Lawn mower repair strategy

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serf407, Jan 10, 7:15am
Petrol Lawn mower won't go.

I don't like it.
Options
1) Put a new engine on the mower, $500 plus labour. No silly mechanic labour hours looking for the problem and putting the engine back together. Then doing the engine replacement.

2 )Bin the petrol mower that won't go and buy a new mower for $900+ for a battery mower, that I do not have to pull start.

3) Hire a mower as required or use mowing contractor.

3 - has a lot of merit imo.

apollo11, Jan 10, 7:36am
How do you know it needs a replacement engine?

mouse265, Jan 10, 7:38am
yep serf i went from starting a mowing business and operating it for 16 years to selling up and getting a battery mower for myself to now sitting down and paying someone else to do it i know which way suits me

oh_hunnihunni, Jan 10, 8:23am
I liked my electric hover mower. Gave me time out and the chance to really see my tiny garden. But, if you don't like doing that stuff.

pico42, Jan 10, 9:52am
Why doesn’t it go? What symptoms is it exhibiting?

xs1100, Jan 10, 11:00am
clean air filter, new spark plug, new oil and blades, easy

marte, Jan 10, 11:49am
Does it run at all or feel like it wants to? But with no power.
The flywheels probably shifted on the shaft, undo the big nut, loosen the flywheel & shift it back to the centre of the slop & tighten it.

It only runs when the tanks full, but dies as it lowers.
The one way valve near the exhaust is blocked, or the diaphragm in the carby is shot.
Clean any water, and any corrosion caused by it, out of the carby. Don't use ethanol petrol. Use 98.

lythande1, Jan 11, 2:03am
I have a second mower we bought 14 yrs ago. Recently I damaged the blade, so took it in for a service.
It had a new air filter, spark plug as well as blade.
Starts fist pull every time now, no smoke. which it used to.
Just needs a bit of maintenance.
batteries. meh, yes it's trendy but they are not cheap (the batteries in things) and last 5 mins before you need to charge again.
And electric anything still requires a certain amount of maintenance.
But throw away rather than fix is the attitude today. and the thinking that throwing away and yet another battery item solves all the problems on the planet.

bill1451, Jan 11, 2:43am
says a lot, kiwis have lost or are loosing the DIY fixit attitude
and all it does is the landfills get filled up even quicker, with a lawn mower, it can only be fuel (water in float bowl or dirt) spark plug(easy to check) or possible but unlikely loss of compression (valves) or oil switch operating due to lack of oil.

neell, Jan 11, 3:04am
You are right about Kiwis loosing the DIY attitude.
The whole male population is being "feminized, educationaly castrated.

tygertung, Jan 11, 3:08am
Actually, girls can DIY too, so masculine or feminine is not relevant.

neell, Jan 11, 6:28am
Correct, some females do DIY and are very good at it, however the majority don't/can't.
The majority of males use to do DIY but now the majority don't/can't.
I stand by my statement that males these days are educationaly castrated.

mrfxit, Jan 11, 9:03am
The best modern car security device in recent years is a manual gearbox.

Ppl give me 42" /55"/ 65" "smart" tv's because the onboard apps have failed
Hook up a mini PC as a media device & it's all good again.

Tv won't turn on (batterys flat in the remote)

2 year old computer running slow (needs format & reinstall)

Bagless vacuum cleaner has no suck ( Clean all the filters properly & it's all good again)

Blimin heck & thats just the really simple stuff

mrfxit, Jan 11, 9:04am
The lack of DIY is fully supported by the closure of companys like Dick Smith etc.

mrfxit, Jan 11, 9:07am
DIY is now DBN (died, buy new)

bill1451, Jan 11, 1:47pm
how true is that, I know good people that whose tool kits consist of maybe a hammer and a blunt saw, maybe a couple of screw drivers and a "crescent" spanner, "Oh the ride on mower dosent work" Me "whats the problem" them "I dont know hubbys taking it to the agents to fix" Probably needed a new belt or the battery is flat. I went to a work mates place to look at his no go ride on, had a look around it and established that the multi wire plug on the back of the ignition key switch had become disconnected, 2 minute fix, if he had taken it to the agent they would have charged him prob $50------$100 minimum.

bill1451, Jan 11, 1:50pm
At least we have places like Jaycar, Dick Smith was doomed when it was sold (I think was it Woolworths) and they started selling cell phones, I went to the Hornby branch when they were in their death throes and was had pressed to find a couple of common diodes.

mechnificent, Jan 11, 1:55pm
R.S. Online these days Bill. Fantastic range and catalogs and good service. A bit dear though.

ronaldo8, Jan 11, 6:57pm
Sadly no NZ warehouse anymore. Farnell / element14 now have them beat.

tygertung, Jan 12, 2:48am
You can buy a brand new mower at mitre 10 for only about $500.

ronaldo8, Jan 12, 6:21am
And people wonder why the environment is under strain. Doomed
And all the little consumers ran to the river and jumped in.

Take it to a mower repair shop and get it fixed. Probably an air filter that's never been serviced and a fouled plug.

marte, Jan 12, 1:46pm
Supercheap auto have cheap mower blades, so does Trademe.

neell, Jan 12, 1:49pm
OP has disappeared so no point wasting our time on him/her anymore.

tygertung, Jan 13, 2:08am
Mowers are pretty simple, and I dare say that there will be plenty of tutorials on youtube on how to repair a mower engine.

trade4us2, Jan 13, 2:49am
My father made an electric mower with a cord. It was probably highly dangerous, but it worked OK. The cord was a nuisance,