Riding mower about caught on fire

[buckeyefarmer]

Bearings went out on an idler pulley on the deck. It's a sealed unit with no grease jerks. It had been making some noise, but I hadn't taken the deck off to check yet. I was mowing after dark, and it threw the belt off. I put it in the barn, then noticed the smoke coming from the deck, so I pushed it back outside and hosed it down. There was dry grass on top of the deck and the heat had it smoldering.

 

[FatSlob]

put water on it and then change the idler when its cool enough

 

[Ken45101]

Good point about the dried grass on the deck! Glad you caught it.

 

[DT86]

put water on it and then change the idler when its cool enough

Ya think?

 

[murphy1244]

Ya think?

:laughing:

 

[Soundguy]

:laughing:

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I got the part ordered. dealer said 2 days.
When it started making noises I did stop and remove the belt cover on that side, and did pull a bunch of grass out from around the outside spindle, but couldnt see any issues. I also lifted the mower and cleaned out under the deck, thinking that might be the issue. to clean the middle of the top, the deck needs to be removed, which is a pain. Fortunately I recently bought a mower lift at TSC, which works great.

 

[toyotadriver]

If you have sealed bearing unit, you can extend their life by drilling a hole in the shaft housing and screwing in a grease zirk. Pump in a few pumps of grease every time you sharpen the blades. They will still go bad eventually but doing this will extend their lifespan.

 

[toppop52]

I put my zero turn away last year and as I was closing the door I smelled burning grass. I looked and the grass was burning under the engine and spreading to the deck. I pulled around by the hose and doused it, then sprayed it off. I learned my lesson, now I pull it outside the building and blow it off with the air hose before putting it away.

 

[Soundguy]

i blow my mower decks off and hte engine too after mowing. keeps stuff away from holding water too.. that preents rust.. also lets you see oil leaks if any are present.

 

[Ken45101]

FWIW, I've found an electric leaf blower more effective in cleaning decks than a compressor air hose.

It's very good for blowing the grass off the big Bush Hog.

 

[Soundguy]

speaking of electric leaf blowers. anyone ever use one to 'power' a forced fresh air helmet / suit for painting around less friendly chemicals?