CLEANING MOWER DECKS

[ronhatch 406]

I have 3 mower decks to clean and maintain.  At 75, it's getting to be a real PITA. Has anyone tried an electric power washer? If so, does it work well?  I usually use a putty knife, and a stiff wire wheel on a right angle grinder and then put on a thick coat of E-Z Slide. 

[squonk 41,167]

I use one of those 5 in 1 painter knives instead of a putty knife. Sharper edges helps dig out the crud.

[pfrederi 17,741]

I use a power washer (gas) but no matter how you try you will get splashed a lot and wear a face shield.  The curves bends and baffles kick back a lot of water....

[elcamino/wheelhorse 9,326]

I use an electric power washer , it knocks off most of the crud and the 5 in 1 painters knife takes care of those hard to get areas. Finish it off with a good coat of used motor oil . Let it set for a week or so before using the deck. I f the weather ever decides to warm up a little and dry out time to start on the decks and change  oil and lube everything.

[Digger 66 3,485]

4 hours ago, ronhatch said:

  I usually use a putty knife, and a stiff wire wheel on a right angle grinder and then put on a thick coat of E-Z Slide. 

 

That's what I do ^ 

Then add 3/4 light coats of Valspar Implement Enamel .

 

[SylvanLakeWH 25,609]

They are HEAVY!!! Power washer and scraper like the above comments works well...I use my hand cart to tip them on the side and then lay down upside down to clean while they are still on the cart...Cart acts like a lever to make it east to move / flip the deck over...

 

But, isn't this in the kids' / grandkids' job description?  Offer "Free"  rides AFTER "we" clean the deck, change the oil,                      , (fill in the blank with any other WH maintenance chore)...

 

[ohiofarmer 3,276]

i like this https://www.harborfreight.com/4-in-polycarbide-abrasive-wheel-60508.html

For cleaning flat areas  and this [# 60325]  wheel for tight areas and corners much better than wire wheels. They do not spit wires at you, the first wheel listed will throw chunks if you hit a bolt or an edge, so stick to flat areas. 

 

 I really like this stuff as an under deck coating. It dries like glass and it seals the tight rusted surface like you would not believe. i have two years on a deck that mows juicy weeds and it is still going strong.https://www.facebook.com/agriguardcoatings/

 

 Application is not too fussy. i do take the time [after wire brushing]  [with the non-wire wheel] to detergent wash and rinse the under deck first and let it dry. A cheap chip brush works pretty good. Re-coat in 8 hours or so if you want a second coat. If you wait too long, the second coat will not bond with the first.

Edited April 8, 2018 by ohiofarmer

[cleat 6,084]

You will get wet power washing it.

Also I would grease it afterwards to push any water out of the bearings.

[doc724 925]

My decks are in pretty good condition, very little corrosion on the underside.  I used to use a putty knife and wire wheel to get the dried grass off.  Now all I use is a garden hose and a wire brush.  Wet everything down and the grass crud will soften up nicely.  A wire brush will take care of it easily.  I am sure a power washer will work just fine, just be careful to NOT spray it directly near the idler bearings on the top side of the deck.  The high pressure may move the seal enough to get water into the bearings and then they are toast.

[tunahead72 2,424]

21 hours ago, SylvanLakeWH said:

They are HEAVY!!!  ...  I use my hand cart to tip them on the side and then lay down upside down to clean while they are still on the cart...Cart acts like a lever to make it east to move / flip the deck over...

 

Man, what a great idea!  I usually set up some 4" x 4" timbers to raise the deck off the ground so I can work on it comfortably, but I have to physically lift the decks onto it, which is going to really hurt some day.  I don't know why I never thought of using a hand cart.  Thanks for the tip!

 

[dlaw90 14]

A steam cleaner does wonders lifting off caked-on crud from mower decks and grease/oil from everywhere else

[WVHillbilly520H 10,373]

22 minutes ago, dlawrence529 said:

A steam cleaner does wonders lifting off caked-on crud from mower decks and grease/oil from everywhere else

I do miss the "steam ginny" at the old IH dealership I worked at when I got out of school, that baby would nearly do enough for a repaint without further work, Jeff.

[Tankman 3,518]

I drive up my pickup ramps to expose the underside of the decks.

Power wash or just hose the crud off. Then backpack blower and grease spindle zerks. Grandsons, I supervise.

 

Edited April 9, 2018 by Tankman

[953 nut 55,360]

The deck stays on all year so I park my truck on the lawn, put ramps on the tailgate, drive up and park it near the top. tie it off so it won't come down then sharpen the blades, use the pressure washer to clean it and give it a shot of grease while up there so I don't have to bend over.

@Tankman and I were posting the same thing at the same time.

Edited April 9, 2018 by 953 nut

[peter lena 8,647]

cleaning and scraping down a deck is vital, but,   ( DRYING IT OUT ) is the lifesaver to a deck. after cleaning mine I always spray cable and chain oil on the underside , then let it sit in the sun upside down to heat up,  THE OPPOSET OF THE LIFE IT LIVES , AND SOAK IN THAT OIL AND DRYING HEAT. give it a break , stop the moisture mold cycle. I do this twice (  2  )  during cutting season. also do this in the fall at , plow /  blower swap time. leave deck cleaned and oiled upside down over winter. those months of drying and oil soaking will recover your deck. regular oil spraying will fend off rust and develop onto a darker slick finish. been doing this 36 years, no rot, pete

[doc724 925]

43 minutes ago, peter lena said:

cleaning and scraping down a deck is vital, but,   ( DRYING IT OUT ) is the lifesaver to a deck. after cleaning mine I always spray cable and chain oil on the underside , then let it sit in the sun upside down to heat up,  THE OPPOSET OF THE LIFE IT LIVES , AND SOAK IN THAT OIL AND DRYING HEAT. give it a break , stop the moisture mold cycle. I do this twice (  2  )  during cutting season. also do this in the fall at , plow /  blower swap time. leave deck cleaned and oiled upside down over winter. those months of drying and oil soaking will recover your deck. regular oil spraying will fend off rust and develop onto a darker slick finish. been doing this 36 years, no rot, pete

 

I second pete's suggestion.  Of course by the time I get the last fall cutting done, the sun is too low in the sky and the temps too low for effective drying.  So I use a combination of leaf blower and compressed air to get rid of all water on the underside.  Then I use WD40 (after all the WD stands for water displacement) and liberally spray the underside.  I don't have the space to leave the decks upside down so I hang them vertically on the shed wall.  Yes, some of the WD40 drips onto the floor, but it is not a big deal to me.

[squonk 41,167]

My recycler deck really fills up. Every other week I use the mower lift and dig out what I can. Twice a year the deck comes off and I stand it up using my loader and a chain. I take the recycler insert out and clean more grass out then you can believe. When it's off for the winter everything is wire wheeled, scraped, sprayed with rust converter then coated with bedliner spray.

[Tankman 3,518]

On ‎4‎/‎8‎/‎2018 at 8:02 PM, 953 nut said:

The deck stays on all year so I park my truck on the lawn, put ramps on the tailgate, drive up and park it near the top. tie it off so it won't come down then sharpen the blades, use the pressure washer to clean it and give it a shot of grease while up there so I don't have to bend over.

@Tankman and I were posting the same thing at the same time.

Most often I do remove decks in the winter. Up on saw horses, cleaned, touch up paint as required.

Besides greasing the spindles during the mowing season, I frequently spray the belts with belt dressing.

After a power wash, backpack blower and deck sun bathes, hot 'n dry. 

 

My Horses live in the barn, dry 'n clean.

Sometimes snow "pushing" they stay outside with a tractor cover. Difficulty getting in and out of the barn if wet cold nasty white stuff is piling up.

 

Maybe just me but I cringe thinking "plow" snow. Prefer "push" snow.

Garden gets "plowed".

 

[Kurt-NEPA 755]

I usually pick my deck up with an engine hoist so that it is vertical.  Then use a putty knife to get the worst off.  Then I go over it with a needle scaler. That gets all the grass off plus any loose rust and paint.  That needle scaler makes quick work out of a nasty job.  Then I usually spray oil them, but I just tried POR-15 on my 52" 5xi deck.  We'll see how that holds up.

[GREYGHOST 65]

This deck is off off.my 417A that I picked up yesterday. I've just started my clean up. So far I think it will be fine once I give it some TLC. PO sure didn't. So far its just 3in 1 tool & the trusty power washer. PO didn't think much of the tiller either!

[shallowwatersailor 3,213]

I have posted photos of my mower deck rack before but thought I would do it again. It uses a HF moving dolly and dimensional lumber. The HF casters aren't that good but 99% of the time it is just sitting. It allows me to store the deck off season in a smaller footprint. The nice part is that I can easily clean and paint the underside with access to the blades.  To swing the deck up I lay it on top of the deck and use the "feet" to steady the back of the deck.swing it up.

 

 

 

[cleat 6,084]

Your holder looks great.

 

I like the anti-scalp roller aa well.

Toro must have added that, I could add that to my 48" decks.

 

My 60" deck has a similar one.

 

[Kurt-NEPA 755]

6 hours ago, GREYGHOST said:

This deck is off off.my 417A that I picked up yesterday. I've just started my clean up. So far I think it will be fine once I give it some TLC. PO sure didn't. So far its just 3in 1 tool & the trusty power washer. PO didn't think much of the tiller either!

 

 

I hear you on the PO didn't believe in any TLC.  My 5xi 52in deck looked that bad too.  I took a 5 in one tool to it and followed that with a needle scaler.  This is the result.

 

 

Not the perforation.  I welded that up and two others too.  Pitting is quite bad. About a half of dozen cracks as well, most from a previous attempt at welding.  This deck is a young puppy but suffered from a lot of abuse.  I wired brushed it and added a couple of coats of POR-15.  I should get a few more years out of it.

[Kurt-NEPA 755]

1 hour ago, shallowwatersailor said:

I have posted photos of my mower deck rack before but thought I would do it again. It uses a HF moving dolly and dimensional lumber. The HF casters aren't that good but 99% of the time it is just sitting. It allows me to store the deck off season in a smaller footprint. The nice part is that I can easily clean and paint the underside with access to the blades.  To swing the deck up I lay it on top of the deck and use the "feet" to steady the back of the deck.swing it up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nice dolly.  And an ingenious rack for maintenance and storage.  I may steal that idea. Thanks

Edited April 14, 2018 by Kurt-NEPA

[Sarge 3,463]

I hang mine on the shed wall during the winter. Just using a series of pulleys and rope, along with a hook - the deck is rolled into the shed, height wheels first go against the wall. Put the hook on the attachment cross shaft, grab the other end of the rope and start pulling. Total force is about 30lbs to lift the 48" decks. Once vertical against the wall, the rope is tied off and it's stored for the winter. Deck only sticks out about 10" total so nearly no floor space lost - I'll try to get a pic later. Blade for the mowing machine is stored the same way, pulling the upper pin for the trip springs first, then hoisting the rear crossbar up with the rope and hook until it's all vertical against the wall - takes up nearly no space that way.

 

Sarge