I HATE DECK CLEANING !!!!

While I enjoy changing the oil and greasing my tractor, as well as other tasks, I always have and always will dread the underside cleaning of my deck that is required about every 40 mowing hours.

The pictures show the mess from the second time this year, as my deck weighs 400 pounds and is a huge headache to remove and replace, I leave it on the tractor until removing it for winter storage. I drive the tractor up on a pair of car ramps, lock the parking brake, don old duds and safety glasses, then use a wood handled tool I made that had an old plastic ice scraper on the end to scrape off the big glass clumps, after propping open the discharge chute. Then it's time for lying on my side, using a 1400 psi power washer with a turbo nozzle to remove what is left. I always wish there were a removable port on the opposite side of the deck, to better scrape and blast away what is on that side.

So, does anybody have any ideas ona better, and less messy way to clean your mower deck? as I was finishing up, the two kids from next door came over, watching as I backed the tractor off the ramps. They wrinkled their noses, pointing at the wet green, disgusting mess, "What IS that stuff...??"

With my push mower, I wait until it is almost out of fuel (for no leaking), tip it back on its handles, use an ice scraper for the grass, then give it a good plast with my jet hose attachment to get it gleaming :smile:

But then I only have a push mower and it doesn't take that long, unless you are obsessive like me!

There are folks who swear that there are various solutions to apply to the deck underside that reduce the amount of grass that sticks, but the ones I have tried make no difference. My first new push mower that I got back in '82, I removed the blade, propped up the entire deck on sawhorses, donned goggles, and sprayed the underside with undercoating. I was sure that would keep the deck from rusting, and it worked well, at least until the first time I tried to clean the deck, as I had hoped, the grass came right off, stuck to the undercoat, which was stuck to the deck paint, which peeled off.....:laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

JDgreen said:

There are folks who swear that there are various solutions to apply to the deck underside that reduce the amount of grass that sticks, but the ones I have tried make no difference. My first new push mower that I got back in '82, I removed the blade, propped up the entire deck on sawhorses, donned goggles, and sprayed the underside with undercoating. I was sure that would keep the deck from rusting, and it worked well, at least until the first time I tried to clean the deck, as I had hoped, the grass came right off, stuck to the undercoat, which was stuck to the deck paint, which peeled off.....:laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

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If you don't want grass to stick, get a paint brush and some motor oil, and put a coat of it on the underside. That will stop most grass sticking :smile:

jmurray01 said:

If you don't want grass to stick, get a paint brush and some motor oil, and put a coat of it on the underside. That will stop most grass sticking :smile:

*Bows and scrapes* :laughing:
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ATTABOY...you just got your 50 posts back.....:laughing::laughing:

JDgreen said:

ATTABOY...you just got your 50 posts back.....:laughing::laughing:

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:laughing: Patronise me again and you'll loose more than 50 posts :laughing:

HEY JD, i would think that you should be able to fab up some sort of a high pressure wand or pipe with custom drilled holes and be able to just stand up and wave the wand under the mower.....maybe a small version of a drive-through car wash that cleans the underbody of a car. if you had such a easy-to-use pressure wand you could actually use it more often and spend less time per each usage.:smile:

LandN said:

HEY JD, i would think that you should be able to fab up some sort of a high pressure wand or pipe with custom drilled holes and be able to just stand up and wave the wand under the mower.....maybe a small version of a drive-through car wash that cleans the underbody of a car. if you had such a easy-to-use pressure wand you could actually use it more often and spend less time per each usage.:smile:

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Good idea there, but the stuff gets REALLY caked on hard on places and even the turbo nozzle can barely dislodge the stuff. To make what you suggest would require two 90-degree bends in the pipe and that would really decrease the psi, thanks for the idea though.

The shop I work at - we put in brass garden hose fitting out of the path of the blades . Turn on the hose , start the engine engage the blades .... About $ 9.00 in parts - no deck scrapping necessary .

SONOFADOCKER said:

The shop I work at - we put in brass garden hose fitting out of the path of the blades . Turn on the hose , start the engine engage the blades .... About $ 9.00 in parts - no deck scrapping necessary .

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Think maybe a small sized lawn sprinkler that is flat enough to fit under the blades and heavy enough not to be lifted by the turning blades would work....? Hmm, gotta try that, thanks. Gotta be darn sure nothing is within 30 feet of the discharge chute....:laughing::laughing: