Lawn mowers....my nemesis!

[Mom3girls]

We have had our lawn mower for 18 YEARS and this spring we purchased a new one only because the front wheel kept falling off this past year and it was driving my hubby crazy. Sure the bag that collected the grass had a small tear in it but it was nothing that a little duct tape couldn't hold. It had a briggs and stratton motor, that I know. Hope this new one lasts half as long!!!

 

[DrCavin]

How old is the gas you filled it up with? If it was left over from last year that maybe your problem....

 

[manning]

Well, mine is about 11 years old and when I took it out yesterday, it will not even turn over. I prime it, pull the string and.......nothing. It doesn't even try. I did not put in new gas at first, but once it didn't start, I drained the old out and put new in with stabilizer, but no luck. Any ideas? I have never done anything to it except for add oil and gas when it needed it.

Marsha

Carb may need to be cleaned. I always put stabilizer in the gas when I fill up the can. At the end of the season I let the mower run until all the gas is used up.

Anyone own a new toro self-propelled? How are they?

 

[torinsmom]

Carb may need to be cleaned. I always put stabilizer in the gas when I fill up the can. At the end of the season I let the mower run until all the gas is used up.

Anyone own a new toro self-propelled? How are they?

How do you clean the carb? And how do you check the spark plug?

Marsha

 

[manning]

How do you clean the carb? And how do you check the spark plug?

Marsha

Spark plug---- check the owner's manual it will have the sparkplug number and gap. You will need a gapper.

Here is how to gap a plug

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk70oyUEftY


Carb---that I take to the repair shop.


Here is how to do it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pw7tlsEMn2c

 

[aprilgail2]

My last lawnmower broke about 11 years ago when I was pregnant with my daughter. I have the best solution yet for that- I hired a landscaper! Every week like clockwork here they are cutting my lawn, edging and cleaning up....can't beat it LOL. Not long after I did that little by little my neighbors joined in and now the guy I hired to do my lawn does the 2 houses right next to me and the 3 across the street- so in one stop he has 6 houses! Once they asked me what I paid they saw it really wasn't worth it to keep doing it themselves and taking time away from the weekends or weeknights mowing!

 

[Mom3girls]

We have had our lawn mower for 18 YEARS and this spring we purchased a new one only because the front wheel kept falling off this past year and it was driving my hubby crazy. Sure the bag that collected the grass had a small tear in it but it was nothing that a little duct tape couldn't hold. It had a briggs and stratton motor, that I know. Hope this new one lasts half as long!!!

Well, I thought I'd fill you in...Hubby cut the grass for the first time with his brand new mower and 2 minutes in the self propel stopped working and about half hour later the belt popped off!!! Needless to say, he's steaming hot!!! After cutting the grass he cleaned it up and is taking it back!! He bought it at Sears and I convinced him to purchase the extended warranty, so we will see what happens...

 

[JR6ooo4]

get a can of starting fluid. be careful, it is very explosive.

take the air filter off, spray a tiny bit into the carb and try to start it. try a couple times, with a tiny bit more starter fluid each time.

you usually won't need to check the gap on the spark plug unless the electrical system is weak. what you want to check is that it must be dry. If you prime to much gas, and flood the engine (remember that phrase from the old days) the plug will be all wet. which will cause the spark to fail.

dry the plug, crank the engine once ore twice to blow out the excessive gas. then reinstall the plug and try again.

do not crank the engine while holding the plug (with the wire on). it will make your hair stand up!!!!!!!!

Mikeeee

 

[disneymomofmyca]

We just shelled out 3600.00 for a new rider mower last night...that is like 2 WDW trips for my DD and I This one better last longer than the rest have! We were going through at least one a year...maybe 2!~ We have 7 acres to mow so it can be tough on the mower...but still...these things aren't cheap!

 

[amez]

when my husband and I first got married we bought a year end push mower from Sears-it was maybe $150. We have had it for 15 years now and don't do a thing to it. For ten years it was the only thing we used to mow our yard. For a few years my dh said maybe he should winterize it, but each spring it started up fine so he just let it go. Now we have several acres to mow so I only get out the push mower a couple of times in the season to mow around the house, each year I think "this will be the year it won't start." I haven't gotten it out yet this year, so we'll see.

 

[DawnCt1]

How come I have to buy a lawn mower every year? I buy the self propelled, key start ones, cover them up, clean them off, treat them very well and for some reason they refuse to start!

Now, I am single with no one available to help me with this kind of stuff but I do have google and am handy with tools... I had treated the gas and at the end of the season drained it, put it away, said a goodnight story and he is refusing to work with me.

I took it apart, cleaned the lines, cleaned the fuel thing at the bottom of the other thing (has pin holes that squirt gas) and it now starts for a second and stops. New air filter, oil, and everything else I can think of......

I am going to Lowe's to buy another one - against my will as I have to dip into my savings.... UGH!

Anyone else have lawn mowers as their nemesis?

I could write a BOOK on lawn mowers. I have gone through supposedly THREE of the best lawn mowers; Honda! The motor doesn't quit but I have killed three self propelled transmissions. I refused to buy another Honda because by the time you get the clutch brake, etc, with tax its about $800.

In the fall of 2008 I bought a self propelled Toro for half the price. Works well...until yesterday. Thick grass and then it stalls never to start again. Toro is guaranteed to start for 3 years. I took it to a repair shop today and they said that if its the $3.00 fly wheel that takes an hour to fix, it won't be covered if it sheared in thick grass. They can't look at it for two weeks. I told them that if they want to be sexist and adopt a "ladies first" policy and give me preferential treatment by putting me ahead of the line, I promise not to be offended".

Maybe you could use this link. I plan on getting back $35 from the lawn mowers that I still have. https://lawnmowerclass.com/

 

[Kies99]

I'm using the same Honda HRA-214 that i've used since high school! It's between 20-25 years old. In the past 10 years I've changed the spark plug once and the filter once. I've not sharpened the blade nor done anything "special" to prepare it for winter. I just drain the gas (leave the oil in) and park it in my rubbermaid shed out back. I've never had a problem with it. Still using the original bag with no repairs as well.

Every Spring it starts on the first or second pull and only smokes for about 5-10 seconds and then it runs smoothly. After it warms up and after the 1st cut, it starts on the first pull every time. So easy that my 7yo can pull it and start it.

Guess I got lucky with this one.

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

I do not do a thing as well. Sometimes I don't even drain the gas.
My last mower that I just got rid of Brigs and Straton I got rid of becasue the actual body cracked so the blade would rub against the side of the mower. I actually took off the engine becasue I bought same brand mower which has a smaller engine, I haven't swapped it yet. I think it really depends where you are need to winterize. Im in NY and I really don't think you need to do anything my garage is not heated or attached to the house.

 

[mrodgers]

I bought my push mower in 1997 when I got married for $99. We didn't have much to mow, but both my wife and I used it.

We were living in a mobile home at the time and my wife parked the mower at the corner of the home. It was left there and forgotten about as winter came. Through winter, I at one point went out in the yard to the back corner and I found the lawn mower completely encased in ice. It was sitting directly below the gutter which did not have a downspout. The water just ran out of the end of the gutter, and obviously right on top of the mower.

I drained the gas tank out and changed the oil the following spring (after all the ice encasing it thawed which took much longer than the snow in the yard, LOL.) It fired right up and we used it one more summer at that place.

In 2000, we bought a house with 2 acres. We bought a tractor and only used that old push mower to mow around the trees and trim (lots of apple and peach trees.) Since that spring after it was encased in ice in 1999 (I think it was) I had never touched the mower. Same spark plug. Same oil in it.

Just this past weekend, my wife dug that old mower out of the shed, put gas in it and tried to start it. She could never start it on the first try in the spring. Me? Every spring it fires right up on 2 pulls. 13 years old on the original sparkplug and 10 years on the oil change, after getting completely frozen up in a block of ice, and it still starts right up for me on 2 pulls in the spring.

FYI, it's a Murry with a 3.5hp Briggs basic 22 inch cut. No self propelled, no bagger, nothing. Bought at Montgomery Wards before they closed down for $99.