That is a FANTASTIC wagon, love it! :D One suggestion... if you are willing to play with the electronics... I would suggest adding a sensor so it knows if it is moving or not (could just be a magnet on one of the wheels with a detector), and if it doesn't move for more than a couple of seconds, it turns the motor down to zero so as not to overscrub when stationary, or waste the battery. Just an idea. Either way, that wagon is great, and I'm totally going to do something similar when I get to build my garden railway
Thank´s for your suggestion! Wasting battery is not a problem, with the makita battery it can run basically indefinet at least for my needs. On the other hand overscrubbing is a problem that can occur if you are not careful. After the first test which you can see in this video I changed the order of events - first start the loco, then start the cleaning wagon and then don´t stop as long as you can prevent it. That works good for me altough your idea would make it way easier to handle!
That is genius! Great work! For the washers, you could maybe use an old sowing machine system to make a boom that lowers the pads and you can select at which height you want it. Less work for different heights.
@StefsEngineering mentioned it but I wanted to explicitly point it out in case it helps. The large "steel wool" material you cut the smaller circle out of is sold in a lot of places under the brand name "Scotch-Brite" (first part pronounced like the whiskey and "bright" like "light" but with a burr) by 3M. They make a bunch of different sizes, types, and "grits". If you look at McMaster-Carr or Grainger you can get an idea of whats available and could probably use that to find something in your country. Keep up the great work!
Thank´s for your help! I will look it up and maybe try some different grits in the future. I have a lot to learn about this cleaning wagon since this was just the first try to use it.
@@summitrailway Scotch-Brite is a common item; I usually get rectangular pads at the supermarket for cheap. REALLY good for cleaning and polishing brass :D
Thanks for sharing! This should work fine. You can experiment with a couple more types of scotchbrite. These yellow wheels are very common on ebay and amazon. Usally you can buy the pre-cut sandpaper and scotchbrite pads in packs of 10 up to 250. I use the same stuff for other applications and can recommend to try the (dark) gray scotchbrite if you want to run it more frequent because it is a lot softer on the rails and should polish the top as well without te need of polishingcompounds (the white pad you had really only works with a cutting/polishing compound) or if you need something more agressive but not to the extreme as that piece of sandpaper, you can buy a couple "sponge" intermediate pads. Those allow you to use any fabric lined sandpaper. I have them from 100 up to 4000 grit by default and my guess is that for a first cleanup run 500grit should work great and for frequent "maintenance" runs one of the scotchbrite types. or maybe 1400-2000 grit paper for the heavy use areas.
If I would make one of these I think I would use a splined shaft and free floating sandingpad. That way you can be a lot more precise with the backpressure of your sanding medium. you can hear the motor bog down a couple times while moving over switches or with grade changes. The floating splined setup should eliminate that and make sure that everything gets an even treatment. But that is for another time ofcourse this should help you with 95% of the track!
Interesting idea, this might work even better. But to be honest I like the simplicity of the system and it works at least good enough for me. There will always be some manual labour around the switches to get them spot on but for cleaning the bulk milage of the layout it works perfectely.
@@summitrailway Totally understandable, I didn't mean it should be done in order for the method to work. Just sharing some thoughts :) the real/big railways also use seperate machinery around switches. Those LORAM grinders would destroy switches and other equipment
Exakt, das system funktioniert super. Einfach und effektiv! Vor allem fährt man nicht ständing mit der Lok auf stromlose stellen die widerum die Reinigung unterbrechen wie es bei der LGB Reinigungslok der Fall ist. Der Langzeittest steht noch aus aber bis jetzt bin ich sehr überzeugt von dem Wagen.
That was very interesting. I had wondered about the big problem cleaning tracks on a large scale. HO/OO have their cleaning wagons, but have much less to clean. The pad adjustment is a little fiddly. Something like a adjustable motor assembly would give more adjustbility as the pad gets worn. They are available on router tables now. Starting the cleaner when the sanding type disc is on will cause a little localised wear. If you could take some power from the loco, having pre set the disc speed you could switch the unit on as the loco starts to move off reducing any chance of spot wear. I think you could manage the loco switching without much problem as you seem pretty good at the electronics.
Good pointers, thank you! Track cleaning on a garden railroad is mandatory and very time consuming. You can do it by hand but is is far from easy and enjoyable since you have to clean several hundred meters of track once the layout ins finished. On top of that is the danger of damaging lights, signals and buildings whilst stepping around in your layout. A lot of those problems are solved by using such a track cleaning wagon or the LGB track cleaning locomotive. The hight adjustment seems fiddly at first but once you have the hight adjusted there is no need to change it anymore. I´d much rather have a simple and robust solution like this than a complex hight adjustment of the whole motor assembly. Your pointer about the localised wear is defenetely true. Thats another reason why I dont like to run the scrubbing pad. It really tears into the track if you are not moving. If you are using the scotch-brite or the polishing pad this is not an issue. You might see a spot where it is better cleaned than the rest of the track but it doesn´t damage the track unless you are running it a extended periond of time in one spot.
Great! It will save you quite some time. The trains will run smoothly. I would also avoid the scrubbing pad, it may create scratches on the rail where dirt and oxyde would buildup. Not sure that would be a win in the long run. Anybody having long term experience with the different pads?
I know a few guys with long term experience. One of them recommeded to use the scotch bright steel wool which I will do. You have seen the test yourself, it works the best but is not to agressive with the brass track.
Thank you, it is still work in progress so you might be interestet in checking out the next viedos. Right now I am working on light´s, buildings, signals and so on...
Thank you Anita. I will try to make a layout tour at least until the end of this year. Right now it is difficult because of time reasons, I want to stay focused on the layout build as long as the weather permits. Unfortunately I am gone nearly all week because of my day job...
not sure how well these work but but i found just replacing most of your rolling stock plastic wheels with metal wheels and just running them will do pretty good job keeping any oxidation down too
It helps for sure. I do have a friend who replaces all of his plastic wheels for metal ones because of that reason. It also gives you weight at a low center of gravity which improves the run characteristics of the wagon and it sounds much better when rolling on the layout. Right now I don´t have the money to change all of my plastic wheels but I try to run as much metal wheels as possible.
A classy way to get cleaning done! Presumably you could run it when you were running your trains recreationally to combine the cleaning and the 'play'?
Combining the cleaning with the "play" is not a good idea. You need to run the cleaning wagon slowly along the track to ensure a good cleaning. You can simulate a constrction train during your normal train operation and run it then. For me it will always be one loco and the cleaning wagon, thats the most efficient way to do it.
Great idea. But i don't use anything that scratches the track, i use a soft metal to polish the track. So if you have a battery powered loco without any power to the track you could use a metals on the disk. 😊😊
I use only brass track. I have no experience using nickel track, it sounds like it is easier to clean but you can´t scrub with anything otherwise the nickel coating will get damaged. It is more expensive as well. I also prefer the brass track because of the weathering effect after time, the nickel track stays shiny which I don´t like.
@@summitrailwayJust ordered soms flex track messing thiel! And 2 Piko r5 switches. Until now only used lgb so will see if it is “better”. Looking forward to the evolution of your gardenrailway!
To use a spiring you would have to re design the whole driving assembly but it would be possible. I am fine with the washer solution. Once it is adjusted I don´t need to fiddle wiht it anymore.
Great idea cleaning the track. I look forward to see you running trains on it. Also I would love to see a track plan. I know the station area and the goods area, but where do the tracks lead from those areas?
Thank´s! Currently I am spending a lot of my spare time to build the layout. There is not much time left to run some trains but I promise those times will come and you will get to see many trains on my layout! I don´t have a track plan, especially not of any area that has to be build yet. If you know the sation area and the goods area you know the whole layout up to this point in time. I know where my tracks will end in the future but I don´t know how I am going to get there. I can tell you for sure that there will be a second station and some track in between.
I love the hobby but despise cleaning the track, especially since i have a fairly large setup in the garden and it takes me days just to maintain it and run the trains for a couple of hours. Slowly looking in to converting all locos to battery power and be done with the problems with outside track power.
Track cleaning is a pain, you are totally right. You can build your layout to have a minimum amount of debris on the track. That is totally not what I have at my layout... I found by using a leave blower first I can save a lot of time. Then I am cleaning heavyer objects like sticks by hand and after that I use the track cleaning wagon. Battery power is no option for me personally since I am interchanging a lot of rolling stock with my friends, we all run the same system.
@@summitrailway for me debris is the easy part it's the actual build up on the track that is such a huge problem and time consuming, i do have a small loco from piko that is battery powered and such a game changer as no matter how dirty the track is, it will still run perfectly and runs for hours at a time.
This is beyond my measurement skills. Out of experience I can tell you that the oxidization is not the main porblem, it´s dust, dirt and other stuff ontop of the tracks which makes you lose the track power. If the oxidized track is clean of all this stuff you can run your trains no problem but I have to admit it looks just way better if it´s polished up.
@@summitrailway Thanks for the reply. You can use the ohms setting on your multi-meter . connect one end to the rail feed, then connect the other end to the (same rail) to the clean area and read then that same end to the dirty area. there should be a difference. Higher ohms is more resistance (oxidized ). Be sure that you don't get connected between two hot rails , you could damage your meter or blow the fuse in the meter
You can buy the wagon right here: www.der-gartenbahner.de/polier-schleifwagen Depending on the ad ons the price can vary a lot. It is cheaper than the lgb cleaning locomotive any day.
If you change the design of the drive assemly this would be a possible solution. But the washer system is not an issue once it´s adjusted since you don´t need to touch it anymore.
While watching this video, I searched for parts on Amazon. Found a motor controller, and lots of motor options. For about $30, I can get a motor and controller. I am considering a track sweeper.
The setup is just once, now that I have done it I can simply set it on the track and use it. The wagon is cheaper than the LGB cleaning loco, does a better job of cleaning and has no power issues due to the battery inside. When cleaning uphill the LGB loco tends to stop or lose traction. With the wagon I can choose an appropriate loco to push it uphill. Thats my take on the advantages of the cleaning wagon.
Not really, you have to understand that the cleaning device is manufactured by "der gartenbahner". You can find them right here... www.der-gartenbahner.de/polier-schleifwagen
Das ist auch eine Variante die zum teil funktionieren könnte. Ich persönlich habe mit der Stahlwolle meinen Vavoriten gefunden, das funktioniert super!
or you need to add jewelers rudge compound to the buffing wheel.... Sighs, people that know nothing about polishing and waxing.......................................
Since you run battery power locomotives I see no use for this other than polishing the top of your rails. If it is removing oxidation, it’s also removing a thin layer of track metal as well.
I do not own one single battery powered loco, they are all powered by the track. So it not only does make sense to clean the tracks, it is mandatory to be able to run the trains. It will slowly remove some of the track metal but so does the LGB track cleaning locomotive. My friends use the LGB loco extensively for the past 10 years on the same track and haven´t had a problem with track wear yet.
Yes it does leave some tiny resedue behind. The loco gear box and motor are usually enclosed pretty good so it won´t be a problem. Otherwise you would have problems all the time with dirt, sand, stone and all the other debry around the garden layout.
That is a FANTASTIC wagon, love it! :D
One suggestion... if you are willing to play with the electronics... I would suggest adding a sensor so it knows if it is moving or not (could just be a magnet on one of the wheels with a detector), and if it doesn't move for more than a couple of seconds, it turns the motor down to zero so as not to overscrub when stationary, or waste the battery.
Just an idea. Either way, that wagon is great, and I'm totally going to do something similar when I get to build my garden railway
Thank´s for your suggestion! Wasting battery is not a problem, with the makita battery it can run basically indefinet at least for my needs. On the other hand overscrubbing is a problem that can occur if you are not careful. After the first test which you can see in this video I changed the order of events - first start the loco, then start the cleaning wagon and then don´t stop as long as you can prevent it. That works good for me altough your idea would make it way easier to handle!
That is genius! Great work! For the washers, you could maybe use an old sowing machine system to make a boom that lowers the pads and you can select at which height you want it. Less work for different heights.
That might work but it is not necessary in my opinion. Now that I have done the setup I won´t need to touch the height adjustment anymore.
@@summitrailway That is true, you deffo did an amazing job!
@StefsEngineering mentioned it but I wanted to explicitly point it out in case it helps. The large "steel wool" material you cut the smaller circle out of is sold in a lot of places under the brand name "Scotch-Brite" (first part pronounced like the whiskey and "bright" like "light" but with a burr) by 3M. They make a bunch of different sizes, types, and "grits". If you look at McMaster-Carr or Grainger you can get an idea of whats available and could probably use that to find something in your country. Keep up the great work!
Thank´s for your help! I will look it up and maybe try some different grits in the future. I have a lot to learn about this cleaning wagon since this was just the first try to use it.
@@summitrailway Pretty dang good for a first time!
@@summitrailway Scotch-Brite is a common item; I usually get rectangular pads at the supermarket for cheap.
REALLY good for cleaning and polishing brass :D
Thanks for sharing! This should work fine. You can experiment with a couple more types of scotchbrite. These yellow wheels are very common on ebay and amazon. Usally you can buy the pre-cut sandpaper and scotchbrite pads in packs of 10 up to 250.
I use the same stuff for other applications and can recommend to try the (dark) gray scotchbrite if you want to run it more frequent because it is a lot softer on the rails and should polish the top as well without te need of polishingcompounds (the white pad you had really only works with a cutting/polishing compound) or if you need something more agressive but not to the extreme as that piece of sandpaper, you can buy a couple "sponge" intermediate pads. Those allow you to use any fabric lined sandpaper. I have them from 100 up to 4000 grit by default and my guess is that for a first cleanup run 500grit should work great and for frequent "maintenance" runs one of the scotchbrite types. or maybe 1400-2000 grit paper for the heavy use areas.
If I would make one of these I think I would use a splined shaft and free floating sandingpad. That way you can be a lot more precise with the backpressure of your sanding medium. you can hear the motor bog down a couple times while moving over switches or with grade changes. The floating splined setup should eliminate that and make sure that everything gets an even treatment. But that is for another time ofcourse this should help you with 95% of the track!
Thank´s for all your information. At my job we do have the black scotch bright, I will bring some home and try it out.
Interesting idea, this might work even better. But to be honest I like the simplicity of the system and it works at least good enough for me. There will always be some manual labour around the switches to get them spot on but for cleaning the bulk milage of the layout it works perfectely.
@@summitrailway Totally understandable, I didn't mean it should be done in order for the method to work. Just sharing some thoughts :) the real/big railways also use seperate machinery around switches. Those LORAM grinders would destroy switches and other equipment
Great video. You can find those pads on places that sell woodworking tools and automotive supplies.Enjoy your videos.
Thank´s for your advice, I will look into that. Glad you´re enjoying my videos!
Sehr geil. Durch das Akku ist der schön schwer, damit der Schwamm schön sauber macht.
Exakt, das system funktioniert super. Einfach und effektiv! Vor allem fährt man nicht ständing mit der Lok auf stromlose stellen die widerum die Reinigung unterbrechen wie es bei der LGB Reinigungslok der Fall ist. Der Langzeittest steht noch aus aber bis jetzt bin ich sehr überzeugt von dem Wagen.
That was very interesting. I had wondered about the big problem cleaning tracks on a large scale. HO/OO have their cleaning wagons, but have much less to clean.
The pad adjustment is a little fiddly. Something like a adjustable motor assembly would give more adjustbility as the pad gets worn. They are available on router tables now.
Starting the cleaner when the sanding type disc is on will cause a little localised wear. If you could take some power from the loco, having pre set the disc speed you could switch the unit on as the loco starts to move off reducing any chance of spot wear. I think you could manage the loco switching without much problem as you seem pretty good at the electronics.
Good pointers, thank you! Track cleaning on a garden railroad is mandatory and very time consuming. You can do it by hand but is is far from easy and enjoyable since you have to clean several hundred meters of track once the layout ins finished. On top of that is the danger of damaging lights, signals and buildings whilst stepping around in your layout. A lot of those problems are solved by using such a track cleaning wagon or the LGB track cleaning locomotive. The hight adjustment seems fiddly at first but once you have the hight adjusted there is no need to change it anymore. I´d much rather have a simple and robust solution like this than a complex hight adjustment of the whole motor assembly. Your pointer about the localised wear is defenetely true. Thats another reason why I dont like to run the scrubbing pad. It really tears into the track if you are not moving. If you are using the scotch-brite or the polishing pad this is not an issue. You might see a spot where it is better cleaned than the rest of the track but it doesn´t damage the track unless you are running it a extended periond of time in one spot.
Great! It will save you quite some time. The trains will run smoothly. I would also avoid the scrubbing pad, it may create scratches on the rail where dirt and oxyde would buildup. Not sure that would be a win in the long run. Anybody having long term experience with the different pads?
I know a few guys with long term experience. One of them recommeded to use the scotch bright steel wool which I will do. You have seen the test yourself, it works the best but is not to agressive with the brass track.
Hello, love the railroad!
Thank you, it is still work in progress so you might be interestet in checking out the next viedos. Right now I am working on light´s, buildings, signals and so on...
smart idea love it
I am glad you like the wagon, it is a hughe help around the layout!
Good idea Robert. Could be possible for a layout tour please and thank you x
Thank you Anita. I will try to make a layout tour at least until the end of this year. Right now it is difficult because of time reasons, I want to stay focused on the layout build as long as the weather permits. Unfortunately I am gone nearly all week because of my day job...
Thanks for sharing. Looks really nice. Good investment.
Oh for sure! It will save me so much time and effort. That results in more time running my trains!
not sure how well these work but but i found just replacing most of your rolling stock plastic wheels with metal wheels and just running them will do pretty good job keeping any oxidation down too
It helps for sure. I do have a friend who replaces all of his plastic wheels for metal ones because of that reason. It also gives you weight at a low center of gravity which improves the run characteristics of the wagon and it sounds much better when rolling on the layout. Right now I don´t have the money to change all of my plastic wheels but I try to run as much metal wheels as possible.
Great work as always 👍👍
Thank´s, I am glad you´re enjoying it!
A classy way to get cleaning done! Presumably you could run it when you were running your trains recreationally to combine the cleaning and the 'play'?
Combining the cleaning with the "play" is not a good idea. You need to run the cleaning wagon slowly along the track to ensure a good cleaning. You can simulate a constrction train during your normal train operation and run it then. For me it will always be one loco and the cleaning wagon, thats the most efficient way to do it.
Great idea. But i don't use anything that scratches the track, i use a soft metal to polish the track. So if you have a battery powered loco without any power to the track you could use a metals on the disk. 😊😊
I do konw of the fear to scratch the track surface. I never had any problem using scotch bright or some track cleaning sponge personally...
Nice way to clean the tracks. I read you use theil track. Do you use mostly nickel or messing track?
I use only brass track. I have no experience using nickel track, it sounds like it is easier to clean but you can´t scrub with anything otherwise the nickel coating will get damaged. It is more expensive as well. I also prefer the brass track because of the weathering effect after time, the nickel track stays shiny which I don´t like.
@@summitrailwayJust ordered soms flex track messing thiel! And 2 Piko r5 switches. Until now only used lgb so will see if it is “better”. Looking forward to the evolution of your gardenrailway!
You can use spring on the bottom.
To use a spiring you would have to re design the whole driving assembly but it would be possible. I am fine with the washer solution. Once it is adjusted I don´t need to fiddle wiht it anymore.
Great idea cleaning the track.
I look forward to see you running trains on it.
Also I would love to see a track plan. I know the station area and the goods area, but where do the tracks lead from those areas?
Thank´s! Currently I am spending a lot of my spare time to build the layout. There is not much time left to run some trains but I promise those times will come and you will get to see many trains on my layout! I don´t have a track plan, especially not of any area that has to be build yet. If you know the sation area and the goods area you know the whole layout up to this point in time. I know where my tracks will end in the future but I don´t know how I am going to get there. I can tell you for sure that there will be a second station and some track in between.
I love the hobby but despise cleaning the track, especially since i have a fairly large setup in the garden and it takes me days just to maintain it and run the trains for a couple of hours.
Slowly looking in to converting all locos to battery power and be done with the problems with outside track power.
Track cleaning is a pain, you are totally right. You can build your layout to have a minimum amount of debris on the track. That is totally not what I have at my layout... I found by using a leave blower first I can save a lot of time. Then I am cleaning heavyer objects like sticks by hand and after that I use the track cleaning wagon. Battery power is no option for me personally since I am interchanging a lot of rolling stock with my friends, we all run the same system.
@@summitrailway for me debris is the easy part it's the actual build up on the track that is such a huge problem and time consuming, i do have a small loco from piko that is battery powered and such a game changer as no matter how dirty the track is, it will still run perfectly and runs for hours at a time.
It would be interesting to check the resistance between the rails on the cleaned area vs. the oxidized area.
This is beyond my measurement skills. Out of experience I can tell you that the oxidization is not the main porblem, it´s dust, dirt and other stuff ontop of the tracks which makes you lose the track power. If the oxidized track is clean of all this stuff you can run your trains no problem but I have to admit it looks just way better if it´s polished up.
@@summitrailway Thanks for the reply. You can use the ohms setting on your multi-meter . connect one end to the rail feed, then connect the other end to the (same rail) to the clean area and read then that same end to the dirty area. there should be a difference. Higher ohms is more resistance (oxidized ). Be sure that you don't get connected between two hot rails , you could damage your meter or blow the fuse in the meter
Hi where did u buy the cleaning wagon n how much was it please great railway .
You can buy the wagon right here:
www.der-gartenbahner.de/polier-schleifwagen
Depending on the ad ons the price can vary a lot. It is cheaper than the lgb cleaning locomotive any day.
@@summitrailway thanks for the info
nice job
Thank you!
Very cool
Thank´s!
Would setting up the pressure on the pad with an appropriate weak spring work better than than the washers?
If you change the design of the drive assemly this would be a possible solution. But the washer system is not an issue once it´s adjusted since you don´t need to touch it anymore.
While watching this video, I searched for parts on Amazon. Found a motor controller, and lots of motor options. For about $30, I can get a motor and controller. I am considering a track sweeper.
If you have the abilitys and tools you can build such a unit yourself. The parts should be available pretty easy. Good luck with you build!
3m makes some scotch Brite pads that are about that same diameter. And attach the same way like velcro .
Good to know, thank´s for your tip!
Super umgesetzt.... Sehr interessant
Klasse, schön das es dir gefällt!
This is nice wagon🚃
Very helpful for sure!
Dieser Reinigungswagen ist ausgezeichnet. Hast du es gemacht oder handelt es sich um ein kommerzielles Modell?
Der Wagen ist gekauft, du findest ihn hier ... www.der-gartenbahner.de/polier-schleifwagen
Could you please tell me Where did you buy the cleaner from and what was the cost
You can buy the cleaning unit here:
www.der-gartenbahner.de/polier-schleifwagen
The price varies according to the optional equipment you choose.
Its alright but seems more of a hassle to setup than buying the lgb cleaning train?
The setup is just once, now that I have done it I can simply set it on the track and use it. The wagon is cheaper than the LGB cleaning loco, does a better job of cleaning and has no power issues due to the battery inside. When cleaning uphill the LGB loco tends to stop or lose traction. With the wagon I can choose an appropriate loco to push it uphill. Thats my take on the advantages of the cleaning wagon.
Is this commercially available?
Yes it is, look here...
www.der-gartenbahner.de/polier-schleifwagen
Could you please Share What parts you Need to build This thing? Thank you
Not really, you have to understand that the cleaning device is manufactured by "der gartenbahner". You can find them right here... www.der-gartenbahner.de/polier-schleifwagen
Hello, is that a Piko locomotive?
The wagon itself is form Piko. The Cleaning device is retrofitted.
@@summitrailway I was asking about the red and white engine.
👌👏🤓
Thank´s!
Is this selfmade or can you buy it?
I think he bought it: It looks like a der-gartenbahner product
You can buy this cleaning set up here:
www.der-gartenbahner.de/polier-schleifwagen
That´s right, your spot on!
Probier ein Gewinde in einer Handbürste oder Spülbürste, die ist nicht aggressiv zu Metall.
Das ist auch eine Variante die zum teil funktionieren könnte. Ich persönlich habe mit der Stahlwolle meinen Vavoriten gefunden, das funktioniert super!
or you need to add jewelers rudge compound to the buffing wheel.... Sighs, people that know nothing about polishing and waxing.......................................
Another good idea, thank you!
Since you run battery power locomotives I see no use for this other than polishing the top of your rails. If it is removing oxidation, it’s also removing a thin layer of track metal as well.
Does the Scotch wool pad leave tiny bits of wool around the track? If so will those tiny bits get into your motors on the locamotives.
I do not own one single battery powered loco, they are all powered by the track. So it not only does make sense to clean the tracks, it is mandatory to be able to run the trains. It will slowly remove some of the track metal but so does the LGB track cleaning locomotive. My friends use the LGB loco extensively for the past 10 years on the same track and haven´t had a problem with track wear yet.
Yes it does leave some tiny resedue behind. The loco gear box and motor are usually enclosed pretty good so it won´t be a problem. Otherwise you would have problems all the time with dirt, sand, stone and all the other debry around the garden layout.