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188 Posts
All,
I wanted to share and ask feedback about my deck on my x700 series tractor. I have the 54HC with OEM blades and no added mulching kit. I was forced to run it a few times this spring on wet or pretty damp grass. I only had a very small time window to get the lawn knocked down. I learned a few things... first thing is once again I was singing the praises of my deck dolly!
Wet grass
The bottom of the deck was thick with matted and packed grass. I had to spend some significant time with a scrapper and then a pressure washer. I had more the 12 lbs of dried hard grass. It wasn't completely dried and left some rust spots. After getting it all cleaned up I dried it thoroughly w/ fan. So just a comment that if you have been forced to mow in wetter than desirable conditions, you may have a lot of weight and moisture underneath.
Oil the deck?
This may be a horrible idea but I did it and it seems to be working very well. I am curious about feedback on this. After it was cleaned and completely dried I wiped the entire under deck with a thin coating of motor oil. The build-up was so difficult to remove I figured this may help w/ future issues and of course a little oil can slow down any more rust development. Thoughts? I have mowed twice since and the bottom is nice and clean although it was dry.
Leveling
I have had my deck on and off very frequently. I have been running it with the MMS bagger system and w/o. As I replaced it and verified the level yesterday I realized that I have never had to re-level my deck. I read about people having decks loose level by stepping on them, I don't have this issue. My friend's 1025r needs a lot of leveling attention when the bagger is removed or added. I guess this is just a comment but I welcome any thoughts as to how we can get the 1025 to have the same reliability. Generally speaking, they are hanging similar.
Striping broom
I also have the strip brush kit on the deck. I am not 100% sold. Yes it does exactly what is advertised. For it to work it has to be down pretty far and puts quite a lot of force on the grass. I have seen on some hills and corners that it will tear out tender grass sprouts or thinner areas. So I moved it up 1/4" and it still works just not as good. The bristles also hate a pressure washer. They get pretty hairy fast. I think the deck roller system may have the same issue. I may have to look at a third party system like they use on the Deere's at the golf course called CheckMate.
That's it for my ramblings.
I wanted to share and ask feedback about my deck on my x700 series tractor. I have the 54HC with OEM blades and no added mulching kit. I was forced to run it a few times this spring on wet or pretty damp grass. I only had a very small time window to get the lawn knocked down. I learned a few things... first thing is once again I was singing the praises of my deck dolly!
Wet grass
The bottom of the deck was thick with matted and packed grass. I had to spend some significant time with a scrapper and then a pressure washer. I had more the 12 lbs of dried hard grass. It wasn't completely dried and left some rust spots. After getting it all cleaned up I dried it thoroughly w/ fan. So just a comment that if you have been forced to mow in wetter than desirable conditions, you may have a lot of weight and moisture underneath.
Oil the deck?
This may be a horrible idea but I did it and it seems to be working very well. I am curious about feedback on this. After it was cleaned and completely dried I wiped the entire under deck with a thin coating of motor oil. The build-up was so difficult to remove I figured this may help w/ future issues and of course a little oil can slow down any more rust development. Thoughts? I have mowed twice since and the bottom is nice and clean although it was dry.
Leveling
I have had my deck on and off very frequently. I have been running it with the MMS bagger system and w/o. As I replaced it and verified the level yesterday I realized that I have never had to re-level my deck. I read about people having decks loose level by stepping on them, I don't have this issue. My friend's 1025r needs a lot of leveling attention when the bagger is removed or added. I guess this is just a comment but I welcome any thoughts as to how we can get the 1025 to have the same reliability. Generally speaking, they are hanging similar.
Striping broom
I also have the strip brush kit on the deck. I am not 100% sold. Yes it does exactly what is advertised. For it to work it has to be down pretty far and puts quite a lot of force on the grass. I have seen on some hills and corners that it will tear out tender grass sprouts or thinner areas. So I moved it up 1/4" and it still works just not as good. The bristles also hate a pressure washer. They get pretty hairy fast. I think the deck roller system may have the same issue. I may have to look at a third party system like they use on the Deere's at the golf course called CheckMate.
That's it for my ramblings.
