Mower thrown to the curb..

[jeepman3071]

Originally Posted by ZebRuaj
1st junk mower of this season. Owner said he ran something over and couldn't get it going again. Sat for a couple years. Blade spun leveled and shaft was straight so I thought maybe it just sheared the pin at the flywheel (nope was still in tact). Noticed water in the carb. Cleaned it out and started right up. Gave it a little scrub and asked the owner if he would like it back. Said "nope. His trash, my treasure." Now to flip it!

Nice score! I like those, they are nice and light and the high rear wheels make them easier to spin around at the end of a pass in bumpy yards.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Two reasons those Recyclers get kicked to the curb while running
1) The Underside gathers mulch - which sticks to the belly and gets really irritating...... then hatred steps-in. I water my a-lot. Three times per week at least. So wet grass sticks underneath it, more than any lawnmower I ever owned in 50 years.
2) The engine runs forever. But often times it loses compression over age and a 15 minute grass cut turns into a 1/2 hour grass cut, because the faster you walk behind it - the more it chugs, forcing you to slow down.

I gave mine away after six years cutting a 15 minute lot. I absolutely hated the way grass always got stuck underneath. I tried all kinds of solutions to fix it.
My sister-in-law still has it and it's 16-17 years old now. One time I walked right by it as she cut grass with it. She stopped to talk with me and the mower shut off.
I cussed at the lawnmower - then kicked it.

She loves it... why?..... because it didn't cost her a dime and she's a tightwad to the 10th Degree.

 

[jeepman3071]

Originally Posted by Triple_Se7en
Two reasons those Recyclers get kicked to the curb while running
1) The Underside gathers mulch - which sticks to the belly and gets really irritating...... then hatred steps-in. I water my a-lot. Three times per week at least. So wet grass sticks underneath it, more than any lawnmower I ever owned in 50 years.
2) The engine runs forever. But often times it loses compression over age and a 15 minute grass cut turns into a 1/2 hour grass cut, because the faster you walk behind it - the more it chugs, forcing you to slow down.

I gave mine away after six years cutting a 15 minute lot. I absolutely hated the way grass always got stuck underneath. I tried all kinds of solutions to fix it.
My sister-in-law still has it and it's 16-17 years old now. One time I walked right by it as she cut grass with it. She stopped to talk with me and the mower shut off.
I cussed at the lawnmower - then kicked it.

She loves it... why?..... because it didn't cost her a dime and she's a tightwad to the 10th Degree.


Mowing wet grass with any mower will cause issues. Why not wait until the grass is dry? Never mow when it's wet unless you like making a giant mess. Also on the engine issue, most mowers from the factory are set to run at low RPM for blade safety BS. I've seen some come in running as slow as 1800 RPM, which is basically idling. I usually set them at 3000-3200 RPM depending on the mower, and they power right through anything. My own Toro Recycler was bought brand new and was set to run at about 2200 RPM which would make it stall out in thicker grass. Not sure who the heck "tunes" these engines before they get bolted to the mower. If you insist on cutting wet grass, about the only mower that will deal with that is the Honda HRX with the nexite deck, but you'll have to pay to play.

 

[dwcopple]

Originally Posted by JunkdrawerDog
See...this is why B&S new "never change oil" mowers will work out fine. When a simple hardware failure sends a mower to the curb, it's of no consequence whether oil was ever changed or not. And that's what most people's strategy is these days, push it to curb and run to the big box store and get another one. I totally get it that many people don't have skills, tools and time to do a repair or even haul it to a repair shop. I'm also sure that B&S gets it too. I'll bet the life expectancy of push or walk behind mowers like this is just a handful of years. Oh well, it's just another example of our "throw away " lifestyle.

I think the problem is the repair costs don't warrant the fix. Shop labor pricing has become absurd so even though mower parts prices are "usually " cheap, the total cost of repair equals 2/3rd the price of a new unit. Why bother?

 

[jeepman3071]

Originally Posted by dwcopple
Originally Posted by JunkdrawerDog
See...this is why B&S new "never change oil" mowers will work out fine. When a simple hardware failure sends a mower to the curb, it's of no consequence whether oil was ever changed or not. And that's what most people's strategy is these days, push it to curb and run to the big box store and get another one. I totally get it that many people don't have skills, tools and time to do a repair or even haul it to a repair shop. I'm also sure that B&S gets it too. I'll bet the life expectancy of push or walk behind mowers like this is just a handful of years. Oh well, it's just another example of our "throw away " lifestyle.

I think the problem is the repair costs don't warrant the fix. Shop labor pricing has become absurd so even though mower parts prices are "usually " cheap, the total cost of repair equals 2/3rd the price of a new unit. Why bother?


Yup, spot on. I run a small engine repair business as a side gig when I'm not crazy busy with my main job. When I say business I mean something done 100% through word of mouth, I do no advertising and have too many customers as it is. I charge less than my local small engine shop because I do it as a hobby, and still a lot of the repairs I do are borderline cost effective compared to the price of a new mower. Most of the maintenance/repairs I do are on higher end machines that are worth fixing. The local small engine shop charges $150 just for a simple tune up, and their ads state that any additional needed parts are extra, so I assume this just means an oil change and maybe a spark plug or air filter. $150 can likely get you a new mower at WalMart. For most people these crazy repair prices only act as an incentive to buy throw away mowers.

 

[wander2039]

And the mower is dead.. decided it needed a new vent hole in the crankcase. Full of oil, sounded odd today though. Not sure if that was worth the $$$ spent. Debating on if a predator engine would be worth it or just go with a electric self-propelled like I've wanted to.

 

[jeepman3071]

And the mower is dead.. decided it needed a new vent hole in the crankcase. Full of oil, sounded odd today though. Not sure if that was worth the $$$ spent. Debating on if a predator engine would be worth it or just go with a electric self-propelled like I've wanted to.

Ugh, that sucks. Since it had no oil when you found it in the OP, it was probably run that way for a little while. My guess from the window in the block would be connecting rod failure, which was likely weakened by the initial no oil situation. Whenever a customer brings me a mower with no oil that needs repairs but still runs, I'll advise them that since it currently has zero oil in it, I will fill it with oil, but it may last a month, or several years.

 

[andyd]

I like my current stable of Toro and LB walk behinds. Both are 4 strokes. Both curb finds. Best is the LB 7073 2 stroke. I have enough F series LB parts mowers to last me. Thanks to retirement, I got 3 going. I also have a very rough Duraforce that will fit on a similar LB with a dead Tecumseh. I'm retired, this is more fun than puzzles

 

[wander2039]

Ugh, that sucks. Since it had no oil when you found it in the OP, it was probably run that way for a little while. My guess from the window in the block would be connecting rod failure, which was likely weakened by the initial no oil situation. Whenever a customer brings me a mower with no oil that needs repairs but still runs, I'll advise them that since it currently has zero oil in it, I will fill it with oil, but it may last a month, or several years.

Huh forgot about the no oil. I'll have to keep that in mind if there's a next time. Picked up a 80V Kobalt self-propelled yesterday.. I'll never go back to a gas powered mower.