Quick Start Guide – Lawn Mowers

Ever wonder why some lawn mowers start easily and others do not? Routine maintenance is the key to easy starting of your lawn mower. We will cover a few tips later in this post that just about all consumers can easily follow. The picture on the left shows two spark plugs. A brand new one and the other just recently removed from the engine. The one with that is black will make it more difficult to start the engine, if it does run, will run rough or cause more pollution than a new one or at least one that is properly gapped and cleaned.

The dirty one is coated with tar and black deposits that can weaken the actual spark generated by the spark plug. If it is really bad, it may retard the spark completely making it impossible to start your engine. Your carburetor will be equally dirty from deposits from gasoline coating it and may even block the intake of gasoline to the engine. This can also be a serious  problem when it comes to starting an engine. We put together a quick start guide – lawn mowers to help consumers avoid this kind of problem and repair costs if you need to take it to a small engine mechanic.

Quick Start Guide – Lawn Mowers

• Keep the oil in your engine fresh and change it at least every season
• If you use your lawn mower a great deal, change the oil in your engine after every 50 hours of operation and at the beginning of the season.
• Use fuel stabilizer in your gasoline and use fresh gasoline
• Start your lawn mower once a month.
• Ensure there is a solid electrical connection to the spark plug, remove any corrosion from the connector
• Always use the recommended fuel for your engine
• maintain fresh fuel in the carburetor especially if it is going to sit for a while
• Change or at the very least clean the spark plug every two years.
• The air filter should be cleaned every 60 days and more often if conditions are dusty

In addition to being able to start your engine easily, these actions will also ensure that your engine will last a long time and not begin burning oil. Always check the oil level to ensure that there is sufficient oil in the reservoir. Top up if needed, however avoid over filling since too much oil can increase the pressure inside the engine and cause other problems to develop. Always measure the oil level when the engine is cold and on a level surface to obtain an accurate reading.