Now that I think about it, it was probably before the pandemic. 🤔
If you buy an electric mower, you never have to change the oil again. Or the spark plug. Or buy gas. Or clean the carburetor.
And they’re quieter! God I wish my neighbors all had electric mowers. Sometimes it seems like they’re invited to all the zoom meetings I attend.
The mowers are fine, it’s the weedwackers that are the problem.
Electric weedwackers are also quieter.
Leafblowers. Fucking 2 cycle leafblowers.
Those too.
If you never mow and grow insect friendly lawns…you wont ever have to buy a mower…fuck lawns.
The HOA won’t let me have goats to keep the grass low though
The point is not having non native grass. Use local plants and let your garden be a humming bird and bee haven.
#NoLawnI did this for years. I even got into the HOA board just to keep them off my back. It was so freeing to not have to mow.
My next mower will probably be a lawn service
After spending several hours on Saturdays doing yardwork I didn’t enjoy doing for years on end, I finally hired a gardener. Now I get to spend that time doing yardwork I do enjoy, like making landscaping improvements, or gardening.
Wish they made an affordable electric zero turn that could handle mowing 7 acres of field 3-4 times a month in the summer. I need commercial grade sadly and there’s nothing in the homeowner space that comes close to my needs. The commercial ones are like 30k to compare with what I got for 6k
I expect they do need lubrication from time to time. I just bought an electric mower this year and it’s pretty low power, so I predict that any amount of additional friction in the system is going to be too much.
But you will have to buy $1000 worth of batteries if you have a large yard.
While I can’t say I have a large yard. My 80v Greenworks system can do the job 90% of the time on 1 battery (I have 2). When it can’t from being lazy and not mowing as often as I should have or it was especially rainy, I can swap the batteries in moments and the battery charges within 20 or so minutes. By then I am done or using the battery from the mower in the leaf blower or weed whacker.
I would imagine if I had a larger yard I would go with a third in the event of having longer grass to cut and would have a battery charged, battery charging, and one in use.
I would not trade my yard system with a gas one for any amount of money. If i do anything it’d be to hire someone that uses electric (quieter!) to mow and edge and all that jazz. Or use a Fiskars reel mower.
Oh yea. I drive an ID.4. Suck it gas stations trolololol.
I have 1/3rd acre, takes 2 batteries to mow uninterrupted. Anything bigger than that I hope it’s not just grass, that’s a waste of space.
How much is a battery?
Jokes on you, I never did most of that anyway.
Also still got the gas can from pre covid.
Most mower engines are 2-strokes, they’re designed to burn oil as lubrication basically, it’s added to the gas. You don’t need to change the oil. Unless it’s a 4 stroke engine (unusual due to size/complexity), or you’ve got a transmission or some other motorized mechanical behavior.
Most mower engines are absolutely not 2 strokes… they are 99.99% 4 strokes.
Now strim trimmers are maybe 60/40 2s to 4s.
As a 2-stroke myself, I can confirm oil for lubrication is not required
I never changed the oil in my mower. Never had an issue, except with the power cord getting in the way.
A true shower thought
Mine burns a little oil, so I just keep adding it. That way it gets a perpetual oil change. guytappinghead.jpg
I think most mowers are two stroke engines, which generally are designed to burn oil.
Most mowers are four stroke like automobile engines, this includes pushmowers. Modern ones even have oil filters. Generally, riding mowers have two cylinder v-twin engines and pushmowers are single cylinder.
Two stroke engines are generally found on smaller things like chainsaws and weed eaters.
You mix special oil into the gas for two strokes. They do produce more smoke, especially when first started.
Nah, most push and riding mowers are definitely 4 stroke. You’re absolutely correct that 2 strokes need to burn oil and create some visible smoke (to be properly lubricated). Only small, powered equipment (such as trimmers, blowers, and chainsaws) are still commonly made with 2 strokes. My smoking push mower was made in the mid 1980’s and is miraculously still running. It apparently has worn seals that are allowing crankcase oil into the combustion chamber.
Cool, did not know that! I have to admit I made assumptions there, figuring 2 stroke engines are probably more appropriate for smaller equipment. But I guess since you don’t have to carry a mower, a heavier engine is not a big deal, makes sense.
Good luck with your mower, no need for something else as long as it’s still working! After all, with a lot of things they really don’t make em like they used to, that old mower could serve you for a very long time.
Do you just have a cloud of smoke around you as you mow
I thought two-stroke engines mix the oil and fuel together? Every time you refuel, you should also be topping up the oil. Am I wrong?
Most lawn mowers are 4-stroke.
Only for some engines. Make sure you read the manual and the cap.
Never seen a two-stroke mower…
I knew some folks with a repair shop as a kid and got to use one of these.
I found a Lawn Boy in a barn a few years ago that I’m using. Two stroke from 1979. Infact those engines were also used as air cooled outboard boat motors.
I’ve seen and used them. Not for 10 years or so though.
For the money you save by not doing the oil change you can probably afford a new mower every 10 years or so.
This is my strategy. I’ve never done any maintenance on any of my mowers except for sharpening the blade, and they still run for around 10 years.
How often were you changing the oil in your mower? I own an electric lawnmower now, but before that I just changed the oil once at the beginning of each mowing season.
I only changed it once with the extra can I bought with the mower but never since. I’d imagine it easily costing somewhere around 20 to 30 euros a year so that’ll pretty much cover a new mower every 10 years.
Lawnmowers only take about 16oz of oil and you can buy 5qts(160oz) for $23 here in the states. So that $23 would last 10 years of oil changes if you replace it once per season like I did.
Not sure what that would cost you in Europe. So maybe that’s where the disconnect is.
You’re supposed to replace the filter at the same time.
I haven’t pushed it anywhere near 10,000 km, so I should be good, right?
Right?
My neighbor had a crazy old Montgomery Ward tiller, I’d guess from the late 60 or early 70s. I borrowed it once and decided to be nice and change the oil in it since I doubted he ever had. Could not for the life of me figure out how to drain the oil without flipping it over… It’s ran for this long on old oil, it’ll run for a bit longer!
Flipping it over is often the correct way to drain the oil.
I got an ev mower. Solved.
I also solved mine but by never changing the oil.
I had a mower I bought in 2001, took it with me for a few moves. Sometime around 2011 it started sputtering and just take running like crap. Tried to drain it, and it basically took so afternoon. But I got it drained and replaced. The filter had disintegrated.
With the electric mower, I’ve had it since 2013 or so. The battery is finally starting to show its age but it does still work well enough. Still haven’t done anything to it. Might replace the blade soon
Drain the fluids completely for Winter
Too hard! I just use it until it explodes. Still lasts about 10 years.
Genuine question as I haven’t actually thought about this, how does that work when you don’t have a winter? Where I live it doesn’t get below 40° ever, or above 85°. Those are literally the overnight low in Feb, and midday high in Aug/Sep. Do I still need to drain, or just treat it like changing the oil in my car? I.E.: Every 6 months or 3500 miles, whichever comes first.
Like u/possiblylinux127 said, any time you’re not going to use it for more than a month or two, it’s best to drain the fluids. Oil is less important than gas, and you can leave gas in it as well if you add a stabilizer to it.
Personally, I wouldn’t use gas stabilizer for more than one season, but I know many who use it every year with no problem. Just make sure you run the motor with the stabilizer for a few minutes before you store it so the gas in the carburetor doesn’t gum up.
As for oil, I tend to only change it when it looks darker than a piece of burnt toast I’d still be willing to eat. I know that’s vague, but it’s how I do it.
Ideally, you should be using nonoxygenated gas for your mower, in which case stabilizer is unnecessary. The ethanol is what gums up carbs.
I usually have to use starter fluid first time each year. I beat the shit out of it. Only changed the oil once, when I bought it second hand. I’m really waiting for it to fail to buy electric, but it’s been 3 years and and still going strong.
My grass doesn’t grow for like 5 months of the year. If you don’t have winter, you don’t need to store your mower for half the year.
If you don’t need it there is no point in having fluids in it. It might not be necessary but it is good practice
I’ve changed the air filter on mine and I think that’s all the maintenance I will ever do
Sharpen/replace the blade. It’s cheap and easy to do, and it will cut like a brand new mower.
Also, this is a PSA that you should sharpen your shovel. Makes digging way easier.
If it’s a Honda, it’s fiiiiiine
Probably due an oil change about 2029
Oof glad I don’t have to do that anymore. My car on the other hand… 😐 It’s probably due
