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When your car isn\u2019t starting up on the first turn of the key like it should, it tells you something isn\u2019t quite right. Maybe you have a bad spark plug, maybe you\u2019re out of gas, maybe your battery needs a charge or a change. You don\u2019t just leave the problem undiagnosed and unresolved, though.<\/p>\n
Yet we do that very thing when it comes to our lawn mowers. We\u2019ll yank and yank on that starter cord until the machine barely sputters to life, and just keep doing that week after week, telling ourselves that\u2019s just how lawn mowers are. If it\u2019s not starting on the first couple pulls of the cord, though, something is a little off. Just as your car needs regular maintenance, so do your small engines in order to keep them running well for years and years.<\/p>\n
Below I take you through how to care for your lawn mower to keep it working effectively and extend its lifespan. In the process, you\u2019ll learn a little more about how it works, which is both useful and just plain interesting to know. Let\u2019s get started.<\/p>\n
![\"Lawn](\"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Lawnmower-1-e1500410051789.jpg\")
This is a rough idea of where things will be. Your lawn mower may differ slightly.<\/p><\/div>\n
Before we get into caring for your lawn mower, you need to have a basic understanding of its anatomy. Luckily, it\u2019s a fairly simple machine and is basically a smaller, less complicated version of a car.<\/p>\n
In the center of your mower is the engine, along with a gas tank, oil reservoir (except for in 2-stroke mowers, which aren\u2019t as common these days \u2014 more on that below), and air filter. At the front or side of the engine, you\u2019ll find the spark plug. Just as in a car, the spark plug is what ignites the fuel\/air mixture that makes the engine run. This is all surrounded by a metal frame (called the \u201cdeck\u201d) which houses the blade. From there, the handlebar extends back, along with the starter cord and safety shut-off lever.<\/p>\n
For our purposes, that\u2019s all you\u2019ll need to know. It\u2019s not a bad idea, though, to go through the owner\u2019s manual of your machine just to ensure you have a good understanding of how it operates and its various parts.<\/p>\n
One more quick note about mower engine types before moving on to specific maintenance tasks. You either have a 2-stroke or a 4-stroke engine on your machine. As a consumer, what you need to know is that 2-stroke engines provide more oomph, while also being smaller and lighter. This would seem like an advantage. Unfortunately, they’re also louder, spew out more pollutants, and are harder to start. They’ll also keep running when tipped over (unlike the 4-stroke variety), making them more dangerous for Average Joe Homeowner. When it comes to upkeep, 2-stroke mowers use a mix of oil and gas in the same reservoir. It can be a little confusing.<\/p>\n
For all those reasons, while 2-stroke engines are still common in commercial and large mowers, the 4-stroke has come to dominate the consumer market in the last decade. The oil-related tips below are for 4-stroke engines; if you aren’t sure what yours is, simply check for an oil dipstick\/fill tub. If there is one, you have a 4-stroke mower. Your gas cap will also tell you; if it’s a 2-stroke, it will have an oil-to-fuel ratio displayed. You can also, of course, consult your owner’s manual.<\/p>\n
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This is a 2-second task that ensures the mower won\u2019t accidentally start up while you\u2019re working on it. This shouldn\u2019t ever happen anyway with a mower made in the last 20 years; there are a number of safeguards to prevent it from starting, such as the electric shut off bar on the handle. However, it provides peace of mind knowing that the mower absolutely cannot start with the spark plug disconnected.<\/p>\n