I have a newer craftsmen self propelled. Of coarse it shuts it self off every time I empty the catcher. I wonder if all this constant starting and shutting off has anything to do with how long these air cooled engines last? In the owners manual of my craftsmen generator it tells you to let the motor idle for a for minutes before shut down to let motor cool. Other air-cooled OPE I have says this too (chainsaw).
Longevity of this type of mower or other OPE
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MolaKule
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I have had mowers that ran for 15 years or more with that cycling.
The only thing may need replacing if you do a lot of abrupt stopping is the flywheel band that is used as a "deadmans" shutdown.
I minimize wear by releasing the handle to the point of just killing the spark and let is stop without releasing handle all the way to braking.
Use a good 5W30 or 10W30 synthetic oil and change twice a year.
The only thing may need replacing if you do a lot of abrupt stopping is the flywheel band that is used as a "deadmans" shutdown.
I minimize wear by releasing the handle to the point of just killing the spark and let is stop without releasing handle all the way to braking.
Use a good 5W30 or 10W30 synthetic oil and change twice a year.
A dirty air filter is much worse than emptying the bag.
Worry not.
Worry not.
My craftsman purchased new at Sears 15 years ago won't quit. The key to keeping it alive is to keep both your wife and the in-laws away from it. They successfully broke two other craftsmen mowers just before I purchased the third one. Complete operator error issues.
I have used the cheapest oil I could source for it and change it every 3 years or so. 15 minute mow jobs once a week for 3 or 4 months tho.
I have used the cheapest oil I could source for it and change it every 3 years or so. 15 minute mow jobs once a week for 3 or 4 months tho.
MolaKule
Staff member
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Shutting it down quickly with the deadman brake means it won't suck so much gas thru the carb that fouls the plug and wrecks the oil.
At the temps these air-cooled engines run at, any fuel gets cooked-off quickly.
Shutting it down quickly with the deadman brake means it won't suck so much gas thru the carb that fouls the plug and wrecks the oil.
At the temps these air-cooled engines run at, any fuel gets cooked-off quickly.
I've been dead stopping a Craftsman mower for 17 years now. No problems to report.
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Shutting it down quickly with the deadman brake means it won't suck so much gas thru the carb that fouls the plug and wrecks the oil.
Interesting. In all the years I've owned various small engines, I've never had one foul the plug or "wreck the oil" by simply shutting it off. In fact, one Kohler that I have is 40+ years old, and still going strong, and all I've ever done is shut it off normally. I guess I should have seen many, many fouled plugs and nothing but wrecked oil on a regular basis, but for some reason I didn't.
How many normal shutdown cycles does it take to foul the plug and wreck the oil? I'd be interesting in seeing the side by side comparison of engines that have been shut off with a deadman brake vs. normal shutdown. Where did you find the research?
Shutting it down quickly with the deadman brake means it won't suck so much gas thru the carb that fouls the plug and wrecks the oil.
Interesting. In all the years I've owned various small engines, I've never had one foul the plug or "wreck the oil" by simply shutting it off. In fact, one Kohler that I have is 40+ years old, and still going strong, and all I've ever done is shut it off normally. I guess I should have seen many, many fouled plugs and nothing but wrecked oil on a regular basis, but for some reason I didn't.
How many normal shutdown cycles does it take to foul the plug and wreck the oil? I'd be interesting in seeing the side by side comparison of engines that have been shut off with a deadman brake vs. normal shutdown. Where did you find the research?
Hah, on my cheapo push mower it only took a 4 inch piece of coat hanger and a set of needle nose pliers to eliminate the wonderful deadman switchery.
Gone, and not missed.
And I agree that it is nonsense to think the few revolutions after shut down would harm anything at all...
Gone, and not missed.
And I agree that it is nonsense to think the few revolutions after shut down would harm anything at all...
Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
How many normal shutdown cycles does it take to foul the plug and wreck the oil? I'd be interesting in seeing the side by side comparison of engines that have been shut off with a deadman brake vs. normal shutdown. Where did you find the research?
Back in the day I had a 1982 cadillac cimarron with a nightmare computerized carburetor and one of its features was a solenoid that shut off fuel when the key was shut off so it wouldn't diesel. This alerted me that some powertrain engineer, somewhere, concluded this was worthwhile. Now cars have fuel injection and this isn't an issue... though, anecdotally, you could find a carb'd car that ran forever.
In the last 20 years I've run deadman mowers and thought, yay, I'm a genius, by releasing the handle halfway, killing spark, and letting it coast to a stop, and saving the stupid little brake. Then I started getting free mowers from the dump where the deadman seized as it's the poorest engineered bit on the (briggs) engine. I get them running again and realize it doesn't matter.
To then justify to myself my sudden and abrupt releasing of the handle, I'm happy to not suck this fuel through.
On another tangent, my "Chonda" engines instruct the operator to slow to idle, a feature unavailable on my mower, before shutting down, unless it's an emergency. This means less coast-down time. Less fuel to suck? Ask their engineers!
How many normal shutdown cycles does it take to foul the plug and wreck the oil? I'd be interesting in seeing the side by side comparison of engines that have been shut off with a deadman brake vs. normal shutdown. Where did you find the research?
Back in the day I had a 1982 cadillac cimarron with a nightmare computerized carburetor and one of its features was a solenoid that shut off fuel when the key was shut off so it wouldn't diesel. This alerted me that some powertrain engineer, somewhere, concluded this was worthwhile. Now cars have fuel injection and this isn't an issue... though, anecdotally, you could find a carb'd car that ran forever.
In the last 20 years I've run deadman mowers and thought, yay, I'm a genius, by releasing the handle halfway, killing spark, and letting it coast to a stop, and saving the stupid little brake. Then I started getting free mowers from the dump where the deadman seized as it's the poorest engineered bit on the (briggs) engine. I get them running again and realize it doesn't matter.
To then justify to myself my sudden and abrupt releasing of the handle, I'm happy to not suck this fuel through.
On another tangent, my "Chonda" engines instruct the operator to slow to idle, a feature unavailable on my mower, before shutting down, unless it's an emergency. This means less coast-down time. Less fuel to suck? Ask their engineers!
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Hah, on my cheapo push mower it only took a 4 inch piece of coat hanger and a set of needle nose pliers to eliminate the wonderful deadman switchery.
Gone, and not missed.
And I agree that it is nonsense to think the few revolutions after shut down would harm anything at all...
Ditto.
Hah, on my cheapo push mower it only took a 4 inch piece of coat hanger and a set of needle nose pliers to eliminate the wonderful deadman switchery.
Gone, and not missed.
And I agree that it is nonsense to think the few revolutions after shut down would harm anything at all...
Ditto.
Originally Posted By: Blaze
I have a newer craftsmen self propelled. Of coarse it shuts it self off every time I empty the catcher. I wonder if all this constant starting and shutting off has anything to do with how long these air cooled engines last? In the owners manual of my craftsmen generator it tells you to let the motor idle for a for minutes before shut down to let motor cool. Other air-cooled OPE I have says this too (chainsaw).
What are the first 3 digits of the model number? 917. or 247.
I have a newer craftsmen self propelled. Of coarse it shuts it self off every time I empty the catcher. I wonder if all this constant starting and shutting off has anything to do with how long these air cooled engines last? In the owners manual of my craftsmen generator it tells you to let the motor idle for a for minutes before shut down to let motor cool. Other air-cooled OPE I have says this too (chainsaw).
What are the first 3 digits of the model number? 917. or 247.
Most of your riding mowers and engines larger than ~8hp w/ electrical systems, have the fuel cut-off solenoid on the carb. The carb bowl stays full of fuel, but the solenoid stops flow through the main jet. A lot of larger OHV single and V-twins will still backfire on shut-down even with this.
Like Pop rivet said, we've had two old Kohler-K series engines over the ~30yrs. They've got heavy flywheels and take a bunch of revolutions to coast to a stop after the ignition has been killed. Lots of fuel dilution I'm sure, but they still lasted for decades. It's all about the robustness of the engine I guess.
Like Pop rivet said, we've had two old Kohler-K series engines over the ~30yrs. They've got heavy flywheels and take a bunch of revolutions to coast to a stop after the ignition has been killed. Lots of fuel dilution I'm sure, but they still lasted for decades. It's all about the robustness of the engine I guess.
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I run my mowers out of gas at the shut off. I also add a little MMO when I fill the tank. If I have any carb troubles, I will try fresh gas laced with Berrymans Chem-Tool.Shots down the carb with carb cleaner until the engine runs on its fuel Since I adopted this dance, I have succeeded at least half the time. On a weed wacker I gave up on late Sunday afternoon I pulled it over the following Saturday and it started first pull. I reach for a can before a wrench now.
Originally Posted By: Blaze
I have a newer craftsmen self propelled. Of coarse it shuts it self off every time I empty the catcher. I wonder if all this constant starting and shutting off has anything to do with how long these air cooled engines last? In the owners manual of my craftsmen generator it tells you to let the motor idle for a for minutes before shut down to let motor cool. Other air-cooled OPE I have says this too (chainsaw).
Any equipment that's being operated at near it's max power level should be let idle a couple minutes before shutting down, gives it a slight cooling period... Unless you are cutting knee deep grass, this doesn't really include the average rotary mower as the engine is mostly unloaded(plus these days most have fixed throttle)...
The supposed fuel dilution is a non-issue, much of the OPEs run fine for years without any oil change, i'm going on four years for the used Honda engine I installed on my Snapper... Yet to use enough oil to notice(fallen maybe 1/8" on stick), lately have been thinking about giving it a change...
I have a newer craftsmen self propelled. Of coarse it shuts it self off every time I empty the catcher. I wonder if all this constant starting and shutting off has anything to do with how long these air cooled engines last? In the owners manual of my craftsmen generator it tells you to let the motor idle for a for minutes before shut down to let motor cool. Other air-cooled OPE I have says this too (chainsaw).
Any equipment that's being operated at near it's max power level should be let idle a couple minutes before shutting down, gives it a slight cooling period... Unless you are cutting knee deep grass, this doesn't really include the average rotary mower as the engine is mostly unloaded(plus these days most have fixed throttle)...
The supposed fuel dilution is a non-issue, much of the OPEs run fine for years without any oil change, i'm going on four years for the used Honda engine I installed on my Snapper... Yet to use enough oil to notice(fallen maybe 1/8" on stick), lately have been thinking about giving it a change...
I have a John Deere JX75 with a blade brake clutch that allows me to disengage the blade to empty the bagger or pick up debris while the engine is running. Once I start it to mow, it rarely gets shut down until I'm finished mowing. It's a 1998 model and the BBC is still quiet after all these years. I also idle my OPE for a minute or so before shutdown and open the hoods on my riders after shutting them down.
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