I want to teach my son the safest way to clean out the clumps of grass under the lawnmower. I remember a neighbor getting very inured when he tried, probably because he did not turn off the lawn mower. Dumb move.
I turned it off and put it on it's side. However, I did not know the proper procedure to SAFELY and EFFECTIVELY clean out the clumps of grass. Also, is it a good idea to disconnect the spark plug while doing this?
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NewGardenTalent
- Full Member
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- Joined: Sun Mar 11, 2012 9:53 am
- Location: New Jersey
To be safe, yes, unhook the spark plug. Also, wait until the motor and muffler are cool before you tip it on its side. Gas will flow out of the tank and a hot mower may cause the gas to ignite. Many newer mowers have ports on the deck to attach a garden hose to wash out the collected grass clumps. It may be wise to use a tool of some kind with a longish handle to pry the grass out and then finish the job by spraying with water from a hose and nozzle.
Anything is better than just reaching in with your hands.
Anything is better than just reaching in with your hands.
It helps if you mow the grass when it is dry. Wet grass can really cake up and it lies down making it hard to mow
Make sure you wear the right clothing, eye or face shield, boots, and pant legs should be tucked in. I make an apron out of a garbage bag. It deflects some things and keeps the pants cleaner.
Don't put more gas in the mower than you need. Run the mower until the gas is used up, especially if it is the end of the season or if you are like me and don't mow more than once a month. Gas spoils without a stabilizer. Make sure to add gas when the engine is cool not hot.
Disconnect the spark plug for safety and make sure the mower is not hot.
Tip lawn mower on the side with the carburetor facing up, and the deck can be scrubbed out with a wire brush or putty knife to remove caked on grass.
Clean out the remainder of the grass with a jet of water from a hose or power washer.
Blades should be sharpened before the main season begins and the spark plug, oil, and air filter either cleaned or replaced. I pay a service to do this, it is worth it for me he comes to my house picks up my lawn mower and brings it back and I don't have to search the internet for filters for a 20 year old mower.
I did have to cannibalize another mower for the wheels though.
Make sure you wear the right clothing, eye or face shield, boots, and pant legs should be tucked in. I make an apron out of a garbage bag. It deflects some things and keeps the pants cleaner.
Don't put more gas in the mower than you need. Run the mower until the gas is used up, especially if it is the end of the season or if you are like me and don't mow more than once a month. Gas spoils without a stabilizer. Make sure to add gas when the engine is cool not hot.
Disconnect the spark plug for safety and make sure the mower is not hot.
Tip lawn mower on the side with the carburetor facing up, and the deck can be scrubbed out with a wire brush or putty knife to remove caked on grass.
Clean out the remainder of the grass with a jet of water from a hose or power washer.
Blades should be sharpened before the main season begins and the spark plug, oil, and air filter either cleaned or replaced. I pay a service to do this, it is worth it for me he comes to my house picks up my lawn mower and brings it back and I don't have to search the internet for filters for a 20 year old mower.
I did have to cannibalize another mower for the wheels though.
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rainbowgardener
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- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
I have a electric mower with a rechargeable electric battery with a solar panel for recharging. I don't have to worry about all that gasoline stuff. I just disconnect the battery, turn it on its side, and use my hands to brush/ scrape the grass off. I agree scraping is more when the grass is wet, brushing is dry. But with all the rain we have had this summer, it's been hard to find a time to mow when the grass isn't wet.
(I feel guilty saying that, since I know half the country is in really bad drought. I'm not deliberately hogging all the rain and if I knew a way to share it, I would.
)
(I feel guilty saying that, since I know half the country is in really bad drought. I'm not deliberately hogging all the rain and if I knew a way to share it, I would.
)injecting a bit of reality into the discussion . . .
Why Clean Out The Caked Grass?
because it holds moisture and will promote rust on a steel deck of a mower.
also can interfere with airflow / effectiveness of "mulching" mowers
I have a Scott's plug in electric push mower from 1959. it has an aluminum deck. it has not corroded through nor has it ever been cleaned out . . . . makes a kool "whir" in use.....
>>safety . . .
lets get a good grip here. you can use any appendage you wish to stick under the mower deck and scrape out the clumped up grass. the only problem is when the engine decides to start of it's own accord and spin the mower blade so as to chop off your inserted appendage.
if you choose to insert an appendage under the mower deck while the engine is running, , , , well, no Internet posting can possibly help that approach.
tipping any gas motor up from any direction with the carburetor up/down/sideways/inside out/other is apt to spill liquid gasoline out of the tank. any kind of hot anything / spark anything in the area can easily result in a big bang / fire ball.
the tipping can also result in raw gasoline draining into the cylinder. now comma comma comma - for any internal combustion engine, the air/gasoline "mixture" is _everything_. non-atomized liquid gas draining through a open/partial open intake valve into a combustion cylinder. . . odds of ignition: near absolute zero.
disconnecting the spark plug wire - good idea - the theory is should an explosive mixture enter the combustion chamber and whilst and whitherfore you're rotating the blade to get at other clumps of grass you should thence cause a electrical surge from the flywheel magneto to cause as spark and thenceforth cause the engine to "sputter" or even commence to "run"
cute idea. huge practical matter: make ding dong sure the the spark plug wire is not hanging near / touching the spark plug. couple hundred thousand volts from the magneto - yeah, that'll jump a small gap.
>>magneto
invented in the early 1800's - uses a permanent magnet spinning past a coil to generate the electrical current needed to product a spark. mower tilted up on its side: odds you'll turn the blade fast enough to generate a spark to cause the engine to "sputter" or even commence to "run" - near absolute zero.
>>but my mower has a battery . . .
might wanna' rethink the idea of tilting up the mower unless the battery is totally sealed. tilted up, battery acid runs/leaks out, corrodes the mower deck something like 1500-3000 times faster than clumped wet grass trapped under the deck.
otherwise, what's the problem? eh?
Why Clean Out The Caked Grass?
because it holds moisture and will promote rust on a steel deck of a mower.
also can interfere with airflow / effectiveness of "mulching" mowers
I have a Scott's plug in electric push mower from 1959. it has an aluminum deck. it has not corroded through nor has it ever been cleaned out . . . . makes a kool "whir" in use.....
>>safety . . .
lets get a good grip here. you can use any appendage you wish to stick under the mower deck and scrape out the clumped up grass. the only problem is when the engine decides to start of it's own accord and spin the mower blade so as to chop off your inserted appendage.
if you choose to insert an appendage under the mower deck while the engine is running, , , , well, no Internet posting can possibly help that approach.
tipping any gas motor up from any direction with the carburetor up/down/sideways/inside out/other is apt to spill liquid gasoline out of the tank. any kind of hot anything / spark anything in the area can easily result in a big bang / fire ball.
the tipping can also result in raw gasoline draining into the cylinder. now comma comma comma - for any internal combustion engine, the air/gasoline "mixture" is _everything_. non-atomized liquid gas draining through a open/partial open intake valve into a combustion cylinder. . . odds of ignition: near absolute zero.
disconnecting the spark plug wire - good idea - the theory is should an explosive mixture enter the combustion chamber and whilst and whitherfore you're rotating the blade to get at other clumps of grass you should thence cause a electrical surge from the flywheel magneto to cause as spark and thenceforth cause the engine to "sputter" or even commence to "run"
cute idea. huge practical matter: make ding dong sure the the spark plug wire is not hanging near / touching the spark plug. couple hundred thousand volts from the magneto - yeah, that'll jump a small gap.
>>magneto
invented in the early 1800's - uses a permanent magnet spinning past a coil to generate the electrical current needed to product a spark. mower tilted up on its side: odds you'll turn the blade fast enough to generate a spark to cause the engine to "sputter" or even commence to "run" - near absolute zero.
>>but my mower has a battery . . .
might wanna' rethink the idea of tilting up the mower unless the battery is totally sealed. tilted up, battery acid runs/leaks out, corrodes the mower deck something like 1500-3000 times faster than clumped wet grass trapped under the deck.
otherwise, what's the problem? eh?
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rainbowgardener
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- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b