mower deck wash port - opinions wanted

[Dargo]

The longest continuously operating mowing shop in my area says they are the best thing ever to help his sell more mowers as the spindles go out and the decks rust. He's been working on mowers for over 50 years and always says that water is the absolute last thing you want to introduce to your spindles and deck. Since I've taken his advice about 20 years ago, I've never had a deck spindle fail, bearing fail or a deck rust out on me. Even if the deck is magnesium or aluminum, you'll still kill the spindles. If a company offers something with a place to insure quick destruction of the deck and spindles, I'll pass on that brand; like for the rest of my life.

If need be, I'll raise my deck and use the cheapo plastic putty knives to clear thick stuff and just blast it a time or two on top with compressed air to keep things clean. Getting close to 2000 hours on my one Grasshopper and all 3 spindles are as tight as can be and there is no rust anywhere. Apparently they have a far better designed deck with the wind baffles etc., as I almost never have anything stuck under the deck.

 

[PTWannaHave]

I know this is an old thread, but I only started looking about this topic recently... Since I have an account on this forum, I did not join another website to discuss.

Like many, I have an older machine without the deck wash port (DWP), and have always wondered if they are efficient... The summary of my internet research is:

- DWP is 50-75% effective when used properly after each mowing
- makes a mess
- need to be careful about water in the spindle bearings

I was looking at some sort of DWP to use in addition to my planned use of a product named Clean Deck (graphite 'paint' that bonds to the underside of deck). The latter prevents buildup because grass apparently has difficulty sticking to it, and washing with garden hose (at low pressure, avoiding spindle bearings) after mowing will easily remove what did build up.

So, I will wait on the DWP idea for now, and see how well the Clean Deck performs.

Clean Deck is not inexpensive, but if it solves my problem, it will be worth it. And, I do have a problem. Our grass is generally soft and green. I don't mow wet. Even so, about twice a summer the buildup is too heavy/thick to ignore. Cleaning my deck means taking my air hammer/chisel as a start to several hours of work. I'm not kidding/exagerating; the buildup is rock-hard, like cement, and has almost bonded to the metal surface. Blades also suffer the same fate.

I've had some success last year by melting a coat of wax on the deck. Didn't prevent buildup, but prevented a lot of bonding. However, applying said wax is time-consuming.

It is worthwhile to note that I am using hi-lift blades on a 46in deck designed to send clippings to a bagger (if so desired) without the need for additional material flow assistance.

Hope this helps someone.