John Deere E110 on Fire

[larrym996]

Our John Deere E110 mower caught fire last Saturday. Still don’t know the reason why. It started in the front near the exhaust. But it didn’t have any electrical issues or gas leaks. It was the first time we mowed my daughters backyard. It wasn’t that big a yard 60x45 feet. The grass wasn’t that long. It only took about 1/2 hour to complete the lawn. Put the mower in the shed, shed doors open to let it cool off. Then 10 minutes later smoke coming out of the shed. I ran to find 7 inches of flame coming out of both sides of the front hood. I pulled it out of the shed. Was too far from the water hose. Couldn’t find the fire extinguisher. So buckets of water finally put it out.

 

[RjCorazza]

That's unfortunate. Any idea what caused it?

 

[larrym996]

No definitive cause.

1. Gas? My neighbor said it had to have been a gas leak for it to go up that quickly. But we didn't have any previous leaks, and the left side (as you are sitting on it) has the carburetor and that side didn't burn as much as the right side.
2. Electrical? Very unlikely since the flames started at the front of the mower, and we didn't have any previous problems, and it's just two years old.
3. Grass? Maybe. I didn't look under the hood this time. But the last time there was no dead grass under the hood when I checked the oil and oil level was good.
4. Design flaw? Maybe. The front of the tractor is plastic with the cover hinge is close to the muffler. The plastic does gets warm when running.

We moved the front yard then let the tractor sit for about 1/2 hour before mowing the back yard.
This may have been related if all the front plastic got hot from sitting from the first use. Then the backyard is on a grade so it had to work extra hard to up and down the slope.
Could the plastic have ignited with a little grass?
The plastic sure burnt awfully fast once there were flames at the front.

 

[guyina4x4]

grass/leaves around the mufkin.
doesn't take long for the fuel line to melt and then you have a constant fuel supply feeding the fire.
it happens more than people think.

 

[oosik]

I have a new JD X570. When I finish mowing I ALWAYS clean the entire tractor with the air compressor. Dry grass gets lodged everywhere.

 

[larrym996]

For comparison I also have a John Deere S100 that is similar in design but newer.
This was after mowing my yard. I wanted to check to see if any grass would be collecting near the exhaust. Looks pretty clean. I did notice the plastic hinge gets warm.

 

[deezler]

Oh man, that sucks! What a disgusting mess you have to deal with now.

The fuel line comes in the left (drivers) side right? And the muffler exits out the other side. Must have been from material near or laying/touching the muffler, is my guess. Mouse nest? They can jam a whole crap load of flammable material into an engine bay in a single night of nest building.

 

[fried1765]

Our John Deere E110 mower caught fire last Saturday. Still don’t know the reason why. It started in the front near the exhaust. But it didn’t have any electrical issues or gas leaks. It was the first time we mowed my daughters backyard. It wasn’t that big a yard 60x45 feet. The grass wasn’t that long. It only took about 1/2 hour to complete the lawn. Put the mower in the shed, shed doors open to let it cool off. Then 10 minutes later smoke coming out of the shed. I ran to find 7 inches of flame coming out of both sides of the front hood. I pulled it out of the shed. Was too far from the water hose. Couldn’t find the fire extinguisher. So buckets of water finally put it out.

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Check to determine if your homeowners insurance will cover the loss!

 

[BlackOps]

hell just paid mucho bucks for a john deere when my last other brand tractor pooped out. not much choice so had to go bigger time. npow i see just today alone 2 tractor fires. kind of leaves me hoilding my private parts and very concerned.

 

[Richard001]

For comparison I also have a John Deere S100 that is similar in design but newer.
This was after mowing my yard. I wanted to check to see if any grass would be collecting near the exhaust. Looks pretty clean. I did notice the plastic hinge gets warm.

View attachment 708552 View attachment 708551 View attachment 708553

Yep, and i see that the plastic is already discolored where it is close to the muffler.

Richard