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Im about to pull the trigger on an Ariens IKON 42XL........ I was wondering, do they have the a deck wash out port, that you can hook up a garden hose to, after mowing the lawn? (Washing the deck out easily).

Are these deck washing ports a gimmick? Are they needed to keep the cut beautiful? Do you use then on your zero turn?

After lookng at the owners manuel on line, im not seeing any mentioned on the Ariens IKON line..... but most other competing brands have them, right? Does the Ariens IKON 42XL have them?

Set me straight, fellas'

Warm regareds,
Kdub

It is a non issue. They do not work any way. You will have a clean under deck when the grass does not stick and nothing but wetter grass when you need it. I just scrape my deck after each day or job when im getting blades off for sharpening. I use a floor jack with a peice of 8x8 post i got off a work site I asked for.

Using an air hose and a blower attachment ( Lonng-tube type ) to blow off your mower and the under side of the deck is best, as long as you're NOT cutting wet grass, water and metal DON'T mix, RUST NEVER SLEEPS and most decks rust through, starting from the bottom side, try to avoid water like the plague ! ..:thumbsup:

....

Thanks for the responses guys!

Anyone else using the deck washing ports after each mow? Are they just a gimmick ?
If you look at the Toro videos - they seem to recommend using them.

Im still not even sure if the Ikon 42XL has them. Anyone know?

-Kdub59

It does not have the wash port.

Thank you, Blaze.....

I see that you know a thing or two about mowers....from your posts and position on this site.......


What are your thoughts on washing the deck? All Veiew points are welcome.

I will still pick up this mower...it looks awesome...l just wanted to know if being able to wash the deck was important....from the above posts...it does not seem to be.

Thoughts?

Warm regards and gratitude to those that have responded,
Kdub

Water is bad bad bad. So what happens when you cool something down really fast? When it come to spendals you create a vacuum. With that you draw the water into your spendals and over time water is bad. I use my blower with 215mph and or scrape the underside of the deck with a flat prybar from back when I was building houses. That thing has been with me for almost 40 yrs. I had a deck was out port. Broke off over time. When I tried it the first time I let my mower cool down and hooked it up and turned it on. Started mower and engaged the PTO. This nasty green mess started getting all over my drive way. Turned off PTO and moved mower over to grass. Started again. I waited and waited for the green water to stop coming out indicating it was clean. After 30 min I turned PTO and water off. Now I had to find a dry spot to dry the underside of the deck
Once I found one I turned on PTO and waited for water to stop coming out from deck. After 15 min I gave up. Now i have been running my mower at wot for 45 min using gas. I jacked up my mower to see what it looked like. What an mess. Super wet grass packed in just like all the other times I had scrapped it out only wet and discusting. So I got out my trusty scraper amd cleaned out my deck. 10 min later I am done but covered in green grass water. Shirt and entire left arm. Oh and left side of my hair. Never again will I wast so much time and effort for so little gain. Yes there was a little gain. The scrapping was a little easier. That is my one and only story about using a wash out port. I hope it helps.

Just wipe it down with a damp rag, we all like a good looking clean machine, especially if it's being stored in a nice clean shed or garage. BUT it's a mower, NOT the family transportation. You're better off spending time blowing it off with a blower or air-hose, then a damp cloth (which also helps you to notice things that need attention), keeping it lubricated, clean filters, and MOST important correct oil level, don't mow wet grass if at all possible, it's much less expensive to have the lawn get a little shaggy than replacing spindles, bearings or rusted brake parts, and such, NO water !! ..:thumbsup:

Kdub59 said:

Thanks for the responses guys!

Anyone else using the deck washing ports after each mow? Are they just a gimmick ?
If you look at the Toro videos - they seem to recommend using them.

Im still not even sure if the Ikon 42XL has them. Anyone know?

-Kdub59

Click to expand...

At $ 1000 fr a replacement deck, I would be recommending them as well.
Wash out ports only work if you use them every time you mow without fail so the deck is always dinner plate clean.
The first time you leave clippings under there they will stick like poo to a woollen blanket.
Then every time you wash you make the debris wet so the acids can rust the deck.

To use the wash out port properly to need to run a lot of water through the deck with the blades running flat out for a good 10 - 15 minutes.
Then shut off the water and move the machine to a hard dry place and leave it there for another 5-10 minutes, blades spinning to dry off.
So you have just added 20 to 30 minutes to your mowing time and wasted 150 gallons of water.
Easiest thing ( if you have a compressor ) is to run the mower up on some ramps with flat faces then use the air duster shown previously to blow out the deck
Then roll back off the ramps and with the same duster blow out the top of the mower deck and get rid of the clippings around the pulleys.
Most mower fires I come in contact with have started from belts running against dry grass inside the covers over pulleys on decks.

Thank you all....,,, no wash out ports......, no problem. Will be picking up my IKON 42XL soon.
I'm grateful for the insight,
Kdub59