spraying off the deck

liftfilms · Aug 26, 2014

I am close to pulling the trigger on a used mower on craigslist. Its a Gravely ZT HD and from the pictures/descriptions, seems to be in great condition. Its a decent deal and still has 2 years warranty on the mower (1 year old) The only thing that is scaring me is, in his description, he said he sprays the mower off after every use. This will be my first nice mower purchase so I don't know much about it but I've heard this could be terrible for the mower. I just wanted to get everyone's opinion. I'd appreciate any feedback you could offer.

thanks.

mchildress · Aug 27, 2014

Biggest problem spraying off with water is washing out bearings. Best to blow off with blower.

Poopdeck Pappy · Aug 27, 2014

I'd ask him what he sprays it with. I.e., a water hose or a pressure washer? A water hose shouldn't be an issue. A pressure washer can force water past seals and into the bearings.

You can check the spindles to see if any of them have any play in them. If not, I wouldn't worry about it. Since it's only a year old, he probably hasn't done it that much. And there are a lot of people who wash theirs off with no adverse results.

But, as mchildress said, it's best to blow them off with a leaf blower (which is what I do) or compressed air.

liftfilms · Aug 27, 2014

thanks for the feedback. I've always heard you should just blown a mower off like you said. thats why I was a little concerned when he said he sprayed it after every use.

Plus, the guys lives 3 hours away so I don't want to waste half a day on the road to find out the spindles are going bad.

Anything else I should be looking for as far as water damage?