i started last year as a fluke, fixed my parents mower then all of my friends equipment. 200+ pieces of equipment later i have equipment everywhere (mostly free or trade ins) it has become a crazy profitable hobby also. everything from electric hedgers to Exmark mowers. I also have CAD (chainsaw Addiction Disorder) that i am trying to kick. i truly enjoy helping folks get their equipment back in order. Old Honda, Snapper, John Deere stuff i like the best but appreciate all of them. PS never gaurentee a chainsaw when selling it. (i have had several folks straight gas them even after my 15 minutes of how to operate them)
how many of you repair small engines as a hobby? $$
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pugaltitude
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Not a hobby but my main business.
Repair everything from small electric to golf course equipment.
Specialise in cylinder grinding and everthing Briggs.
Busy period now its start of the season so usually 15 hour days.
Hobby, i wish :laughing:
Repair everything from small electric to golf course equipment.
Specialise in cylinder grinding and everthing Briggs.
Busy period now its start of the season so usually 15 hour days.
Hobby, i wish :laughing:
SONOFADOCKER
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I work in shop . Sales delivery demonstrations . I do go into the junk pile and take tractors or mowers out . Put them on the bench lift and tinker .
I can take them home to sell or give them away . Some get put in the showroom for sale .
Some people are silly about fixing machines . Rather spend thousands on new than a few hundred to fix .
I can take them home to sell or give them away . Some get put in the showroom for sale .
Some people are silly about fixing machines . Rather spend thousands on new than a few hundred to fix .
Two-Stroke
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I've been a fix-it hobbyist for more years than I care to admit but I really got back into small engines in a big way about three years ago. I have a Briggs-powered Jacobsen that I got for free from a neighbor more than 20 years ago. I kept it running and used it to mow my very small yard in the city for all those years.
Three years ago, I bought a big place out in the country with lots of steep terrain. I mowed that with the Jake for a while until that old four-stroke was just about shot from mowing all the slopes.
That spurred me to revive my long-standing interest in anything powered by a two-stroke engine. [Two-stroke engines are far superior to four-strokes for mowing on a slope -- the bearings get continuously lubricated because of the pressurized crankcase.]
I now have a collection of ten two-stroke mowers that I love to work on. There are eight Lawn-Boys and two Suzuki-Toros. [That includes three mowers that are essentially parts mowers.]
:laughing: In the last six months or so I've begun to control my addiction to these fine machines -- which you can no longer buy new, adding to their appeal for collectors. :laughing:
Three years ago, I bought a big place out in the country with lots of steep terrain. I mowed that with the Jake for a while until that old four-stroke was just about shot from mowing all the slopes.
That spurred me to revive my long-standing interest in anything powered by a two-stroke engine. [Two-stroke engines are far superior to four-strokes for mowing on a slope -- the bearings get continuously lubricated because of the pressurized crankcase.]
I now have a collection of ten two-stroke mowers that I love to work on. There are eight Lawn-Boys and two Suzuki-Toros. [That includes three mowers that are essentially parts mowers.]
:laughing: In the last six months or so I've begun to control my addiction to these fine machines -- which you can no longer buy new, adding to their appeal for collectors. :laughing:
reynoldston
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Sure is a hobby for me. A old retired mechanic that can't give up the wrenches. One job at a time and on only what I want to work on. Shop is closed in the winter months but will do a odd job now and again seeing I have a wood heater in the shop. In the warmer months a little of everything cars, lawn equipment, motorcycles but nothing big and heavy.
Edwards saw service
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It started as a hobby/ interest for me. So much so I went to trade school for power equipment. Now I own my own business plus I'm a mechanic for a professional shop where I work on everything but I'm also the 2 stroke specialist for the shop. I service all brands but I have the most experience with Ariens, BobCat mowers, Meyer Snow plows, SnowEx and RedMax which all of those brands are ones we sell. For me I love it and it is a profitable business if you're a garage mechanic. It's a piece of mind sitting and tearing down engines diagnosing and making them run like new again.
Edwards Saw Service in Glen Mills PA
Edwards Saw Service in Glen Mills PA
Carscw
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Glad to see so many pros here. I do not really even like to work on mowers but I do not want to pay $65 for a filter and oil change. I ask this a few months back and only got one answer and it was wrong. I have a 20hp Briggs twin would not start so took plug out and grounded it at the plug hole and the engine started put plug back in and no start. I have had this happen on a Briggs 5hp a few years ago. And please don't say the valves every starting problem on here some one says it's your valves
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Two-Stroke
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Here's the ultimate thread for hobbyists who make a few bucks fixing old mowers:
"My Lawn Mower Repair Thread" by hanyoukimura
It's one of the greatest threads ever on LMF... IMO.
"My Lawn Mower Repair Thread" by hanyoukimura
It's one of the greatest threads ever on LMF... IMO.
reynoldston
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Because your plug wasn't under compression. It takes more to operate a spark plug under compression. This is the reason you should always test for spark with the plug in the engine. I guess my question would be how would a engine run without the spark plug in the engine because you would have 0 compression?