Export thread

Grass gets wet and sticks under the mowing deck on my HRN216 series mower. It builds up and ruins the aerodynamics, makes mulching less effective and even stalls the engine by impeding the blade. I clean it out good after every use. What is good to spray under there to reduce sticking? Is there something to do besides that (beside not mowing of course)?

Trig

p.s. I've seen dirt/mud racing cars/trucks that spray something under the wheel wells to keep mud from building up. That got me thinking...

Have you tried a silicone spray? Although if you have that much build up after every cut I doubt it will make much of a difference. Try to mow when the grass is dry.

Silicone Spray, I'll try it. BTW, dry grass in the Pacific Northwest, NOT.

Trig

Over the last few years, I have used a couple of the different spray's available from the box stores, but they didn't last very long. They did make cleaning the deck easier for a couple of cleanings until they wore off. This summer I purchase this EZ-Slid product and applied 3- coats with a brush and gave it time to cure between coats. It has lasted about 8 mowings so far and certainly made cleaning the deck easier. You will get less build up but eventually it wears away and requires re-coating. I find that light scraping with a plastic drywall scraper removes the grass build up and minimizes the removal of the EZ Slide coating.
Nothing is going to keep the deck clear long term with out reapplication. It gets down to..is it worth it?....... If you can easily pull your deck or have a MoJack lift as I do, then it's fairly quick. I plan to scrape the deck this weekend after mowing but this time I will just spray coat with a can of the same product that come in a spray can to see if it is easier to apply and to see if it lasts as long.

Used motor oil slathered on with an old paint brush. Great way to recycle. Really good to winterize the deck with.

You guys need to stop buying stuff and go green.

slomo said:

Used motor oil slathered on with an old paint brush. Great way to recycle. Really good to winterize the deck with.

You guys need to stop buying stuff and go green.

Click to expand...

I don't think anyone would agree that spreading used motor oil over your lawn is going green. There has to be a better way to recycle it.

bkeller500 said:

I don't think anyone would agree that spreading used motor oil over your lawn is going green. There has to be a better way to recycle it.

Click to expand...

Now b, do you really think, your entire lawn would get covered with used oil? Even 1 foot of grass saturated? Let's back her down a couple gears please.

The better way to recycle used motor oil is the 100+ year old farmers trick. Spread it on your wooden stockade fence. Course the entire city might get flooded with motor oil while you are doing it. Wear your SCUBA gear when applying LOL.

Do what you want..........I really don't care one way or another...........Just sayin that applying used motor oil to your underside of deck is not going green and others would challenge you on that.

bkeller500 said:

I don't think anyone would agree that spreading used motor oil over your lawn is going green. There has to be a better way to recycle it.

Click to expand...

Auto parts stores will take your used oil.

Oil will slow or prevent rusting of a steel deck, but oil is stick and doubt it would prevent wet grass from sticking.

Nothing really works very well (or everyone would be using it and the manufacturers would recommend it in the owners manual).

Perhaps a paste wax, Caribana is long lasting, may help in preventing grass build up. Clean deck, smear on wax, let dry to film, buff gloss. Should help.

What every one seems to be overlooking it that a desk is basically a sand blasting booth so any coating that is applied will fairly quickly the blasted off by dirt dust & sand in the clippings.
When you bake a cake, you grease the pan every time you put the mix in
A commercial bakery that makes bread never washed the loaf pans but again oils them every time they put dough in
Nothing that is applied to a deck will last more than a couple of mows at best .
If your deck is constantly building up to the point of not cutting properly then there is a problem with your mowing or you simply have the wrong deck & blade combination for your grass .
Because the buying public is cheap mower companies stopped making dedicated decks for throwing bagging & mulching and replaced them with "UNIVERSAL" decks.
Universal means mediocre at bagging , mediocre at mulching , mediocre at throwing and this is at best .
Two blade rear discharge decks with counter rotating bladed tend to clog a lot less than any other layout so if clogging is a big problem change the deck .

If you stop to have a think, you are looking for a magic fluid that sill sick to the deck like poo to a blanket but nothing will stick to it .
And it has to be sand blasting proof, the method we use to remove fully vitrious enamel from steel
It ain't going to happen unless you clean the deck perfectly & apply the coating each & every time you mow .

bertsmobile1 said:

If you stop to have a think, you are looking for a magic fluid that sill sick to the deck like poo to a blanket but nothing will stick to it .

Click to expand...

.... except grass ....

Reapply is fine, I'll see how some sort of thin layer of slick film works.
Like I said earlier, the PNW where this is at, the grass is seldom dry.
Many landscape maintenance companies mow even during heavy rain.
Wet mulched grass sticks to the under-deck easily. I am surprised the air
movement under there doesn't blow it off.

Trig

enigma-2 said:

Oil will slow or prevent rusting of a steel deck, but oil is stick and doubt it would prevent wet grass from sticking.

Nothing really works very well (or everyone would be using it and the manufacturers would recommend it in the owners manual).

Perhaps a paste wax, Caribana is long lasting, may help in preventing grass build up. Clean deck, smear on wax, let dry to film, buff gloss. Should help.

Click to expand...

What if you just left it and let the grass buff it off?

If you buy a mower with a good heavy fabricated deck just rake it out by hand every occasionally. And you are good to go. Sort of like my old bush hog. Lol

enigma-2 said:

Oil will slow or prevent rusting of a steel deck, but oil is stick and doubt it would prevent wet grass from sticking.

Nothing really works very well (or everyone would be using it and the manufacturers would recommend it in the owners manual).

Perhaps a paste wax, Caribana is long lasting, may help in preventing grass build up. Clean deck, smear on wax, let dry to film, buff gloss. Should help.

Click to expand...

Waxes last longer if you don't rub them off. Apply and walk away.

I have tried several coatings over the years like Slip Plate and EZ slide but they never lasted very long. I bought a Mo-jack lift to make scraping the deck easier and faster and that seems to be the better option. With a drill attachment I can lift the mower in a few seconds, scrape it and have it ready for the next mow with very little effort.