Your lawn care equipment makes maintaining a beautiful and lush yard easy. While these machines don’t require a lot of maintenance compared to your car, they can experience problems that cause your to-do list to go unfinished. Lawn mowers, for example, tend to experience a few common issues. Know how to troubleshoot and deal with these when they occur so you can get back to work quickly.

Common Lawn Care Equipment Issues: Mowers

1. Stubborn Starter Rope

When you pull on the starter rope, it should move easily and turn your engine. The rope won’t budge, however, if the engine flywheel brake is engaged. This brake is the bar that you pull down to the handle while using the mower. Check that you have it pulled all the way down before trying to pull the rope.

If it still doesn’t work, your mower blade may be clogged. Take the mower onto a hard surface, turn it over and disengage the spark plug wire for safety. Remove any obstructions before trying to start it again.

2. Inability to Start

The most common issue for lawn care equipment in the spring is gas. Your tank will need fresh gas since anything older than one month will likely not start the engine. Next, check whether your air filter is dirty, and replace it or clean it if necessary. If this doesn’t work, try checking the spark plug. It may be dirty or loose, which would impact the mower’s ability to start. Cleaning it off or replacing it will often solve this problem.

3. Sudden Lost Power

When you’re mowing and the machine suddenly loses power, this could be a dirty air filter or spark plug as well. Another common culprit is grass that’s too high. Raise the cutting height on the mower, then take multiple passes, shortening the height to gradually get down to the length you want. Trying to cut too much grass at once will clog up the mower and force it to shut off.

If these troubleshooting tips don’t get your mower functioning properly, it’s time to take it to an expert. Stanly Tractor Company has more than 50 years of experience servicing lawn care equipment for the people of Albemarle, NC. They carry a wide inventory of lawn care equipment and outdoor power tools, so if it’s time to upgrade your machinery, you can find the finest options. They know the equipment well and will guide you through any repairs or purchases. Visit the power equipment dealer online for directions or call (704) 983-1106 to discuss your mower.