Recent content by GrumpyCat

Maybe he doesn’t have enough zinc in his motor oil? 😇 (Makes as much sense as anti-scalping wheels.)

Tire pressure affects cut height.

Zinc is the "synthetic" of lawnmower motor oil marketing hype. ZDDP is a consumable lubricant of last resort. When contact pressure pushes through the oil film. When high lift, high speed, strong spring valves use solid tappets on camshaft, ZDDP is needed. Lawn equipment engines are not high...

Wasn’t thinking your stripe was so wide. Your center blade is in front of the side blades, the cut overlaps but the blades can never hit each other. An uncut stripe can be produced cutting during a tight turn, Am agreeing with others your center blade is slipping on the belt, or pulley...

I don't think your new blades are as long as the original blades.

Water is in contact. Water plus oxygen makes rust. Clearly you have never disassembled a carburetor or fuel injector which which sat unused with water in ethanol gasoline. Ethanol gasoline phase separation is the ethanol + water falling out of solution. If only water fell out no one would...

I could start it just fine with butt in seat and PTO off with parking brake set. Agree, I think there is an interlock. Don't think there is a mechanical connection, but it sounded like the blades were wedged when I tried to start them. Doesn't really matter. Lesson learned.

Uh, I did that the other day on my Country Clipper. Parking brake was set. I don't know why the engine cut out when I engaged the blade PTO just because the parking brake was set, but it did. Guessing it is a deliberate design decision.

The product is called Heet, and it is primarily ethanol. So ironically today people are complaining about that which they used to buy and deliberately add. Because it was better to suspend water in gasoline to get it out and through the system than have it puddle, freeze, and block fuel passages.

And ethanol allows the water to carry in the fuel, exposing the entire tank not just the bottom. This is the problem with ethanol + water in carburetors. With pure gasoline a drop of water in the carburetor kills the engine. In ethanol, it simply leans the mixture, but probably goes right...

Ethanol is not "destroying tanks". In 1984 I had to buy a new gas tank for my Honda motorcycle because it somehow had over 3/4" of water accumulated in my attached garage over the winter. Formed a nice line of holes through the tank at the gasoline/water line.

Ethanol is not good. But isn't The End Of The World. The problem with small engines is the simple fuel system exposed to moist air. The problem is in how small engines are often left out in the weather. Ethanol-free gasoline still accumulates water, but the water doesn't mix. The water can be...

Air gets in automotive fuel systems, it just doesn't flow in and out getting replenished with fresh moisture. And then there is the 2004-2009 Prius whose fuel tank consisted of a bladder/bellows in a plastic case. Very little air volume over the fuel. As fuel was consumed the bladder collapsed.

The only harm ”from” ethanol is that it carries water in solution, then carries that water into the carburetor. If allowed to sit it will do nasty things. No additive or treatment does any good. Small engines have ventilated gas tanks, open to the atmosphere, open to collecting moisture...

Just buy E10 from a high volume gas station. Only buy a month or two’s supply at a time. Don't store the can on cold concrete because cold fuel with warm moist air condenses moisture from the air no matter ethanol or not. 90 octane (sic) won’t hurt anything, won’t help. When engine is designed...