The lawn mower is an essential tool for maintaining and manicuring your lawn and garden. However, like every other machine out there, lawnmowers will develop some technical issues over the years and require maintenance or even replacement.
One such issue is the dying of the lawn mower after running for briefly. Some of you have faced this situation - which is quite frustrating, especially when you are midway through mowing your lawn.
1. Old And Contaminated Fuel
One of the causes for the failure of a lawn mower after using it for a few minutes is old or contaminated fuel. When the gasoline stays in the tank for a long time, it will start degrading. The gasoline containing ethanol can degrade in 30 days or so.
The fuel can also be contaminated with dirt, moisture, and other foreign particles if it stays in the fuel tank for a long time. This will decrease the efficiency of the fuel and the engine of the lawn mower will perform poorly, consequently losing its power.
How To Fix This?
If the fuel inside the tank is old or contaminated, it's best to completely drain the tank out. You can also use a siphon pump to remove the fuel. After emptying the tank, refill it with fresh gasoline.
You can easily get ethanol-free gasoline, which will reduce the damage to the engine. In addition, adding a fuel stabilizer keeps the gasoline fresh for at least two years and prevents it from degrading.
A carburetor aids in the mixing of air and fuel and supplies this mixture for internal combustion by the engine. The mixing of the right proportion of air and fuel will reduce fuel consumption and maximize the power or output.
When a carburetor is dirty or clogged with the residue of degraded gas, the engine will receive an unbalanced amount of air and fuel. In such a situation, the engine of a lawn mower will emit a lot of black soot from the muffler and stop working.
How To Fix This:
To get rid of this problem, you need to clean the carburetor of your lawn mower. You need to disassemble all these pieces before you start cleaning it. Make sure that the engine of your lawn mower is cooled.
When you disassemble all the parts, you can then use carburetor cleaner to clean each of these parts. Make sure that all the jets and passages are free from dust or debris. Sometimes you might have to replace your carburetor completely.
A fuel filter's role is to prevent the entering of dust and debris into the engine that might enter via the fuel system of the lawn mower. Over the years, the fuel filter will get clogged with foreign particles that restrict the flow of the fuel into the engine and might cause its failure.
Even the smallest particle of dust or debris can cause the wearing and tearing of different components of an engine if they manage to enter the engine. So, you need to make sure the fuel filter of your lawn mower is not blocked.
How To Fix This?
First, let your lawn mower cool and locate its fuel filter. You can then gently remove the fuel filter. Fuel filters in lawnmowers are made from transparent plastic casing. You can look through it and see if there is the presence of any debris inside or if there has been any discoloration.
If you find debris or discoloration, you can replace the fuel filter. They are easy to replace and are inexpensive.
The air filter of a lawn mower has two components i.e., pre-filter and main filter. The purpose of the pre-filter is to keep the dust particles out, while the main filter ensures that clean air flows through the engine system of the lawn mower. However, over the years, a considerable amount of dust particles will accumulate in the air filter.
A dirty air filter will restrict the flow of clean air through the engine system, which is an integral component of an internal combustion engine of a lawn mower. Because of this, the performance of the engine drops and might stall after some time.
How To Fix This?
To clean the air filter of your lawn mower, first, you need to disassemble it and use compressed air to blow out the dust particles. Make sure you use a protective goggle and do this from a safe distance.
In addition, you can wash the pre-filter with soap and water and let it dry. You should avoid using chemicals to wash them as they might degrade or deteriorate the air filter. You can also replace the air filter entirely as they are inexpensive and easy to replace.
5. Fault In The Spark Plug
A spark plug is an electric device that helps to start your lawn mower. This device helps in the ignition of the mixture of air and gasoline in the cylinder of an engine. If there is a problem in starting up your lawn mower, then there might be a problem with the spark plug.
The spark plug will get dirty and its ignition capability will be reduced over the years. If you do not clean the accumulation of dirt, this spark plug will not be able to start or die out soon after you start it.
How To Fix This?
A good spark plug is tan or grayish. The accumulation of dirt, soot, and other foreign particles will change its appearance. You need to remove the spark plug and inspect these particles. Then, clean these by rubbing alcohol and scrubbing with the help of a toothbrush. Repeat this process until the spark plug is without soot or dirt.
Sometimes the cleaning might not work, so you have to replace the spark plug entirely.
6. Overheating of The Engine
Overheating the engine can usually cause your lawn mower to stop suddenly. This can be identified by looking at the soot emitted or the loud and unusual noise from the lawn mower. Overheating is mainly caused by tiny pieces of grass blocking the cooling fins or insufficient engine oil in the lawn mower.
Some lawnmowers are designed to stop automatically when the engine overheats. At the same time, some might stall because of the damage caused to internal parts of the lawnmowers by prolonged overheating and consequent mechanical failure. In addition, due to overheating, the engines fail to maintain the power and will immediately stop.
How To Fix This?
Overheating can damage the lawn mower completely, cause fire, and even injure you seriously. Thus, you need to be able to see such symptoms of overheating before it can cause havoc. Overheating can be reduced by having an appropriate level of engine oil and by regular maintenance of your lawnmowers.
Adequate engine oil will reduce the friction between moving parts and lowers the heating effect. Additionally, make sure you do not block the cooling fins of your lawnmowers while trimming the grasses as this blockage will rapidly increase the temperature in the engine casing or engine housing.
Sometimes the engine of a lawn mower will stop if the mower deck is blocked. This happens when you clip tall grasses or wet grass and they get stuck on the mower deck which will obstruct the movement of the blades.
When the debris accumulates, this prohibits the blades from moving and consequently raises the engine temperature of your lawn mower before shutting it down.
How To Fix This?
You need to check and clean the mower deck regularly to remove grass clipping and any other debris that might get stuck on it. Make sure the lawn mower is turned off before checking or trying to fix the blades.
Most of the time, the dull blades will tear the grass instead of cutting them. These will also get stuck on the blades of your lawn mower. Hence, sharpening the blades of your lawnmowers will reduce the problem of clogging grasses on them. Only mow dry grasses as the wet ones might clump on the lower deck of your lawn mower.
8. Low Engine Compression
When the pistons in the engine cylinder move up and down, pressure is created within the engine. This pressure is called compression and when there is low engine compression in the lawn mower, the engine will have a hard time starting up or the engine will die soon after starting.
Over time, carbon will be deposited, the cylinders might get scratched, the head gasket will get blown, and the pistons and the valve will wear out. Because of these three will be a failure in the engine of your lawn mower.
How To Fix This?
You can do a compression test with a compression gauge. If the compression level is low, there might be a problem with the engine's components. You might have to replace the piston rings, gaskets, and valves, and clean the carbon accumulated.
Sometimes, you have to replace the entire engine of your lawn mower. Regular changes in the oil and maintenance will prevent low engine compression.
9. Issues In The Ignition System
Sometimes, several issues arise in different components of the ignition system. The faulty ignition system can prevent the lawn mower from starting up or cause a failure of the machine after a few minutes.
The issues in different components of an ignition system such as the ignition coil, flywheel, magneto, etc. might cause stalling of the engine after a few minutes of work. The ignition coil might not be able to generate enough voltage or the magneto might not generate power to run the engine smoothly.
How To Fix This?
You have to check if the connection is loose or damaged. Inspect and test the ignition coil, magneto, etc. if they are faulty and you need to replace them. You better take your lawn mower to a professional technician if you are unaware of such machinery parts.
Sometimes different complications, including the issues in the ignition system of your lawn mower will make it hard to start. Find out what to do if your face lawn mower won't start in detail.
How Does A Lawn Mower Operates?
Lawnmowers that run on gasoline rely on internal combustion engines for their operation. In such lawnmowers, three key components help them to run smoothly. They are air, fuel, and spark. I have tried to cover all these components in the sections above. In summary, remember this as; the mixture of air and gasoline is ignited with a spark that runs the engine.
The energy generated in the engine is then transmitted to the mower blades. These blades are circular and can be adjusted at a desired height with a knob or a lever. These blades can rotate rapidly to cut the grass. New technologies have made these lawnmowers more energy-efficient, increased safety, and provided complete user control.
How To Maintain Your Lawn Mowers?
When you buy a lawn mower, you want it to last for a long time. And, this is entirely possible. If you are wondering what can I do to maintain my lawn mower, you at at the right place. This section will try to explain the ways that can make your lawn mower last long. Let us look at some of these ideas in detail.
Change The Oil Regularly
Oil is like blood for the engine of your lawn mower. You need to ensure the oil you use is not old or contaminated as this might cause the wearing and tearing of engine components. Fresh oil is golden colored, but over time, the oil gets blackened because of heat and dirt and loses its effectiveness.
The time to change the oil of a lawn mower might differ and you have to follow the manual you get when buying it. For most new lawnmowers, you need to change the oil after running your lawnmowers for a few hours. Meanwhile, for the existing push and riding lawnmowers, it's best to change the oil after 50 and 100 hours of running respectively.
Check the oil after using your lawnmowers. If it's dark drain it out completely and refill with a fresh batch.
As we have discussed in the sections above, dull blades will tear the grass instead of cutting it completely. These will accumulate and clog the lower deck of the lawnmowers. In addition, dull blades take more time and energy to trim the grasses of your lawn.
Thus, you need to sharpen the blades or replace them once every season.
Storing Properly
The way you keep or store your lawn mower will determine its longevity. The best places to keep lawnmowers away from damp environments. Garages, basements, tool sheds, or garden sheds are some of the best places to store them. You need to store them in a dry place, maybe by putting them on a rack or a table where they do not touch the floor.
In addition, before storing your lawn mower, ensure that it does not have any grass clippings or dirt as they might cause rusting. Also, empty the fuel tank or add a fuel stabilizer to prevent it from degrading and drain out the engine oil completely as we discussed earlier.
Check tires
If you want to store your lawnmowers for a long duration, it is better to deflate them completely. In the winter the tires might get flat spots if they are left inflated. In addition, the weight of the lawnmowers also gives pressure to the inflated tires.
In contrast, if the lawn mower is kept in a very hot environment, this results in cracking on the tires. Deflating them would prevent happening.
When you keep your lawnmowers in one place for a long time, dust and debris will accumulate. These particles can clog different parts of the lawnmower like the air filter, spark plug, etc. In addition humidity or moisture can cause rusting and corrosion of metal parts of your lawnmowers.
You can use a thin protective but breathable cover and put it over your lawnmowers to protect your lawnmowers from dust and moisture. This will also allow air circulation, and reduce the risk of clogging, rusting, corrosion, etc.
To some extent, covering your lawn mower will keep it away from pests as they might chew wires, belts, and other components of a lawn mower.
Regular Inspection
When you store your lawn mower for a long time, it deteriorates. The wire connection might be disconnected, metal parts might rust or corrode, leaking of oil and fuel might be a problem, the surface might get scratched, etc.
Monitoring them will let you know when to maintain and repair such parts of your lawnmowers and keep them at readiness whenever you need them. Likewise, this will also increase the lifespan of the landowners as it reduces the need for major repairs.
Store Upright
Although it is not a compulsion, storing your lawnmowers in an upright position will have many benefits. In fact, many manufacturers suggest this idea to be effective in keeping your lawnmowers for a long time.
When you store your lawn mower in an upright position, it will occupy comparatively less space. It also provides necessary air circulation throughout the machine and prevents the risk of moisture buildup, rusting, corrosion, etc. It also prevents the blades from coming in contact with hard and rough surfaces that might affect their sharpness.
Secure The Mowers
Securely keeping your lawnmowers prevents them from slipping and falling from different accidental movements and disasters. This will prevent damage to your machine.
Additionally, this would restrict the access of children and pets to lawn mowers which have the potential to seriously hurt and injure them. It can also reduce the oil and fuel spill.
