# A note to all lawn equipment owners...



## Country Boy (Mar 18, 2010)

I just wanted to post this in an effort to help out folks on this forum with their lawn and garden equipment. I work at a small engine shop when I am not farming, and I see so many cases where folks could save themselves a lot of time and money by just following a few simple guidelines. I hate having to charge someone to do a basic repair simply because they didn't follow the manufacturer's advice.


1) Due to the new blends of gasoline out there now, and due to the damage being caused by storing your lawn and garden equipment with fuel in it, all of our distributors have changed their storage recommendations for their equipment. Any equipment stored for more than 30 days should be drained of all gasoline and run until they run out of fuel (or just drain the carb). Warranty will *not* cover any damage done by fuel or dirt in the fuel system. The old adage of just using fuel stabilizer and storing them full of fuel no longer works. This lawn season alone I have had to drain and clean over 30 carburetors and fuel systems due to water in the gasoline. Any fuel with ethanol *will* attract moisture in the air and the ethanol will bond with that moisture and settle out of the fuel. The first fuel drawn in by your mower when you try to start it will be that mix of ethanol and water, and its unlikely it will be able to start. Today's gasoline has over 300 additives in it, and the blends are not designed with small engines in mind.

2) Do not use more than 10% ethanol blends in your engine or you will void your warranty, not to mention the damage you will do to the fuel system and the hard starting and running issues you will encounter. If you can get fuel with out ethanol, please do so. Most of our engine distributors have started recommending using premium (92 or 93 octane or whatever is the high test in your area) fuel as it seems to cause less problems with their engines. Its not required for warranty, just recommended. 

3) Keep your engines clean, and don't allow mouse nests, grass clippings or anything else build up around the engine and its cooling fins. With the current emissions standards for small engines, manufacturers have been running their engines as lean as possible to keep them in compliance with the EPA. Running lean means they tend to run hotter than years back, so any debris around the engine can amplify this heat and also is a serious fire hazard. I have had a few customers let their engines get so hot that they melted the plastic cam shaft in their engines. Many of the engine manufacturers are using poly components inside their engines, and those components can be damaged by excessive heat.

4) Please follow the manufacturer's recommended oil change intervals. Not changing your oil is a sure way to throw money away. It should be changed at least once every season, even if you don't have enough hours on the machine to meet the change guidelines. Oil builds up with acids, water, and other byproducts of combustion, along with metal shavings and other debris from inside the engine. The oil's job is threefold: lubrication, cooling, and cleaning. Oil does break down over time and it loses its lubricity and cleaning properties, even when the engine is not being used. This affects its ability to lubricate the engine, keep it cool, and clean the inside of the engine. Spending a couple bucks on a bottle or two of oil is cheap insurance for your engine. I have seen far too often mowers coming into the shop with oil as black as midnight or oil that is thicker than Karo Syrup. Those engines are well on their way to the scrap yard at that point. When changing oil, I like to run the engine at least a few minutes to warm up the oil for easier draining and to stir up the sludge on the bottom of the pan and get it back into suspension so it can be drained out of the engine.

5) As for blades on lawnmowers, keep them sharp and you will reduce the wear and tear on your equipment. Depending on the size of your lawn, you may need to sharpen them several times a year, but at least once a year is mandatory. A dull blade shreds your grass, needs a lot more power to mow with, burns excess fuel, and puts stress on the belts, bearings, and other items on your mower. If you notice that the tips of your grass are turning white a few days after mowing, then your blades are probably dull. That white area is the section that was shredded by your mower and is now damaged and dying. A sharp blade should not be razor sharp. At our shop, I sharpen the blades to a razor edge, then use a hand file to remove the burr at the edge and very slightly blunt the cutting edge (sharp, but not sharp enough to cut paper). That removes the thin metal at the edge that will roll over when mowing the first time, leaving the edge rounded and dull, which quickly dulls the blades. When I first started doing that, I cut the number of sharpenings needed by many of our customers in half. Also, do not bevel the bottom of the blade. A properly sharpened blade is flat on the bottom, and only has a bevel on the top. It should look like a sharp wood chisel. I like to use a hand file to remove any burrs on the bottom of the cutting edge and to flatten out the bottom of the blade. If the bottom edge is worn at the cutting edge, you need to sharpen the blade back until that worn area is gone and the bottom is true and flat again. Make sure you install the blades correctly when you put them back on. A number of machines come into the shop with the blades on upside down. It doesn't cut very good that way!  The bevel on the cutting edge should normally face up, and the "lift" at the back edge of the blade should point up.

6) Keep your tires properly inflated. Low tires can pop off the rim, and you get debris jammed between the rim and the tire, causing more leaks in the future. Running them low also damages the sidewalls of the tire. Mower cutting crooked? Try checking your tire pressures first. A tire can look fine when you walk around the mower, but when you sit on it, it can flatten out a bit, causing the deck to run uneven. Unless you have leaks in your tires, checking them once or twice a season should be fine.

If anyone else has something to add to this, feel free. I just want to help folks get the most out of their equipment and save them some cash. Here's to another great mowing season! :cheers: :tractorsm


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## jhngardner367 (Apr 5, 2011)

Hey,Country Boy,do you also get amazed at the number of people that tip the pushmower over,to clean it,and can't understand why it won't start?OR,the ones who think that small engine's oil capacity is QUARTS? I get a lot of that,in my shop.


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## dangeroustoys56 (Jul 26, 2010)

Good things to remember when getting the tractor ready for mowing season CB . 

It seems alot of people would rather pay alot of money then try to fix/maintain their machines - really its not that expensive if the mower is properly maintained and its reletively easy- specially at only once or twice a season.

Oil change is the top one for longevity - depending on condtions ( hot/dusty/ large yards) at least once a season is manditory - more if its used on larger yards .

Keeping the decks clean of wet grass or debris in general is best for keeping the deck rust free and also keeping deck components working properly - on average decks should be cleaned of built up grass underneath at least a couple times a season or more - itll impede blade movement and cause corrosion- also a good time to sharpen the blades/replace them if needed - wont hurt to check mandrel berings /idler wheels while at it either.

Every oil change the tractor should just be generally looked over, check for loose bolts, missing pins/springs . Check the steering for loose components , brakes for adjustment- belt condition - lil preventative maintence helps prevent bigger issues in the long run.


Air filters should be checked often or replaced when needed- tune ups ( fuel filter, spark plug ) should be done at regular intervals as well. Batteries and cables should be checked often as well . Dont neglect any grease fittings either - those should be greased regular too.

The whole tractor should be kept reletively clean- most debris tends to settle up underneath the chassis/dash/battery area - keeping these clean will help prevent possible electrical/mechanical issues. A really good time to clean it is when its put away for the season- then itll be clean and fresh the the next season.


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## Country Boy (Mar 18, 2010)

jhngardner367 said:


> Hey,Country Boy,do you also get amazed at the number of people that tip the pushmower over,to clean it,and can't understand why it won't start?OR,the ones who think that small engine's oil capacity is QUARTS? I get a lot of that,in my shop.


Yep. That too. Can't figure out why the mower runs like crap, only to find out that the oil is more than 2x as full as it should be. That whole warning about not overfilling the engine right there on the dipstick just doesn't seem to register sometimes. I can see an honest mistake of overfilling the engine when filling it, but it needs to be drained back to the full mark. The biggest problem I see regarding oil levels is engines coming in with little to no oil in the crankcase. You pull the dipstick and there's a single drop hanging on the end, wipe it off and recheck and even the drop is gone.


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## dangeroustoys56 (Jul 26, 2010)

Ive gotten a couple tractors like that - guy was like " was running fine then just died" - get it home and..... no oil. Were no holes in the block when the rod let loose either.


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## Thomas (Nov 1, 2006)

That's mighty nice of you to offer good/great advice CB.


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## wjjones (May 28, 2010)

Thankyou for the info Country Boy... it helps people that dont know to be more informed.. We need to sticky up some type of complete PM procedures info. For changing spark plugs, air filters, etc... these are things we do alot but some folks that are first timers it would be helpful...


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## FLIGI (Jun 23, 2011)

Good stuff!!! I agree we need more on maintenance, we all want our machines to run and last as long as possible.


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## farmertim (Dec 1, 2010)

A must read for all new and budding lawn tractor owners. and a refresher for old hands too.
thanks heaps Country Boy.
It should be mandatory reading for joining the garden tractor section of the forum.
Cheers:beer:
:aussie:


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## Country Boy (Mar 18, 2010)

If we do a sticky, we should add the info dangeroustoys added. I just put down what I could think of off the top of my head, and he added even more good info. Perhaps we could all get together and make up a how to list for lawn mower maintenance.


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