Genius brought me a pretty nice John Deere-branded push mower.

"I just changed the blade on it and now it won't start and the cord pulls really hard. I don't know what's wrong with it!"

Pulled the plug and blew about a quarter cup of oil out of the cylinder, pulled the air cleaner and rinsed another couple of tablespoons out of the filter element, wiped the spark plug and dried it with a propane torch.

Then fired it up and fogged for skeeters for about 5 minutes...

Question:
What is the best way to change the blade on a push mower?

Choices:
Flip the mower completely over on it's back so it's easy to loosen the nut.
Flip the mower over so the carburetor side is down.
No, no, dummy, flip the mower over so the carb is UP so you don't spill all the gas.

 

Lawn mowers, turtles and Jeeps do not tolerate being on their backs.

Although I remember a girl, we used to call "Turtle", she didn't mind...

Set on two chairs and lay on your back to do it?

I dig a hole deep enough to stand in and work it from underneath.

If I turn my Toro commercial walk behind on its side, it won't start for an half hour or more. I tilt the front up as far as it goes to change the blade. I can use a foot to keep the blade from turning. Disconnect the plug.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
Set on two chairs and lay on your back to do it?

And you can remove the nut faster with the engine running...

Cylinder / spark plug up is usually the way I have always done it with good results.
Keeps oil in the empty end of the crankcase and out of the cylinder.
But then I'm usually working on old stuff.
Nothing in the owner's manual?

quote:

Originally posted by cparktd:
Cylinder / spark plug up is usually the way I have always done it with good results.
Keeps oil in the empty end of the crankcase and out of the cylinder.
But then I'm usually working on old stuff.
Nothing in the owner's manual?

That's the correct way to do it. Most folks don't think about it and just flip it up on one side or the other with the results noted in the OP.

I'll 'splain that to the feller when he comes to pick up his mower.

i would go to the front of my truck, raise the front of the mower and shove the mower handle so that the tire holds the mower up, block of wood to chock the blade unscrew the nut, pull blade, sharpen, replace, oh yea pull the spark plug wire before you start. Always worked for me.

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:

quote:

Originally posted by cparktd:
Cylinder / spark plug up is usually the way I have always done it with good results.
Keeps oil in the empty end of the crankcase and out of the cylinder.
But then I'm usually working on old stuff.
Nothing in the owner's manual?

That's the correct way to do it. Most folks don't think about it and just flip it up on one side or the other with the results noted in the OP.

I'll 'splain that to the feller when he comes to pick up his mower.

My last 4 lawns haven't been very big so I only change the blade once a year (have a sharp one spare) and only change the oil once a year.

I combine both tasks. I drain the oil first, swap out the blade next, and put in new oil last.

Honda's manual says to tip on the side that is the same to dump the oil which is opposite of the gas. Never had an issue changing the blade if you go to the correct side.

quote:

Originally posted by Deqlyn:
Honda's manual says to tip on the side that is the same to dump the oil which is opposite of the gas. Never had an issue changing the blade if you go to the correct side.

That's the way I do my Honda pusher. Lean over on the right side (away from carb), and then just remove the blades, and head to the grinder. Darn dogs keep bring rocks and things into the yard. Once every few years I'll swap in a new set of blades, but if I keep up with them, I can keep them sharp for quite a while. They don't have to be perfect, just grind out the major dings and regrind the edge.
 

 

Buy a new one once the blades dull?

Let's see. I could buy a mower, invest time and money in its maintenance, take the time to mow, then trim and edge -- oh year, that would mean more money to buy and maintain a trimmer and edger -- or I could just pay Juan to do it a couple of times a month.

Unfortunately, Mark123 is too far. Otherwise I could stand guard over his equipment while he works.

Oh, I never change or sharpen the blade. A good, dull blade creates a nice fray to your grass allowing more nutrients and water to be absorbed...

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:

quote:

Originally posted by cparktd:
Cylinder / spark plug up is usually the way I have always done it with good results.
Keeps oil in the empty end of the crankcase and out of the cylinder.
But then I'm usually working on old stuff.
Nothing in the owner's manual?

That's the correct way to do it. Most folks don't think about it and just flip it up on one side or the other with the results noted in the OP.

I'll 'splain that to the feller when he comes to pick up his mower.

My last 4 lawns haven't been very big so I only change the blade once a year (have a sharp one spare) and only change the oil once a year.

I combine both tasks. I drain the oil first, swap out the blade next, and put in new oil last.

If I were to do it. This would be how I'd do it. Visual inspection always looks GTG, so I've never changed my Honda double blade. No chunks missing, appears sharpish.

How does one know when to change/sharpen a blade?

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
How does one know when to change/sharpen a blade?

When it's so hard to push that you risk spilling your beer.

quote:

Originally posted by OttoSig:
Buy a new one once the blades dull?

This is me. I'm not mechanically inclined in the least. I'll buy a cheap push mower and use it for a couple of years and once I notice it is having issues cutting/running/etc, I'll just buy a new once. Sometimes, a "new" one is just a "refurbished" one from a guy who has done a tune up with new blades/oil change/etc.

quote:

Originally posted by KShooter:

quote:

Originally posted by OttoSig:
Buy a new one once the blades dull?

This is me. I'm not mechanically inclined in the least. I'll buy a cheap push mower and use it for a couple of years and once I notice it is having issues cutting/running/etc, I'll just buy a new once. Sometimes, a "new" one is just a "refurbished" one from a guy who has done a tune up with new blades/oil change/etc.

when I bought my first house, and just married , that is what I did,

buy the cheapest new (usually 69$) or used I could find and run it a year or so,

new construction, between tree roots, rocks and everything else I would kill a mower, as the yard settled,

went thru 5 or so in about 6 yrs, and then bought a nice Deere push mower, once I had landscaped the yard,

still using it, after 20+ yrs,

quote:

Originally posted by KShooter:


This is me. I'm not mechanically inclined in the least. I'll buy a cheap push mower and use it for a couple of years and once I notice it is having issues cutting/running/etc, I'll just buy a new once. Sometimes, a "new" one is just a "refurbished" one from a guy who has done a tune up with new blades/oil change/etc.

I did this for many years, ran through about one a year on our difficult yard. I got the the point I needed self-propelled and got a commercial mower. One that was fixable and worth fixing.