehicles in the EU (they employ over 650,000 workers in direct manufacture as well as indirect) are contemplating a severe downsizing. Europeans just like here, love a bargain but at what cost overall?

I'm sure you like the electric mower, I looked at them at Home Despot some time ago, they just don't work for my application and my utility bills (electric) are high enough as it is and not getting any cheaper either. Michigan is kind of unique in that utility (electric) providers can increase rates based in anticipated use and the MPSC usually rubber stamps their increases. You live in Michigan, just like I do. Between utility bills and insurance costs here, it's kind of hard to stay solvent, especially in these inflationary times.

Just keep the underside of the deck clean while it's parked for the winter and you'll be good. You must be a lawnee. I think I've mowed the farm yard and the rentals 4 times this year, but then I'm not a 'lawnee' or a 'yardee' like my wife calls you people. Guy down the road is one. Has to mow his patch every week at least, but he has a gas mower, not a sparky one. he keeps looking at my Kubota diesel mower but I don't believe he can afford the price of admission. I can and did.

But you keep talking about the great Chinese tools you like to buy......

 

[WinterDeere]

So long as you remove the caked on grass cud from the underside of a deck during winter layup-storage and keep the underside of the deck painted or oiled as the case may be, a stamped deck or a fabricated one will last probably longer than the engine will.

I think this observation is largely dependent on your soil conditions. Around here, that deck is rusting all thru the season, our grass is so wet spring and fall. I do try to scrape it clean as often as I can, but we have to mow every 3-4 days in spring, so it becomes impractical, at a point.

I get them from ASC as well. Much less than the cost at the tractor dealer.

Good to know. I’m going to have to check them out next time I need mower parts. Thanks!

Europeans just like here, love a bargain but at what cost overall?

I’m not sure how it is today, I stopped going to Europe every year around 2018, and haven’t spent very substantial time there since the early 2000’s. But at least in the late 1990’s into early 2000’s, Germany and most other Euro countries were doing a pretty good job at protecting their manufacturing, by two means:

1. Really promoting a strong “it’s better if it’s made in Germany” ethos. Most Germans truly believed this, at least back then.

2. Imposing strong import duties on items from other countries, with rates scaled to make those items at least as expensive as “made in Germany”. I remember looking at televisions in 1998, and I could buy one made in China or Japan, but they were both going to cost me nearly the same as one made in Germany.

On the flip side, they were really screwing their manufacturers with ridiculous levels of regulation, so I’m not holding them up as some perfect example of how things should be done. Each society and system has its good and bad points.

 

[DynamicD]

Milwaukee battery tools are also made in China. But most tradesmen will swear by them.
(Most of their blades, bits and hand tools are USA made)