Cub Cadet LTX1050 Fire?

hotrodpapa

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We can set everyones mind at ease. As criminals and dealers know fires leave no evidence to discuss. I needed a video camera tocapture the flame shooting from the gas line which i did not have while mowing. Home owners insurance has a 1% deductable so no help there.
This is a closed matter but some like to spew insults on social media like children.
Enjoy your tractors
 

lllllLJ

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Cub Cadet LTX1050 Fire?
This is a photo of my 2 year old cub cadet. I need everyone痴 help locating any other people that have had this happen to their mower. While mowing I noticed some smoke coming from the engine area and stopped to look. When I raised the cowling, the top, front of the engine was on fire. Before I could get anything to help put it out, all the plastic had caught fire and there was no putting that out. I contacted the Cub Cadet customer support and they were very nice and helpful until I heard this was NOT going to be under warranty. Seems they have never seen such a thing and said it was more than likely a bird nest under the carburetor, near the exhaust pipe. This nest must have caught fire causing a malfunction in the fuel system which then feed gas to the fire. How many birds would build a nest 8 off the ground in a piece of equipment that is used every week? It was also mentioned that I could prove otherwise, so their best guess is a new mower is less than a lawyer (great company policy). What ever happened to helping a customer in a weird circumstance?

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lllllLJ

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I own a Cub Cadet 1050 LX also and had the same thing happen. lucky enough I just pulled in front of the garage where there was a fire extinguisher next to the door to snuff it out . what happen was the rubber fuel line Right above the hot exhaust manifold and muffler had gotten over heated to many times and created a leak and ignited the fuel before I got it snuffed out it had melted the air filter box causing the plastic to drip and burn. I end up fiber glassing the air box and replacing the carburetor and throttle linkage. What a terrible design. I think this Koehler engine is still on a lot of mowers. this mower was less than a year old when it caught fire. I never contacted Cub Cadet or TSC where I bought it because I just new they would say something like that a Nest or some crap like that.
 

Scrubcadet10

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Dang, that's unfortunate.... at least you had a fire extinguisher close by.
I think
some companies make fuel line wrap to keep heat off of it, I've never used it, might look into it.
 

slomo

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Terrible the mower caught fire. Glad nobody was hurt.

Like Bertsmobile1 said, remove the blower housing and clean all the dirt, oil, grass and bugs out at least yearly. If you are "mowing" wheat like this guy, more often.

Darn shame the mower is a loss. Really not a manufacturers deal anymore. People living in the sticks normally have harsh uneven turf and very tall grass. Like Jeff Foxworthy said, cut the grass and find a new car. Good luck with it sir.

slomo
 

slomo

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Dang, that's unfortunate.... at least you had a fire extinguisher close by.
I think
some companies make fuel line wrap to keep heat off of it, I've never used it, might look into it.
Guess it's time to check all my clamps and fuel lines. Might as well replace them all. Here comes another Saturday project LOL.

Who would knowingly design an engine where the "rubber" fuel line runs around the muffler to the carb? A buddy of mine would call that the "dummy squad".

slomo
 
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Scrubcadet10

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Guess it' time to check all my clamps and fuel lines. Might as well replace them all. Here comes another Saturday project LOL.

Who would knowingly design an engine where the "rubber" fuel line runs around the muffler to the carb? A buddy of mine would call that the "dummy squad".

slomo
I know! RIght?
 

Bob58

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Cub Cadet LTX1050 Fire?
This is a photo of my 2 year old cub cadet. I need everyone痴 help locating any other people that have had this happen to their mower. While mowing I noticed some smoke coming from the engine area and stopped to look. When I raised the cowling, the top, front of the engine was on fire. Before I could get anything to help put it out, all the plastic had caught fire and there was no putting that out. I contacted the Cub Cadet customer support and they were very nice and helpful until I heard this was NOT going to be under warranty. Seems they have never seen such a thing and said it was more than likely a bird nest under the carburetor, near the exhaust pipe. This nest must have caught fire causing a malfunction in the fuel system which then feed gas to the fire. How many birds would build a nest 8 off the ground in a piece of equipment that is used every week? It was also mentioned that I could prove otherwise, so their best guess is a new mower is less than a lawyer (great company policy). What ever happened to helping a customer in a weird circumstance?

View attachment 25602View attachment 25603
Mine has caught on fire twice. I poured a bucket of water on it last year and managed to save it. I had to replace the fan, air cleaner cover, some wiring and the top cover. My wife was mowing today and it caught on fire again. Luckily it went out with what I hope is minimal damage. It is obviously a design flaw. Grass builds up underneath. I have NEVER had another brand of mower catch fire. This is ridiculous.
I bought the mower used in near new condition last year.
 

bertsmobile1

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Not with standing that there may have been an assembly mistake on a single shift , four mowers catching fire out of 25,000 is no proof of a design flaw.
There are only 4 people who have responded to this thread with a burned mower over 4 years so it is obviously not a daily occurance
mowers catch fire usually because of a build up of debris around the muffler & / or exhaust pipe .
Mower manuals tell owners to check & clean debris from their mowers after every use,,,,, no one ( me included ) ever does.
It is becoming much more common as engines are running a lot leaner, thus a lot hotter.
So you have dry hot grass clippings being fanned by the hot breeze off the engine.
Remember starting a fire by blowing on smouldering grass when you were camping as a kid ?
I see about 5 or 6 mower fires a year, always either at the very beginning ( mouse nests ) or during a hot dry spell ( clipping build up ) .
A cheap car fire extinguisher clipped to the rear guard is a regular recommendation & I have fitted dozens of them to the mowers used by my elderly customers .
It takes near 15 minutes for a 1/4 fuel line to burn through and the smell of burning neoprene ( outer cover ) or N-Bunya ( inner tube ) rubber is very pungent and can be smelled for blocks
However the smell of burning HDPE or PVA is no where near as obvious and both can be set alight with a match where as fuel lines need a lot more heat .
As for being a design flaw , more like a cost cutting exercise.
Quality mowers like JD put vents in the top of the hood and ducting to go between it and the blower housing so the mowers cooling fan is sucking the cleanest air to blow over the engine thus limiting the possibility of debris build up on the engine.
This adds about $ 10 that no one seems to be willing to pay top the cost of the mower so it is not a regular feature on most new mowers.
 
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