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How to Maintain a Lawn Mower?
Mowing a lawn wouldn’t mean that you only need to know how to use a lawn mowing machine but you need to have proper guidelines on how to take care of your mower to keep it running for years without it being much of a hassle for you each time you use it. If you fail to take care of your mower properly it would be a bunch of problems for you rather than being a lawn companion. Maintenance steps are quite simple and fast that you can do each time before and after using your mower. Taking out some time for maintenance would save you lots of costs and would give you stress-free mowing. Regular maintenance and inspection of this machine would prevent damage and wear and will give you extended lifetime performance.
Steps for Maintenance
A product’s user manual is designed to give you complete guidelines on how to effectively use and take care of it. The instructions are designed to have more than happy customers by offering them all the information that is in their best interest with the product. So make sure that you have read owner’s manual and have understood all instructions.
Before beginning maintenance, carry out a regular visual inspection to see if any dirt or debris is accumulated. If you find any, carefully get rid of it. Tighten all the nuts and bolts and check if any replacement is needed. Check and replace (if needed) any wiring connections. Inspect all the structural parts for rust and dirt.
Remove spark plug for inspection and keep it away from the head of the cylinder. The spark plug is one of the most important parts of effective functioning of your mower. It is not expensive and you can easily replace. To get an easy startup, we recommend you to change the spark plug each year. Just unhook the plug and remove it from the socket or wrench. Properly install a new one. Avoid to over tighten it as it may hinder the functioning of the mower.
Position and tip mower with care. Avoid tipping more as you may over saturate mower with fuel and it may be spilled. There exists a fuel line in most of the mowers between fuel tank and carburetor. It is best to clamp it tightly to prevent fuel from flowing through it.
- For 4 stroke mower, do not tip on the sides having a spark plug with the ground. These have crankcase vent and if they are tipped along with spark plug in an upward position, the oil will be seeped or poured into the filter or carburetor.
- For 2 stroke mower, turn the fuel tap off. You can tip the stroke in any manner that you find suitable until there is no fear of spillage of fuel from the tank.
- Most of the 4 stroke mower have float type carburetors in engines that have the tendency of leaking fuel if they are tipped in a particular way. They could pour fuel either in air filter or in the chamber of combustion if the valve to the chamber is open.
If needed change or sharpen the blade. To do this, remove the spark plug and put in a clean cotton string in the head of the cylinder to get the piston locked. With piston locked, you can carefully undo the bolts of the blade. If the mower blade is not sharp, it would not be able to cut grass evenly and would shred tips. These tips would turn brown and would make your lawn look dull and dry. These ragged ends can even cause health problems.
Check the air filter of the motor for maintenance. If the air filter is dirty or clogged with debris, it would affect the performance of the mower engine and would consume more fuel. Identify Clogged Filter:
- If you are finding mower difficult to start.
- If it is stopping quickly after a weak start.
- If you notice oily/smoky exhaustion.
Check if an oil change is needed. For 4 stroke engine model, you must change the oil once in a year. Remove the spark plug and oil fill plug and drain out all the oil in a container suitable for proper disposal or recycling of oil. Many of the new lawn mowers are designed with a drain plug.
Stale fuel is bad for your mower. This is proved to be a common cause when your mowers don’t startup after storage during the seasons of winter. Prevention:
- You can save yourself from this trouble by running your mower for around 5 minutes in 2-3 weeks during the winter season.
- Use gas that doesn’t have ethanol.
- Use a fuel stabilizer.
- Let the mower run for the discharge of gas tank until fuel is completely gone.
- Keep fuel tank empty.
- Dispose of stale oil and replace with fresh clean oil.
It is recommended that after each use, clean up your mower with a whisk broom or a quick brush with hands gloved. Make sure that you have completely turned the mower off and then reach the area under the deck for quick cleaning of grass lying on the blade and under the deck.
Conclusion
If you wish your lawn mower to work for you for years to come, you need to take special care of it. By special care we do not mean that you need to go for repair, servicing or maintenance to a mechanic each time but you can maintain it yourself with these basic maintenance tips that we have shared. Whether you own an expensive popular lawn mower or a basic low priced mower, both of these types desire some kind of maintenance. Neglecting your appliance would result in the death of your mower before time and some preventive maintenance could make it a lifetime mate.
