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Is a flush system worth the effort.. Adding water under the deck after mowing to help clean it? Yay/ Nay

If you like more possible rust under there then go for it. That is a marketing gimmick. "Let's hook a garden hose up to the deck and HOPE we sell more mowers". Total waste of time plus it makes a huge mess.

slomo

Jim Gronewold said:

Is a flush system worth the effort.. Adding water under the deck after mowing to help clean it? Yay/ Nay

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Negative on deck wash-out systems! They only work half-a$$ed at best and must be used every time you mow or they get plugged up up with dried grass plus...as said earlier, they make a huge mess and you'll get water in your deck spindles eventually and the bearings will be going out soon after.

Yea, if used properly. They are not perfect, but will do a decent job. You must use them after each use so that the grass does not dry to the deck. After a good 5 minute flush, you must also running the unit for another 5 minutes to dry the underside of the deck.

I have to side with @mower king on this one, although I will acknowledge that the quality of lawn may be a factor in how well they work. Mowing a well maintained, dense grass lawn and washing out after every mowing, they might be effective. I've got a very dry, dusty 2 acres of native grass with a fair number of squirrel mounds. There's just enough moisture in the grass cuttings to turn the dust into a first class mortar mix. Running a hose to the flush port just makes a royal mess and sets the mud even harder.

IMHO they are a gimmick, designed to rust out the deck & wreck the spindle bearings .
As Rivets mentioned to work properly you have to run them for a long while. OVER GRASS then disconnect and move the mower over a hard surface blade still spinning for a good 10 minutes.
Will only work on fresh wet grass so has to be done each & every time without fail
Makes minimal difference in the performance of the deck
Makes it difficult to clean the debris off the top of the deck and from under the belt covers.
And this is the most important deck cleaning because decks can & do burst into flames from the friction of the belt on the dried grass clippings.

the absolute only way i could see using one is if you always cut when the grass is wet and it stays clumped up then its better to clear that out then leave it stay

wrldtvlr said:

I have to side with @mower king on this one, although I will acknowledge that the quality of lawn may be a factor in how well they work. Mowing a well maintained, dense grass lawn and washing out after every mowing, they might be effective. I've got a very dry, dusty 2 acres of native grass with a fair number of squirrel mounds. There's just enough moisture in the grass cuttings to turn the dust into a first class mortar mix. Running a hose to the flush port just makes a royal mess and sets the mud even harder.

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Yes, we sell some mowers (Cub Cadet) that have these Deck Washout fittings. We try to deter people from using them for several reasons but, some believe they're a great idea....just like mulching kits, a bagger system on an entry level 18hp lawn tractor or running your mower engine at 1/2 throttle is better for your mower. NONE of those are a good idea!

I’m the odd man out on this subject, but as I said if used properly they do help those who don’t scrap the underside of the deck. We actually ask customers if they think they will be using it. If they say yes we instruct them on how to use to get best results. Use immediately after cutting. Raise the deck to the highest level. Run for at least 5 minutes. Run unit after using for another 5 minutes to dry the underside of the deck. Is it perfectly clean, NO, but if you follow instructions it does a good job.

I'm old school, so using my scraper is my procedure of choice. I can have mine done before someone gets the wash out done. Before they do the 5 minute drying.

slomo said:

If you like more possible rust under there then go for it. That is a marketing gimmick. "Let's hook a garden hose up to the deck and HOPE we sell more mowers". Total waste of time plus it makes a huge mess.

slomo

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I'd rather MTD put a wire connection for their headlights, than a gimmick like the hose connection. Having to take out, and reinstall the headlights is a pain in the butt.

PTmowerMech said:

I'd rather MTD put a wire connection for their headlights, than a gimmick like the hose connection. Having to take out, and reinstall the headlights is a pain in the butt.

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Doesn't MTD have blade terminals that disconnect from the headlights or a plastic plug connecter a foot or 2 down the wiring harness from the lights? Our CC's do!

mower king said:

Doesn't MTD have blade terminals that disconnect from the headlights or a plastic plug connecter a foot or 2 down the wiring harness from the lights? Our CC's do!

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Yes, you can disconnect all 4 wires. But I've pulled the male connections out of the headlights themselves a couple of times. So I'm a little skittish on doing that. I like the old way of doing it, with the harness down by the muffler.

mower king said:

Doesn't MTD have blade terminals that disconnect from the headlights or a plastic plug connecter a foot or 2 down the wiring harness from the lights? Our CC's do!

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no they dont put those plugs on the residential MTD mowers, they wanted to save that 3 cents on every mower they make.

you have to pull the bulb sockets out and feed the wires out of the hood and lay them on the ground or hang it over the brake pedal when removing the hoods, its a real stupid design yet fighting with a stuck plug on ayp mowers i often wonder if having a disconnect able plug is really all that much better

7394 said:

I'm old school, so my scarper is my procedure of choice. I can have mine done before someone get the wash out done. Before they do the 5 minute drying.

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Exactly. Plus rolling up 125 feet of hose is not fun and storing it away.

slomo

PTmowerMech said:

I'd rather MTD put a wire connection for their headlights, than a gimmick like the hose connection. Having to take out, and reinstall the headlights is a pain in the butt.

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You're right, I looked at some new XT's this morn when I got to work. They have changed them on the new stuff....that is another example of an Engineer designed part, they will never have to work on....stupid idea! The old blade terminal bulb sockets, were a lot easier to work with!

No water on my mowers, blow day & wipe off..

7394 said:

No water on my mowers, blow day & wipe off..

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Total gimmick. Nothing beats lifting the mower and occasionally scraping the underside of deck. Unfortunately, almost all my customers never scrape their deck. Sometimes takes me 30 plus minutes during a tune up to clean it.

I hear ya man..