A couple of months ago we had been looking for deals on used riding mowers as our yard can be annoying at best to mow. It's not huge but since our push mower is an electric (with a cord, not even on a battery) with a small deck, doing this job can take a while. We didn't have much luck securing a mower that was affordable to us and in enough time before someone else would snatch it up before we could be able to pick it up.
About 4 weeks ago, while driving around we saw a sign on a riding mower that read "Free." Free? There has to be a catch. Of course there was. The lady giving it away was a recent widow the previous winter. and her husband had always been the one to take care of equipment like this. She said it didn't run, didn't really know any specifics on why, and just didn't have the time nor energy to figure it out. My wife said we'll take it off her hands and see what we can do with it. And off I went, pushing this behemoth down the street with one of its tires flat. Luckily the house was only a block from ours - it was still a workout though!
Now starting this project I know only a bit about how small engines work but I was willing to learn, especially if this will save me tons of time and energy later on. I researched and found what model of mower it was (it wasn't obvious just by looking at the spec plate on it), found the manual for the mower itself and the engine. I read forums regarding its symptoms and what I could figure out what was wrong by experimenting with it.
- I checked the battery's life by breaking out my multi-meter and incidentally it had no charge.
- The spark plug was rusted a bit at the tip.
- The fuel filter looked dirty and from I could tell, fuel wasn't getting through it.
- In addition to the filter, the fuel line itself was rotting. Some fuel was dripping through it.
- And of course that flat tire in the rear.
In the end, I figured it had just been sitting a bit too long and it would need its regular maintenance items replaced. So a couple of trips to Lowe's and an Amazon order (for the tire) later, along with a lot of colorful metaphors getting the tire off/on the rim, I managed to get the mower in somewhat working order! 😁
It needs a couple of things like a new mulch kit, discharge cover, and its steering adjusted. However it moves and it cuts. What else could I ask for at this point? I have learned a new skill and that's fantastic.