How to Start a Snapper Riding Lawn Mower, step by step

Starting a Snapper Riding Lawn Mower is not difficult, but you may be a little confused if it is your first time. This hesitation in working with your Snapper Riding Lawn Mower will go away if you have a clear set of instructions or a step-by-step procedure to follow. Using your machine and following a set of guidelines will give you a hands-on experience. As soon as you get familiar with your Snapper Riding Lawn Mower, you will be considerably more efficient working with it. Snapper Riding Lawn Mower offers us a lot of conveniences if we use it correctly.

If you have just bought yourself a Snapper Riding Lawnmower, your first goal should be to familiarize yourself with its various parts and their functions. For this, you can consult the Snapper Riding Lawn Mower’s user manual. Different Snapper Riding Lawnmowers’ models will usually have a similar starting routine, but referring to the manual is still recommended for you to know the accurate location of all parts involved in the starting routine.

How to start a Snapper Riding Lawn Mower, step by step:

• Step 1: Check the Oil Level
• Step 2: Fill the fuel Tank
• Step 3:  Position Yourself on the Seat
• Step 4: Press the Brake
• Step 5: Engage the Parking Brake
• Step 6: Apply the Neutral Gear
• Step 7: Set the Throttle in Choke Position
• Step 8: Insert the Key and Start Ignition
• Step 9: Adjust Speed with Throttle Position

The detailed step-by-step procedure provided below will give you a firm idea about starting your Snapper Riding Lawn Mower.

The Step by Step Procedure of Starting a Snapper Riding Lawnmower:

Even if you know how to start your Snapper Riding Lawn Mower, there may be interesting points you did not think about before, or you can use some detailed help. For this purpose, we will discuss important points along with other necessities.

Following are the step by step procedure:

● Step 1: Check the Oil Level

The first and foremost thing is the oil level inspection. Checking the Snapper oil level is relatively simple. All you need to do is to locate the oil fill cap and take it off. You’ll see a dipstick attached to it. The dipstick has two limits marked on it. The crankcase’s oil level should be closer to the upper or maximum limit but not above it. If the oil level is too low, your mower will get too hot and can die out some minutes after starting. So when the level is low, you need to add more oil. Please do not add too much oil in one go; instead, add a little, then check with the dipstick and repeat until the desired oil level is achieved. Clean the dipstick with a piece of cloth before each check.

● Step 2: Fill the fuel Tank

You have to perform this step only if you find out that the Snapper fuel tank is empty or has too little fuel. It is a good practice to check the fuel tank each time you use your mower. The best approach would be to use fresh fuel each time you use your mower. You can usually obtain the fuel type requirements and other fuel-related information from the manual. Also, never let gasoline sit in the fuel tank for a long time (generally more than 30 days), as it can get bad and makes your mower run less efficiently.

● Step 3:  Position Yourself on the Seat

This seems like an obvious one, but newer models have sensors that won’t let the machine start if an operator is not in the seat. Before starting your Snapper, Riding Lawn Mower, make sure that you are comfortable and your feet are reaching the brakes, and your hands are on the steering.

● Step 4: Press the Brake

After applying the brake, hold the brake in this position for some time. The brake is usually a pedal down under your feet, like in any automobile. In some models of Snapper Riding Lawnmowers, there is a lever instead of pedal-type brakes. Please reach it and apply the break.

● Step 5: Engage the Parking Brake

The position of the parking brake in Snapper Riding Lawnmowers varies from model to model. But mostly, the parking brake is located on the left side of your Snapper Riding Lawn Mower. It is a kind of knob that you have to rotate (for engaging purposes) as soon as you move your feet away from the pedal brake.

● Step 6: Apply the Neutral Gear

Locate the gear lever and move it to its neutral position. This lever setup is present near the steering of your Snapper Riding Lawn Mower. In case that your riding mower does not have a parking brake knob, you have to keep the brake pedal pressed for shifting gears.

● Step 7: Set the Throttle in Choke Position

Once in neutral gear, look for the Snapper throttle lever. You can easily find it as it indicates the speed with a certain sort of calibration represented by a symbol (e.g., a high or low or a character such as a rabbit and a turtle). Set this lever to the choke position.

● Step 8: Insert the Key and Start Ignition

This process is similar to an automobile ignition. You have to insert the key into the Snapper ignition switch and move it to the right position and hold it there for about 15 seconds until you hear the ignition sound and feel the starting engine’s vibrations.

Your engine may not start on the first ignition. If this is the case, release the key, wait for some seconds, then turn it to the right just like before and hold it for 15 seconds max. Your Snapper Riding Lawnmower will most probably start in two attempts. Please keep in mind not having the key in the extreme right position for more than 15 seconds as this can damage the ignition switch.

● Step 9: Adjust Speed with Throttle Position

After starting the Snapper engine, please move to the throttle lever again, remove it from the choke position and move it to the fast position. You can also move the throttle lever to the medium position and let your mower idle and warm-up for some moments and then turn it to the fast position.

Once your mower starts running at a certain speed, you can control and adjust the speed with brakes and throttle positions.

Important Points to Keep in Mind

• User manual: The exact starting procedure may differ from the manual to the manual of different models. Hence it is good to have the user manual of your Snapper Riding Lawnmower model for accurate guidance.
• Check the internet: If you do not have a manual, you can look for one on the internet. If you know your Snapper Riding Lawnmower model number, you can easily find relevant information online.
• Parking brake: The Snapper Riding Lawnmower must be turned off and using the parking brake when any repairing is carried out.

Cold Weather and Starting a Snapper Riding Lawnmower

We know that every automobile engine takes some time to start when the weather is cold. Similar things happen with Snapper Riding Lawnmower engines with a cold start. The engine needs some extra time of cranking to move the fuel from the tank to the engine. Once this has been done, your Snapper Riding Lawnmower is ready for running. Just try to keep the cranking not more than 15 seconds max each time. Thus, starting a Snapper Riding Lawnmower in cold needs an internal engine check-up while all other steps remain the same (i.e., oil or fuel checking).

Alternative Way of Starting a Snapper Riding Lawn Mower

The other method that is neither professional nor recommended is using a screwdriver if you do not have the keys or the key is broken. The ignition process of a Snapper Riding Lawnmower from the backend depends on the wire connections. With the help of a screwdriver matching the key size, we can often start the engine. But still, it is not recommended because the wiring connections are very sensitive and fragile, and inserting a screwdriver may damage the ignition switch, leading to a costly repair.

Moderate Speed Limits

It is preferred to operate your Snapper Riding Lawnmower at a moderate speed by adjusting the gear lever. Having control over the gear shift lever will enable you to develop a good habit of hovering at moderate speeds. Just make sure you are not with gear point on neutral or with too much speed that you cannot control. Thus, without having a good hands-on experience of controlling and adjusting mower speed, make sure to go slowly with your Snapper Riding Lawnmower to avoid any accidents. 

Final Remarks

Starting a Snapper Riding Lawnmower is not too difficult, and our step by step by step guide will take you through the process. The first two steps that we discussed are about some initial precautionary measures and some best practices. The next steps are not complicated if you know all the parts involved in the procedure. If you are a riding mower beginner, you must operate your Snapper Riding mower at slow to medium speed. The alternate method to start the engine using a screwdriver is not recommended as it can damage your mower. Use it only for emergencies.