Maintenance (MOT) and lawnmower care yourself.
In a previous article, we shared information on how to understand why a lawn mower broke and whether self-repair is possible:
If you want your lawn mower to work as long as possible, without failures and failures, you need to regularly take care of its maintenance. At the same time, you can do most of the maintenance work with your own hands, if, of course, you can at least drive a nail into the wall or tighten the screw.
I note that maintenance should be carried out at the end of the working season, before directly placing the device in storage. In some cases, it makes sense to carry out maintenance procedures more often. Next, I will tell you about the main ways to perform maintenance procedures, giving along the way recommendations on the timing and bypass of pitfalls.
Knife sharpening
1. Removing the blades
If you have a rotary lawn mower, you will not experience any special problems with sharpening knives. Of course, you will have to remove them before sharpening. To remove the knives, you need to disconnect the spark plug, which will allow you to protect yourself from accidentally starting the engine during the rotation of the knife. If you want to change the oil at the same time as the knife sharpener, drain it from the tank before turning the equipment on its side. If you do not plan to drain the oil, refer to the instructions for your lawn mower, which will certainly indicate how to turn the unit correctly, eliminating the risk of leakage. Most of the knives are fixed to the drive shaft with one single bolt, so their removal will be reduced to unscrewing this bolt. To block the blade for easy removal, you can either use logs, or with thick mittens or a lump of rags. Locking will not allow the knife to rotate. Barely grasping the blade is strictly prohibited.
2. The grinding process
When the knife is removed, it is changed or sharpened. At the same time, quality knives can be sharpened without problems for several times. The blade changes only if the cutting part is thinned or the corners of the knife become round. The knife, which is in normal condition, is ground with a grinder, or with an angle grinder. In the second case, you have to hold the blade in a vise. You can use a file, but it is quite laborious. I recommend contacting professionals who will sharpen quality without problems. If you will use a grinding machine, do not forget about protective gloves and glasses.
3. After sharpening
When the knife is sharpened, you need to check its balance. Pass a nail or a round rod into the hole of the blade, on which the knife must balance. If there is no balancing, this will lead first to vibration during operation, and then to serious damage. To balance the blade, you need to process the knife with a file or a machine. Set the balanced and sharpened knife in its original place, tighten the bolt. In the presence of a specific torque (checked according to the instructions), it is necessary to use a torque wrench.
Video: How To Swap A Husqvarna Lawn Mower Candle
As for drum lawn mowers, their grinding and grinding is carried out exclusively by professionals.
Lawn Mower Cleaning
In order for the mower to work properly, you must remember to maintain it in absolute cleanliness. Do you know that grass juice has a strong corrosive effect? If clippings of mowed grass accumulate under the deck, it will quickly rust and collapse. Cleanliness should be maintained at both the top and bottom of the deck.
Remember to minimize cleaning work only if you are not mowing wet grass. Dry grass will fall away from the deck, as a result of which all cleaning can be done with a blower or an air compressor. Wet grass cuttings, as well as stuck plants, are removed using a water hose. Some models of devices have a flush fitting mounted in the deck, which makes the cleaning process even easier.
2. Engine cleaning
Equally important is maintaining a clean engine. The mower engine is air-cooled, and the stability of the entire system will depend on the cleanliness of the cooling fins. Dirty ribs threaten overheating and failure of expensive equipment. Cleaning the ribs involves the dismantling of the auxiliary external elements of the engine, after which it will be possible to use compressed air for cleaning. If there is no source of compressed air, use a soft brush that shows even greater efficiency in many cases.
Change of oil
The oil must be changed at the intervals prescribed in the instructions for use of the mower. The entire replacement process involves the drain of old oil in a particular disposal tank and the subsequent filling of new oil. In this case, the new composition must have an API class and the corresponding viscosity. Some engines have a bottom drain, while others need to turn the device on its side to drain the oil. The oil must be drained from the engine still warm, since in the heated state it will be easier to flow out, capturing the suspended mud particles. After adding the right amount of oil, check it with a level. During the filling process, make sure that no dirt enters the crater.
Lubrication of elements
After reading the instructions for your lawn mower, you will surely find information on the lubrication of its individual elements, including the axles. Some models have grease nipples to inject grease into the grease. To implement the lubrication process, you will need to use grease fitting.
Air Filter Maintenance
The air filter, as one of the most important elements of the system, regularly needs to be either replaced or cleaned. The more dust that rises into the air during operation, the more regular maintenance should be. At the end of the season, it is better to change the filter, even if you did not forget to clean it during use.
Spark plug
At the end of the season, spark plugs or spark plugs must be checked for possible replacement or maintenance. If you notice burn marks or rust on the electrode or the end of the candle, the element needs to be replaced. If the candle has a white coating, oil or carbon deposits, then the candle requires cleaning and regulating the gap. Changing such a candle will also not be superfluous. The amount of clearance is determined by information from the manual. Re-adjustment is carried out using a special tool. In the manual you can also find information on the magnitude of the tightening of candles. Reinstalling these elements is carried out using a torque wrench.
Gasoline drain
At the end of the season, you need to drain the gas from the mower. Volatile fuel components will evaporate, and old gasoline can just ruin the engine. If you do not want to face the inability to start the engine in the spring, then it is better to drain gasoline, or completely develop it before placing it in winter storage. In the last mowing, do not pour more fuel into the tank than you can produce, but if you have already poured it, leave the mower in the on state at the end of work. Disposing of old gasoline in the fuel tank will help protect the carburetor from plaque formed by gasoline fumes. Fill the tank with fresh gasoline in the spring, you will not experience problems with the winding. Unused gasoline can be poured into other equipment. If you keep it all winter, it will become old and harm the motor when used. Remember that a mixture of oil and gas for two-stroke engines is not suitable for four-stroke engines.
All these simple tricks guarantee the performance and durability of your equipment. A little fall maintenance will help your engine start from the first push.