why do so many people have broken mowers?

[caprice_2nv]

I use a 1981 mastercraft 3hp Briggs and Stratton, that was my parents mower they bought 2 years before I was born. I mowed the lawn with it as a kid. Recently the carb plugged up and after several tries to fix it, got a used carb and fuel tank installed and it runs like new. No smoke ever, starts first pull every time. The shop that fixed it for me after we failed with the carb did a compression test and said it was better than a lot of the late model stuff they test. Then they gave me what I considered a really good deal for all the work they did.

I make sure never to use ethanol in the tank anymore. People on here will swear up and down its not a problem, but I don't believe they're right. I also run full synthetic oil in it now since it got abused when it was younger and we didn't have time for enough maintenance.

 

[Hokiefyd]

I don't know -- some people just seem to have trouble with stuff. I've never had a single virus on any computer I've owned. Others seem to get them all the time. Just good general practices, I guess.

I like to think I don't do anything special to my mowers. I use ethanol-laced fuel all the time (and even store them wet). I use 10W-30 conventional oil. I mulch up most things I come across in the yard except for rocks and stumps. One of my mowers is a 15 year old Honda HR215 and my other mower is a 13 year old Honda HRB217. They both run like clocks.

 

[Hounds]

Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
[An electric lawnmower] . . . may be fine for those postage stamp size inner city excuses for a yard. Not so much when you actually measure your yard in acres.

Fair point. In our case, however, at least a decade of the EM use has been mowing a landscaped quarter acre on a one-acre lot. (As previously mentioned, the hassle is the cord, but it's a relatively minor inconvenience.)

 

[bioburner]

According to a small engine shop and a larger adult toy dealership that I know well. booze in the gas has become the #1 issue dissolving seals and turning to water if stored without stabilizer. There is also different grades of engines used in the manufacture of outdoor products. I have a pro grade mower and a consumer grade lawn tractor of the same manufacture and the quality of builds is night and day. Wish I had just waited to find a used pro grade lawn tractor as the lawn tractor I have is half the age of the prograde mower is showing wear. Tending to over 6 acres.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: Hounds

I have no idea what the potential life of an electric lawn mower is, but I can say with absolute certainty that if this one ever gives up the ghost, I know what I won't be buying: another gasoline-powered lawn mower.


My parents had one for 20 years and gave it to someone. They last a while.


Originally Posted By: gathermewool
My observations:

1. Never check, let alone change the oil. Result: worn out engine.

2. Mow EVERYTHING in the lawn, including stones and roots. Result: bent shaft leading to instant or eventual failure.



My mom hit a pipe and bent the crankshaft on their last lawn mower. It ran 3 or 4 years without issue until the intake "manifold" cracked and it wouldn't run. I JB welded the intake "manifold" back together and it got through the season.

 

[Wylie6G72]

This thread brings back a hilarious memory for me from 1987. I was at my high-school girlfriend's house one afternoon when her father decided it was time for the first mowing of the season. He pushed the mower out of the garage, added some gas, pulled the rope a few times, it sputtered to life. A few seconds later, it shot the piston up against the side of the house. I had never seen anything like that happen in person. I don't know the full maintenance history of that mower, so I can't blame him, but my suspicion was that it had probably never had an oil change.

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? I do a complete service and clean-up on mine before it's parked for winter. The oil gets checked before each startup, and I clean the air filter with a shop vac every few mows. I filled a 2-gallon can with 1 gallon of 87 octane and 1 gallon of TrueFuel in April, and it's been running fine on that all summer. I can say with all confidence that the $269 investment I made in 2005 will last me quite a while longer at this rate. It still starts on the first pull and runs like it's brand new.

Some folks are ok with kissing that investment off and just letting it implode. I can't do it. For me, it's a challenge to see how long I can get it to run, safely.

 

[Eddie]

When I was repairing mowers for a living, most mowers brought in as broken had, stale gas from the year before.

 

[HerrStig]

Every spring a few mowers turn up at our town transfer station with gummed up carbs. The owners simply replace them with another 99 dollar special.
The station manager sets them aside for folks willing to clean the carbs and have themselves a free mower. I saw a beautiful John Deer there last year with a bent crankshaft. How the crank got bent without breaking the flywheel key is beyond me.

 

[Lubener]

Originally Posted By: caprice_2nv
I use a 1981 mastercraft 3hp Briggs and Stratton, that was my parents mower they bought 2 years before I was born. I mowed the lawn with it as a kid. Recently the carb plugged up and after several tries to fix it, got a used carb and fuel tank installed and it runs like new. No smoke ever, starts first pull every time. The shop that fixed it for me after we failed with the carb did a compression test and said it was better than a lot of the late model stuff they test. Then they gave me what I considered a really good deal for all the work they did.

I make sure never to use ethanol in the tank anymore. People on here will swear up and down its not a problem, but I don't believe they're right. I also run full synthetic oil in it now since it got abused when it was younger and we didn't have time for enough maintenance.


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.

 

[caprice_2nv]

It used to hit a lot of rocks on my parents 33 acre property, once it shattered the flange the blade mounts to, and the wheels fell off the frame and had to be reinforced when it was about 20 years old. Amazing how tough an engine with no oil filter and very infrequent oil changes can be.

 

[jeepman3071]

Just like cars, usually from neglect. I'd say that around 3/4 of the equipment that I work on for people has low oil or no oil. Never mind stuff like mouse nests in the engine, bent/upside down blades, and bad fuel.

The same thing with cars. People drive them until something happens, usually catastrophic, and it becomes too expensive to fix so they buy new. If you maintain your stuff it can save you from unexpected bills and expenses.

 

[HangFire]

Originally Posted By: 69GTX
If I get 3-5 yrs on a mower I figure that's "good."
...
I've never once sharpened a blade.


There is a relationship between these two statements. Dull blades make engines work harder.

 

[caprice_2nv]

I can't afford to buy a mower every 3-5 years. The most I spent on repairs was recently $140 for diagnosis, a used carb and gas tank, used throttle cable. I could have bought the cheapest used mower for that price but the ancient one would likely outlast the newer used one anyway. Prices have gone up so much in these things.

 

[The motor guy]

Originally Posted By: itguy08
Originally Posted By: 69GTX
Some people might use the same fuel they bought in April all they way to October. Might be ok if you stabilize it.


I think that's the key right there. When I buy fuel I put Sta-Bil and MMO in it and date it, same swill I put in the cars. It's stored inside the shed. I'm using gas from the end of December 2015 in my stuff now. The riding mower starts up and runs like a top. The pressure washer, same thing. Even the weedwhacker and blower just finished their dose of last year's 2 stroke mix. They seemed to stumble a bit but made full power and now is on a diet of 1 week old gas.

I guess if you store outside in the elements the gas will degrade but in a regular old shed with StaBIl and all is well.


Not to de rail my own thread, but I think the fuel stabilizer is a bunch of [censored]. The key is to not let the engine sit. I have stuff with year old fuel in it still running fine because I start it up and run it once a month. No fuel stabilizer. Just don't store the stuff in a shed with no insulation that gets up to 140 degrees, this seems to cause things to gum up quickly.

 

[a1mfw]

Still have a 30+ y/o Honda lawnmower and snowblower in use. Proper use and maintenance are probably lacking on people causing them to go through equipment. Repair shop's stay busy in spring and beginning of winter with people bringing in equipment around my area.

 

[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

 

[KD0AXS]

Most people these days are clueless when it comes to OPE maintenance and repair, and when they do try to fix something they end up causing even more problems.

I came home from work one day an noticed the neighbor across the street had his Craftsman snowblower sitting out on the curb by the trash can so I went over and talked to him. The gearbox for the auger was broken so he went out and bought a brand new snowblower for around $1,000. He told me to take it if I thought I could fix it. A new gearbox was just over $100 and it took me about an hour to replace it. When I disassembled it I quickly figured out why the gearbox had broken. He had replaced the shear pins with grade 5 bolts. That was 5 or 6 years ago now and that snowblower still works great.

 

[bmwpowere36m3]

Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
Originally Posted By: itguy08
Originally Posted By: 69GTX
Some people might use the same fuel they bought in April all they way to October. Might be ok if you stabilize it.


I think that's the key right there. When I buy fuel I put Sta-Bil and MMO in it and date it, same swill I put in the cars. It's stored inside the shed. I'm using gas from the end of December 2015 in my stuff now. The riding mower starts up and runs like a top. The pressure washer, same thing. Even the weedwhacker and blower just finished their dose of last year's 2 stroke mix. They seemed to stumble a bit but made full power and now is on a diet of 1 week old gas.

I guess if you store outside in the elements the gas will degrade but in a regular old shed with StaBIl and all is well.


Not to de rail my own thread, but I think the fuel stabilizer is a bunch of [censored]. The key is to not let the engine sit. I have stuff with year old fuel in it still running fine because I start it up and run it once a month. No fuel stabilizer. Just don't store the stuff in a shed with no insulation that gets up to 140 degrees, this seems to cause things to gum up quickly.


Pretty sure he's from CT, like myself and all our fuel is E10... I use fuel stabilizer when storing items and never have any fuel-related issues. In-season, if it sits for a month or two its a non-issue (no stabilizer).

 

[lars11]

There are some strange things in this situation:
1. On the forum we generally claim that the wheels, controls, bolts, deck etc will go first on consumer grade mowers, where pro stuff lasts longer. On engines we talk about hundreds or thousand hours for well maintained engines.
2. When I talk to people with "broken mowers" it's generally just hard or impossible to start. Not the hardware or controls... And the engines are not really bad, they could be like 3-4 yrs old with maybe like 100 hrs on them. But the friggin' Sprint 40 will not start. Throw it!

And people are talking about brands, and somwhow they fail to see that all/many brands use the same engines from Briggs or Honda. Still they claim things like "husqvarnas run/last longer" or "Toro will run forever". They generally mean the engine, which is often the same as on the supermarket brand...
They also think that a briggs with a plastic cover over the starter is "better" or more "hightech" than an old one without plastic on top.

People are confused.

 

[andyd]

Originally Posted By: cb_13
I usually buy or acquire my mowers 10+ years old and broke down. A little TLC is all the older/better built ones usually require.
7 seasons so far on freebie Toro that is 20+ yrs old. I would take an older Toro over a new one.