Category Archives: Out door power equipment

May 23 2 comments
Out door power equipment, Repairs, Tools

Small Engine Repair

Most outdoor yard equipment uses some type of gas powered small engine.  Generally, these units are reliable and will give good performance.  Every once in a while, however, they won’t start.

This year, I went to fire up the trusty rototiller (Yard Machines 21A332A700) to start working on the garden and I spent quite a while pulling on that rope with nothing to show for it.  It turns out, there were several problems.  These are the basic trouble shooting steps:

  1. Check the fuel.  Gas goes bad after a while, bad gas will smell funny.  If the gas has sat in the tank all winter, drain it out and replace with fresh gas.  Check the carburetor, most have a drain bolt on the bottom, drain about 1 tablespoon of gas out.  If the unit has a fuel filter, check that too.
  2. Check ignition.  Remove the spark plug and check for damage.  Check for proper gap.  The spark plug should have slightly grey/brown ash on it, that is normal.  Black gunk indicates a more serious problem.  If several attempts at starting were made, the spark plug should have a slight coating of gas on it and the cylinder should smell like gas.  Wait about 5 minutes then ground the spark plug on the engine and pull the starter.  You should see/hear the spark.  If not, there is an ignition problem.
  3. Remove the air filter and be sure that the choke plate is closed.
  4. After several starting attempts, the carburetor throat should be slightly wet with gas.  If not, there is a fuel problem.
  5. If everything looks normal (fuel and ignition okay) then the flywheel key might be bent.  This could happen if the engine was stopped after hitting something.  In many cases, the fly wheel key can be replaced.
Briggs and Stratton 6.5 HP engine with flywheel cover removed

Briggs and Stratton 6.5 HP engine with flywheel cover removed

With the rototiller, I found two problems, no gas and no spark.  The gas problem was due to a clogged carburetor port.  I took apart the carburetor and blew out all the ports with 35 PSI compressed air to make sure that no other junk was stuck in there.

Briggs and Stratton 6.5 HP engine ignition coil

Briggs and Stratton 6.5 HP engine ignition coil

The ignition problems were due to a mouse nest under the fly wheel cover.  The mice chewed through the insulation on the kill wire.  I tried to re-insulate the wire, but there was still no spark.  I replaced the entire ignition coil.  Briggs and Stratton has a good web site where one get know how and order parts directly.

I also installed a new, properly gapped spark plug.  Total cost of repair, about $40.00.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Jan 30 0 comments
Out door power equipment

Tool Review, Husqvarna 240 E Chain Saw

In order to put up our Photovoltaic system, we had to remove an old pear tree.  The tree was exactly in the prime location for the array, and figuring that we could replant an apple tree, which I like apples more than pears, everything would be just fine.

I got out the old chain saw, fired it up and began cutting the lower branches.  Then, I climbed up a ladder and started cutting away the upper branches.  Next, the saw quit running.  Now, truth be told, it wasn’t a very good saw to begin with and it was quite old.  Naturally, stopping in the middle of a project, while the rented excavator was sitting idle in the yard, called for some fast action.

Previously that day, I was at the local Williams Lumber store and noticed they had a trade in deal on Husqvarna chain saws.  I took my old, non-running unit in and purchased a Husqvarna 240 E.  It was a really good deal and I had always heard that Husqvarna made good chain saws.

Husqvarna 240 E chain saw

Husqvarna 240 E chain saw

I was not disappointed.  The 240 E is a good small chain saw that made quick work of the pear tree, which was suffering from an advanced case of heart rot, as it turns out.  I have since used it to cut up all of our fire wood, harvested from our wood lot out back.  It consistently starts on the third pull, has lots of power to cut through hard wood like oak, maple and black locust.

It has a 16 inch bar, but I easily worked through the pear tree which was at least 24 inches at the base.  I would recommend this for anyone needed a good small chain saw.

Popularity: 2% [?]

May 21 42 comments
Out door power equipment, Tools, yard

New Cub Cadet CC4175 String Trimmer

Happy Birthday to me! With my Home Depot gift certificate from Aunt Barbra and Uncle Jim, I purchased a new string trimmer to replace the old one which met its demise earlier this spring. She’s a bute! There are several nice things about this unit; first, it has a 4 cycle engine. No more mixing oil and gas and hoping that I don’t foul a spark plug. Plus, it always seems that each tool, e.g. chain saw, string trimmer, hedge trimmer, used a different fuel to oil ratio, making life difficult. Second, it has several different attachment head accessories that can be bought, so not only is it a string trimmer, it can be a pole chain saw, hedge trimmer, brush cutter, mini rototiller, edger and so on.

cub cadet cc4175 4 cycle gas trimmer

There were two units to choose from, the less expensive, less versatile curved shaft unit, or the straight shaft unit. I like the straight shaft units better because it seems to be a better design; less friction, less wear and tear on the power transfer cable, etc. Perhaps I am just imagining it, but it seems to be much more sturdy that the old Pouland string trimmer.

Since it has a 4 cycle engine, it requires crank case oil and there are all sorts of warnings and stickers to that effect. Guessing they may have had problems with that in the past. Anyway, a 3.04 ounce bottle of SAE 30 HD motor oil is provided. I am going to keep the little bottle to measure out oil changes when needed in the future. I also noted that it is about 1 to 2 pounds heavier than the old string trimmer. It seems to have more power than the old unit, and no smoky exhaust to breath while trimming up the yard.

Some assembly required.

I am looking forward to finishing up the trimming over the weekend.

Popularity: 13% [?]

May 17 118 comments
Out door power equipment, yard

Maintenance of a Toro 22 Inch Recycler Lawn Mower

All outdoor power equipment requires some maintenance to keep running in top shape. By changing the oil, air filter and keeping the equipment clean, you can extend the normal life by several years. I don’t know about you, but I prefer to get my monies’ worth from something. I believe the average life you can expect from any piece of outdoor power equipment is about 10 years, ± 2 years.

Case in point, last year, my 10 year old craftsman lawn mower bit the dust. The aluminum crank case cracked and leaked oil all over the place. I used this lawn mower at our rental house, which had an acre of lawn, then when we moved here, I used it for four more years, again, mowing about an acre of lawn every week.

Last fall, my 9 year old chain saw broke the connecting rod. The chain saw was heavily used, and a higher quality unit like a Stihl or Husqvarna may have lasted longer. This year, my 10 year old string trimmer bit the dust. The cable that transfers power from the power head to the cutting head unsprung. The whole unit was beginning to fall apart anyway, again, a higher quality unit may have lasted longer. So I have concluded that 10 years of medium to heavy use is about all you can expect from most stuff.

The Toro Model 20071A Lawn mower was brand new last year, and it has been a good unit so far. Always starts on the first or second pull and does a real nice job with the lawn.

Toro 22 Inch recycler lawn mower model 20071 oil change

Maintenance is pretty easy. Changing the oil took about 15 minutes, including 10 minutes of warming the engine up. I like to change the oil when the engine is warm because the it thins out the oil and more of the old oil comes out of the crank case. This unit does not have an oil plug on the bottom of the engine, so it needs to be tipped on its side. This is best done when the fuel tank is nearly empty, so gas does not leak out when it is tipped over. I use a catch pan, then empty the catch pan into my “dirty lube oil” container, which is a 5 gallon gas can so purposed. When the dirty lube oil container is full, I take the oil to my favorite garage, M. Alpert and Sons, for recycling. The lawn mower takes 20 ounces of SAE 30W detergent motor oil.

dirty lube oil recycling container

The air filter should be changed every year. The replacement filter is a Tecumseh 36905, which I found at both Lowes and Home Depot.

filter comparison dirty filter on left new clean filter on right

The old filter is on the left. That is the filter that came with the lawn mower after one season of use. You can see why they need to be replaced every year.

The only other thing that is recommended is to lube the wheel gears for the front drive wheels.

front yard after mowing the lawn

An occasional blade sharpening will also make cutting the grass much easier. You can tell when your lawn mower blade needs to be sharpened by how cleanly it is cutting the grass. A blade of grass that looks torn or shredded where it was cut is a good indicator that the blade is dull and needs to be sharpened.

Popularity: 74% [?]

Dec 03 0 comments
Out door power equipment, yard

Leaf Blowers

I have been reluctant to use them in the past, but my outlook has changed. I mentioned briefly that I borrowed a leaf blower on Saturday to clean up our yard a little bit. I will fill in some details…

I has been a strange fall, first warm weather kept the leaves on the trees for far longer than usual. Over the last week or two, most of them have finally let go and made their migration back to earth, but some are still hanging in there. Then, we have the cold arctic blast complete with a snow/ice storm yesterday, which basically means that I had a one day window to clean up yard if I wanted to do it before spring.

Enter The Echo PB-265L Leaf Blower:

echo pb-265L leaf blower

Now, this is not the mother of all leaf blowers, however, I would call it a well qualified stand in if the mother of all leaf blowers is not available for the weekend. I got more done in three hours this year than I did in three days last year with the hand rake.

–AND–

Best of all I was having fun. Lots of fun. At one point perhaps a little too much fun. My almost four year old daughter made an appearance in the yard to see what I was doing. She was treated to full blast of air, followed by maniacal laughter as I chased her around the yard. I finally had to stop because she shot me a few very concerned looks over her shoulder while she was running away from me.

Best of all, this is borrowed power equipment, which means I didn’t have to fork over hard currency to buy it, my friend did. Of course, I owe him one, and I am sure that one day I will have to pay that favor back. For now though, I would say I am on the plus side of that equation.

Sometimes the planets line up.

Popularity: 2% [?]