How to Extend the Life of Your Lawn Mower
Lawn mowers are hard working pieces of garden machinery. Used on a frequent basis and can often take a beating. Similarly, to any piece of machinery if not maintained properly the performance can lower, resulting in a shortened lifespan. Therefore, we have compiled our knowledge and expertise into ensuring you can keep your mower in tip-top condition!
Routine Jobs
Keep an Eye on The Grass
The state of the grass itself is a good indication as to when it’s time to sharpen your blades. If your grass is starting to look more torn, rather than cleanly cut it’s time to sharpen them blades! We recommend to sharpen your blades once at the beginning of the season before your first cut of the year, and then again in the middle of the season. Sharp blades ensures a cleaner cut, in addition can also reduce your fuel consumption by 22%. Blades are the key part of the machine which physically cuts the grass. Alike to anything else, they will wear over time – resulting in becoming dull with use.
Additionally, damage can be caused to the blade if they are forced through long grass. Minimise this risk by carrying out an additional cut! Initially increase your cutting height to reduce the length of the grass, secondly proceed with the cut height you desire. Another way to maximise the life of your blades is by raking your lawn prior to every cut! Picking up any hard objects, such as stones, whilst mowing can cause some serious damage to your blades. Rocks and stones ricochet off the moving blades, producing an unhealthy noise – these objects have the power to chip, dent, bend, or even break your mower blades!
Petrol
Sometimes you may find your mower wont start, this can be a rather common problem, but also usually a quick and easy fix. At times even as simple as topping up the fuel tank! Leaving petrol in the machine for prolonged periods of time can additionally cause some of your issues! Draining the fuel before storing away can prevent your mower from a clogged carburettor. Moreover, you can add a fuel stabiliser to additionally prevent this.
To maximise the lifespan of battery operated mowers, ensure you disconnect the battery when not in use. This will guarantee you maintain battery health and charge. Furthermore, in the cooler months we advise storing your batteries inside for the forementioned reasons.
Clean Your Mower
After each use, clean your mower deck and free any grass clippings. If any grass dries on you mower’s deck, be sure to turn off your mower and disconnect the spark plug. Whenever you carry out any form of maintenance, ensure you disconnect the spark plug wire to prevent the mower from spontaneously turning on. Once the spark plug has been disconnected, rinse the mower deck down with a hose and use a scraper to remove the debris. Even slight movement of the blade can cause the mower to start up even if the mower has been switched off in certain instances!
Replace Fuel and Air Filters
Proper maintenance adds years onto the lifespan of your mower. Keeping it running smoothly and preventing you from the forementioned struggling of trying to start it! We recommend that you should aim to replace your fuel filter after approximately 200hrs of use. The fuel filter effectively strains the gas before reaching the carburettor, preventing your carburettor from become clogged. Replacing the fuel filter will secure any contaminants that may make their way into the fuel, protecting other elements of your machine.
Replacing the air filter promotes the maintenance of a healthy and safe environment. Clogged or dirty air filters can end up causing the engine to overheat, not run efficiently, and pollute the environment. Moreover, it could also be a fire hazard – making it beneficial to replace, as it could potentially lead to costly repairs! The engine will begin to struggle when it’s overdue for a replacement filter.
Reuse Them!
Furthermore, paper filters are very inexpensive to replace, however foam filters are simply reusable by washing them out. However, after the filter has been washed out and dried, you will need to treat the foam filter. To treat the filter add a small amount of motor oil to guarantee it traps more debris!
Barlaston Tool Shed Lawn Mower Service Package
We offer a range of services here at Barlaston Tool Shed, if you are specifically looking to get your mower in great working order ready for the busy season ahead, our experienced mechanic will be able to service your petrol lawn mowers. This means your garden can stay looking pristine all year round. We offer our lawn mower service in Staffordshire and the surrounding areas.
Petrol Rotary Lawn Mower Service Package £75.00 + VAT
Contact Us!
We provide a wide range of different services depending upon your needs. If you are looking to have your garden machinery serviced on a regular basis, or if you need a one off repair – we can help.
When you bring your machinery in to us we will provide you with a price and an idea of turnaround before you decide to proceed. This will leave you with peace of mind and ensure that you know exactly what is involved from the very start of the process.
For more info give us a call on 01782 479 888!