I've had the 54D on my 2320 for nine years, but never used the washout. I scrape the underside of the deck from time to time with a scraper. The washout port will spray cold water on the lower side of the spindle, which will be quite warm at the end of the mowing job. I'm sure some who have used it can give you a better idea than I can.

 

Does the washout port work on the 54d? I've never used one.

Any other deck cleaning tips before mowing season begins here?

Thanks

To the cleanliness I expect, no... But to wash of the majority of the grass clippings....maybe, yeah it works good enough. I like mine spotless and not a lick of grass left to rust the deck out. When I first started using the washout port, I didn't realize you had to have the deck as close to the ground as possible to keep the water in the deck. IMHO you're better off taking the deck off and getting either a pressure washer or a high pressure garden hose sprayer to clean it out

 

I've tried it on my 60D. Meh.... not to my liking. With the blades turning, it just gets everything wet. Maybe that's what it's suppose to do...soak the caked on grass so it'll scrape off easier. In that respect, I guess it works. But I get better results blasting it with the pressure washer.

Sure is nice having them Load-N-Go brackets

😄

 

The best results only happen if the deck is lowered right to the ground, so I bring mine over to the driveway, drop it to the pavement and turn on the water. Once in a while I'll also squirt some detergent under the deck before I drop it down. It does a good job if you drop it to the ground, not so good if you don't. I'm waiting for Load N' Go for my 54" deck, so until that happens kylew is a dink.

Hey kylew, do you have what I have? The load your ass and go seat ??? Didn't think so.

 

I have tried it on numerous decks. It helps minimally with very minor buildup. But, it is mostly a waste of time and water. I guess if you did each and every time you mowed it would keep things relatively clean.

However, It is much more effective to just wait until the end of the season and do some scraping and hit it with a pressure washer and/or wire wheel. I like to hit mine with an angle grinder and wire wheel and then new paint each season which helps protect and mitigate clippings and mud from sticking.

The other issue is that use a mulch kit now, so, the wash port is essentially rendered completely ineffective regardless of how often it is uses when the deck is compartmentalized.

 

I do not like to use water on my deck, I clear leaves in the fall and after that my deck has always been spotless. Frankly I have to do more leaf clearing than mowing tho.

Always found water and grass clumps makes for a load that looks like wet Horse shite. In fact that is harder to clean up than dry cleaning the deck.

 

Best thing you can do with the washout port is remove it, so you can forget it exists. I used a carriage bolt and two fender washers and filled the hole.

 

Had one on my X324 and thought it was pretty much useless as others are saying. Plus, some of the green dyed water always stays on the machine long enough to drip on your nice white cement floor overnight leaving ugly black spots. I’m ecstatic to have a drive off deck that I can lift with the FEL to clean.

 

I believe the washout port is one of those things that had to be copied. One manufacturer came up with a "great new feature" to differentiate themselves and probably sold some additional units because of it. Then other manufacturers added it since it is a <$1 add on regardless of it's actual use of effectiveness.

 

Washout ports are gimmicky at best. I try to avoid getting my deck wet and I use the back pack blower to clean all equipment every time before putting it away. Even flipping up the deck chute and blowing with the Mad Max style back pack blower I have, tends to knock everything loose from under neath. It's got an 80cc engine and really has power. You can clean most debris at engine Idle speed. On WOT, it moves small children and animals with ease............

Nothing beats a good old fashioned scraping under the deck to clean it. I use the 5 gallon paint stir sticks to clean under my decks, as I don't want to scrape or scratch the paint and its impossible to clean under neath with a putty knife or something similar and not scrape the paint with the sharp edges of the scraper, which is why I like the wooden paint stir sticks so well. They are thick enough to not break, long enough to avoid sticking your arm way under the deck and cheap enough that if you do damage it, throw it away and get another...........3 of these are $0.98......

 

Nothing beats a good old fashioned scraping under the deck to clean it. I use the 5 gallon paint stir sticks to clean under my decks, as I don't want to scrape or scratch the paint and its impossible to clean under neath with a putty knife or something similar and not scrape the paint with the sharp edges of the scraper, which is why I like the wooden paint stir sticks so well.

You still have paint under your deck? It's eventually going bye-bye from normal wear, so why worry about scratching it underneath? If a wooden stick works, by all means use it. I suppose a nice piece of 1x2 oak, cut on one end at a 45* angle like a chisel, and long enough to grip well, should work just fine. I made a deck cleaning tool from 3/16 x1-1/2 steel bar stock; ground one end to a chisel-type edge, and cut the other end with a small radius curve. It's about a foot long, and does a great job of scraping the goo off every surface underneath. Mowing as much as I do, there's no way the paint underneath my deck would last more than a month. Keeping it clean and dry keeps the rust away.

 

Those sticks are nice and long, but I don't recall seeing them at HD. Better than a short plastic putty knife.

 

Go to the paint department. They're used for mixing paint.

 

I don't recall seeing 5 gal can wooden paint stirrers. The shorter ones, yeah.

 

At my local HD, they keep the free(when you buy paint) 5 Gal. sticks behind the counter, and also have packs of 3 for sale for $1.10 on the outside of the counter.

 

They have them at our Lowe's, but I had to ask for them.