Mowing After lawn mowing

[Gravdigr]

That's because you mow dry grass in a dry climate. In the wetter areas the wet grass sticks to the underside of the mower like glue. Then moisture wicks inderneath the grass and rots the deck. And, presto, before you know it the bottoms rusts through.

You got it. A trick we have used for many years is to coat the underside of the mower deck with oil, this makes it easier to scrape the wet caked grass off and it protects the metal from moisture underneath. Every mowing when we take the blades off to sharpen we generally scrape at least a 5 gallon bucket worth of grass clippings from our mower decks (52" mulcher and 54" side discharge).

 

[Mr. Green Jeans]

That's because you mow dry grass in a dry climate. In the wetter areas the wet grass sticks to the underside of the mower like glue. Then moisture wicks inderneath the grass and rots the deck. And, presto, before you know it the bottoms rusts through.

I was thinking the same thing. A trick that works pretty well if you are dealing with sticky grass is to park with the deck over a sprinkler for a few minutes. Blade off of course!

I also like the oil idea, I haven't done that yet, but I bet I will after the next oil change.

 

[Gravdigr]

I was thinking the same thing. A trick that works pretty well if you are dealing with sticky grass is to park with the deck over a sprinkler for a few minutes. Blade off of course!

I also like the oil idea, I haven't done that yet, but I bet I will after the next oil change.

Have you seen the new john deere mower decks yet? They have a place you screw a garden hose onto the deck, turn on the water and run the blades for a few mins to clean it out. pretty slick if it works.

 

[8nownerinky]

Hey guys,

I'm new to the forums, but no stranger to mowing. I have a mower that has the garden hose attachment on the deck (a troybuilt from Lowes I picked up last year after I set my Murray on fire), and I personally would not trade it for anything. It doesn't do quite as nice of a job as hand cleaning, but, I guess that is to be expected. It does well enough for my needs though, and I would definitely recommend it for anyone who has joint and back problems like myself.

 

[RobJ]

That's because you mow dry grass in a dry climate. In the wetter areas the wet grass sticks to the underside of the mower like glue. Then moisture wicks inderneath the grass and rots the deck. And, presto, before you know it the bottoms rusts through.

Ohio is pretty dry at times isn't it? Can't wait? The deck on my FM is pretty thick, by the time that sucker rusted through it'd be a good excuse to get a new one.

water sprinkler...good idea, I'd leave the blades on and spinning, can't be worse that wet grass and you'll get that nice agitation.

 

[Bird]

Have you seen the new john deere mower decks yet? They have a place you screw a garden hose onto the deck, turn on the water and run the blades for a few mins to clean it out. pretty slick if it works.

My Toro ZTR had that system and I used it. I think some of the Toro walk behind mowers also had it. But the manual with my current walk behind Toro shows to park it on pavement, with the blade spinning, then direct a stream of water from your garden hose to the pavement right beside the mower and just in front of the back wheel on the right side. Theoretically, at least, the water will splash up and/or be sucked up by the blade to wash the bottom side of the mower. I happen to have a heavy piece of "L" shaped steel that I put on the handle to tilt the mower back and hold the handle on the ground, then I can see what the bottom side looks like and what I'm doing when I want to wash it.

 

[srjones]

Thanks for the car drying tip

Leaf blowers also work well to turn wet/green brush piles into roaring hot fires.

 

[Mr. Green Jeans]

Have you seen the new john deere mower decks yet? They have a place you screw a garden hose onto the deck, turn on the water and run the blades for a few mins to clean it out. pretty slick if it works.

No, I haven't seen that, but it sounds like a great feature. That is another one of those, "why didn't I think of that" ideas.