cleaning under side of lawn mower deck

[Donald]

I was watching a youtube video and the guy stated if you have a bunch of crud stuck to the underside of lawn mower deck the blade will not be able to properly lift up the grass to cut it.

Unsure if I believe it. Or at least to any degree that it matters. Maybe a deck with a bunch of crud decreases the lift by 5%?

Comments?

 

[HemiHawk]

I couldn't say the technical reason why but... crud under there certainly reduces cut quality and the throw distance out the side. To reduce the build up I try to not cut the grass when wet, but its rarely ever 100% dry. I reach under there with a plastic rod and knock big stuff off, then use the power washing ports on the new deck to get more off. twice a season I take the deck off and power wash it.

 

[Rand]

its true.. usually causes "barfing" of grass onto your yard instead of spread out clippings.

That was from half the deck( I moved tractor and lifted other side to continue) and less than 1 season of mowing.
Its a deere 50" on a 316

I too try to mow when dry.. but with overcast skies sometimes the grass can be pretty damp even late afternoon.

I use the "grass buster" its basically a rounded putty knife.. works great. I never powerwash the deck.. I do usually have it off once a year for a really good cleaning though. This deck was rebuild and welded so all that buildup was from may till now.

 

[Pelican]

Originally Posted by Donald
I was watching a youtube video and the guy stated if you have a bunch of crud stuck to the underside of lawn mower deck the blade will not be able to properly lift up the grass to cut it.

Unsure if I believe it. Or at least to any degree that it matters. Maybe a deck with a bunch of crud decreases the lift by 5%?

Comments?


Especially if you have a mulcher, all the crud will interfere with the proper flow of air & grass blades

 

[MasterSolenoid]

I believe it.
But what is a, "bunch of crud" ?
Generally, the Deck should work as a system / lift, cut, discharge.
For that to happen, Deck cleanness can not be neglected. Especially on a Mulching Mower.

I believe everything we buy today needs to be maintained as close to new condition as possible.
I call it - pride of ownership.
Today, if I look under the Deck, there will be a slight coating of grass, but I can still see the shape/contours of the Deck.

Years ago, (young & foolish) I'd cut the grass wet and it would build-up under the Deck 1" thick.
With it that bad, I believe I wasn't getting the 'lift' the blade was surpose to have.

 

[wdn]

You should see how much debris comes out of my 60" 3-blade mower deck on my Kubota. But the deck weight 265 pounds so I only clean it at the start of the season before I attach it to the tractors. On the top of the deck the drive belts and pulleys, I clean that monthly and give it a shot of grease on all the zerk fittings. I do not use water I wait until the grass has dried all winter and scrape it off with a plastic putty knife.

 

[JTK]

This can definitely be a thing for lower end, cheaper cutting decks. Build-up effects the aerodynamics in there.

I knock off everything I can easily reach with a wood stake or stick after each mow and blow the whole machine off with my leaf blower. The only exception is in the fall. I find that if you mow/mulch over leaves, they blast the deck almost spotless.

 

[ragtoplvr]

At the very least blow clippings off the top of the deck, my friend lost his mower and nearly burned down his house from a fire caused by the smoldering grass lighting while he was inside getting a drink.By the time he got the hose out he put up to mow, and hooked it up, the side of the house was on fire. He was winning the battle when the fire dept showed up, their high pressure hoses blew out windows and soaked the inside of the house. Then they took a fire axe to the siding, including a lot that was not melted.

I will say there was so much clipping on there, you mostly could not see the belts. In fact that was just like mine. Mine was cleaned before the next mowing, and gets blown off every time now.

Washing the underside every time can result in getting bearings wet and making them fail. I use a dandelion cutter to scrape out the worst and only wash a 2X or 3X times a year now. Then I let it run in the drive way with blades engaged to dry things for about 5 minutes.

Rod

 

[Duffyjr]

I realize most of you are talking about tractor decks but I'm guessing it's all the same. My super recycler has these pyramid things attached to direct the grass back into the cutting are. When the get a build up of grass it doesn't mulch as fine.

 

[JLTD]

You get crud from mowing wet. Can't help it. I've always used a screwdriver to remove the bulk of it. No sense making it pristine underneath (or waxing

) as it's just going to get filthy again.

 

[Rat407]

At the end of the season I just run my mower over some fine gravel and let it pick it up and sand blast under the deck. It gets it nice and clean and then I coat it with some AMSOIL HD Metal Protector. Works great.




























Just kidding. I have really never cleaned my deck since I owned it. 2002 ExMark Lazer Z HP with 48" deck. Never had a build up issue and I have a mulching kit on it. Needless to say the summer here in eastern NC are hot and humid as can be. Grass doesn't really dry out.

 

[Kira]

The science behind this is well beyond our collective comprehension.