why do so many people have broken mowers?

[jeepman3071]

Stabilizer effectiveness really depends on the type and dosage used.

-I only recommend the marine grade stabilizer as it helps prevent moisture contamination from the ethanol, all others do nothing for moisture.

-I usually run a double dose of stabilizer

-I run the equipment for a few minutes to get the stabilizer in the carb

-The most sure-fire way is to empty the fuel out completely, especially if machine is stored outside or for extended periods of time

-Running the equipment for a few minutes every so often does nothing, unless you run it long enough to burn all of the moisture contaminated fuel in the tank

 

[apwillard1986]

It is almost always ethanol around here. I find a few mowers a year in the trash that only require a carb clean. A quality stabilizer in the can used to refuel equipment saves a lot of headaches. I have stored fuel up to about 14 mos. with no issues. I use a hot dose of marine grade stabilizer as was previously suggested.

Neglect is also a primary culprit. People buy these things to do a chore most of them don't enjoy. They buy the cheapest mower (which adds to the lack of enjoyment as there is little worse than junk equipment) and abuse it when they decide to mow. Many hire a service to mow and only break out the mower after they decide to economize by cutting lawn care. Then it has sat too long and wont start.

Keeping high octane fuel dosed with quality stabilizer and taking the time to service and care for the mower will see it last decades. Mine is nearly thirty and people still think I just bought it. It gets yearly oil changes and tune-ups. It also gets cleaned completely of grass (decomposing grass will rot a deck) after each use and gets wiped down with a shop rag sprayed with WD-40. Then it gets stored in the garage. An extra 10 minutes can save hours of future frustration.

Take pride in your yard and your equipment.

 

[southernjeeper]

Yes. I was told months ago that the QUALITY of most lawnmowers if not made by a great company are cheaper because of not using good parts. Older lawnmowers like OLDER muscle cars and such run better.


The other is if you don't put quality top tier gas in your mower. Get one gallon of gas at a time if small mower. Obviously what your tank will hold on a riding mower. Keep your air filter clean and change the oil like you are suppose to and it will run just fine.

SAE 30weight more than likely. And try not to move mower before checking oil level. Don't screw cap or turn the cap to lock in place when checking level. Hot temps will definitely make you have to change your oil more than you would think for just a lawnmower.

Marine Sta-Bil 360. You can't go wrong. Just be sure to use the fuel up or if over 30days pour it into your car/truck fuel tank.

 

[jeepman3071]

Originally Posted By: southernjeeper
Yes. I was told months ago that the QUALITY of most lawnmowers if not made by a great company are cheaper because of not using good parts. Older lawnmowers like OLDER muscle cars and such run better.



Unfortunately this is very true, and many people don't realize it. My snowblower is a 1984 Toro 724. I found it rusting in the woods at a friend's house with a blown engine. I replaced the engine with a newer one, and repainted it. The machine operates like brand new and all of the main components have hardly any wear.

I have a few customers convinced now. They have older machines that they bought for a fraction of the price of new, I've done a bit of refurbishing to them, and the older machines have held up much better. The ones I build are kind of like resto-modding an old muscle car. I usually take older heavy duty Ariens and Toro machines and repaint/refurbish the body. I make necessary repairs and upgrades so it will be reliable for years to come, and replace the non-functioning or worn out engine with a new modern Honda GX series, Briggs and Stratton Intek Snow, or Predator engine depending on their budget. It is the best combination. Reliability of newer modern engines with the robust build quality of the older snowblowers. I've probably sold 10-12 of them to family, friends, and customers, and I've only had 1 that had an issue and it was covered by the Predator engine warranty.

 

[The motor guy]

Originally Posted By: edwardh1
Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
Difficulty finding a service/repair shop that does honest work for a reasonable price?




and in a reasonable time.

seems mower shops would hire more people in the summer



I've always wondered that too. Every repair shop I've been to has a sign that says 3 weeks behind. I wonder if they just say that because it can take that long to get parts sometimes? Idk. Usually it only takes about 3 days for parts, I've never paid someone to fix anything. lol

 

[HangFire]

Originally Posted By: apwillard1986
It is almost always ethanol around here. I find a few mowers a year in the trash that only require a carb clean. A quality stabilizer in the can used to refuel equipment saves a lot of headaches. I have stored fuel up to about 14 mos. with no issues. I use a hot dose of marine grade stabilizer as was previously suggested.

Neglect is also a primary culprit. People buy these things to do a chore most of them don't enjoy. They buy the cheapest mower (which adds to the lack of enjoyment as there is little worse than junk equipment) and abuse it when they decide to mow. Many hire a service to mow and only break out the mower after they decide to economize by cutting lawn care. Then it has sat too long and wont start.

Keeping high octane fuel dosed with quality stabilizer and taking the time to service and care for the mower will see it last decades.


Agree on the Ethanol and most of what you said. However for OPE almost all of it is spec'ed for 89 octane, putting in higher octane E10 gasoline will do nothing for you or your equipment except waste money. Now, if it's e-free gas, again, it doesn't need to be more than 89 octane, but that will help a lot.

 

[Silk]

When I was running a small hire centre 30 years ago, if someone came in to hire a mower, I'd ask what was wrong with their one. I'd fix their mower and they'd return the hire mower and pick up their own. Back then the B&S had a side mounted pull start...I'd keep one in stock, and just swap when someone had a broken one.

 

[kballowe]

I see fuel in the oil for mowers with gravity feed fuel systems. This dramatically shortens engine life. You can install a fuel shutoff valve - but nobody will use it.

Otherwise, it's old fuel.

Some of our stuff is more than 20 years old. We've had ethanol-laced fuel in this area for 25+ years. Never had a problem - but we use Sea-Foam for storage and actually change fuel filters now and then. Don't buy too much fuel at one time - only what we will use up in a month or so.

So yes - the majority of mower problems is old fuel. Ethanol doesn't help this, as it shortens the shelf life of the fuel. After that, it's fuel seeping into the crankcase and diluting the oil.

Or..... my 40 year old daughter could tear up an anvil, in a sandbox, with a rubber hammer. If there's an obstruction in the yard then she will find it and run over it, repeatedly. Then she calls "Dad" to say that the lawnmower "just quit" and she hasn't a clue why.

Uggggggg.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: WylieCoyote
I don't really get the concept of buying something, putting gas in it and just using it until it tears up, but that's the only explanation I can arrive at when I listen to some peoples' mowers run. Is it higher logic to realize that an oil change, new spark plug, clean air filter and steering around solid objects is all it really takes keep a mower running for decades?


'bout when I bought a house I was talking to my boss about lawnmowers; he was against doing service to pushmowers. Just run it until it died, usually from something else.

I bought a new pushmower, a 4.5hp B&S. I think I might have changed the oil a couple of times, but nothing like it should have been. About the time that the motor was tired I found the mower deck had holes in it from rust. $100 for about 8 years and little effort.

I did replace it with a $20 same model, as "it died" and the owner replaced it; I was 99% sure it was a bad diaphram and bought it. Close: warped carb, but since I had the same mower it was a simple swap.

Latest mower was free from the transfer station; it too was bad diaphram. I suspect it has a worn motor, as it bogs down too easily (I think it ran rich for a long time), but eh, I'll swap motors when it dies. I keep my eye open at the transfer station for anything "nicer", though.

Some people, it's just time to move on. They figure, as long as it lasts x years, then it's y cost/year, and good enough. I do the same with other things (cars, tires, etc).

 

[mkosem]

Originally Posted By: Lubener
Those old Briggs engines 60's-early 80's were tough as nails. They would go forever with minimal maintenance. Bent cranks is usually what does them in.


I have a 3 or 4 year old Honda powered Husqvarna mower, that seemed to die and not restart periodically every few weeks when I got it. It had a clogged jet every time, 5-10 minute job to resolve each time. It hasn't had a single hiccup since I added a $1 fuel filter, but I fell back to my 80s model Briggs engined Murray to finish the job each time it did that. I still take it out to use it a couple times a year, even though my primary is fine, just to refresh the fuel. It still runs perfectly and starts right up, decades after its manufacture, with only having had basic maintenance once a year.

The newer consumer grade Briggs engines are just as rubbish as the equivent Hondas, so the reliability hasnt held up over the years. I've had to "fix" my fair share of family members mowers - usually just cleaning carbs or replacing the fuel (or very rarely replacing the spark plug). These new ones seem to reach "unusable" for silly reasons. The old super simple tech in the old Briggs 3.5 doesn't seem to, regardless of the fuel quality and age, and they're brain dead simple to repair on the rare occasion that they need it.

--Matt