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Does anyone own a mower with this feature? The system where you hook up a garden hose to the deck, turn it on, start the mower, turn on the deck, and it's supposed to 'wash' the underside of the deck.

Does it work? What are the advantages/disadvantages to it? What are the problems?

I've always thought this looked like a great idea for longer deck life. At least on paper.......

I tried it once on the John Deere and it did not work. It does sound great on paper though.

Meh. I got that on the Cub Cadet. It helps some, until the little water nozzles you hook the hose up to gets all clogged with grass schmutz. :confused2: You still need to take the deck off a couple times a year and scrape the grass plaster off the underside.

We had a Wheel Horse 108-3 RER when I was 17, and it had a stand-on-end feature (ala Snapper). It was great to hose off the underside of the deck.

But, as the previous poster said, the 'plaster' would really take a long time to hose off. Wondered if the blades running would help......but then again, it'd just fan out the stream, not 'pressurize' it.

Maybe SOMEONE has this system and likes it....but I'm kinda doubting it.

twall said:

Does anyone own a mower with this feature? The system where you hook up a garden hose to the deck, turn it on, start the mower, turn on the deck, and it's supposed to 'wash' the underside of the deck.

Does it work? What are the advantages/disadvantages to it? What are the problems?

I've always thought this looked like a great idea for longer deck life. At least on paper.......

Click to expand...

I have the deck wash fitting on my toro push mower.during the first several times i used it the results were very good.i lowered the deck to reduce the splashing. let the mower cool off a bit before the wash because the temp of the cold water on a hot motor/deck.as long as you 'wash' the deck while the clippings are still fresh is a lot better than washing the deck with a dried build-up of grass.i still had a very slight 'film of green' on the underside but not like it was a problem... then came the big crash with my mower and then after that i kind of lost interest in washing the deck underneith....... it might matter what blades you are running as to the results you get. 'high lift blades' vs. 'regular standard blades' but as often as i sharpen my blades anyway i just scrape out the deck while i'm there. oh ya, keep in mind my yard is smallish and i cut very often therefore i dont get a large volume of clippings under the deck anyway prior to a wash.

I have it on my tractor and push mower, and never used them. I'm skeptical.

I have the DWS on my Cub Cadet LTX1046, it works well. Really neat to watch the dirt & grass come out, just wear rubber boots if you get off while it's running! (I can because I rewired my seat switch):laughing:

I use it on my Z-Force S and it works well. The trick is to do it from day one while the underside is still pristine and then after every single mow, starting with the side furthest from the chute then going to the chute side. Like the manual says, two minutes on the far side, two minutes on the chute side, then two minutes to dry.

If the nozzles clog with grass and debris it's easy to clear them out from the top with a tiny screwdriver. It doesn't happen often but if it did, I'd probably find some rubber or plastic caps to put on them.

I've been mowing damp and sometimes wet grass for several weeks now so out of curiosity, I went out and cranked the mower up with my MoJack for an inspection just now. Every bit of the deck underside is clean as a whistle except for a very thin coating of grass debris on the bottoms of the spindles, and an eight inch diameter circle around them. I was glad to see that because it means the water is slinging well away from the spindles rather than washing the grease out of them from underneath. It doesn't look like I'll have to scrape the deck more than once every two or three years at the very most, so for me the deck wash system is a big hit. Six minutes of my time for a clean deck that will perform as well as it can each time I mow seems like a fair deal to me.

Jetblast said:

I use it on my Z-Force S and it works well. The trick is to do it from day one while the underside is still pristine and then after every single mow, starting with the side furthest from the chute then going to the chute side. Like the manual says, two minutes on the far side, two minutes on the chute side, then two minutes to dry.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the detail - definitely gonna try it next time

Ok, finally had a chance to test it out. It is fantastic! If you have this feature, you should definitely use it. Jetblast had it right - its a great deal for just six minutes of time.

Since I hadn't been using it, I found that I had to remove the deck (mower only has 4 hours!) and scrape all the grass scabs off. After that, I mowed the lawn and used the deck wash. Clean as a whistle.

Make sure you lower the deck to the lowest setting (if on concrete or other hard surface) to get the best pressure and circulation.

mystreba said:

Ok, finally had a chance to test it out. It is fantastic! If you have this feature, you should definitely use it. Jetblast had it right - its a great deal for just six minutes of time.

Since I hadn't been using it, I found that I had to remove the deck (mower only has 4 hours!) and scrape all the grass scabs off. After that, I mowed the lawn and used the deck wash. Clean as a whistle.

Make sure you lower the deck to the lowest setting (if on concrete or other hard surface) to get the best pressure and circulation.

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To make it work even better cut a piece of plywood wider than the deck and that will just fit between the front and rear wheels. Block it up so the lower deck edge contacts the plywood surface. This method can be done on the lawn without lawn damage.

My Brute has a deck washing port. First mower I've owned that has it. Works very well. After cutting the lawn I'll just hook the hose up, run the mower for a minute or so, and the underside is almost completely clean. Then after it cools before putting it away I rinse off the mower to keep it looking clean and new. :smile:

I installed one on my Cub Cadet 2164, made out of 1/2" pipe, electrical conduit nuts, and some hose barbs. $20.00 worth of stuff, 40 minutes to drill holes and assemble it, and I think it helps quite a bit.:biggrin:

that's a great idea, benski! could you upload a pic?

I actually just found that JD offers a little kit to add this feature.

This isn't the best price around but has the best pics for sure.

John Deere Mower Deck Wash Port Fits Many Mass Brands | eBay

In searching, I also found a lot of mention from people that don't like them. They think spraying water under there will destroy the bearings. I'm on the fence.

my 2006 yardmachines has it .......but i think it needs another part to work properly.....i just tip the mower on the side and pressure wash it

My Toro has it. I put a quick disconnect on the top fitting. I just pull into an area between the bushes on the side of the garage and hook up the hose and run the engine for two minutes. I then shut it off, connect a hand nozzle and hose off the top. All clean and put it away; no hard surface, no fooling with the height adjusters.

damn!....im going to have to try mine and see if it works:biggrin:

This spring I bought a new JD Z Trak and it has the wash-out port on it.
I have used it every time from the first mowing.

My deck has nothing but some green stuff around the spindles and after several mowing's yesterday I jacked it up and used a stiff brush and hose and scrubbed it clean.

I added a quick connect to the end of my hose so I don't have to screw the fitting on that snaps on the wash-out port.
LOWER THE DECK it will work MUCH better, I park on a concrete lower the deck and allow it to run for a few minutes then lift it and run for awhile to dry.

After I put the mower away before I wind the hose up I rinse the concrete off into the grass.
These can be bought for less than you Can make one.

How well it works depends on the air flow of the deck how low you put it and how long you run the water.
About 2 minutes on my JD and it is clean as a whistle. :thumbsup:


Putting one of these on an old rustted deck would not work as well you need a nice smothe surface.

It's nice to see folks here getting their money's worth out of deck wash systems. The old conventional "internet wisdom" was that it didn't work well and would wreck your spindles, but now the truth is out there. :thumbsup:

twall said:

Does anyone own a mower with this feature? The system where you hook up a garden hose to the deck, turn it on, start the mower, turn on the deck, and it's supposed to 'wash' the underside of the deck.

Does it work? What are the advantages/disadvantages to it? What are the problems?

I've always thought this looked like a great idea for longer deck life. At least on paper.......

Click to expand...

We carry a line that has that attachment. I would say it works fair. Anytime you wash a deck with water you need to run the blades for a few minutes afterwards to dry out the deck and bearings.

Those of you that use a wash out port may want to consider what I do with mine.
I bought canister for my grease gun that is Marine grease.
It is for wheel bearing on a boat trailer, New boat trailers have a Zerk on the wheel you you cam pump grease into the bearing then submerse them in the lake.

After I have mowed and cleaned the deck I put just a little pressure against the bearing if it has any water I will force it out and if any remains it will do no harm that is what the Marine grease is made for.

I always turn on hose and engage PTO at idle let it run for a min then slowly raise the throttle to wide open for 2 min then slowly back down to idle. This way the blades will throw water all up the under side of deck

I use two nozzles on my John Deere LA110 42" deck and they work great. As stated earlier by another poster I start on left side of the deck (as close to the end of the blade & centered is where I located the first nozzle) and finish on the chute side (left side) last. It seems to work and works best if you do it after every mowing. If you don't there is a chance the nozzle will plug up and require cleaning. After cleaning I move the mower onto the drive way and engage the mower to dry the underside of the deck a little before putting it away.

Tom.Parks said:

I use two nozzles on my John Deere LA110 42" deck and they work great. As stated earlier by another poster I start on left side of the deck (as close to the end of the blade & centered is where I located the first nozzle) and finish on the chute side (left side) last. It seems to work and works best if you do it after every mowing. If you don't there is a chance the nozzle will plug up and require cleaning. After cleaning I move the mower onto the drive way and engage the mower to dry the underside of the deck a little before putting it away.

Click to expand...

I'll have to check it out on my new Toro. I thought it was a bunch of hype, but perhaps not.
Thanks,
Bruce

mystreba said:

Thanks for the detail - definitely gonna try it next time

Click to expand...

On some mowers you put the nozzle behind the right wheel under the housing.

twall said:

Does anyone own a mower with this feature? The system where you hook up a garden hose to the deck, turn it on, start the mower, turn on the deck, and it's supposed to 'wash' the underside of the deck.

Does it work? What are the advantages/disadvantages to it? What are the problems?

I've always thought this looked like a great idea for longer deck life. At least on paper.......

Click to expand...

Ref; Deck wash system. I subscribe to "Farm Show". Found this in old issue. I built a simple PVC system. 3/4" pvc pipe a few inches longer than the mower deck. Cap one end with glue on cap. Drilled 1'8" holes about 4 inches apart in straight line on one side of PVC pipe. Make sure the holes are within the side limits of the mower deck. Or you may get a cold shower. On opposite end of the PVC pipe glue a PVC T coupling. Glue 8" PVC pipe into the ends of the T so the apparatus will lay flat on the ground. Be sure the holes you drilled are facing upright. Glue caps on end of each 8" cross pipe. Now glue a short piece of 3/4" PVC into the forward part of the T and glue a PVC hose connector on it. hook up the garden hose, slide the apparatus underneath the mower deck. Turn on the water. Get on the mower, start it and turn on the blades. I have three mowers and this system will definitely keep it clean.
Good luck,

Wilburn Cox from Texas

My brother has it on his Cub Cadet and seems to like it. I have it on my Deere LA135SE, but have not tried it as I got the mower late in the year and not much work has been done yet.

Don't have deck wash was on my deck but i use this under the deck and it works as adverised no more grass sticking to deck problems.
EZ-Slide Graphite Based Coating
EZ-Slide Graphite Based Coating, 12 oz. Aerosol - Tractor Supply Co.