Comments on: Episode #14 – Getting that Mower Going!

By: The Handyguys

The Handyguys — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:48:40 +0000

Glad you got it going!

By: David

David — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:30:14 +0000

Thanks for the response. Sorry for the delayed followup. This project fell on the honey do list for a little bit. I tried spraying carb cleaner through the carb as it was running but saw no improvement. The owner hadn’t listened to your podcast on proper maintenance of a mower so it was very dirty. There was dirt and old grass around the throttle springs which could also have been preventing it from idling at proper speed. Because the air filter was so dirty, there was some dirt in the carb. I cleaned it with the carb cleaner and used my air compressor to blow out the lines. It feels like a waste to spend 30 bucks on a rebuild kit. I just went to harbor freight and got gasket material and a o-ring set for much less than the rebuilt kit. Now I have enough o-rings and gaskets to do several carb jobs. The mower works much better now. I do still need to fiddle with the idle springs to get it to the right speed. Thanks again for your help. Love the podcasts, keep them coming.

By: The Handyguys

The Handyguys — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:57:47 +0000

Henry – I would need to know what engine the mower has. What symptoms prompted you to bring it in for service?

By: Henry

Henry — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 23:30:48 +0000

I have a MTD, 21″, 6.5 hp lawn mover, 10yrs old, regular tune up and working fine until now. Now the service man says that the engine is rotating at 36000 rpm (measured with a tachometer placed on top of engine) and is dangerous to use because it is higher than the recommended speed. He recommends to fix the engine controller for $150 or trash the lawn mover.

Need your advice

By: The Handyguys

The Handyguys — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 18:29:42 +0000

Hey David – Thanks for your comments and question. You can buy carb cleaner spray at an auto parts store or maybe even the home center. Its a cheap thing to try. Also, your engine manufacturer likely has carb rebuild kits that are cheaper than entire new carbs. You may want to also inspect the fuel line for kinks and replace the fuel filter if it has one. The fuel filter is a lot cheaper than a new carb if thats the issue. Also, I only use fresh premium gas in my mower and run it dry when its going to sit for a long time. Good luck and let us know how you make out!

By: David

David — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 18:13:58 +0000

I am really enjoying these podcasts, some really great tips. Just recently found this site and will eventually get caught up to your recent podcasts. One thing I would like to add to this podcast however is when you are working under the mower near the blade to remove clumped grass or to sharpen the blade (I use an angle grinder), disconnect the spark plug wire from the spark plug. You can actually start the mower by moving the blade out of the way. I am not missing any digits, but I know a few who have had close calls.

One question that I have is with the carb. I am working on a mower and did the standard tune-ups, plug, oil and air filter. I have a situation where the mower is idling really rough almost to the point of cutting itself off. Since my first go round with the tune up did not fix the problem, I am planning on removing the carb to attempt to clean it. Do you guys have any suggestions on cleaning the carb before I go out and buy a new one? I’ve replaced carbs on mowers before just never cleaned one. Thanks and keep up the good work

By: Episode #64 - Mower Blades, Brakes and DIY Mistakes | DIY How To

Episode #64 - Mower Blades, Brakes and DIY Mistakes | DIY How To — Thu, 14 May 2009 21:58:43 +0000

[...] covered sharpening blades and other basic tuneup tips in Episode 14, give it a [...]

By: Episode #64 - Mower Blades, Brakes and DIY Mistakes

Episode #64 - Mower Blades, Brakes and DIY Mistakes — Thu, 14 May 2009 21:00:04 +0000

[...] covered sharpening blades and other basic tuneup tips in Episode 14, give it a [...]

By: Handyguys Podcast » Blog Archive » Episode #33 - Fall Tree Care

Handyguys Podcast » Blog Archive » Episode #33 - Fall Tree Care — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 18:23:56 +0000

[...] listening to our Lawnmower show, Bonnie asks “How do you know what size of spark plug, and are there specific ones for [...]

By: The Handyguys

The Handyguys — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:48:37 +0000

We received this related question via the contact form an thought we would post it here…
“Inspired by your latest podcast, can you give me some pointers on sharpening the blades of my reel mower on my own, or is this something I will definitely lose a finger doing? This is something I’ve been meaning to do, but haven’t even had the time to think about how yet.

~Kit S.
(DiyDiva)”

Kit – Sharpening a reel mower will depend on its vintage. reel mowers cut like scissors do. An antique reel mower will need to be sharpened like any other blade. They are hard to do though because an equal amount of grinding needs to be done across the entire length of the blade and then the mower needs to be properly adjusted to mate up the fixed part of the ’scissors’. A more modern reel mower is best sharpened with a kit from the manufacturer. American Mower makes most of the modern reel mowers. Here is one example of a kit.
http://www.handyguyspodcast.com/the-handy-guys-store?B00004R9UM
The way this works is by cranking the reels backwards after applying a grinding paste. This action sharpens the blades.

If your reel mower does not have a kit or a simple way to do it I would recommend finding a sharpening service to do it for you.