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Re: (ET) Mower Musings and Fluid Film



It had pretty good reviews at Amazon (I suppose a few of the reviews are actually real).
Kind of pricey at $14 for a 11oz spray can, but it looks like people are using it for just about everything, including battery posts.
I ordered a can just out of curiosity.  
Rod


From: "Konstanty, Walter (GE Energy Management)" <Walter Konstanty ge com>
To: "noaddress drmm net" <noaddress drmm net>; "elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu" <elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu>
Sent: Thursday, June 20, 2013 1:35 PM
Subject: Re: (ET) Mower Musings

David,
  A mechanic friend of mine turned me on to "Fluid Film" rust preventative..... he uses it on cars and it is a "natural" product like WD-40.  It was developed during WWII to protect ship steel from rusting along with guns, etc.... it's a wax based substance and actually gets absorbed into the metal.  It's also non-conductive and can be used on electronics.  Almost too good to be true but it works.

http://www.fluid-film.com/

  As far as changing bearings, be careful and you can do it.  Be careful pulling the rotor out.  I changed some on a small motor last night and cut the inner race off with a cutting wheel so I didn't wreck the commutator.  No problem.

...Walt

-----Original Message-----
From: David Roden [mailto:etpost drmm net]
Sent: Thursday, June 20, 2013 1:13 PM
To: elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu
Subject: (ET) Mower Musings

One of the mower motors on my Avco R36 rider has gotten noisy, so it's time for a refurb.  I've pulled the deck and torn it down.  Two questions come to mind.

QUESTION 1: mower motors.  I've successfully changed lower bearings in mower motors before, but I remember that for some reason I failed with the upper bearings.  I don't recall why (it was at least 10 years ago).  I don't own a press.  Anyone have any upper-bearing-changing tips?

I'm also concerned about the potential for breaking a magnet.  These motors are a different size from any I've seen used in front-deck ETs, so they're probably more scarce.  How much risk is there?

Should I be cautious and instead take the motors to a shop?  I had the drive motor bearings changed by a local auto electric shop a while back and they seemed to do an OK job, thoiugh it was a tad pricey, and they used some bearing brand I'd never heard of.

Further comments?  Thoughts?

QUESTION 2: Last time I had this deck apart, I ground the rust off and hit it with an etchant, then painted with "appliance epoxy."  That was a bust. 
Rust remained in pits and the rust soon pushed right through the paint.

Last time I did a (different) mower deck, I had it sandblasted.  I sprayed the top with rattle-can enamel, then used two-part primer and topcoat on the underside.  (You have to be careful and work outside with a box fan - the fumes are deadly!) 

That seemed to stand up better, but in truth I'm not sure.  I almost never use the front mower any more (I like the Avco rider better for mowing), so it hasn't had a real test.

Over the years I've read some other ideas on this list - POR-15, I think powder-coating (someone at work suggested that too), and even galvanizing. 

Has anyone tried powder-coating a well-worn mower deck?  How well did it stand up?

I know we have some POR-15 advocates here.  I've never used it, but just about fainted at the price.  Some say you can brush it right over rust, but I really want this deck sandblasted.  Would it be pointless to use POR-15 on clean metal?  Does it need a primer on clean metal?

What about POR-15 over powder coating?  Something else?

And - is POR-15 really all that durable?  Will it last for, say, 5-10 seasons of mowing? 

It's also nice if it's not too sticky and the grass is easy to scrape off (I use a plastic windshield scraper).

What's worked LONG TERM for you for protecting mower decks?

Thanks.


David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA

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