mower deck wash port - opinions wanted

[bota7800]

Hi all,

I just bought a zero turn mower. Several of the brands (Cub Cadet and Toro, for examples) had a garden hose quick connect in the top of the mower deck to wash out the deck. The brand I selected did not have this port but they are available aftermarket.

I have spent my share of time digging clippings out of push mower decks and, being in the Pacific Northwest I cannot always wait for the grass to dry completely before mowing.

One mower/lawn care site thread I saw had most opinions not liking the idea.
What do you guys and gals think?



Thanks


I found another thread on this subject but cannot see how to delete this thread.

 

[mjncad]

I put three on my deck, one for each blade. They help; but aren't a magic bullet. You'll get better performance from them if the deck is lowered to the ground to increase the air pressure differential while the blades are running at normal cutting speed. The other thing that keeps them from working great is the typical low water pressure and flow rate coming out of most hose bibbs.

At least the ports are cheap, so it's no huge loss if they don't live up to expectations.

 

[Bird]

My Toro ZTR had that port and I used it a few times but you can't see under the deck so you don't know whether it did a good job or not, but you do have a lot of water and mess around the machine. I quit using it and would not again have a use for one. I prefer a way to lift the machine so I can see under there and usually clean mine with compressed air, though sometimes use high pressure water. When I use water, I then run the machine long enough to pretty well dry it out.

 

[LBrown59]

Hi all,

I just bought a zero turn mower. Several of the brands (Cub Cadet and Toro, for examples) had a garden hose quick connect in the top of the mower deck to wash out the deck. The brand I selected did not have this port but they are available aftermarket.

One mower/lawn care site thread I saw had most opinions not liking the idea.
What do you guys and gals think?
Thanks

I think that's pretty well the consensus here too.

 

[bontai_Joe]

In my opinion, it is a marketing gimmick of little actual value.

 

[IXLR8]

Two of my mowers came with them, I found lifting the front and rinsing off with hose set to 'stream' worked much better. I also found them getting clogged up with grass clippings and I then had to clean them out to use them. For me.. waste of time.

 

[mustangsallysdad]

Hi all,

I just bought a zero turn mower. Several of the brands (Cub Cadet and Toro, for examples) had a garden hose quick connect in the top of the mower deck to wash out the deck. The brand I selected did not have this port but they are available aftermarket.

I have spent my share of time digging clippings out of push mower decks and, being in the Pacific Northwest I cannot always wait for the grass to dry completely before mowing.

One mower/lawn care site thread I saw had most opinions not liking the idea.
What do you guys and gals think?



Thanks


I found another thread on this subject but cannot see how to delete this thread.

Don't bother...spend the money on a good, flexible putty knife.

 

[jinman]

I find it makes a huge mess and still leaves grass caked up in spots. About twice per season, I sharpen my blades. When I do, I scrape off all the caked grass and clean the deck. I've found that mowing dry grass leaves very little deposit, so I don't use the hose adapter anymore.

 

[oliver28472]

Clover is taking over my yard and cakes up a lot more under the deck. I don't have a wash port and don't think I'll get one based on the above comments. My mower is a Woods RM-48. It never did have a lot of suction

 

[exNCite]

Two threads on the same subject but my answer is the same. I loved having one on my Jacobsen. It is true that they make a mess. I had woods next to me and simply cleaned the deck out there. Important to keep the deck as low as it would go so that suction was created, but turn the throttle up and watch the crap come flying out. In a few minutes the water will get clear and you'll know the deck has been cleaned.