Bob_Q
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 06/28/01
Posts: 10068
Loc: Albany area,New York
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Something said on a recent post prompted me to post this.
I'm pretty sure I'm the only golf course equipment tech on this forum and I know if I get into a lengthy diatribe about my job and what I do every day,I'd bore you all to death because what the average homeowner or tinkerer does to keep his mower,etc,going isn't anywhere near what I have to do every day.
BUT keeping things clean plays a huge part in how well machines work and how long they last. Changing oil,filters,and plugs isn't all of it.
Every piece of equipment on our course is washed or air cleaned after every use. That's not only for my benefit when working on them and so the members see nice clean machines out there. Grass itself and the chemicals layed down on it can do an awful number on metal and electronics over time. There are natural acids in grass that eat away at metal,plus a coating of grass will hold moisture,causing decks and engine parts to rust prematurely. You want to avoid any intake areas of the engine,and exposed electronics,but a good overall rinsing after each use will prolong the machines life for a long time,along with other regular maintenance. Even a mid-range self-propelled mower isn't cheap anymore. Why abuse it and have to buy another one in a few years,when a few extra minutes is all it takes to prevent that?
There ARE golf courses out there that don't follow this practice and I've seen lots of evidence of it. I go for parts quite often to my local Toro and Jacobsen dealers and see 20 and $40,000 machines there being worked on that look 10 to 15 years older then they are because they weren't properly maintained and cleaned. All I can do is shake my head and wonder what I'd do if I was the boss of that guy who was supposed to be taking care of that piece of equipment.
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WHAT IF??????
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Jeff_McMaster
Handyman
Reged: 09/06/02
Posts: 725
Loc: Monmouth, IL
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To ad to what Bob has to say, most folks either don't know or don't bother with Briggs Stratton's reccomendation to remove the flywheel cover when doing a tune-up and clean the cooling fins of grass and debris.
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have been a mechanic since the late 50's.
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Bob_Q
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 06/28/01
Posts: 10068
Loc: Albany area,New York
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Hey Jeff,over the years how many times have you disturbed someones happy home when you've removed the cover to clean the debris out of a mower that's been in the barn or shed all winter?? 
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WHAT IF??????
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gannimal007
newbie
Reged: 09/22/06
Posts: 4
Loc: East TN
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Thank you guys for posting this. I'm learning new things every season about the care of my equipment. I don't own ultra nice commercial gear but that doesn't mean that I shouldn't respect what the good Lord has blessed me with. It seems that each season I take a new step as a DIYer. This year - I began parking my mower (craftsman 42" LT3000 w/ Kohler pro 17 hp) outside of it's storage place until AFTER I've weed eated AND blown off the grass clippings so that I can blow a majority of the clippings off of the mower as well and THEN park it in the shop ... This also helps keep the debris out of my work area so it's a double bonus. Also - I'm starting to care for the 'winterizing' of each and will no doubt add a throurough cleaning before putting everything away for the winter (or maybe even using wintertime to complete this maintenance so I'm ready to go in the spring). And as you guys might have guessed from my post yesterday - I want to learn to troubleshoot and repair my own problems without having to take my gear to some hill billy (I'm in East TN) who will keep it for half the season and charge me the amount that I could have used to buy a new piece of equipment.
I wish I knew all that there is to know about small engine repair and maintenance but there are other areas that I've decided to invest a majority of my adult life in researching ...
If you guys will be patient with me then I know I can take care of all of this stuff myself. Thanks for this post - I look forward to asking you guys more questions about tuning up all my small engine gear this winter :-)
As long as you guys
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Bob_Q
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 06/28/01
Posts: 10068
Loc: Albany area,New York
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Good for you for wanting to learn;And we'll be here. 
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WHAT IF??????
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Jeff_McMaster
Handyman
Reged: 09/06/02
Posts: 725
Loc: Monmouth, IL
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In answer to your question Bob, I have found many hiding places of all sorts of things under there over the years.
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have been a mechanic since the late 50's.
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allstate81140
The Good Humor Man- "Jacks" in the Box
Reged: 10/19/04
Posts: 3063
Loc: Central California
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Bob, a good example of that is my neighbor. He owns an 8N tractor, and I have lived here sixteen years now, and he still has the same oil filter on it, and as some people live lucky, it runs like a clock.
Course, one of these days one of those oil passages will block off, and his luck will be over. Those engines are bullet proof but still need oil and filter changes.
I have to maintain my Sears rider regularly, as it falls apart regularly. Ha ha. A good running mower, but little stuff keeps giving me problems, like a worn out blade belt tensioner on a three year old mower.
Ah, the joys of living in the country and owning such equipment.
Jack
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Wanting to ride--Forced to work.
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sportsman
Handyman
Reged: 08/14/04
Posts: 819
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my tensioner went at 5 years on my sears..other parts that go are pulley wheel bearing wear out and the blade mandrels bearing go..always buy the mandrel assembly complete, dont just buy the bearing..bearing widen the area where they sit on shaft before they go out..we all have sears because we can fix them and parts arrive in 4 days by mail..
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Jeff_McMaster
Handyman
Reged: 09/06/02
Posts: 725
Loc: Monmouth, IL
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Over the years, I have repaced a lot of spindle bearings and guess what, most of the decks had lots of grass stuffed around the spindle housings. Do you think that lack of cooling air around the spindles just might have had something to do with the bearing failures?
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have been a mechanic since the late 50's.
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allstate81140
The Good Humor Man- "Jacks" in the Box
Reged: 10/19/04
Posts: 3063
Loc: Central California
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The really sad part of this is that I had an old Allis Chalmers (Simplicity) mower that was at least twenty years old when I bought it, and I used it for another six years without any real problems. Bought this Sears because one of the pulleys on the Simplicity blade belt seized and fell apart and I couldn't get one anymore, plus, if anyone on here has ever replaced a blade drive belt on one of those mowers, you know what a real nightmare is. That belt goes upside down, and inside out. Very interesting.
But, on the other side of the coin, that Simplicity probably cost a lot more than I paid for this mid-line 17.5 hp Sears. The Sears, like cars I used to own, has mostly small stuff. Like the cars, engine runs and starts great.
Jack
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Wanting to ride--Forced to work.
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