The idea that you should scalp the lawn low before winter is backwards; a taller cut protects the grass through the cold months. Cutting too short weakens the roots and lets in moss, weeds and disease, right when the lawn…
Nine times out of ten the bag stops filling once the airflow has failed, not once the collector is genuinely full. The usual causes are a caked deck, a blunt or worn blade, a clogged bag mesh and heavy autumn…
A mower that races and nearly stalls in a rhythm is almost always running lean: the governor keeps opening the throttle to chase a steady speed the fuel supply cannot hold. The cause is nearly always cheap and fixable at…
The Blade Slices Dry Grass and Tears Wet Grass, and the Lawn Pays for It You planned to cut the lawn this morning, it rained in the night, and the grass is still growing. The honest answer is to wait…
A mower that fires up and then dies within a few seconds almost always has a fuel supply problem, not a dead engine. The usual causes are old fuel gumming up the carburettor, a blocked vent in the fuel cap,…
Stale petrol left in the tank over winter gums up the carburettor and corrodes the fuel system, the single most common reason a mower will not start in spring. A proper end-of-season service takes about an hour: sort the fuel,…
Look closely at the grass a day after you mow. If the tips are shredded and pale rather than cleanly sliced, and the whole lawn has taken on a yellow cast, the mower is tearing the grass instead of cutting…
Few things kill the momentum of a Saturday mow faster than a cloud of smoke rising off the engine. It looks alarming, and it is easy to fear the worst. The good news is that a smoking mower is usually…
A mower that buzzes hard through the handles after a full summer of cutting is not just uncomfortable to push. The shaking is the machine telling you that something spinning underneath it has gone off-centre, and left running that way…
A self-propelled mower that has stopped pulling itself is one of the most common late-season complaints, and it almost always strikes now, when thick, damp growth puts the drive under the heaviest load of the year. Most people reach straight…
