The cost of a lifetime of thrift..

[Lakewood90712]

This reminds me of the infamous "Sears Eager One" " One Pull" guarantee......in the 1970's they did a live TV commercial to "prove it" , Superbowl IIRC , and the mower did not start ( turns out they were so nervous they kept starting it over and over in prep. for the big moment , and managed to foul the spark plug just in time to .......fail on live national tv. )

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lakewood90712 This reminds me of the infamous "Sears Eager One" " One Pull" guarantee......in the 1970's they did a live TV commercial to "prove it" , Superbowl IIRC , and the mower did not start ( turns out they were so nervous they kept starting it over and over in prep. for the big moment , and managed to foul the spark plug just in time to .......fail on live national tv. )

And it's been downhill ever since for Sears!

[LOL!]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rayinpenn Two days ago ….. […] I am hesitant to get a divorce because I plan on moving when my son finishes HS in 2 years. […]

I almost stopped reading when I saw the bolded statement.

If "HS" means high school, then your son should be mowing the lawn and should have been mowing the lawn for a few years now. I won't go into detail about all the things such a chore will teach him. In any event, you should not be mowing the yard until this young man moves out to college or wherever.

I was 10 years old when I started to mow the yard. That might be too young nowadays, but that's the year my dad went to Vietnam.

I made my son mow the yard whether he wanted to or not although he did not start at 10. He will have to mow the yard in the summer when he comes home from college, too. As long as he is in the house and the grass needs mowing, then he will be mowing the grass.

[HFWR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mpeirce The exercise is good for me...

But my gym is climate-controlled, has no fire ants, and has better scenery...

[flyingaway]

I mow my lawn and consider doing it as physical exercise. Several years ago when I moved to my current location and bought an expensive mower. It was stolen after a few weeks. So I went to Home Depot and bought the cheapest one they had and I still have it.

[shotgunner]

I always buy used lawnmowers or "find" them. There is an over 55 mobile park about two miles away. Every year around Memorial Day they have a giant yard sale. Each year of course some of the residents move to warmer climates and they sell their lawn mowers cheap. I found the queen of my lawn mower fleet, a 1999 two-stroke 6.5hp Lawn Boy on the side of the road with a sign that said free. At first it would not idle, the owner had over tightened the air cleaner box which kept the wind vane from moving. Then it started spitting raw gas through the exhaust. Armed with old and cheap tools and a Youtube video I rebuilt the carb with a new float and needle and seat. All parts purchased from Ebay of course. Yesterday I put gas in it and it started on the first pull after sitting since November.

Last month I put a new friction wheel in my '99 Ariens snow blower with help from Youtube and right now I am in the process of rehabbing a 1974 12' aluminum fishing boat.

There is a satisfaction and savings of bring old things back to life or keeping them going beyond the savings in money, but I really like saving the money too.

[Dash man]

This year for the first time I've given in to the arthritis and contracted out the mowing to the company I used to redo my landscape and patio last year. The grass has been cut twice so far, and frankly, I don't miss doing it one bit.

[rayinpenn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LOL! I almost stopped reading when I saw the bolded statement. If "HS" means high school, then your son should be mowing the lawn and should have been mowing the lawn for a few years now. I won't go into detail about all the things such a chore will teach him. In any event, you should not be mowing the yard until this young man moves out to college or wherever.

He mows the side lawn with the push mower - it is too hilly for the tractor. I have to fight the wife not to do it - she likes the exercise. The king (me) sits on his butt and mows the front, back and other side with the tractor. I love to mow, (fresh air etc.,) and have a gardening website.

The arthritis in my knees may yet get the best of me - put in a bunch of mulch Saturday and yesterday my knees were screaming - your old. I need to muster the courage for a couple of new knees. Lost 15lbs.. I want to drop another 20 or so before I do it.

[Derslickmeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LOL! I almost stopped reading when I saw the bolded statement. If "HS" means high school, then your son should be mowing the lawn and should have been mowing the lawn for a few years now. I won't go into detail about all the things such a chore will teach him. In any event, you should not be mowing the yard until this young man moves out to college or wherever. I was 10 years old when I started to mow the yard. That might be too young nowadays, but that's the year my dad went to Vietnam. I made my son mow the yard whether he wanted to or not although he did not start at 10. He will have to mow the yard in the summer when he comes home from college, too. As long as he is in the house and the grass needs mowing, then he will be mowing the grass.

+1 I don't get this at all. I do not know anyone with a son that makes them do the mowing anymore, not even my brother, who along with myself, have been pushing mowers since we were tall enough to reach the handle. All my neighbors have teenage boys (and girls) but none of them ever work outside (rarely even go outside for that matter). What is the deal? Also, what's with all the Sears bashing? My last Craftsman lasted 14 years with no problems to speak of...

[myself]

I must say that I have a Briggs & Stratton 21HP engine that's attached to my old gal Swisher 66" deck mower which is 9 years old now. It takes me 42-48 mins to cut 1 1/2 acres of yard, and with very little grief. Actually thus far, I've replaced the air filter one time, the fuel filter never, the belts as they break or are close to breaking, and the oil about once a season. As for the blades, I have 2 sets of 3 blades that I sharpen while they aren't on the mower, and then simply change out, and I'm off and cutting again within about 25 mins.

[Car-Guy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rayinpenn I called Sears to made an appointment for a house call and the earliest was May 7th. Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

Wow, that's pretty quick for Sears service. The last time I called them for service on something, it was just over 30 days before they came out. (And that was for something under warranty) Maybe if I was paying for the service they would have been quicker?

No more Sears products for us.

[LOL!]

If one hasn't done gas-powered model airplanes and model cars, then a lawn mower is usually one's first introduction to an internal combustion engine. It is a lot easier to understand than a motorcycle and a car. What one learns about being safe around gasoline, filling the tank, the spark plug, filter, changing oil, blade sharpening or replacement, wheels, gears, cables, tools, etc. turns out to be very useful for the rest of one's life.

Add to that all the biology of the grass, the growing season, how it always comes back and is never defeated. And the physics of gravity and friction when pushing the mower around. Plus the culture of songs about lawn mowers such as

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-jS4e3zacI

I'd hate to take all that away from my kids.

[athena53]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bamaman Take your lawn tractor to one of those guys for a proper diagnosis. Most of the time, our EPA's specified 90/10 gasoline will separate and gum up your carb. It's also death on anything with rubber in it--including fuel lines A carb. clean may be all you're needing to be back on line again. <snip> Most problems are very common, and small engine shops see'em all the time.

DH and I went through a very frustrating summer with the local lawn mower repair. They claimed the gas we were putting in it was contaminated with particles and that we should filter it when pouring it in by using a paper coffee filter in the funnel. We did this religiously and a week later it would quit running and we'd have to haul it back to the shop again and wait for another repair. We finally gave up and bought a new mower. So far, so good (fingers crossed). The lawn mower repair shop went out of business.

I do most of our yard work. Mowing takes me 20 minutes and I hand clip the edges because the stupid weed whackers eventually fail and the spool pops out and lands on the ground every 60 seconds. Were downsizing and one of my big priorities is that we not get a yard any bigger than what we've got. I never want a lawn so huge that I need hired hands to maintain it. I also weed by hand. What good is weed killer when it kills the weeds but they go to seed and then spread the seeds everywhere? I don't do tree trimming- the pros do that.

We've saved a ton by doing things ourselves when we could.

[Live Free]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Derslickmeister +1 I don't get this at all. I do not know anyone with a son that makes them do the mowing anymore, not even my brother, who along with myself, have been pushing mowers since we were tall enough to reach the handle. All my neighbors have teenage boys (and girls) but none of them ever work outside (rarely even go outside for that matter). What is the deal?

I think the OP says he enjoys doing the mowing, which is why his son doesn't do it. My own two boys have been taking care of my lawn, mulching, planting, snow shoveling, taking out trash, and bringing in groceries, etc., since they were about 10. They do it for neighbors, too, to make $$. They make $20 per lawn (0.25 acre lots!) That's pretty good considering it doesn't take them that long. My younger son makes $10/day walking dogs, too. Lots of people don't like to do their own yardwork or dog walking.

Believe it or not, in our neighborhood, there are a lot of teens I see out doing lawns. Competition for doing the lawns of others can be steep.

[Philliefan33]

Now that I'm ER, I will be the primary lawn care labor at our house. The DDs did it from the age of 12 or so, but they both have moved out. DH did the mowing for the past couple of years but his arthritic hip is getting worse so there's no need for him to be walking behind the mower now that I have time to do it. I've always been in charge of the flower beds and trimming. I don't mind it most of the time because I like being outdoors and it's good exercise.

[pb4uski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bamaman .... our EPA's specified 90/10 gasoline will separate and gum up your carb. It's also death on anything with rubber in it--including fuel lines .....

This is a common problem with small engines. Luckily, non-ethanol gas is reasonably available around here and that is all that I use for my small engines. While it costs a tad more, it is a pittance compared to the cost of rebuilding a carburetor or other common ethanol gas repair issues.

A friend of mine swears that you can "make" your own non-ethanol fuel but adding some water, stirring, letting it sit and the ethanol bind to the water and then drawing the bound ethanol/water from the bottom of the tank until you are only getting gasoline. While I'm frugal, I'll just pay the little extra and buy non-ethanol.

How to make your own ethanol-free gasoline • GL1800 DIY Articles • goldwingdocs.com

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bamaman ... Take your lawn tractor to one of those guys for a proper diagnosis. Most of the time, our EPA's specified 90/10 gasoline will separate and gum up your carb. It's also death on anything with rubber in it--including fuel lines A carb. clean may be all you're needing to be back on line again. ...

I'm anti-ethanol because it appears to be an environmental disaster. However, I can't understand all this bashing of it with regards to small engines.

I'm in IL (corn country), so we have had ethanol a long time (pols looking for farm votes). I've used it in my small engines for decades. Never had to do ANYTHING with a carb or fuel tank. And I don't even drain the tank over winter (though I do try to get the tractor started about every 6-8 weeks, just to keep things moving.

I really don't think ethanol 'separates'. I think it binds with gasoline (and water).

Quote:

Small engine parts are very, very expensive (for what you get), and you just cannot afford to throw parts at the problem. There's no replacement for a proper diagnosis. Most problems are very common, and small engine shops see'em all the time.

Or, as others have said, see youtube to see if it is within your DIY skill level. My second mower, and my current third, are both Craftsman. I don't know about their repair process, but I can get parts at an outlet 20 minutes away. So far, they have had everything I've needed in stock, and I installed myself (belts, pulley/bearings, a control cable). That is worth a lot to me, rather than waiting for parts or paying for fast shipping (and no way could I get it in 1 hour, at least until Bezos gets those delivery drones going).

I'm not getting the Sears/Craftsman bashing either. I'm pretty sure my Craftsman is a Husqvarna - is that better?

-ERD50

[FUEGO]

I just did my once annual push mower tune up. Take off air filter, tap the gunk out on the ground. Check oil, yep there's oil and it's still liquid and somewhat clear. Take off blade, sharpen, check for balance, reattach.

Mow.

If it seems to be chewing grass later in the season, remove blade, sharpen, check for balance, reattach.

Mow.

$150 for a mower and I think I'm 7-8 years in on this one. It's probably got another 3-4 years in it since I'm starting to see significant rust in the body and figure it'll form holes soon and shoot rocks at my eyes.

[pb4uski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 I'm anti-ethanol because it appears to be an environmental disaster. However, I can't understand all this bashing of it with regards to small engines. I'm in IL (corn country), so we have had ethanol a long time (pols looking for farm votes). I've used it in my small engines for decades. Never had to do ANYTHING with a carb or fuel tank. And I don't even drain the tank over winter (though I do try to get the tractor started about every 6-8 weeks, just to keep things moving.....

You must live right then. It has been a huge problem around here with boat engines, lawnmower engines, rototiller engines and all sorts of other small engines.

[FUEGO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pb4uski A friend of mine swears that you can "make" your own non-ethanol fuel but adding some water, stirring, letting it sit and the ethanol bind to the water and then drawing the bound ethanol/water from the bottom of the tank until you are only getting gasoline. While I'm frugal, I'll just pay the little extra and buy non-ethanol. How to make your own ethanol-free gasoline • GL1800 DIY Articles • goldwingdocs.com

Probably not saving much if you're removing 10-15% of the volume of the gas you bought.

If you can pay less than an 11% premium for ethanol free gas versus E10, then you're paying the same amount per gallon of gas. And you aren't potentially dumping water into your gas tank.