Push lawn-mowers

[tblake05]

What do you guys all use? I’m anal about my lawn. It’s almost 2 acres of perfectly groomed grass.

I weed whip, edge with a walk behind mower and then run my John Deere every week.

so far this year my walk behind mower has been giving me trouble. Wouldn’t run when first started in spring. Rebuilt the carb. Ran great for two weeks. Rebuilt the carb again. Did I miss something? Ran good again for one cut. I use it about an hour to edge and the first time using it after the second rebuild it ran good but stalled almost exactly when I was done using it. So it was ok.

It will run if I hold the mechanically controlled throttle almost closed. Otherwise it starts and stalls right away.  I tore it down farther tonight. All is well. Back together it’s no better.

it has a large vacuum leak between the carp and it’s mounting plate. Verified by being able to keep it running by spraying carb spray at the spot.  So, the plate where the carb mounts is warped. Visible by the naked eye. I tried straightening it but it runs ok, but lacks power since it is still leaking and running lean.

it’s a craftsmen with a brigs and Stratton 6.5hp engine. It’s only about 10 years old.

what would you guys do? Go further and buy a new carb plate / intake manifold, or just replace the machine?

seems everything now days is built so junky and is all throw away.

what machines do you guys use? I’m linking the Honda engine mowers....

Edited May 21, 2021 by tblake05

[orsd]

Usually eBay has entire replacement carbs for not that much, for future reference. 

For your issue I’d personally RTV the golpher out of it and call it good, unless the new part was super cheap.

Also, I would recommend stabil, to help with the carb issues. Ethanol gas sucks for carbs, big time. And at the end of the season, drain the tank, run it dry, then go buy the expensive ethanol free gas in the quart bottles from Home Depot. Treat that with Stabil, splash a bit into the tank, prime the system, run it for a bit, then drain and run it dry again. Fill it with fresh fuel next spring.

Personally though, I use cash. Handed to a guy in a beat up pickup truck. I’m not wasting my time doing lawn work. If I’m in the mood to get my hands dirty on a weekend I prefer working on cars or cleaning and refurbing vendors.

[tblake05]

9 hours ago, orsd said:

....Personally though, I use cash. Handed to a guy in a beat up pickup truck. I’m not wasting my time doing lawn work. If I’m in the mood to get my hands dirty on a weekend I prefer working on cars or cleaning and refurbing vendors.

Not me.  I work on cars and vending machines all week long.  Cutting grass is my time to myself.

 

TY for the tip.  I was thinking about RTV and seeing how long it wil go.

[lacanteen]

I was going to mention the RTV thing too. To your original question, Toro seems to be among the top rated machines. 

[AngryChris]

I'd ask a lawn enthusiast forum about this since you seem to be pretty passionate about it

[Southeast Treats]

I pay a guy to worry about my lawn, not that I am rich, just that I have spent enough time out of my life on lawn care already.  However, your mower is 10 years old, it owes you nothing.  You find joy in mowing, that's great.  Treat yourself to a new push mower, maybe even a rechargeable electric!  Or one with a built in margarita dispenser....