Cleaning my mower deck

[Mrwurm]

Well, I never could get my mower high enough off the ground using car ramps. I ended up laying on the ground getting all grassy and wet while power washing the underside of the mower. Here's how I've been doing it the last two summers.

Here's the mower.

 

[Mrwurm]

Here's the two hooks I attached to the front. I know they are not designed for anything similiar to this purpose, but they work just fine and they are what I had laying around at the time.

 

[Mrwurm]

This photo shows how I attach a loop of chain to the tractor bucket.

 

[Mrwurm]

Leaving a generous loop of chain hanging down allows me to see the chain from the tractor seat for easy hook-up. (all from the seat)

 

[Mrwurm]

Next, I just hook-up and lift. My first experience with this was hair-raising !! Turns out, I needed filled tires. With the extra ballast in the rear I can lift the mower as high as I want. Though I have'nt tried, I believe I could lift it right off the ground.

 

[Mrwurm]

See, you thought the hooks would bend, did'nt you ? /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

They don't. Relax, I've done this many times /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Mrwurm]

Here's the crud I need to blast out of there /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

I can now crouch down and power wash the deck. I get a little dirty from the 'blow-back', but it's much better than laying on the ground.

/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif Hmmm, now I'm wondering if I can use the same technique to wash the bottom of my car. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Ooops /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif better get a bigger tractor /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Mrwurm]

Disclaimer:

For those of you who are a bit worried at this point, you should know that I don't get under the mower or the loader while lifting, lowering, or cleaning.

The only time I do get under there is when I change the blades. Not much choice there.

 

[Joe1]

Do you block up the deck with cinder blocks, jack stands or some other solid object when you get under to change the blades? Those hooks do look kind of light weight, and those bolts could rust and weaken over the years.

 

[Slamfire]

Something that might work for you would be a tounge from a mobil home. There are quite a few of them around as folks with their own property want them off their home. I paid $40 for one the other day to make a skid to suspend logs over my splitter. You could make a angled ramp with a single tounge, and get it up higher than with car ramps. At least you'd have it sitting on something solid when you need to get under it.