Ride-on Lawnmowers

Welcome to my lawnmower blog!

I will endevour to blog relevant information about:

- Ride on and riding lawnmowers
- Standalone lawnmowers
- Best Lawnmower parts
- Victa Lawnmowers
- Links to buy lawnmowers
- Hand Lawnmowers
- Honda Lawnmowers
- John Deere Lawnmowers
- Lawnmower Blades
- Lawnmower Blenny
- Lawnmower Deth
- Lawnmowers for sale and lawnmowers for hire
- Hand lawnmowers

Lawnmower Products

It is common knowledge that gas powered lawn mowers are serious environmental polluters. It is estimated that 1 hour of lawn mower use equals driving an SUV 100 miles. I have read that lawnmowers contribute up to 5% of the nation’s pollution. Even more alarming comparisons and statistics can be found on the internet.

Even if you are not an environmentalist, the price of gas will definitely make you a conservationist. Gas prices continue to climb. Personally, going to the gas station with my little gas can is not a trip of leisure, it has always been a chore.

Changing the oil, air filter, and regular maintenance is not what I consider an enjoyable event. John Deere charged me $129 one year to do all that, so it became a semi-annual day of bonding between me and ol’ JD.

We hired a lawn service for a year. He did a good job but his helpers made us uneasy. They seemed friendly whether they could speak English or not. One of the problems we had was we travel a good deal and we just didn’t feel comfortable having strangers running around our yard knowing we were gone. There are enough elements of risk out there without inviting it to our home.

One day on the internet I came across an article for automatic lawnmowers. We ordered it with a healthy serving of skepticism since our robotic vacuum cleaner needed to be replaced more often that our landscaper’s hired hands.

It has exceeded out expectations. So much so we decided to start selling them. They have proven to be very low maintenance and highly reliable. They do a pretty good job cutting the yard.

Technology has advanced where batteries can now power lawn mowers to do an effective job. They can mow, go back to the charger by them selves, and go back out again on a schedule without any help all season.

My wife and I can now travel freely without the worry of a self-inflicted burglary. We no longer have invited strangers running around our yard, yet we have a nicely cut lawn.

Maintenance? Once a year I change the blades. For those who live in the north the robotic lawn mower needs to be housed in the garage for the winter. Since it is all electric it doesn’t burn any gas or oil. That means no pollutants so we can all breathe easier.

Robotic lawn mowers are also very quiet. They are so quiet that they can be run at night while every one is asleep.

It costs about $7.00 a year in electricity to mow my yard. I used to spend more than that in one trip to fill up the gas container.

The biggest problem that we have is with our neighbors. My goodness they love to come out and watch it work. For me the excitement has long gone and I consider it no more of a novelty than the dishwasher. But for some reason our little robotic lawn mower continues to be the neighborhood star attraction day after day.

Robotic lawn mowers aren’t going to put John Deere or the local landscaper out of business anytime soon, but one day the do-it-yourselfers are going to be the ones that will be the neighborhood oddity.

Lawnmowers

Simple Lawnmower Maintenance:

Do you have trouble starting your lawnmower up in the spring? Before deciding to take your lawnmower in for repair, try these few simple suggestions. After completing them most of the time your lawnmower will fire up and run like a champ.

Pull and clean the Spark Plug

Most of the time simply cleaning the spark plug will solve your lawnmower woes. To do this, disconnect the wire attached to the end of the spark plug. Then using a wrench or a Ratchet/Socket, remove the spark plug. If the spark plug is black or wet looking, you have probably found your problem on why the lawnmower is not starting.
Using fine grit sandpaper, sand the top of the spark plug down to bare metal. Make sure you sand all around the edges of the piece of metal (tab) that sits just above the electrode. Make sure that there is a gap between the metal tab and the electrode. If you still have the lawnmower manual and a feeler gauge you can adjust the gap to the specifications. However, if there is a small gap it is probably sufficient for the spark plug to operate correctly.
Make sure the spark plug is free of dust and dry. Then screw it back into the cylinder and connect back the wire to the end of the spark plug. Then try starting the lawn mower.

Check for Oil

Make sure there is oil in the lawnmower and that it is at the proper level.

Check for Fuel

Make sure there is gas in the lawn mower. If you have old gas in the lawnmower and did not put in a fuel stabilizer at the end of the season, replace the gas. If you had drained the gas tank at the end of the previous season, then fill the tank at least half full with new gas.

Check the Fuel Line

Like many of us, at the end of the previous lawn mowing season we turn off the fuel line switch. Make sure it is in the on position. If you have done all of the above and the engine will not fire, then check to see if the fuel is getting to the carburetor. Temporarily disconnect the fuel hose from the carburetor and see if gas pours out. If so reconnect the hose. If not, then check the fuel line. It may be gummed up or the fuel filter is clogged.

Check the Air Filter

Make sure the Air Filter is clean. If it is dirty and oily then replace it. If it just dirty shake it and knock out some of the dust. This may solve your problem; however I would still recommend replacing it.

Clean the Carburetor

First turn off the fuel line. Disassembling and cleaning the carburetor is not as bad as you may think. Usually there is a nut on the underside of the carburetor. Remove this and pull the bottom portion of the carburetor off. Clean the inside of this lower portion of the carburetor and then make sure the float valve moves up and down freely. The float valve is a plastic object about 1.5” in diameter that hangs down when you remove the lower portion of the carburetor.
Reconnect the lower portion of the carburetor and turn on the fuel line again.
Try restarting the lawnmower. If it still does not work after performing all of these procedures, then take it to a repair shop. However, from personal experience these procedures usually solve the problem.

Sharpen the Blade

Finally, make sure you sharpen the blade. This will ensure you minimize the torque on the engine while cutting the grass. Not to mention, your lawn will get a more even cut.