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The large lawns near the house require maintenance. A lawn mower can quickly cut the grass, giving the site a neat appearance. However, buying a tool is only half the battle. You need to know how to operate a lawn mower, be able to properly start it, adjust the blades and maintain it.
Reasons why the lawnmower may not start
Any technique requires careful handling and compliance with the rules of operation. It seems that the tool that worked when checking in the store stopped starting after delivery to the house or several days of operation. Before contacting the service center, you can try to solve the problem yourself. The causes of malfunctions for gasoline and electric lawn mowers are different.
The petrol lawnmower may not start for the following reasons:
- The first thing to do before starting the engine is to check the fuel in the tank. A small amount of it will create airiness in the system, but it is also impossible to fill the tank full to the brim. When refueling, it is necessary to adhere to the mark of the maximum fuel level. If the lawnmower is winterized, the fuel must be drained as the gasoline tends to evaporate. Refueling is carried out using a funnel. Before drying accidentally spilled gasoline on the parts of the mower, the engine must not be started, in order to avoid ignition of a flammable liquid.
- Often the lawnmower engine will not start because the user does not know how to start it properly. Before starting, the maximum speed is set with the lever, and then gasoline is pumped into the carburetor with a primer. The starter cord is gently pulled slightly towards you, and then pulled sharply.
- After unsuccessful attempts to start the engine, you can try changing the spark plug. Often the reason lies precisely in it. If there is no spare candle at hand, and the old one is covered with heavy soot, it must be cleaned with fine-grained sandpaper.
- Clogged air filter leads to the preparation of a poor-quality fuel mixture, and the engine starts to stall or does not start at all. It is easy to fix the problem by washing the removed filter in clean gasoline and then drying it in air. Air filters should be cleaned every 25 hours of operation, even if the mower does not stall.
- Immediately after starting, the engine may stall due to a stuck piston or crankshaft. Having unscrewed the spark plug with the starter cord, it is necessary to pump the engine several times. Perhaps the moving parts will be developed, and the malfunction will be eliminated.
- A low oil level in the crankcase can cause the engine to not start.
Electric lawn mowers also have their own easily solved problems:
- A banal reason that the lawn mower’s electric motor does not work may be a lack of electricity or low voltage. You can find out if there is current in the network using a screwdriver indicator, but you need a multimeter to measure the voltage.
- The electric mower is equipped with motor thermal protection. Grass-blocked air vents will cause the protection to constantly trip, preventing the motor from running. Solving the problem is easy by cleaning the vents.
- The cause of the mower’s electric motor not working can be a failed switch. Here you will have to contact the service center or replace the broken part yourself.
If none of the above tips helped start the unit, you don’t need to touch anything else, but it’s better to contact specialists.
The video tells about the preparation of the lawn mower for launch:
Which oil to choose and how to fill it in a lawn mower
To figure out what kind of oil a lawn mower needs to work, you need to know the type of engine of the unit. For two-stroke engines, there is a special oil diluted with gasoline in a certain proportion. That is, the fuel mixture is being prepared. Lawn mowers with a four-stroke engine use a completely different oil, and it is poured separately from gasoline.
The design of two- and four-stroke engines is different. Each operating unit requires a lubricant of a certain consistency. Which of the oils can be poured into the engine is reflected in the instruction manual for the lawn mower.
It is impossible to give preference to oil only on its cost. The price depends on the ingredients used. Oils are mineral, semi-synthetic and synthetic. From 5 to 15% in each of them there is a place for additives. They are responsible for the lubricating qualities of the oil and the ability to maintain fluidity at low temperatures. For each type of engine, oil of a certain viscosity and with the necessary additives is produced. In four-stroke engines, the oil is contaminated by the work of rubbing parts, so it is replaced every 50 hours.
Mixing and refueling a two-stroke engine
Two-stroke engines do not run on pure gasoline. For them, you will have to prepare the fuel mixture yourself. Gasoline should only be used with the octane rating recommended by the manufacturer. It is not necessary to use oil only from the same company as the lawn mower. Any brand will do, as long as it’s a two-stroke product.
Any lawnmower manual contains information about the ratio of the components of the fuel mixture, that is, oil with gasoline. For example, for mineral oil, this figure is 1:35, but it is now rarely produced for two-stroke engines. Most often, a synthetic product is found on sale. For the preparation of the fuel mixture, a ratio of 1:50 is adhered to.
Preparing the fuel mixture is quite simple. Pure gasoline is poured into a measuring can and a certain amount of oil is added using a dispenser. Next, it remains to tightly close the lid of the canister, shake the liquid and the fuel will be ready. It remains with the help of a funnel to pour the prepared mixture into the gas tank and you can start the lawn mower.
For the convenience of preparing fuel, it is convenient to use the table.
Refueling a XNUMX-Stroke Lawn Mower
Many wheeled lawnmowers are equipped with a four-stroke engine. For such a unit, the fuel mixture does not need to be prepared. Oil is poured into a separate filler hole and is located in the engine crankcase. Only clean gasoline is poured into the tank, after which the mower is ready for work.
The design of the four-stroke engine of the mower does not provide for the presence of an oil filter. Due to the absence of a cleaning mechanism, the oil becomes contaminated quickly and requires replacement after 50 hours. The whole replacement process is easy. The engine is allowed to idle for about 15 minutes to warm up. The drain hole is located on the crankcase. It is closed with a screw cap. The mower is installed at an angle towards the drain hole, a container is placed to collect the used oil, after which the plug is unscrewed. When all the dirty oil has drained, the plug is tightly closed, the lawn mower is put on a level place and new oil is poured through the upper filler hole. For four-stroke engines, the 10W40 brand is usually used. The level is checked with a dipstick. When the desired mark is reached, the filler hole is tightly closed with a stopper.
The video shows the process of changing the oil in a lawn mower:
Rules for working with a lawn mower from A to Z
Working with any technique requires certain skills and getting used to it. If you have not had to deal with the operation of a lawn mower before, it is better to first read the instructions that came with the machine. It will help you understand the purpose of each lever, then everything learned can be consolidated by practice.
The lawn should be chosen even without holes and mounds. When the dimensions of the lawn mower are well felt, you can start trying to mow the grass of different heights and learn how to go around obstacles.
Work starts with engine start
So, the lawn mower is filled with oil and gasoline, nothing flows anywhere, we proceed to the first test run of the engine:
- The first step before starting the lawnmower engine is to check the position of the speed control. If the transmission is engaged, it must be disengaged, otherwise, as soon as the engine starts, the mower will start moving on its own.
- When the ignition is turned off, the starter or the winding cord (it all depends on the design of the lawn mower) scrolls the motor shaft. The air damper is in the open position.
- The following actions consist of turning on the ignition and closing the choke. Starting the lawnmower starter is done with a button. If the engine has a winding cord, it must be pulled sharply towards you.
- If, after several unsuccessful attempts, the engine does not start, turn off the ignition, open the air damper and make several idle pumps to purge the combustion chamber.
- Having finished with the purge, repeat the same steps as they did last time during the start of the motor.
When the lawnmower engine has successfully started, it works monotonously without jerks, the position with the desired speed is set with the high-speed lever, and the movement begins.
Grass cutting height adjustment
To achieve the required cutting height, the lawn mower has a special lever that allows you to raise and lower the blades. Depending on the model, there may be two levers and the number of steps is different. For example, the 7-step adjustment allows you to adjust the cutting height from 20 to 70 mm.
It should be noted that soft grass is easier to mow with a low knife position. For tough grass, the blades will need to be raised and the mower body adjusted forward. Changing the angle of the housing compensates for the deviation of the lawnmower with strong pressure on the handle. On front-wheel drive lawn mowers, do not tilt the body forward, otherwise the machine will leave gaps of uncut grass behind it.
We expose the handle of the mower to your height
To make mowing grass less tiring, you need to properly adjust the height of the mower handle. The optimal position of the handle is 3 cm above the center of gravity of the body. Although each person selects the location of the lawn mower handle individually according to their height and physique. For adjustment on the handle there are special screws.
Conclusion
It is necessary to mow the grass without much effort. The lawn mower has to move on the lawn itself, it only needs to be controlled. In difficult areas, it is better to switch to lower speeds, change the direction of movement by smoothly moving the handle to the left or right. Extra effort on the part of a person during work will lead to rapid wear of the transmission and deformation of the knife on the ground.