Taking Care Of Your Mower Engine
With the spring season its time to start mowing and you
must have your lawn mower in perfect and fit conditions so that it does not
give you trouble through the season. Briggs & Stratton, one of the largest
produces of engines for lawn mowers recommends the following simple program for
maintenance of your machine to extract the best performance out of it. Regular
and proper maintenance also enhances the operational life of your asset also.
- Blade sharpening: Unplug the sparkplug of the engine to prevent accidental start, turn it upside down and inspect the condition of the blade. It is advisable to get it sharpened professionally so as to ensure optimum performance. A dull blade can spoil the look of your lawn and my even damage the grass.
- Clean the engine: The engine and other body parts should be cleaned of any dirt, clippings and earth and have the moving parts properly greased using some vegetable oil which would prevent buildup of clippings underneath.
- Change air-filter and oil-filter: The engine requires supply of clean air for optimum performance so replace the filter. There is small oil filter also in some of the engines. Briggs & Stratton recommends that you should inspect the condition of the oil-filter and change if required.
- Change Engine Oil: The engine oil must be changed before start of each season. Briggs & Stratton also recommends that you must change the engine oil after every 50 hours of operations. The engine oil must be of proper grade as specified in the owner’s manual. And be sure to dispose the drained used oil in a proper manner so that you don not end up polluting the environment.
- Use fresh Fuel: Empty your tank when you store the mover after the fall season. If there is any fuel left over for more than 2 months, you must remove it and fill fresh fuel in the tank before putting the mower back to use at the start of the season.
- Tuning the engine: In case you have problems starting the engine are there is knocking of the engine, Briggs & Stratton recommends that you call professional help and get your engine tuned up for proper operations.
In case of any difficulty read the owner’s manual.