Maintaining an electric lawn mower

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Maintaining an electric lawn mower

Types:
There are two basic mowers: power rotary and reel. Power rotary mowers come in two basic styles - walk behind and rider. The manual reel mowers slice with a scissorslike action and give a smooth cut. While quiet and non-polluting, they require substantial effort and are only suitable for small LEVEL lawns.

Clean up:
With lawn mowers, your most important task is removing the grass from underneath the mower deck. But there are a few other things to keep in mind as well.

Technique:
Scrape off caked-on grass clippings after each use of your walk-behind power mower. Use a piece of wood or an old wooden spoon or spatula so you don't damage the blades with metal to metal contact.

To clean benaeth the deck of a power mower turn the mower off, and remove the spark-plug wire (and the key from the switch on electric-start models). Tilt the mower on its side 30 degrees and then prop it up on a cement block or a log. Avoid turning the mower all the way on its side as the oil or gas may leak. For electric mowers, unplug them before you start. Because the walk-behind models are often mulching or recycling mowers, which cut grass into finer bits, grass is more likely to stick to them, requiring more frequent cleaning than riding mowers.

Plan to sharpen blades and scrape caked-on grass at the same time. If your riding mower is a mulcher, however, inspect it after every use and clean it as needed. Set your garden hose nozzle for a fine mist, rather than a direct jet. Never use a pressure sprayer to clean a lawn mower. Remove caked-on dirt and grass from the exterior using a soft cloth and mild soapy water in a bucket. When you're finished, washing a mower with water, let it run or drive it around for a few minutes to spin the water off of all belts and pulleys.

Also regularly clean the air filter on lawn mowers. While you should follow the manufacturer's instructions, most air filters need cleaning after every 25 hours of use and more frequently in dusty conditions. If your mower's air filter is a foam filter, remove it, wash it in a bucket filled with mild soapy water - liquid dishwashing detergent works best - and let it dry completely. Most require you to distribute a teaspoon or so of oil throughout the filter.

Cleaning the mower is much faster and easier if you do it when the grass is fresh. To remove grass clippings from underneath your gas powered walk-behind mower, put it on flat surface near a garden hose and remove the grass catcher. Start the engine. Hold a running garden hose at hand level and direct water onto the ground just in front of the right rear tire (or the side opposite the discharge chute). The rotating blade will draw water under the deck and wash out the clippings. Do not use too much water. Let the mower run for a few minutes to dry out belts and pulleys.

Don't do this if you have an electric mower. They are light enough to tip over and clean with wooden shim or plastic scraper as described earlier.

Did you follow our fall article for retiring a lawn mower for the season? If so, in the spring, all you do is fill the gas tank with fresh, unleaded gasoline and GO!

If you didn't do it then, do it now! As well you should check the blade and sharpen it, check belts, pulleys, wheels, and all the nuts and bolts before starting up your lawn mower for spring.

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Types:
There are two basic mowers: power rotary and reel. Power rotary mowers come in two basic styles - walk behind and rider. The manual reel mowers slice with a scissorslike action and give a smooth cut. While quiet and non-polluting, they require substantial effort and are only suitable for small LEVEL lawns.

Clean up:
With lawn mowers, your most important task is removing the grass from underneath the mower deck. But there are a few other things to keep in mind as well.

Technique:
Scrape off caked-on grass clippings after each use of your walk-behind power mower. Use a piece of wood or an old wooden spoon or spatula so you don't damage the blades with metal to metal contact.

To clean benaeth the deck of a power mower turn the mower off, and remove the spark-plug wire (and the key from the switch on electric-start models). Tilt the mower on its side 30 degrees and then prop it up on a cement block or a log. Avoid turning the mower all the way on its side as the oil or gas may leak. For electric mowers, unplug them before you start. Because the walk-behind models are often mulching or recycling mowers, which cut grass into finer bits, grass is more likely to stick to them, requiring more frequent cleaning than riding mowers.

Plan to sharpen blades and scrape caked-on grass at the same time. If your riding mower is a mulcher, however, inspect it after every use and clean it as needed. Set your garden hose nozzle for a fine mist, rather than a direct jet. Never use a pressure sprayer to clean a lawn mower. Remove caked-on dirt and grass from the exterior using a soft cloth and mild soapy water in a bucket. When you're finished, washing a mower with water, let it run or drive it around for a few minutes to spin the water off of all belts and pulleys.

Also regularly clean the air filter on lawn mowers. While you should follow the manufacturer's instructions, most air filters need cleaning after every 25 hours of use and more frequently in dusty conditions. If your mower's air filter is a foam filter, remove it, wash it in a bucket filled with mild soapy water - liquid dishwashing detergent works best - and let it dry completely. Most require you to distribute a teaspoon or so of oil throughout the filter.

Cleaning the mower is much faster and easier if you do it when the grass is fresh. To remove grass clippings from underneath your gas powered walk-behind mower, put it on flat surface near a garden hose and remove the grass catcher. Start the engine. Hold a running garden hose at hand level and direct water onto the ground just in front of the right rear tire (or the side opposite the discharge chute). The rotating blade will draw water under the deck and wash out the clippings. Do not use too much water. Let the mower run for a few minutes to dry out belts and pulleys.

Don't do this if you have an electric mower. They are light enough to tip over and clean with wooden shim or plastic scraper as described earlier.

Did you follow our fall article for retiring a lawn mower for the season? If so, in the spring, all you do is fill the gas tank with fresh, unleaded gasoline and GO!

If you didn't do it then, do it now! As well you should check the blade and sharpen it, check belts, pulleys, wheels, and all the nuts and bolts before starting up your lawn mower for spring.

Links & Resources

Site Map