# Lawn Mower Feature - How Useful?



## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

So after approximately twenty plus years, the deck of my lawn mower has rusted so that there is a hole in it. I was pricing new mowers and noticed some of them have a hose attachment to flush the grass cuttings from the underside of the deck.

Has anyone have a similar attachment? How effective/useful is it?

Or are people doing something else to cleanup the deck?



Cheers


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

Seems gimmicky to me. Would you really want to have to wash the deck every time you use it?


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## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

I recommend a push mower 

http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/mow-the-lawn-and-get-in-shape/


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## Spudd (Oct 11, 2011)

I don't have said feature, but I probably clean the underside of my mower once every 3 years and it's fine. Who needs it?


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## brad (May 22, 2009)

Like Four Pillars I use a reel mower, but I used regular gas-powered mowers for decades. I cleaned the underside with a putty knife or sturdy spatula once or twice per summer and my mowers never rusted out. The obvious (but still worth repeating) warning: never try to clean the bottom of your mower while it's still running. You'd be amazed how many people do despite the obvious risk. One of my neighbors, a music teacher, lost two fingers that way.


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## HaroldCrump (Jun 10, 2009)

I can't remember the last time I used a gas or electric mower.
I have had reel mower for years, and they should last at least 10 years, if not more.

Perhaps I should create one of them YouTube videos called _I have a MF'ing reel mower_ to gloat about my environmentally and health conscious choice :biggrin:


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## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

HaroldCrump said:


> Perhaps I should create one of them YouTube videos called _I have a MF'ing reel mower_ to gloat about my environmentally and health conscious choice :biggrin:


Lol - brilliant. I would love to help with that.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

Reel mowers are great if you don't have much to mow. Electric mowers are getting much better, too (less maintenance than gas mowers).

Unfortunately, when I mow grass it is usually a few acres at a time, so reel mower is not a realistic option.


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## brad (May 22, 2009)

Actually I used to mow a 1.5 acre lawn with a reel mower. Some of the reel mowers are actually wider than a standard gas-powered mower so they cut a broader swath, plus of course you never have to stop to fill them with gas. So I was able to mow that lawn faster with a reel mower than with a standard lawnmower. It's no more effort either, unless you're comparing to a sit-down mower or a self-propelled mower (I hate the self-propelled ones, their wheels end up cutting big divots out of the lawn unless you're really careful). Reel mowers are lighter, and some models come with four wheels, which tend to be a little easier to push than the ones with a roller in the back.

The only drawback I've found to reel mowers is that they don't work well on tall grass - they tend to push it over instead of cutting it. I once had to borrow a neighbour's gas-powered lawnmower when I was away on vacation and came home to a lawn that was too high to mow with the reel mower.


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

Four Pillars said:


> I recommend a push mower


So when are you going to get in shape by coming over to my place and flattening out the lawn so I can use the push mover? :biggrin:



Cheers


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

brad said:


> ... but I used regular gas-powered mowers for decades. I cleaned the underside with a putty knife or sturdy spatula once or twice per summer and my mowers never rusted out.
> 
> The obvious (but still worth repeating) warning: never try to clean the bottom of your mower ...


Hmmm ... maybe it was the mulching section that trapped grass cuttings ... or maybe the rust started before my uncle gave me the mower. 

IAC, I usually pulled the spark plug wire off, let the mower cool and cleaned off as much grass as I could after each mowing.


Cheers


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## caricole (Mar 12, 2012)

Eclectic12 said:


> So after approximately twenty plus years, the deck of my lawn mower has rusted so that there is a hole in it. I was pricing new mowers and noticed some of them have a hose attachment to flush the grass cuttings from the underside of the deck.
> 
> Has anyone have a similar attachment? How effective/useful is it?
> 
> ...


I can hardly believe it....an INVESTERS FORUM, économics, and maintenance neglect.....and no mention of the real économics.....LOLOL

Grass cutting économics is simple

Buy end instal a GOAT, no cost, no maintenance, and a real measurement of ÉCONOMICS

If économic times are bad....the number of goats in any given state will go op, peaple have no money to spend on machinery, gas, maintenace and gardenig peaple and at the same time profit from the FREE MILK AND CHEESE

Just a reminder from caricole....:encouragement:


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## HaroldCrump (Jun 10, 2009)

caricole said:


> Grass cutting économics is simple
> Buy end instal a GOAT, no cost, no maintenance, and a real measurement of ÉCONOMICS


If the goat is eating all that grass, someone's gonna have to clean up after.
Not a pleasant chore.
Can you imagine andrewf with all his acres of grass...adopting a goat...


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

there are farmers with orchards, even municipalities i believe, that keep grass-eating ruminants for the express purpose of keeping the grass cut.

i have no idea what they do with the poopies. Maybe we could all find out & post back.

(duck) (flying projectile) (coming soon to a city lawn/message board/golf course near you)


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

Feces=fertilizer.


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## Barwelle (Feb 23, 2011)

Ft Saskatchewan (a city NE of Edmonton) has "natural" lawn-mowers.

Interesting tidbits from this article... they don't do anything with the sheep dung. Three shepherds, several dogs, and a donkey guard the flock.

[insert witty-but-cliche baaaaad-something comment here.]

Come to think of it, my neighbour used to have a couple of goats that he kept in a pen made from these aluminum garden fence panels, and he would just move the pen every couple days.

edit:


andrewf said:


> Feces=fertilizer.


Exactly.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

the legendary Maremmas, said to be the best LGDs (livestock guard dogs) ever. Expensive & new to north America, they're spreading to guard chicken coops, even swans in city parks.

people fall in love with maremmas, but the catch is they can't have one. Reason ? the dogs have to be out-of-doors day & night with their flocks in the field. Otherwise they pine away. Gentle, affectionate, elegant, devoted to their charges, maremmas are not house dogs, not even barn dogs.

this beautiful maremma mother is raising her litter of 6 puppies, but soon they'll be weaned & she'll be back guarding her flock of sheep. Her puppies will sell for something like $800-1,000 each.

.


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## donald (Apr 18, 2011)

I recomened paying the "boy/kid" down the street to cut the grass once a week!I actually used to pay a senior($50) a month(costed me about $400 a season(i thought it was worth it)a beautiful thing,and(neighbor)would of likely done it for free-he liked to keep busy/aka the token police man neighbor of the street(he cut a few yards,had his own mower and weed wacker)Problem solved!No need for the mower outright.How much are mower's now?and i wonder what the cost of gas is over the course of a season?(typical standard city lot)


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## dogcom (May 23, 2009)

Push mower is for small lawns and a total pain in the *** for bigger lawns so the push mower is out for me.


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

humble_pie said:


> there are farmers with orchards, even municipalities i believe, that keep grass-eating ruminants for the express purpose of keeping the grass cut.
> 
> i have no idea what they do with the poopies. ...


No mention of the poopies but Google was using goats at one point.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,518820,00.html


Cheers


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

donald said:


> ... How much are mower's now?
> 
> ... and i wonder what the cost of gas is over the course of a season?(typical standard city lot)


For the mower cost, used is ranging from $20 to $200 while new seems to be about $140 to $650.

As for the gas cost, I'm not sure what size a typical standard city lot is but my lot takes an average of 1.5 hours with the gas mower to cut and something under 5 litres of gas per season. So at $1.50 per litre, that's a maximum of $7.50 a season in gas costs.

The rusted mower was a gift so if I buy a mower, this will be the first mower cost to add in for me.

Cheers


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## Beaver101 (Nov 14, 2011)

dogcom said:


> Push mower is for small lawns and a total pain in the *** for bigger lawns so the push mower is out for me.


How about using an electric weeder for small lawn jobs? Easier and cheaper.


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

I always cleaned the deck with a chisel in the spring before the first mowing. The layer of caked grass protected the iron deck from rusting during the winter. I never put water anywhere near the mower. (Other than morning dew..) Cleaned the top with a soft cloth and a bit of gas.


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## OhGreatGuru (May 24, 2009)

Eclectic12 said:


> ...
> Has anyone have a similar attachment? How effective/useful is it?
> 
> Or are people doing something else to cleanup the deck?
> ...


To get back to OP's questions:

No, I don't have such an attachment. Wish I did, but i decided it wasn't a deal-breaking feature when I went shopping for a mower last year. 

I clean under the mover with an old putty knife with a rounded off blade. 

It is awkward cleaning under the mower because you can't tip it up very far if it has much gas in it, which is why I wish I had a deck wash attachment.

Letting wet grass accumulate under the deck accelerates corrosion, shortening the lifespan of the mower.

As an aside I remember reading a Popular Science article in the early 60's on how to make & install your own deck wash connection. Wish I still had the article.


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## dogcom (May 23, 2009)

Kcowan you are right don't put water near the mower and just dig it off is right in my opinion.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

OhGreatGuru said:


> As an aside I remember reading a Popular Science article in the early 60's on how to make & install your own deck wash connection. Wish I still had the article.



I bet that info exists on the net.


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

andrewf said:


> I bet that info exists on the net.


No luck after spending five minutes .... will try again later.

I did find this DIY article of building your own external washer:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Mower-Deck-Spray-Washer/


Cheers


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