I mow in very dusty conditions. I find that the front casters regularly lock up and need to be spun and lubricated to free them. ( I use WD 40) Looking for tips to keep them loose. They lock up more frquently than I need to “de-glaze” the cutting discs. (which also cake up with dirt sometimes rendering the blades locked sideways and useless. I have 3 sets of discs. I leave them soaking ina bucket of water and then brush them off with a toothbrish as I change the discs every other day during mower maintenance.
You might try some ceramic coating on everything underneath, including the discs. There’s also some dry spray. I forget what it’s called but it’s supposed to help keep everything from sticking.
Have you tried just leaf blowing underneath after each cut? Potentially just a garden hose wash down too. I’ve had pretty good luck cleaning with both.
For the casters in the desert, you want a dry lubricant.
Dawn dish soap to fully degrease the casters. Give the dust nothing to stick to.
then, either graphite (easy to find, so-so results),
or I’d really want to try a paraffin wax (spray on, work it into everything while the solvent flashes off, durable results). The paraffin dries hard and slick. I’ve not used this on the M1’s casters, but have in other applications with good results. You will still need to maintain it, but I’m curious if it helps to shed the dust instead of collecting it. The trick will be “no grease for dust to stick to”.
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WD40 definitely collects dust and dirt (that’s one of the reasons they say don’t use it on hinges). Like Steve said - dry lube is best when wanting to avoid buildup. FWIW while my mowing conditions are a lot different I’ve had good luck on other dirt prone things using dry moly lube. Also supposed to be harmless on most plastics and metals.
WD40 also makes a dry lube product, but I have no first hand experience with it.
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Just to be clear, WD-40 is a water displacement compound, not a lubricant. If you are into biking, you might have heard the rule applied to chain lube, when it’s dry, use dry lube, when it’s wet, use the wet stuff. There are a lot of good lubes out there for bearings…any of them should do just fine.
I do like having extra sets of disks, the last one soaking for cleaning. I think I’ll copy your technique…at least until we get a heavy duty blade set!
Tim
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I live in high desert, so we get pretty dry conditions as well. I wouldn’t use WD-40, as others said, it tend to attract dust. I’ve had pretty good luck with a product you can get a Home Depot call Blaster, Silicone Lubricant Spray. It seems to do a pretty good job of keeping the dust away
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Does anyone have experience with omnidirectional casters? Any thoughts on whether they would not lock up in the dust? Or would they have the same issue?
Do they lock up at the swivel or the roll? I’m curious what to watch for….
Mine lock at the swivel. I have not had any issues with the bearings on roll. When the swivel locks, it has a much harder time turning which leads to the tracks digging in. I saw omni wheels on the Lymow and wonder if that is a better solution.
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In my conversations with one new lymow owners about them, he doesn’t think they are going to hold up well. I’ve heard they are problematic on other mowers too. I have no experience with this and it’s completely hearsay, but since no one was replying, thought I’d share.
Thanks for the feedback. I guess I have to wait for more people to experience this issue and use the brands with omni wheels. I will start to look for a replacement caster that has a looser swivel tolerance to see if I can address my specific issue. Maybe this is getting addressed in the pro version. Fingers crossed.
Check this link out.
I did have them lock up twice. Cleaned them with WD40. Waited for them to dry and then added SuperLube (like on the tracks). Did not reoccur, yet. About 3 weeks since last jam… If others confirm, it might be added to the maintenance schedule to grease them at lease once per n months? (let’s see if once in a season is enough).
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I just replaced my casters with ULine caster (Standard Rubber Caster - Swivel, 5 x 1 1/4"
H-5538S). Which fit perfectly on my m1 mower. They shipped the same day I ordered them.
Good luck.
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