Keeping your Lawn Mowers in Tip Top Shape
It’s important to ensure the safe and worry-free operation of your lawn mowing equipment, be it a manual device or a powered one.
Not only will you be able to save money, but surely you will be able to make the most out of the extended service life of your equipment.
Let’s face it, the more you keep your lawn mowers in good shape with regular maintenance and proper care, you tend to be the one that will benefit most – cost wise and service wise.
Here are some basic lawn mower care tips that surely will make you smile a bit more.
Tip number 1 -Fill your lawn mower with fresh gas.This is critical to the performance of your powered lawn mowers, especially gas with octane rating of 87 or higher.
It is also a key factor to fill your gas tank with fuel using a clean funnel or siphon device from either a one- or two- gallon gas can.
Plastic gas cans are preferably better than tin or iron cans because they do not corrode.
If you own a 20-liter gas tank, you may need to dispose of it the fuel properly since the problem with these large volume cans is it stores up gas inside the container for long periods of time.
Gas that is older than 30 days may affect engine performance due to moisture buildup and the diminishing octane can lead to gum deposits that may result to clogging up the engine’s fuel lines and carburetor.
Tip number two- The powered lawn mower’s lubrication system is also a very important component of the equipment’s engine. For gas-fuelled mowers, drain engine oil and replace it with new SAE 30 engine oil after at least 50 hours of mowing operation.
You may check the lubrication section of your owner’s manual for specific oil recommendations and specifications.
Tip number three – Spark plugs play a key role in the operation of your mower’s engine and it best advised to replace spark plugs after every mowing operation of no less than 100 hours.
The specific type of spark plugs to be used can be found in the product specifications section of the owner’s manual.
Tip number four – Air Filters provide your mower engine with clean air that aids in the internal combustion process of your gas-fuelled mower engine. If your mower’s air filter is dirty, the engine may not run properly and could lead to damage of the engine’s internal parts.
You can change air filters by removing the air filter cartridge and gently tapping the filter element on a flat surface.
If the filter is very dirty and tapping does not clear out the deposits, it would be best to replace the filter with a new one.
Tip number five – One vital component of the mower is the blade. Always make it a point to check and make sure that lawn mower blades are always at its sharpest.
Sharpen the blades with a grinder or a file and make sure never attempt to sharpen the blade while it is still installed in the mower.
Special attention should be taken to keep the blade balanced, since it can leave an uneven cut on the lawn and may even cause damage to the lawn mower or the engine.
To check for the blade’s balance, drive a nail into a wall leaving enough of the nail’s head exposed and enough to place a blade to hang on it.
Place the center of the blade over the head of the nail and if the blade is balanced, it should remain in an even horizontal position and if either one end of the blade moves downward, you can sharpen the heavier portion until the blade is balanced.
So always keep your lawn mowers in tip-top shape, in the end, you get to benefit from it the most.
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