Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Freakin' Lawn Mower!

remember how I sort of bragged about the lawn mower with its Briggs & Stratton engine starting on the first pull after sitting in the shed all winter? Forget it.

Three weeks ago it started on the first pull again but died after five minutes. It took me nearly an hour of pulling the carburetor apart, draining the fuel and all sorts of stuff before it finally turned over again. But then it ran like a charm for two days.

Today? Not so much. Again it started on the first pull--and died after 3-4 minutes. But this time I could not get it to turn over again despite my best efforts. I ended up borrowing one of Mark's old clunkers and cut the grass using it instead of the Craftsman mower that's just two years old.

So this afternoon I put the Craftsman in the back of the Tundra and hauled it down to a place on the south side of Utica and dropped it off for repairs and maintenance. With luck it will be finished in three weeks which is just about when the lawn will need cutting again.

Meanwhile, the old lawn mower--almost 20 years old, the one with a slight bend int he shaft and held together with baling wire, a couple of oak stair rails, and with an old license plate bolted on the rotting deck still runs. It's a bear to push around because of the wobbly wheels, but it still runs. Go figure.

1 comment:

JihadGene said...

I heard ya on the B & S engine. I never liked 'em once I got a Honda mower. Sorry all you B&S people but give me the Honda any day over a Briggs and Strap-on.