Deck Wash System

[micman32]

Do those water jets use high pressure? It seems like the most build up occurs around the center blade and in the front of the deck. I would think it would take a fair amount of pressure to remove this. I usually take a moment at least once to remove some of the buildup during my mowing. I found this helps with the quality of cut. It sure sounds better too!
I believe strongly that nothing beats a good cleaning. The deck has to be removed sooner or later anyway.

 

[JSharp]

On the 54" deck there are 2 connections, one on each side rear the rear of the deck. The pressure through the jets is whatever you garden hose can provide. You're supposed to have the blades running while you do the wash and move the hose from one connection to the other.

 

[Dargo]

Man, I have to agree with Jsharp. I was unaware that any company still had that bogus system. A guy in IN got a patent for the system in the 70's and sold his "invention" to several companies. They all dropped it and sued his butt off because it ruined their decks in short order. It ruins deck spindles, causes stinking rotting grass, and strongly promotes rusting of your deck. Shame on Cub for even still having such a thing on their equipment!!

Basically there is a reason you don't mow in the rain. There is also a reason every single responsible mower salesman will tell you to never power wash your deck. I'm still in shock that CC has done such a thing!

I have well over 1000 hours on a mower deck that is 7 years old. It is perfectly clean and even shiney underneath and I've positively NEVER sprayed water under it for any reason. There definitely is no rust and no spindle has been replaced nor are any even remotely loose.

 

[Flip221]

Hmm... Well I guess I'm in the minority here... I've been quite pleased with the deck wash system. I use it after every mowing as cub suggested and it has kept the deck very clean! If you don't use it every time, it WILL NOT remove all of the grass and will hold moisture, wet grass, etc.

After I use the deck wash, I dissconnect the hose from the deck, run the blades for a few seconds to drive off the water, use a light spray on the top of the deck to wash it down, dry it off with my leaf blower, and then give a shot of grease to each spindle.

Work great for me.

 

[JSharp]

You must be the lucky one Flip. I've used mine every time I've mowed and I only mow about 2-3 hours each time. The deck looked clean when I looked into the discharge chute but when I took the deck off I had about 2" of wet grass clumped onto the front deck wall by the horizonal wear plate and a little buildup on the top of the deck too.

I've also got some surface rust on the bottom of the deck already. I was not happy at all about that...

 

[wojnaroski]

I have a 54" deck on a 5254 and have not found this option to be very helpful. Could be my conditions.

Alan

 

[KJO]

Well, sorry to have to say, but the deck wash system on my 3200 is nothing to call home about. I have tried a couple of times and it just makes an absolute mess of everything. I think it is probably better to keep everything dry rather than soaking the entire machine up with water then putting it away wet. Someone up here in North Dakota makes a special jack for lifting the front of lawn tractors, making it easier to clean the deck and unnecessary to continually removing the mower deck. The deck on my 3200 weighs close to 300 pounds, so it is better to not have to remove it. Personally...I have just driven the tractor under a low hanging branch, attached a come-a-long to the front end and lifted the front of the tractor a couple of feet, then used compressed air (lots of it) to blow all the grass clippings off. It is a lot cleaner job without the water. Remember to shut off the engine before doing this.
I don't know if I would recommend this to most owners, but I have also just taken the tractor out onto the gravel road, dropped the deck to the lowest possible position and cranked it up wide open, blowing sand and dust all over ****...but it did do a pretty good job of cleaning out the clippings. Cleaned the deck right down to the shiny metal. Basically about the same as sandblasting it. The wife really hates it when I do that.

 

[Dargo]

I've never cleaned under my deck with anything. I use compressed air to blow dust, dirt, and trimmings off of the mowers before I put them away. Here is a picture of the underside of one deck. This particular mower only has a couple hundred hours on it, but I've still never cleaned under the deck. There is a convenient power lift that raises the deck like this with one switch, so it would be easy for me to clean if I needed (or wanted) to do so. That makes me wonder how much the design of the deflectors under the deck have to do with any build up?

 

[anthonyk]

I've got a 1046 and the deck wash is about as useful as a diet crouton.
I actually lift the front of the mower with the front end loader on my big tractor, and just power wash the deck out now and then.
much easier than trying to crawl around and shoot water under the thing.

anthony

 

[JSharp]

I might re-think my opinion of the deck wash system...

I mowed the other night and the grass was really wet and very long. It's just been to hot to mow around here in the middle of the day, plus I've been gone some.

When I was done mowing I used the deck wash even though I'd decided previously I wasn't going to any longer. I was completely amazed at how much crap it washed out of the deck. I don't know if it's totally clean under there but I had a thick pile of grass that had been washed out laying in the driveway when I was done.

The difference this time is that I blew the wash nozzles out with high pressure compressed air before I used them. I always blow all the grass off the machine when I'm done mowing, blow out the engine cooling fan, etc., but this is the first time I'd blown out the nozzles. I'm wondering now if the nozzles weren't just clogged previously. The water flow and cleaning were both much better this time.

Anway, I'm going to keep using it for the next few mowings and I'll check and see what kind of buildup I have after that. It sure would be a great thing if it works...