Sharp blades are key to a nice cut and healthy grass 
Mowers are ready!!!
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Senior User
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 164
Likes: 0
From: Indianapolis
Mowers are ready!!!
Just finished getting my mowers ready for the summer. Took 7 hours--I'm old and slow. Cleaned and gapped the plugs (only replace every other year), changed the oil, cleaned the filters, sharpened the blades, cleaned the crud off the bottoms, etc., etc. Only have an acre, but it seems a lot bigger in the summer when it's 90 degrees. I have a 3.75 hp 22" push mower I bought in 1992 from Central Hardware before they went bankrupt. I have a 4 hp 22" push mower I bought from Lowes 6 years ago. And I have a 12.5 hp Sears-Craftsman rider that my father gave to me in 1997 (I gave him a car and he felt bad and wanted to return the favor). I know at least 50% of my neighbors just call the lawn company and fork out $30-$40 a week, but I wonder if the other neighbors do any maintenance on their lawn equipment? Am I the only one left that does all the grungie work?????
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,689
Likes: 29
no, i maintain my equipment and lawn myself. Im 26, and only have a 6.5hp push mower. I change the oil in it once a season, clean up the outside of the carb, and sharpen the blade regularly. Im sure other do this too, but i do get made fun of for changing the oil in the push mower. Sadly the "Hank Hill" types these days are few and far between. Can you imagine what kind of shape this country would be if everyone was more like this? Gosh, crime rates lower, quality of products higher...it could be great.
Postmaster
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 4,155
Likes: 0
From: Southern Louisiana
I just change the oil, air filter, and spark plug in my $100 Wal-Mart special that I have had for 3 years and dosent look like it will last the rest of this summer. I am thinking of just buying a weed wacker and do the whole yard with it, it only takes 5 minutes to cut my grass with my push mower, and I can trim with a weed wacker. Hmmmm, something to think about.
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Posting Guru
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 1,651
Likes: 0
From: Maine
As my username may suggest, I have a '69 John Deere 112 lawn tractor. (Actually, I have two now.) I do all the repairs on it, but haven't had a chance to do anything to it this spring. It's going to take more than just cleaning the plug and sharpening the blade, though- toward the end of last season, it stopped charging. Jump-starting it off the car gets old pretty fast. It has no brakes, either, but I don't consider that to be a problem...
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Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 18,488
Likes: 22
From: The Big, Oregon
I work at a rental company, so on a weekly basis I change the oil in maybe four or five mowers (almost every time they go out), sharpen two or three blades, replace a couple others, and change the plugs when they get hard to start.
On my own stuff: I never changed the oil in my old pushmower, did three lawns from April to October, then I accidentally left it at a garage I was renting. I still miss it.
On my own stuff: I never changed the oil in my old pushmower, did three lawns from April to October, then I accidentally left it at a garage I was renting. I still miss it.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,413
Likes: 14
From: cape may county NJ
Well Im in the lawn equipment repair field and just starting to get busy,every year its the same old thing everybody waits until the grass is growing and then decide to bring their mowers in all at once and in there mind they think its early,but the smart ones bring me there equipment in the winter and don't have to wait 2-3 weeks to get there mowers fixed,but sometimes they have to wait to get there stuff repaired because they lend there equipment to the guy across the street who was to lazy to bring his things in early for service and they destroy it.
Elder User
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 871
Likes: 0
From: Perkasie, Pa.
Just yanked them all out of the Garage yesterday. Changed the oil, changed air filters, Sharpened blades, changed plugs and scraped the decks. I have an Exmark 60" lazer Z rider, Scag 48" walk behind, Lawnboy 22" push. Also serviced the Kubota Rototiller, the Redmax backpack blowers and redmax Weedwackers. Changed the oil on the truck while I was at it. It was a beautiful day.