Lawnmower Problems

Filed under: Maintenance — lawnmower man

Not a year goes by I don’t have problems with my lawn mower. I reckon the only people who don’t are those types that buy a new one every year or two. I wasn’t raised that way — I could afford it, but it would bother my conscience too much.

I think about those problems, though, and as a consequence, as the years have gone by I have fewer and fewer, because I’ve learned to practice preventative maintenance. An ounce of prevention, and all that. It really works.

Take the typical starting problem in the spring. Gas clogs the jets as it dries, and by spring none can flow through to the carburetor. Hence the engine doesn’t start. My solution is simple. At the end of the year, before putting the lawnmower away for the winter, I empty out the gas tank, then start it and let it idle to allow the little bit of fuel in the line burn up.

A lot of lawnmower problems are like that. If you just know what is needed, it is a simple matter to prevent the problem from ever developing. Clean out that air filter each month, and replace it when it begins looking ratty, and you won’t have dirt getting into the engine to muck it up. If a wheel begins to wobble a bit, check it out — see if it just needs tightening, or if it needs to be replaced — take action before a serious problem develops.

If your mower has pulleys, check that belt for cracks or fray, and replace it when it begins to show wear. You don’t want to wait for it to break. It would certainly choose the most inopportune time to come apart — Sunday when the shop is closed, just before the wife’s garden club is set to arrive.

Taking care of your machine to prevent lawnmower problems is not rocket science. Use a bit of common sense in diagnosing the problem, then figure out the original cause. If it is something that can be prevented, add that to your routine to maintain the mower.

The engine requires spark, air and gas to start, and the pistons need to move smoothly through their cycle to keep running. Check the spark-plug to see if it is firing. See if the carburetor is getting gas. If removing the air cleaner lets a balky engine start, then you know the filter is blocking more air than its filtering. Clean it up.

Make sure you have fresh fuel and that the engine has oil. Just like your car, you need to change the oil from time to time (the recommended schedule will be found in the manual), for optimal performance and long engine life. Do it, there is nothing difficult involved. Just pay attention to the details.

In his classic Zen And The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert Pirsig says:

And it occurred to me there is no manual that deals with the real business of motorcycle maintenance, the most important aspect of all. Caring about what you are doing is considered either unimportant or taken for granted.

That’s the key when you are dealing with lawnmower problems too — or trying to prevent them — care enough to do it right, and it won’t come back to haunt you later.

Electric Lawnmowers

Filed under: Types of Mowers — lawnmower man

There are several reasons why electric lawnmowers might be the right choice for cutting your grass. For one thing, they are more environmentally friendly, since they use less power. That is also a downside — they have less power, and everyone who remembers Tim the Toolman Taylor knows that guys always want more power. “Heck, a girl could cut the lawn with one of these electric jobs” says macho Mack, my politically incorrect neighbor.

Really though, it is a question of what you really need. Some of those postage stamp size lawns in condominium developments could be cut with an electric razor. But even a half-acre lot is not too big for electric lawnmowers, especially if the house sits near the middle of the lot. Of course they have cordless types too, and with those you can cut a golf course. One hole at a time, I’d say.

There are even solar powered, battery operated, electric models that recharge while you work. Hey, don’t worry, they will recharge if you just leave them sitting out in the sun too — you don’t have to be working to get juice.

Your neighbors will love it if you go electric, because these babies are whisper quiet. Cut right under the window where grandpa’s sleeping and his snoring is likely to be louder than your mowing.

Economically, the electric mowers just make sense. Even with the high cost of electricity, it’s still much cheaper than the even higher cost of gasoline. Purchase price can be a bit lower on the most basic corded models, or a bit more for the battery operated models. Or if money is no object, you can get one of those lawn cutting robots — they are basically electric lawnmowers with computer intelligence built-in.

Cub Cadet Lawnmowers

Filed under: Cub Cadet — lawnmower man

A neighbor of mine offered to sell me his Cub Cadet lawnmower, at a price so cheap it set my suspicious mind to wondering what was wrong with the thing. It was the 1220 model with the hydrostatic transmission, and I had seen him using it earlier in the week, so I knew it was functional.

Why would you want to sell that? I asked him.

Doctors order, he says.

Before there were Cub Cadet lawnmowers...

Say what? Well, seems he needs more exercise, so his doctor suggested he get off his duff and do some work around the house. He decided to sell his perfectly good riding mower, and get a push mower instead. With a quarter-acre lot there was never any great need for the rider anyhow.

He had seen me out following my Cub Cadet 98M mower around my slightly larger yard, and figured it looked like good exercise, but not strenuous enough for him. So he didn’t want to trade, even though we both happen to own Cub Cadet lawnmowers, he just wanted to sell me the rider outright so he could buy a basic push model.

I suggested maybe he should get one without a mulching option and then he could have the added joy of raking. He considered it seriously, even though I was joking. No, he said, that wouldn’t be good for the lawn. Need those mulched up cuttings to fertilize the continued growth.

In the end I passed on the opportunity, I need my exercise too. I mentioned it to another friend though, and he had never even heard of Cub Cadet lawnmowers. He doesn’t get out much. But he does have nearly an acre of lawn, and his old John Deere lawn mower looks like it is about ready to give up the ghost any minute. I asked him if he never heard of Home Depot. Yeah, he said, just never pay much attention to brand names. Sheesh!

So I assured him that Cub Cadet lawn mowers were among the best, and suggested that even this used one would probably outlast him. He didn’t appreciate that much. He ended up buying it anyway, like I said the price was a real bargain.

How to Make a Lawnmower Faster

Filed under: Mower Modifications — lawnmower man

This site is not going to be about racing lawnmowers — but there seems to be a lot of interest in that subject, so I though I’d share the little I know about it. Also, I suppose there are other reasons you might want a faster mower — maybe you just want to get the job done faster.

Anyhow, consider how the racers speed up their rigs, and you can see which (if any) of those techniques you would like to use to make your lawn mower faster. Since this information comes from observations on racing mowers, it mostly applies to riding mowers. You might have a self-propelled mower you want to go faster though — and at least some of these tips might apply.

Push Mower

If you have a push mower, the solution is simple — walk faster. Most of the time, that will get the job done quicker, with only minor loss of quality. Assuming of course your blade is good and sharp, and you don’t go so fast the cuts begin to skip patches.

With one of those old push mowers, you will probably find a speed at which you can cut fast, but still do a good job. If not, the first place to look is at your blade. Try sharpening it. If that is still not enough, and you are looking to run that thing at a trot while still achieving a clean cut, then you can try tinkering with the governor, as we describe further below.

Another consideration is the weight of the machine, which affects how fast you can physically propel it. Modern mowers come with lots of safety features, and I don’t recommend removing them — but that would cut the weight and make it easier to push, so you could go faster.

Somehow, we got along for years before most of these safety features were added, and lawnmower accidents were rare. Usually, when they did occur, they could be attributed to carelessness, or shear stupidity. So if you choose to modify your machine by removing any safety features, be sure not to be careless or stupid.

This might require that you use common sense. Today’s society is so designed that common sense is no longer common, however. Everything is designed to be ‘idiot proof’ so nothing you do can conceivably cause any harm to anyone, nor harm the machine. If you have never exercised judgment, or thought before you acted, then perhaps you are better off leaving all that safety stuff in place and just accept your limits.

Self Propelled Mower

With a self propelled mower, the engine is doing two jobs at once — swinging the blade around to cut the grass, and turning the wheel or wheels that propel it forward. Certainly you need to consider sharpening the blade, if it is not in tip-top condition. And the section below on modifying the governor may also be considered. But with the self propelled hand mower you have another option.

Disengage the propellant system. How you do that varies greatly from one mower to the next, but generally it involves removing several parts. You don’t want to just keep them from working, you want to remove any dead weight that remains, and makes the machine heavier and more difficult to push.

A careful look at your particular machine will probably tell you which parts are strictly for propulsion, and if they can be removed without disabling the cutting function. Take off all the junk you don’t need, and presto-chango you have a push-mower (see preceding section).

Or, if you are too lazy to push, and your question was really how can you make your lawnmower go faster without any physical effort on your part, then there are three options. Those are the same as for souping-up riding mowers for racing: change the governor that limits engine RPM; change the propellant ratio between the engine revolutions and wheel revolutions; and remove dead weight and lighten the load wherever you can.

Racing Riding Mowers

OK, time for confessions. I’ve never raced a mower in my life. Don’t particularly want to either. I have been to races, and talked with the participants to get a feel for the game, but I’m an observer, not a racer. So everything hear is what I’ve heard, rather than practical experience. Hey, I said at the start, that this is a one-page diversion, not the subject of this site!

If you want to race your lawnmower, you should give up cutting grass with the thing — the modifications you make will sacrifice cutting ability, safety and reliability for speed. Duh! It’s a race you eedjet, not accelerated lawn maintenance.

A few people race stock mowers — i.e. those that have not been specially modified. They even sometimes win — though they are at a disadvantage as far as their machine goes. Still, skill is more important than mechanical considerations, when it comes to the finish line. And there is one advantage to racing the stock machine — it rarely breaks down. Most of the racing modifications make the machine faster, but less reliable.

Think of it this way. A lawn mower is a highly optimized system of parts and functions — it is designed to cut grass reliably and safely, while requiring the minimum in skills or effort on the part of the operator. Any change to such a highly optimized system comes at a cost, and reliability and safety are high amongst the things sacrificed to speed. Operating at top speed requires greater skill and more effort. And them durn things won’t even cut grass — cause the blade is one of the first things to go when modifying for racing!

So, if you are determined to race your mower, first remove the cutting blade, you won’t be needing it. Then look at the governor. On most engines, you can change a spring to make it longer, shorter or weaker, and thereby increase the range of potential movement in the accelerator. Some people even remove the governor altogether.

The governor limits the top speed of revolution for the engine. This is to keep from harming the engine, since without the governor it is possible to race it so fast it falls apart or breaks. In most cases, the harm is less obvious, wear and tear that shortens the lifespan of the engine. Your choice to modify or remove that safety feature will not only affect how fast you can go, but how long your engine will last. Again, common sense and good judgment are part of what make racing interesting. A bad call on your part may mean you don’t even finish the race.

Another target for speedsters is the propulsion mechanism. If the wheels are belt-driven, for example, you can change the ratio of engine revolutions vs wheel revolutions by changing the diameter of one or both pulley wheels that the belt rides on. When you do this to increase speed, you are also increasing the strain on the engine and the propulsion mechanism, creating another point for potential system failure. The trick is to take it as far as possible without reaching the breaking point.

Finally, you can increase the speed of your machine by reducing the weight it needs to transport. Yes, you could lose a few kilos off that beer belly. But you can also replace the heavy steel deck and replace it with thin aluminum. Same for other shielding parts. Some extremists even punch extra holes in those parts where possible (and rules often limit that kind of thing), to lessen the total weight. If you plan to race, you need to review the rules for the particular venue to make sure your modifications are allowed.

Most importantly, remember it’s all in the name of FUN. Don’t get so hung up on trying to win, that you lose touch with the process and joy of racing. And if you really want to learn how to make a lawnmower faster — go ask the folks at the lawn mower races who have the experience and know-how to get the job done.

Cutting the Grass

Filed under: Lawn Care — lawnmower man

I remember hearing my father describe how, years before I was born, he and my mom bought the house I grew up in, a little farmhouse on an acre of land. It was 1945, the Second World War had just ended, and soldiers were coming home and starting families, so my dad figured he’d better a house before they were all bought up. Out in the suburbs of the big Midwestern city where they were living he found this old farm house — the farm had just been subdivided into lots for new houses. He got the house with an acre of land for $3600 — but the barn wound up on the lot next door.

Rule #1 — you can’t cut the grass with a lawnmower if you let it get waist high.

The elderly lady who had lived in the house died in 1942, so the place had three years to ‘go to weed’ and no effort had been made to cut the field grass that made up the yard. My dad was raised on a farm, though he had never owned one himself, so his solution was to take a scythe and cut the place by hand. Now that would have been no difficulty for my grand-dad or any of dad’s brothers who owned farms — they did that with several acres of wheat or oats each autumn. But as I said dad was no farmer.

Two Handed Scythes

He probably found the scythes in the vacant barn — even though, as I mentioned, that was technically off his property. That lot was as yet unsold, and the barn _looked_ like it belonged with the house. He certainly had no need of scythes in their former urban home. I use the plural because I know there were two, because I remember we still had them as I was growing up. If he’d gone out and bought a scythe, I can’t see why he would get two. If he found them in the barn however …

Some of you younger folks might be wondering what a scythe is. Those are the big curved-handles ending in long curved blade — kind of like an overgrown sickle (the Russian hammer and sickle type, not the straight blade with serrated edges that you swing like a golf club). I’m sure you have seen plenty of scythes, the black hooded skeleton known as Death carries one all the time.

So to hear dad tell the story, cutting that acre of land with nothing but a two-handed scythe was a Sisyphean task — by the time he nearly completed the entire yard, it was time to start over because the first-cut area had grown so fast.

Rule #2 — while mowing lawn, you can’t do anything else at the same time.

The first time dad tried to mow the lawn with just a scythe, he brought along his three young children — my elder siblings — aged two, three and five. They were to remain in the car while he worked on the lawn and mother started cleaning up the long-neglected house, so they could move in.

It was fine summer’s day, but the meter-high weeds were too thick and potentially dangerous with snakes and bees and such, to allow the toddlers to roam. But at five, the largest child was just too rambunctious to keep cooped up without some kind of mischief.

The glove compartment of the old Ford provided the perfect diversion — dad’s pipe tobacco. Just a sniff and nibble convinced the imp that this was not great stuff, but the others wanted to try it too. The three year old was not impressed either — but the little two year old seemed to like it. Curious, but then to each his own. The older child indulged the infant’s strange taste.

Naturally, it did not take long before the baby was throwing up all over the inside of the car, and all over the two other urchins. Mother completed her house cleaning, only to find a bigger cleaning task awaited her. Of course each parent blamed the other for not paying more attention to the kids, while the real culprit emerged unscathed. Father soon purchased his first gas powered lawn mower.

These days, of course, we cut the lawn with a more modern version of that old lawn mower. But the roar of that device, plus the attention needed to avoid hitting obstacles, flowers and living creatures of various sorts, means that the advice is as good for power mower cutting as swinging a hand scythe — never try to do anything else while mowing.

Cuttin That Lawn

Lawnmower Problems

Electric Lawnmowers

Cub Cadet Lawnmowers

How to Make a Lawnmower Faster

Cutting the Grass