Export thread

While I am not a commercial lawn/landscaper guy, I DO cut and maintain my own large acreage of about 6 acres to be cut. I was wondering if some multi-contract commercial folks would chime in on their maintenance schedule that they follow for their mowers. I think it would be helpful if the pros would share what they've learned from experience and what works for them. At the top of my personal curiosity is if you perform your own work or use your dealer's service department and why? How often is the engine's valve lash checked/adjusted? Oil/filter change intervals in hours? Greasing the front spindles and other pivot points that have zerks? Hydraulic motor fluid/filter change in hours? Anything you do to add longevity to your machines such as changing certain parts BEFORE they cause breakdowns? Is it not important for commercial pros to keep their equipment in good working condition to avoid downtime and downtime is income lost? Even though I am not in the business, I have experienced a sudden breakdown while cutting a distance from my house and tools and then had to lug tools and parts to the mower in the field to make repairs. That's when I decided to not wait until consumable parts would fail and cause the same miserable situation. Lesson learned. Now, I change certain parts before they can fail and that has turned out to be valuable. I use the owner's manual as general guideline but some maintenance chores are done more often than recommended. Engine oil/filter is changed much more often. What do you do and why?

The schedule n your owners handbook is more than adequate.
The difference is mechanics / commercial operators can hear, see or feel problems starting.
Little things like how fast the engine turns over & how many revolutions till it fires.
Then there is spindle bearings that get done every season and when you are doing that , checking all of the pulleys
new Idlers every 2nd or 3rd belt.
MAchines are all different & different operators will wear things at different rates.

Fresh oilin the engine at the end of each season makes a world of difference.
Blades will tell you when they need sharpening , you can hear the extra load on the engine.
Most of my commercials drop their dull stuff off Friday arvo and pick it up Monday on the way to the first job.
However that all keep spare blades, belts and some times pulleys in their trucks.
Thus I sharpen last weeks blades which become spare for next week.
The owners using Husky pressed decks usually keep a complete spindle assembly in their trucks as the 3 point mounting ones break real easy.
Most also keep a spare air cleaner outer filter in case they run into excessive dust and again they can hear when the engine is choking.

bertsmobile1 said:

The schedule n your owners handbook is more than adequate.
The difference is mechanics / commercial operators can hear, see or feel problems starting.
Little things like how fast the engine turns over & how many revolutions till it fires.
Then there is spindle bearings that get done every season and when you are doing that , checking all of the pulleys
new Idlers every 2nd or 3rd belt.
MAchines are all different & different operators will wear things at different rates.

Fresh oilin the engine at the end of each season makes a world of difference.
Blades will tell you when they need sharpening , you can hear the extra load on the engine.
Most of my commercials drop their dull stuff off Friday arvo and pick it up Monday on the way to the first job.
However that all keep spare blades, belts and some times pulleys in their trucks.
Thus I sharpen last weeks blades which become spare for next week.
The owners using Husky pressed decks usually keep a complete spindle assembly in their trucks as the 3 point mounting ones break real easy.
Most also keep a spare air cleaner outer filter in case they run into excessive dust and again they can hear when the engine is choking.

Click to expand...

You've hit on some great points> i especially like the one about paying close attention to how the engine feels and sounds when first starting it. One thing I do is to observe the exhaust outlet when first turning starting the engine. I look to see if there's puff of blue smoke when the engine first fires. A quick puff is fine, but if it smokes blue for any length of time, I am concerned about piston ring wear, valve stem seal wear/leaking, or worse. Luckily, I've never had an indication of abnormal wear. What do use to balance the blades? We all know how unbalanced blades will prematurely destroy blade spindle bearings and can even lead to stress cracking in the deck around where the spindles are bolted. Lucky for me, I was able to buy out a shop's supply of blades for my Exmark when the shop was going out of business. My inventory consists of 22 sets of blades. Every Spring, I sharpen and balance at least 12 sets of blades for the mowing season. That allows me to avoid excessive wear on the blades

Blades get balanced on one of those pyramid thingies from Stens , about $ 5.00.
Most people sharpen ride on blades way too fine.
They are not sythes so a 1/16" edge is more than sharp enough.

Solo commercial operator here. I do most of my own maintenance and simple repairs. Engine and carburetor work gets done by local shops. Proper maintenance of everything I maintain is difficult. 4 cars, my work truck, a landscape tractor with hoe and loader, a landscape trailer and a dump trailer, 2 zero-turn mowers, a hydro walk-behind mower, 4 blowers, 4 string trimmers, 3 hedge trimmers, 3 multi-tool powerheads and multiple attachments, 2 chain saws and a power pole pruner. No way I can properly service all that and get enough billable hours in. I sharpen mower blades myself with and angle grinder and magna-matic balancer. Never had to replace a spindle. I'm pretty good about oil changes, air filters, fluid levels and grease. No valves have ever been adjusted except on my 4-mix multi-tool powerhead.

Edit - forgot the 10 hp wheel blower, snow plow and snow blowers. I maintain 30 properties plus my own 34 acre one and do all the accounting. Kind of a lot on my plate to get picky with maintenance...

2nd edit. I just wanted to add that no "wet" machines are ever operated. If anything is leaking or weeping any amount of fuel it gets taken out of service until it's fixed.

Darryl G said:

Solo commercial operator here. I do most of my own maintenance and simple repairs. Engine and carburetor work gets done by local shops. Proper maintenance of everything I maintain is difficult. 4 cars, my work truck, a landscape tractor with hoe and loader, a landscape trailer and a dump trailer, 2 zero-turn mowers, a hydro walk-behind mower, 4 blowers, 4 string trimmers, 3 hedge trimmers, 3 multi-tool powerheads and multiple attachments, 2 chain saws and a power pole pruner. No way I can properly service all that and get enough billable hours in. I sharpen mower blades myself with and angle grinder and magna-matic balancer. Never had to replace a spindle. I'm pretty good about oil changes, air filters, fluid levels and grease. No valves have ever been adjusted except on my 4-mix multi-tool powerhead.

Edit - forgot the 10 hp wheel blower, snow plow and snow blowers. I maintain 30 properties plus my own 34 acre one and do all the accounting. Kind of a lot on my plate to get picky with maintenance...

2nd edit. I just wanted to add that no "wet" machines are ever operated. If anything is leaking or weeping any amount of fuel it gets taken out of service until it's fixed.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your input. After observing many pros driving with their trailers loaded with two ZTR's and other equipment, I wondered how they found the time to keep up with maintenance themselves or how they dealt with it. If you spend 8 to 12 hours per day serving your clients, I'm sure you are in no mood to get home, eat, and then do maintenance for more hours. These are hot and dirty jobs as it is. What surprised me from your reply is that you have never had the valves adjusted on your engines except for the one you mentioned. This thread got me to thinking about folks such as yourself. Would you be interested in a shop that specialized in performing high-end maintenance on your equipment that saves you time and keeps you reliably on your client commitments? I'm talking non-dealer type private shops? I see ads in the yellow pages and roadside signs advertising 'small engine repair' services.

Are you pros aware of any private shops that specialize in offering a maintenance contract for keeping your equipment and machines in tip top working condition other than your dealer? If I was a pro(I am not), and I had several machines that require frequent maintenance/adjustments/parts replacement, etc., and I would have to spend many hours after work to attend to these tasks, would it be viable to use a service that does these things for me at at a reasonable price? I do these things on a very small scale for friends and family. I don't charge for labor. They buy and bring the parts for what they want to be done. it's fun for me to bring their machines up to good working order. If anyone has viewed my posts and threads, I especially enjoy checking and adjusting valve lash on an engine. This CRITICAL item will not only add reliability to an engine, but will allow the engine to make it's maximum power without fueling and other operating issues. Fun!

bertsmobile1 said:

Blades get balanced on one of those pyramid thingies from Stens , about $ 5.00.
Most people sharpen ride on blades way too fine.
They are not sythes so a 1/16" edge is more than sharp enough.

Click to expand...

You and I will disagree on the blades. I used that pyramid style balancer until I was disgusted with vibration. I then invested in a professional balancer that solved the vibration that could have damaged my deck and blade spindles. I've also experimented with just how sharp the blade cutting edge should be. Sharpening the edge to knife sharp works best for me. Not only do I get a clean cut, I find that the blade's cutting edge wears more evenly as long as I change the blades often. It the blades stay installed too long, they wear in a 'hooking' shape in the middle of the cutting edge. My experience is to change and sharpen the blades very often and then the cutting edge wears evenly, pretty much.

Boit4852 said:

Thanks for your input. After observing many pros driving with their trailers loaded with two ZTR's and other equipment, I wondered how they found the time to keep up with maintenance themselves or how they dealt with it. If you spend 8 to 12 hours per day serving your clients, I'm sure you are in no mood to get home, eat, and then do maintenance for more hours. These are hot and dirty jobs as it is. What surprised me from your reply is that you have never had the valves adjusted on your engines except for the one you mentioned. This thread got me to thinking about folks such as yourself. Would you be interested in a shop that specialized in performing high-end maintenance on your equipment that saves you time and keeps you reliably on your client commitments? I'm talking non-dealer type private shops? I see ads in the yellow pages and roadside signs advertising 'small engine repair' services.

Click to expand...

I have 3 dealers I work with. They stock parts for my equipment and will even strip parts off their floor models if necessary. I buy my expendable supplies off them too so they have an interest in keeping me up and running and happy. One of them (my Husqvarna Dealer) will work on anything if needed, but they are an equipment and party rental place so their equipment and party setups take priority, which can be an issue at times. But if they can help me they will. My Bob-Cat/Shindaiwa/Echo dealer will drop what they are doing for a commercial operator. My Exmark dealer is excellent as well but a ways away and I tend to just use them for parts. To me it's all about expediency in obtaining parts and service thus minimizing downtown of my equipment. The relationships I've established with my dealers is the key to that. So no, I wouldn't be interested in using an independent repair service over my dealers except perhaps occasionally if I was in a bind.

bertsmobile1 said:

The schedule n your owners handbook is more than adequate.
The difference is mechanics / commercial operators can hear, see or feel problems starting.
Little things like how fast the engine turns over & how many revolutions till it fires.
Then there is spindle bearings that get done every season and when you are doing that , checking all of the pulleys
new Idlers every 2nd or 3rd belt.
MAchines are all different & different operators will wear things at different rates.

Fresh oilin the engine at the end of each season makes a world of difference.
Blades will tell you when they need sharpening , you can hear the extra load on the engine.
Most of my commercials drop their dull stuff off Friday arvo and pick it up Monday on the way to the first job.
However that all keep spare blades, belts and some times pulleys in their trucks.
Thus I sharpen last weeks blades which become spare for next week.
The owners using Husky pressed decks usually keep a complete spindle assembly in their trucks as the 3 point mounting ones break real easy.
Most also keep a spare air cleaner outer filter in case they run into excessive dust and again they can hear when the engine is choking.

Click to expand...

Yup on hearing,feeling and even smelling things...vibrations, squeaks and just the sound of an engine. I can tell by the sound and throttle response of the 17hp Kawisaki on my walk behind when the air filter is getting tight (it gets dirty quickly due to its location). It's important to take my hearing protecors off sometimes and just listen. And the commercial operator knows when to "shut 'er down" when something isn't right rather than run it until it has a catastrophic failure... such as an overheating engine. I may not be able to competently repair everything, but I do know when something isnt right.

Boit4852 said:

Are you pros aware of any private shops that specialize in offering a maintenance contract for keeping your equipment and machines in tip top working condition other than your dealer? If I was a pro(I am not), and I had several machines that require frequent maintenance/adjustments/parts replacement, etc., and I would have to spend many hours after work to attend to these tasks, would it be viable to use a service that does these things for me at at a reasonable price? I do these things on a very small scale for friends and family. I don't charge for labor. They buy and bring the parts for what they want to be done. it's fun for me to bring their machines up to good working order. If anyone has viewed my posts and threads, I especially enjoy checking and adjusting valve lash on an engine. This CRITICAL item will not only add reliability to an engine, but will allow the engine to make it's maximum power without fueling and other operating issues. Fun!

Click to expand...

Until the drought kicked in it was my bread & butter.
Do all of the contractors in about a 5 mile radius because I do what the shops won't.
Overnight servicing for contractors.
It was an accident, originally I just offerred a "trade" discount by not putting any mark up on parts.
Then my best customer asked if he could drop off a mower that afternoon & pick it up in the morning and would be happy to pay extra for it.
So that started the overnight business.
They all have yard keys so I do the job, email them the invoice and they pick the equipment up at the ungodly hour that they start.
Do similar with parts, they can access the parts storerooms ( a couple of old trucks ).
So check around the local area for mechanics who work from home, live above their shops or do mobile servicing.

Darryl G said:

Solo commercial operator here. I do most of my own maintenance and simple repairs. Engine and carburetor work gets done by local shops. Proper maintenance of everything I maintain is difficult. 4 cars, my work truck, a landscape tractor with hoe and loader, a landscape trailer and a dump trailer, 2 zero-turn mowers, a hydro walk-behind mower, 4 blowers, 4 string trimmers, 3 hedge trimmers, 3 multi-tool powerheads and multiple attachments, 2 chain saws and a power pole pruner. No way I can properly service all that and get enough billable hours in. I sharpen mower blades myself with and angle grinder and magna-matic balancer. Never had to replace a spindle. I'm pretty good about oil changes, air filters, fluid levels and grease. No valves have ever been adjusted except on my 4-mix multi-tool powerhead.

Edit - forgot the 10 hp wheel blower, snow plow and snow blowers. I maintain 30 properties plus my own 34 acre one and do all the accounting. Kind of a lot on my plate to get picky with maintenance...

2nd edit. I just wanted to add that no "wet" machines are ever operated. If anything is leaking or weeping any amount of fuel it gets taken out of service until it's fixed.

Click to expand...

I was a bit surprised that you haven't had the valves checked/adjusted other than the machine you mentioned. From my experience, valve lash will change the most in the early hours of operation of a new engine. If checked and adjusted often during the first 150 hours, the lash changes less and less as the valves, push rods, seats, and cam lobes all wear in together. After about 150 hours,the lash changes very little under normal use providing that the fan shroud is removed and the engine cleaned for optimum cooling, oil/filter changes, etc.Valves that are too tight or too loose are both detrimental to the engine by causing premature wear and mechanical damage to the valves/seats and cylinder heads. Too tight and the valves won't seal correctly and combustion/compression pressure will blow by. Too loose and the valves will slam hard into the seats and can result in catastrophic failure. The first symptom of valves out of spec is hard starting. Loose valves will click when the engine is running cold and will quieten some as the engine warms up. Other than dealing with valve cover gaskets, the valve lash maintenance is my favorite job. It's fun to me because the result of finely adjusted valves will have a dramatic effect on the engine's performance across the board.....starting, power, and lower mechanical noise.

bertsmobile1 said:

Until the drought kicked in it was my bread & butter.
Do all of the contractors in about a 5 mile radius because I do what the shops won't.
Overnight servicing for contractors.
It was an accident, originally I just offerred a "trade" discount by not putting any mark up on parts.
Then my best customer asked if he could drop off a mower that afternoon & pick it up in the morning and would be happy to pay extra for it.
So that started the overnight business.
They all have yard keys so I do the job, email them the invoice and they pick the equipment up at the ungodly hour that they start.
Do similar with parts, they can access the parts storerooms ( a couple of old trucks ).
So check around the local area for mechanics who work from home, live above their shops or do mobile servicing.

Click to expand...

I wasn't looking for shop like that for myself, I only wondered if they exist. There are a few small engine/mower repair shops here that advertise with homemade signs placed on roads near their shop. I have no idea if they offer maintenance type fleet services or just bring your broken machine in for repair. I only do work for family and a couple of friends. This past spring, I get a call from a stranger, referred by a cousin, who had a list of tasks he wanted me to address on his Toro ZTR. He had the audacity to expect me to provide my labor for free because I don't charge my cousin for labor. Plus, this guy expected me to go get the parts myself. From that point on, I ask for 'donations' for my labor. If I don't receive what I think is a fair donation, I turn them down when they call. It amazes me how people can be so damn selfish and take advantage of someone's good will. My widowed 78 year old aunt has a JD lawn tractor that I take care of and she feeds me some fine southern cooking from time to time and she's very thankful. I go out of my way to maintain her machine.