Tips & Trivia

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Start it up every other week..

Did you know, that if you start your lawnmower up, and let it run for 5 minutes every other week during mowing season, that it will be less likely to have a carburetor clog?  Keeping the fuel moving through the carburetor, prevents fuel from building up deposits, that can break loose and go through the carburetor jets, clogging them up. 

 

 

Keep the blade sharp..

Keeping your lawnmower blade sharpened regularly, will result in a lawn that grows out more evenly.  It also cuts down on the amount of work, and wear, the lawnmower engine is subjected to if the blade is sharp.   When a lawnmower bogs down, the most likely cause is a dull blade.

 

 

Watch the oil level..

Keep an eye on the oil level.   Make sure it is up to the mark on the dipstick.  If it is too low, it will cause overheating, and could burn out the ignition coil, or cause wear on the piston rings.   If there is too much oil, it will cause the engine to build up too much oil pressure.   This will put a strain on the oil seals, and piston rings.  Oil is likely to seep through, and end up where it does not belong.  For instance, oil can seep past the piston because of the pressure, and come out of the exhaust, or the carburetor.   If it ends up in the carburetor, it would require a full carburetor cleaning, and air filter replacement.   A sure sign of too much oil, is an oil soaked air filter, or oil coming out of the exhaust.

 

 

The best way to store the lawn equipment..

The best thing to do before storing a lawnmower, or any motor, is to either drain the fuel out, and run the engine until it dies.  Or another suggestion is to not fill up the fuel tank all of the way, when it is getting close to the last time you will be mowing.  

This way, you can simply mow the lawn for the last time,  mow until the fuel is used up.  Then put the mower away.

It is now ready to be left in storage until Spring.  At this point, there is no fuel that can go bad in the carburetor, and clog anything up.  

Then when you get ready to use the mower again, just add fresh fuel. 

A can of starting fluid is handy to get things going since the carburetor will be empty from storage.  Just pull off the air filter, shoot a tiny squirt of starting fluid into the carburetor intake hole, and start it up.    You may have to use the starting fluid again, if the engine doesn't start up right away. 

Once the engine is running, the vacuum created, will draw the fuel into the carburetor again.

 

Which way to tip a lawnmower..

 

There are two ways to tip a lawnmower, that will not cause anything bad to happen.  Front of the engine up, or carburetor up. 

Never tip forward with the spark plug pointed down.  Or to the side with the carburetor down.   

If it is tipped forward, Oil will go toward the lowest point.  If it goes past the piston into the front of the head where the spark plug is, you will not be able to start the engine.   There will be oil on both sides of the piston, and this will not allow it to move.   It will require the combustion chamber to be completely cleaned, and all of the oil removed.  The spark plug will also need to be replaced.

If it is tipped to the side, with the carburetor down,  oil will run right into the carburetor, and clog up the jets, and depending on the type of carburetor, Oil could end up either in the float bowl where the fuel goes, or in the fuel tank, on the fuel tank mounted carburetors. 

This will require carburetor disassembly, and cleaning, to remove all of the oil.   On tank mounted carburetors, It will require a diaphragm replacement.  This is what pumps the fuel, on the tank mounted carburetors.