I just bought a new Scag Turf Tiger mower. One of the things that the dealer told me was not to wash it. He said to just blow it off with a blower or air hose. He said that water will rust the bearings and it is best never to wash it. I have never heard of this. I got the impression that it wasn't just for Scag but is meant for all mowers. We live in a very dusty environment and I have always washed the mower after mowing. Has anyone heard of this? Comments?
Thanks,
Roger
Hi Roger,
I have heard of this and also never wash my mower a Honda 21 inch. What I do do is have some nylon scrubbing brushes that I quickly go over the mower with to get most of the grass and dust off it.
By the way what are your impressions on the SCAG? I was looking at them and they look like a really good machine, and was thinking about getting one, though perhaps not as large as yours. What engine size did you go for? One final question is does it do well on slopes?
Best, Mike.
I very rarely wash any of my equipment.I usually just use an air hose.Unless I get mud on the tractor or something similar.
I HAVE heard that washing is unnecessary at least and potentially damaging at worst.
I regularly washed at least one of the Toro mowers I have owned over the years with no ill effect.
After hearing that washing can be A Bad Thing, I began using only compressed air to clean my new mowers after each use.
Since you bought a Scag - a commercial mower - and probably paid dearly for it, I would expect it to withstand regular washing with no ill effect.
A Scag is designed to operate in virtually ALL mowing conditions - including rain. I don't think you'll hurt your new mower by washing it, but I would do so only occasionally. Compressed air is a lot less messy than horsing-around with hoses and water anyway.
I had a Bolens mulching mower that had a nose connection on it to wash the underside of the deck. Hook up the hose, start the mower, then turn on the water.
Mike D.
After washing run the mower for a short time to dry it
If he's going to go against dealer advice, why bother to run it afterward? It's not going to dry out all the little nooks and crannies the water is going to get into.
Steve
Yep, just blow your mower.
It's kinda' excessively anal advice for water in the bearings as the reason against it for any quality mower -- cheap stuff w/ sleeves or open rollers, sure, but w/ modern sealed bearings on spindles and even on front axles of a mower of this size/quality, it just ain't a problem.
Where there is more of an issue in my mind is long term on the nooks and crannies of the deck where water will collect and could _eventually_ cause some rust/corrosion from the inevitable paint chips and dust/dirt that collects where it can't ever get completely removed in those crevices.
It isn't all that great to get belts wet repeatedly, either.
So, overall, I tend to agree washing is best left to infrequently and restrained to the cosmetics and to use air to clean the debris/dirt of the deck, etc., regularly.
--
No. 1. The bearings should be weatherproof. and as grass will stick under the deck to the housing unless removed it will cause the deck housing to rust out sooner.. So I would say washing and then running a while to dry it out would be the smart thing to do. But to each his own. I had a snapper that I ran for 28 yrs and then sold it for $50,00 and it was still in top shape. Yes it was washed and taken care of. There is a word that spells out how long a piece of equip-ment lasts and that word is -"MAINTENANCE!"
Sure. Everybody has a compressor in the garage, right? Air hose. Yep.
"Washing" does not necessarily mean blasting water into all the crevices. There are ways to do it carefully. Leave the mower in the sun for a while until it dries.
This was the same advice I got with my Cub Cadet. Washing is OK for under the deck but for everything else --blow it off. So everytime I get the leaf blower out, I give the lawn tractor a blast of air. Occasionally, I will wash it with car wash detergent. The blower does work better at removing the dried leaves and grass on top of the deck than the hose does.
Did they warn ya not to let it get wet in the rain? It happens. Do cars fall apart when you wash them or drive them in the rain? Underhood has as many or more bearings and belts as a mower and they survive water. Does the mower instructions tell you not to get it wet? I think this is advice on the same level as urban myths and old wives tales - once started they have a way of perpetuating themselves until fiction is stronger than truth.
KC
Strange. I read through most of the replies. Didn't see one that said anything but "I heard...". Now let us apply some logic here.
Do you really think that something that will harm your very expensive equipment would _not_ be mentioned in the manual. That it would be left to the dealer to tell the customer?
Don't ask here, go direct to the manufacturer, they must have customer service that you can call. Don't take a salesman's word for something like that.
Harry K
I have a Toro Personal Pace Mower. In the instruction manual it calls for hosing off the mower with water as necessary.
However it does state to have the mower running while washing it.
Check your owner's manual.
Do you ever mow wet grass?
Yeah, but then you'd have another problem: A leaf blower. :-)
Sorry, but I'm amused by my neighbors who take five hours to clear leaves off the lawn with their stupid noisy toys. I can collect twice as much in an hour using a rake. It's weird, but true. Maybe these people never went to leaf blower school or something.
Mike,
I've only had the Scag for about 2 weeks, but love it so far. It's a mowing machine...mows our 3 acres in about a third of the time that our little rider did. It does very well on slopes. The deck is so large and sits so close to the ground, it takes the slopes extremely well. Ours has a 27 horse Kohler engine.
Roger
Like a previous poster suggested, use a leaf blower. They work better anyway. Bob-tx
Perhaps you wash under the hood with a hose, I don't, so can't answer your question. But, I'd suggest he follow the dealer's instructions. Bob-tx
>HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.