Anyone Have A Tip To Share?

[Steve D]

I am not a big fan of mowing grass but view it as a necessary evil. I am on my 10th season with my current mower and try to take care of all of my equipment so it will last.

Most years I scrape and clean the underside of the deck two or three times a year and about five years ago I wire brushed the entire underside and painted it. This year has been a real pain because I have had to scrape it after every mow. Even though the top layer of grass is dry it always seems to be wet close to the ground and causes it to stick to the deck.

The past couple of times I spayed it with non-stick cooking oil and while it helped I still end up  scraping. I have the deck wash option but have found that makes an even bigger mess.

 This is todays pile. Any tips would be appreciated.

 

[rob-c]

Before next summer I am going to clean and sandblast  my mower deck and then apply POR 15 . It’s s ceramic based paint for coating auto frames and such. Ive used it before and it’s very durable, protects from rust and seals .

[Hock3y24]

Haven’t done that at all, put mower in garage after mowing and keep a small fan on, dries right out and falls off next time.

[Jeremy K]

I power wash my deck and apply a fresh coat of rustoleum with a brush. So far no rust on a 10 year old craftsman mower.

[G-Man]

Axle grease and turn it on over a dusty area let it run a bit.. doesnt matter if grass sticks it will never rust..like spraying oil under a car and driving a dirt road and repeating the process a few times doenst look pretty but your bolts and nuts will always be able to be removed easily.

[Steuben Jerry]

9 minutes ago, G-Man said:

like spraying oil under a car and driving a dirt road and repeating the process a few times doenst look pretty but your bolts and nuts will always be able to be removed easily.

Do folks actually do that?

[Nomad]

Cut grass, turn mower on it’s side, wash off grass with hose .

I never put a hot mower back into garage , leave it outside to cool down first .

Guy did a mile or so from me , set his garage on fire,which spread to house . Small chance , but mine sits near recycling bins with paper and cardboard often overflowing .

[Bionic]

3 minutes ago, Nomad said:

Cut grass, turn mower on it’s side, wash off grass with hose .

I never put a hot mower back into garage , leave it outside to cool down first .

Guy did a mile or so from me , set his garage on fire,which spread to house . Small chance , but mine sits near recycling bins with paper and cardboard often overflowing .

Obviously you know what you are talking about, but this happened a mile from my dads house to someone we know.  Guy mowed lawn, parked in basement right after, and next thing you know, his wife was wondering why her feet were getting hot...lost everything.

[G-Man]

13 minutes ago, Steuben Jerry said:

Do folks actually do that?

Been doing it for decades best undercoating there is and use of used motor oil

[Jeremy K]

31 minutes ago, G-Man said:

Axle grease and turn it on over a dusty area let it run a bit.. doesnt matter if grass sticks it will never rust..like spraying oil under a car and driving a dirt road and repeating the process a few times doenst look pretty but your bolts and nuts will always be able to be removed easily.

But then your grass just comes out the side in clumps . 

[G-Man]

2 minutes ago, Jeremy K said:

But then your grass just comes out the side in clumps . 

Axle grease spread thin is super sticky once coated with dust it needs to be wiped off hard most times with puddy knife. Your not slathering it on like shaving lotion.

Most mullboard plows when done for season are wiped with grease as its sticks and is impervious to water but wears off when plow is put in the ground..

Edited August 16, 2019 by G-Man

[Jeremy K]

13 minutes ago, G-Man said:

Axle grease spread thin is super sticky once coated with dust it needs to be wiped off hard most times with puddy knife. Your not slathering it on like shaving lotion.

Most mullboard plows when done for season are wiped with grease as its sticks and is impervious to water but wears off when plow is put in the ground..

I just meant the grass build up under the deck ,if I don't keep mine somewhat clean it just leaves a stream of grass out the shoot instead of blowing it out.

[G-Man]

2 minutes ago, Jeremy K said:

I just meant the grass build up under the deck ,if I don't keep mine somewhat clean it just leaves a stream of grass out the shoot instead of blowing it out.

Take off the discharge chute

[greensider]

PLEASE don't remove the shopts i am tired of being hot by stuff from mower with shoots removed and grass on roads that get motorcycle riders killed 

[Daveboone]

I remember in the seventies some mowers had a water hose attachment spot on the deck, where you could attach the hose while the mower was running. It cleaned the inside of the deck just fine.

I think it helps to mow when the grass is dry to avoid caking, otherwise I think mowers last as good as ever. Keep the oil changed and keep them inside, easily get 10-15 years out of even the cheap ones. I have frequently picked up mowers from the curb side. if the pull cord pulls free, usually i can get them running quickly by just cleaning out the gas tank and carburator. I usually just give them away or sell them at yardsales .  Once, after selling it a nice craftsman push mower to a guy for 40 bucks, he said, "Ya know, I just threw out one just like this last week".

[Jeremy K]

7 minutes ago, Daveboone said:

I remember in the seventies some mowers had a water hose attachment spot on the deck, where you could attach the hose while the mower was running. It cleaned the inside of the deck just fine.

I think it helps to mow when the grass is dry to avoid caking, otherwise I think mowers last as good as ever. Keep the oil changed and keep them inside, easily get 10-15 years out of even the cheap ones. I have frequently picked up mowers from the curb side. if the pull cord pulls free, usually i can get them running quickly by just cleaning out the gas tank and carburator. I usually just give them away or sell them at yardsales .  Once, after selling it a nice craftsman push mower to a guy for 40 bucks, he said, "Ya know, I just threw out one just like this last week".

Mine has one of those hose attachments ,it's just a gimmick

[Team Hoyt]

I just got a cub cadet this year. Great tractor, mine has the hose attachment I use it every time I mow. Works great, just need to remember to lower the deck at the lowest setting 

[grampy]

After every other mowing, I jack up the front of the tractor and use a two inch wide putty knife to scrape off the underside of the deck. Takes five minutes. Also clean off any grass from the top around the belts.

After the last mowing of the year, I remove the deck, scrape it clean and apply the used motor oil, after changing, with a brush. Then store it upright next to the tractor in the garage. Learned to do this from an old guy when I was a youngster. Never had a mowing deck rot or rust out. The tractor would be used up before the deck. Usually after fifteen years or more.

For many years I was cutting eight acres weekly at the lake property. 

[mowin]

I spray my decks with fluid film.  I sharpen my blades every Monday, and re apply. Very little buildup. 

[Otto]

35 minutes ago, mowin said:

I spray my decks with fluid film.  I sharpen my blades every Monday, and re apply. Very little buildup. 

Is it just me or does the Fluid Film smell like cow manure? 

[Steve D]

52 minutes ago, mowin said:

I spray my decks with fluid film.  I sharpen my blades every Monday, and re apply. Very little buildup. 

 I may just have to give that one a try. Thanks!

18 minutes ago, Otto said:

Is it just me or does the Fluid Film smell like cow manure? 

Living in the country and having a dairy farm not to far away the smell of cow manure in a common occurrence. I would rather live with that for a couple of hours than scraping the deck every time I mow

[Otto]

I don’t mind the smell at all (although the liquid $hit they spray on the fields is pretty bad), it’s just a funny thing to smell out of a can. 

[wolc123]

I do a slight variation on Grampy's trick.  I skip the every other cut scrape (actually I skip all of the scraping).  At the end of the season, I remove the deck and take off and sharpen the blades.  Before re-installing the blades, I power wash the underside of the deck, let it dry, then coat with used motor oil.   The decks do seem to last forever that way and only cutting the grass when it is dry keeps it from building up too bad during the mowing season.