why don't makers use Stainless Steel

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Dec 18, 2012
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for mower decks. seems that many rust out before the engines give out. my aluminum toro seems to be holding up fine after 20 years . i would think if they made them of SS that would cure the rusting issue
 
Yes, more expensive and they generally assume the average owner isn't going to repair much so it'll last as long as the engine does. Granted, depends on what you spend an how old it is, some cheap decks today are thinner than they used to be.

You can get longer life out of a steel deck by spraying the underside with cooking spray (oil) before mowing if the grass has much moisture in it. That also makes cleaning it out easier, so you don't have wet grass sitting there, promoting rust. Push mowers, I'd just tilt them up (not enough to let oil leak out) and spray with a hose after mowing. If you want a cheaper alternative to cooking oil, use leftover old 2 cycle oil/gas mix but put a little more oil in it, and it'll still be thin enough to spray with a typical spray bottle. Do wait till the gas evaporates to run the engine, don't spray with a hot engine (odds of a problem are low but why rush it?).

If you've let it go for too long, you can do the same as any other rusty metal and wire brush it to a hard surface then rustoleum/etc enamel paint, but anything you do to keep water from soaking into crusty rusty metal is going to help.
 
I want to say there was a particular make/model made with a SS deck some years back. May have been a Sam's Club thing. I'd imagine it's a cost thing and they don't want to make them TOO good.
 
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^ Yes unquestionably better for rust resistance, but more expensive and heavier for same rigidity, so "better" depends on whether your deck really needs to outlast everything else or whether it's just more money tied up in a mower which after ~20 years (even drawing interest), could've been put towards a new replacement mower.

Too many factors to try to make a universal case one way or the other. It'd make more sense for a higher end mower, used in a very rainy climate.

I'd like to see stainless used more on unibody vehicle undercarriages, the floor pan, frame rail and wheel well housing strut support areas.
 
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Originally Posted by hallstevenson
$$$
This, plus weight. My 1998 JD JX75 has an aluminum deck and still weighs just over 100 lbs.
 
Originally Posted by WhyMe
....that would cure the rusting issue

Also, there is no rusting "issue" to the manufacturers though. Realize that the vast majority of mowers out there are sub-$200 models from Walmart and the big-box hardware stores (and in more recent years, sub-$150). There's no interest in making them that much better. Honda has a deck made out of a very durable "plastic" but they run $400+.
 
My brother still has the Murray mower our parents bought in 1958, and it still does its job, although the engine had to be replaced when it was only 9 years old. The deck (what's left of it) is steel.
 
Originally Posted by brages
Would stainless be better than aluminum?


Depends on the scenario you would be addressing
 
I always thought the plastic deck Honda mowers were kind of neat. But theyre heavy too!
 
Yeah, I've never had a gas mower last more than a couple years. Either they broke out of warranty or they got stolen...
 
Sams club was selling mowers with stainless decks and Honda engines a few years ago.
 
there are LOTS of various metals called stainless, look it up. hondas nexite polymer deck has a lifetime warranty + is only used on their HRX line with better everything. mines prolly 15 YO + only oil changes, spark plug + air filter + blades, the hydrostatic drive + dual blades are great
 
Originally Posted by Alfred_B
I don't think a lot of mowers get discarded due to rusted decks.

Alfred, I surmise you don't live in Hill, Rock, Gopher and Rust country.

When I called my local welding shop about my Kubota deck, he ran through all the options quickly and bored, like he was talking in his sleep. Did a superb job, too.

Your assumption would be correct in flat 1/4 acre suburban tracts.
 
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