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After owning my mower for 3 years now I'm pretty much in the rhythm of using the blower on the mower when finished and then rinsing it off good. I know this doesnt make the mower spotless but it does keep it in decent looking shape. When it was new I'd use soap on it but as with anything I own I guess I start slipping as the years go by.

So....what do you guys do after mowing, especially you guys that have owned for a few years now?

I've only had my Hustler for 2 months, but this has been my practice with previous riders:

- I have a short 3 foot whip that I hook into the end of my retractable hose on my air compressor. The whip has a filter on it to screen out the oil from the pump so i don't blast the mower with an oily film. There is a jet nozzle at the end. I blow off all of the dust and grass from the mower, deck top, seat, engine bay...
- I pull off the intake air filter and blow it out from the inside with the air hose.
- I also remove the two plastic deck pulley/belt guards and get all the grass and crud out of there. I converted the guard hold downs from hex cap bolts to wing nuts to make the whole thing tool-less and quick.
- I lift the mower by its caster wheels on my Harbor Freight mower lift. I slide an old scrap of tarp under the deck and then use a plastic putty knife to scrape (usually) 10 pounds or more of clumped in grass from the underside of the deck.

Edit to add: I'll wash it with a hose and carwash soap each fall before putting it up for the winter.

bradmc said:

- I pull off the intake air filter and blow it out from the inside with the air hose.

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I would definitely NOT do this. Leave your air filter alone until it's time to replace it. Dirty filters actually do a better job of filtering than clean ones. You may want to clean the wrapper, if it has one, but leave the filter itself alone.

Blow off w/blower when done. Put away till next time.
Wash only when muddy or end of season. I use a gilmour foam gun w/soft brush for washing....lots of suds...low pressure cleaning. (Also great for the motorcycle or debugging the front of the car).
I also have a harbor frt lift for scrape outs....but if i mow when grass s dry it stays clean underneath.

Mine gets pressure washed and serviced at the end of the season.
During the mowing season it rarely get washed unless its really muddy.

I don't have a ZTR yet, but wash a Fastrak in my dreams.

I don't bother washing. I may occasionally blow it off. I do drive it up on car ramps after cutting my 3 acres and lay on my side and dig out the grass clinging to the inside of the deck. Clean deck means better mulching of clippings.

I blow off the mower after every lawn I do or before I load it on the trailer. I all so blow out the air filter every couple of days with the air hose to get all the crud out of the filter. I don't ever wash the things, that would be never ending when you mow daily.

Ric said:

I blow off the mower after every lawn I do or before I load it on the trailer. I all so blow out the air filter every couple of days with the air hose to get all the crud out of the filter. I don't ever wash the things, that would be never ending when you mow daily.

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See post #3.

cpurvis said:

See post #3.

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I saw your post and I totally disagree. You should never imo leave or run your air dirty.

Ric said:

I saw your post and I totally disagree. You should never imo leave or run your air dirty.

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I agree.
I clean all three of my filters on my toro every couple of days.

I got in the habit of blowing my mower off. So not to transfer seeds from one yard to the next.

Ric said:

I saw your post and I totally disagree. You should never imo leave or run your air dirty.

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You aren't "running your air dirty". In fact, the dirtiest air your engine would ever see (other than leaving the air filter off completely) would be if you installed a brand new filter before each use.

The air going to the engine gets progressively cleaner as the filter gets dirtier. Unlike an oil filter, there is no bypass on an air filter to let dirty air through it.

Ric said:

I saw your post and I totally disagree. You should never imo leave or run your air dirty.

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Actually he is right, a dirty filter cleans better than a brand new clean one by virtue that the air has to get sucked through the dust layer which in fact becomes a pre filter.

Blowing out from the inside with compressed air is a very bad practice as it can rupture the paper or blast holes right through it.
The professionals who clean the air filters for construction equipment start with high volume low pressure pulses to dislodge the caked on dirt from the inside out.
They then get blown across the pleats on the outside with high volume low pressure filtered air using a venturi effect to remove the dislodged dust.
Final stage is a carbon tetrachloride rinse from the inside out and a gentle warm air dry.
Obviously not going to do it on a $ 20 mower filter but the filters on the bobcat were $ 160 a set and we could get about 5 washes out of a set.
The excavators were not such a problem as they all has snorkels and by & large were fairly well out of the heavy dust zone.

I have seven tractors & a Ferris ZTR. Each gets blown off with a blower after usage and I usually wash the majority at least once during the season and then before they're put to bed for the winter........ except the New Hollands .... they get a washing to prepare for the snow.

Ric said:

I saw your post and I totally disagree. You should never imo leave or run your air dirty.

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You shouldn't let the filter get to dirty.
But over servicing an air filter can be just as bad IMO.
Every time you unnecessarily remove the filter you risk knocking dirt/dust down the intake.
Every time you unnecessarily blow out the filter you risk damaging the filter (blowing a hole in it )
I service my filter when it needs it. No more, no less.

I'm going to weigh in on this misnomer of a dirty filter cleaning better.

1. Dirty air filters change the air fuel ratio. Less air with a dirty filter means more fuel. More fuel in the cylinder means a colder cylinder which means less horsepower, less torque which both also equates to less tip speed, less ground speed.

2. Dirty air filters also contribute to cylinder and valve guide wash down. This contributes to an excellerated attrition rate for the mower stables.

3. Dirty air filters also contribute to a large belly, ***, etc. Due to lack of exercise.

You guys are way "over thinking "all this. Air cleaners DO NOT need to be cleaned till encrusted w/ at least 3/8" of dandelion lint. Deck tops do not need to be cleaned until the build up is so thick you can't get the deck to latch in the up position. (Or there are more than 2 mice living in there) And, the underside of the deck absolutely NEVER needs scraping. I know all these things from yrs of working sales at a jd dealership. You wouldn't believe the mowers we got in from dairy farms where the lawn mower was THE LAST machine to be serviced.
Those old jd lawn tractors w/the Kawasaki single cyl engines stood up to amazing abuse in their day...I mean...truly amazing.

cpurvis said:

You aren't "running your air dirty". In fact, the dirtiest air your engine would ever see (other than leaving the air filter off completely) would be if you installed a brand new filter before each use.

The air going to the engine gets progressively cleaner as the filter gets dirtier. Unlike an oil filter, there is no bypass on an air filter to let dirty air through it.

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No thanks, I'll clean my filters once a week with my compressor and replace them when the need replacing about 50 hrs worth along with oil and oil filters.

kraky said:

You guys are way "over thinking "all this. Air cleaners DO NOT need to be cleaned till encrusted w/ at least 3/8" of dandelion lint. Deck tops do not need to be cleaned until the build up is so thick you can't get the deck to latch in the up position. (Or there are more than 2 mice living in there) And, the underside of the deck absolutely NEVER needs scraping. I know all these things from yrs of working sales at a jd dealership. You wouldn't believe the mowers we got in from dairy farms where the lawn mower was THE LAST machine to be serviced.
Those old jd lawn tractors w/the Kawasaki single cyl engines stood up to amazing abuse in their day...I mean...truly amazing.

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Well yes & no.
Cows are not real fusssy about the quality of the cut just so long as the weeds they do not want to eat are gone so the grass they like to eat can grow.
You usually mow after the cows have been in the paddock so there is not much grass to cut the first place and usually you mow a paddock at 4" to 6" because you want to leave a lot of grass behind to get maximum growth.
The farmers would be running their mowers in a year what the commercial lawn care opertors do in a month.
So fuel usage is not a big problem neither is downtime, you can always do it next week, not so with paid for mowing or worse mowing with a team that is costing you $ 100 + per hour , mowing at 1/2 the optimum speed because the mower is not running properly.

All old mower took a beating
I still use daily mowers that are 60 years old and customers are amazed that a 60 year old mower does such a good job, they just take longer because hydro boxes, gear change on the fly, elecric PTO, & diffs were not to appear for another 20 years.
I heve even sold a few 40 year old mowers because the customers liked them better than their current 10 year old mower and actually found them quicker & easier to use.
The old 8/24 to 10/30 were the optimum size for blocks of 1 acre or less, and you just can't kill them.
In particular the RER's are excellent and represent the optimum mower lay out for durability and reliability.

So yes they will run, and for home owners it will not be much of a problem but they won't run giid enough to make money with.
As for deck buildups, JD use a lot of steel spindle housings which do not rust / or rot as fast as he modern alloy ones.
JD decks do not run controlled ventilation so do not need to be able to draw air down the spindle housing.
However they do burn and I see at least 1 mower fire every season caused by belts running on dry grass built up under decks.

So horses for courses and the boys are not "over thinking"
Keeping any piece of equiptment clean is always a good idea however in some circumstances it is not as high on the priority list.

mhavanti said:

I'm going to weigh in on this misnomer of a dirty filter cleaning better.

1. Dirty air filters change the air fuel ratio. Less air with a dirty filter means more fuel. More fuel in the cylinder means a colder cylinder which means less horsepower, less torque which both also equates to less tip speed, less ground speed.

2. Dirty air filters also contribute to cylinder and valve guide wash down. This contributes to an excellerated attrition rate for the mower stables.

3. Dirty air filters also contribute to a large belly, ***, etc. Due to lack of exercise.

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I don't know about #3, but #1 and #2 are definitely false. That is not how a carburetor or fuel injection system works at all.

One last thing, as a machine owner / operator, the dirty machines are usually not the ones that end up being bored out because they were worn out due to dirty air filters, washed down cylinders causing the cylinder walls to become scored so deeply that there isn't enough material left behind after a boring bar has had its way with them.

Usually the only engines that come into a shop for a major overhaul are those that are taken care of for ice cream season upon ice cream season. If for some reason the person decides to bring in their car, truck, tractor, mower or Kenworth before they remove the engine. You'll usually see a meticulously clean motorized equipment. They loved the quality of their engines and want them to continue their ownership and utilization because the equipment was as faithful to them as they were to the maintenance.

When we do see these engines, they are worn completely out, not just an engine that needed gaskets replaced or valve adjustments, timing gears, etc.

If someone inherits a mower that has been operated and never maintained, they may or may not want to have the engine refreshed because of sentimental reasons more than cost or value of service to the repairs.

From a shop that has built 4000 plus horsepower engines for nationally known drag and circle track cars, cleanliness is next to Godliness. Mas horsepower, mas torque, mas acceleration, mas fuel mileage, well haties, more lifespan plain and simple.

Weigh your cost to your life expectancy and it may change your mind on whether you clean or replace your filters. You may even compare these things to what you're doing to your bodies. It is much the same.

Good luck to one and all.

To get "washdown" in the cylinders requires liquid fuel. If you have liquid fuel in the cylinders, you are so far below the air/fuel ratio required, that the engine would, at a minimum, be running very poorly and probably wouldn't even run at all. The only way you could possibly get that would be with a blocked air filter, not a dirty one. Engines lose power LONG before that point is reached.

But, whatever. Take them apart every hour and be sure to blow them out with 100 psi compressed air. If they're really dirty, soak them in soapy water, then rinse and again blow that paper pleated air filter element out with 100 psi compressed air. It's your equipment.

It doesn't require a flood of fuel necessarily to begin cutting the efficiency of lubrication. Carbon build up on the top of pistons and the top side of the top ring comes from excess fuel, which can cause pre-ignition and backfiring when shutting down or run on if it is bad enough. The atmospheric temperatures of a cylinder are also controlled by air fuel ratios, timing of spark during ignition in order to find the ultimate clean burn without carbonization.

A dirty air filter can and will cause some wash down. It can be minimal, depending upon the materials used, it can be past the point of minimal. Again, depends upon your choices of maintenance.

It is after all, just a mower and you can pick them up for a couple of hundred bucks anywhere. Oh wait, no, seems people have begin paying upward of twenty five thousand for just a mower. lol

Ok, I'm done regardless of internal knowledge of a combustion, piston powered engine.

Y'all come see us now, ya heah? lol

What brand oil is the best to use?

Some of you guys must be mowing dirt to need such frequent filter air cleanings.
I've owned my Super Z for 2 years ( averaging around 70/year ) and haven't needed to clean the air filter yet.
Pull it out last fall at 70 hours, looked so good I stuck it right back in. Didn't need cleaned or replaced.
I'm currently at 135 hours and the air filter restriction gauge is still only showing 3 inchs of water. Well within the green.(That's very little difference to what the filter was showing when new).
Recommended filter replacement is at 8 in. of water.
I will pull it out and check it this fall when my Z gets serviced, but I expect the air filter to be just fine.

DK35vince said:

Some of you guys must be mowing dirt to need such frequent filter air cleanings. I've owned my Super Z for 2 years ( averaging around 70/year ) and haven't needed to clean the air filter yet. Pull it out last fall, looked so good I stuck it right back in. Didn't need cleaned or replaced. I'm currently at 135 hours and the air filter restriction gauge is still only showing 3 inchs of water. Well within the green.(That's very little difference to what the filter was showing when new). Recommended filter replacement is at 8 in. of water. I will pull it out and check it this fall when my Z gets serviced, but I expect the air filter to be just fine.

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135 hours in 2 years. I do that in a month.
Some yards are so dry and dusty. I have to stop and let the dust clear. Just so I can see where I am going.

DK35vince said:

Some of you guys must be mowing dirt to need such frequent filter air cleanings.
I've owned my Super Z for 2 years ( averaging around 70/year ) and haven't needed to clean the air filter yet.
Pull it out last fall at 70 hours, looked so good I stuck it right back in. Didn't need cleaned or replaced.
I'm currently at 135 hours and the air filter restriction gauge is still only showing 3 inchs of water. Well within the green.(That's very little difference to what the filter was showing when new).
Recommended filter replacement is at 8 in. of water.
I will pull it out and check it this fall when my Z gets serviced, but I expect the air filter to be just fine.

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No we don't mow dirt, you mow dirt we mow sand and muck. There's a big difference in mowing in the South than the North and like Carscw said some yards are so dry and dusty you have to stop and let the dust clear just so I can see where your going , either that or your stuck in the muck after a two or three inch down pour.
I purchased a Z Master 48" for my residential s that I mow 13 months ago and in that time I've put right at 350hrs on the mower and that's about 9 months worth of mowing and doesn't count the additional mowing time I've put on the Grandstand or the Turf-Master. 70 hrs a year on a mower, a Super Z, I'd probably never look at the air filter either.

Cleaning the air filter and how often you go through the procedure depends on the air filter and system you run. I do the the grandstand foam filter every 25 hrs and clean the paper filter with the compressor every 50 and it all gets replaced after the third cleaning, same with the TM. The ZM outside filter gets cleaned every 50 with the compressor and the inside never gets removed or touched and both are replaced at 200 hrs.

I pulled my air filter out today at 135 hours.
Gave it a light tap, no loose dirt, everything still looks good. Stuck it right back in.
I will run it 1 more season (that should put me at just over 200 hours) then replace the filter.

Mr Purvis, in your expert opinion, how does a carburetor work?