Maintenance Prolongs Lawn Mower Life
UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre
Co.) Each year, the arrival of
spring is heralded by the sound of
lawns being mowed. If you want
your lawn mower to last from year
to year, treat its engine with the
same respect you show your car’s
engine, said a machinery specialist
in Penn State’s College of Agricul
tural Sciences.
“A good lawn mower should
last 8 to 10 years,” said James
Garthe, instructor in agricultural
and biological engineering. ‘Too
many people pay $3OO for a mow
er, then get a new one a year or two
later because it wasn’t maintained
properly.”
Read the owner’s manual and
follow the directions for mainte
nance, Garthe said. Pay strict
attention to the viscosity and qual
ity of oil used in the engine.
'The wrong oil shortens your
engine’s life by causing overheat
ing and excessive wear on valve
guides, seals, and main bearings.”
be said. "Use high quality engine
oils containing additives that buf
fer corrosive acids generated dur
ing fuel combustion.”
Keeping the air filter clean also
extends your mower’s life. ‘The
air filter keeps dust, dirt, sand and
grass from being drawn into the
engine,” Garthe said. “Iftheairfil :
ter is dirty, minute particles of sili
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con eventually can get into the
internal moving parts, wearing
them down and pitting them.”
“A dirty air filter also keeps air
from getting to the engine and
affects the air-fuel ratio that gov
erns combustion,” Garthe said.
‘The engine has to work harder,
wasting energy and fouling the
spark plug with deposits.”
Check or change the engine’s
spark plug at either the beginning
or the end of each mowing season.
“Unscrew the plug and check the
gap with a round spark plug
gauge,” Garthe said. “Carefully
scrape deposits from the plug with
a pocket knife or wire brush. Take
care, however, not to damage the
porcelain shank. If the porcelain is
broken, the plug won’t transfer
heat away from the engine as it is
designed to. If this happens,
replace the plug.”
Before storing the mower for
winter, change the oil. “Latefallis
the best time to change the oil and
check the spark plug to make suite"
that your mower will be ready to
go next year,” Garthe said. “Don’t
keep old oil in die engine until
spring. Solids, water, and acids
that have accumulated in the oil
over the summer will corrode your
engine.
“Change the oil while it’s still
warm,” he said “Contaminants are
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suspended in warm oil and will
drainout If you wait until it cools,
these materials settle to the bottom
of the crankcase and solidify into a
thick gum.”
If possible, remove gasoline
from the tank before storing the
mower, either by siphoning or by
taking off the tank. Consult your
owner’s manual to determine the
best method for your mower.
“Keeping old gasoline in the
engine over winter can make it dif
ficult to start next spring.” Garthe
UNIVERSITY PARK (Central
Co.) An international confer
ence centering on vocational stu
dents’ transition from school to the
working world will be coordinated
by the Center for Professional Per
sonnel Development in Penn
State’s College of Agricultural
Sciences. The conference, which
is open to those with an interest in
vocational education issues, will
be held June 18-21 at Seven
Springs Mountain Resort near
Somerset.
. The Pennsylvania Vocational
Education Conference will open
Sunday, June 18 with a talk by J.D.
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M
said.
If you can’t remove the gaso
line, put a fuel stabilizer designed
for small gas engines in the tank
and run the mower for a few
minutes before storing it “A good
fuel stabilizer can extend the stor
age life of the gas by up to six
months.”
If you keep your mower in a
damp location, consider coating it
with a silicon spray before storing
it “This creates a film that keeps
Hoye, director of the national
School-To-Work Opportunities
Office in the U.S. Department of
Education. Hoye will discuss gov
ernmental programs that help stu
dents make the transition into
careers as well as the impact the
1994 elections might have on fed
eral programs.
Hoye will also host a question
and-answer session, Monday, June
19. Various workshops will be
held through the rest of the confer
ence, focusing on such themes as
developing and assessing local
School-To-Woik programs; mak
ing partnerships with businesses,
comparisons of different school
districts’ technical preparation
programs across Pennsylvania,
preparing diverse student popula
tions for local School-To-Work
programs, learning job skills to
prepare for the 21st century and
incorporating community service
into vocational education.
On Tuesday, a panel discussion
will center on “School-To-Work
Transition Opportunities in the
NAFTA Countries.”
BUY.Sm.TBAOt OB BENT
UncMtef Farming, Saturday, May 13, 1995-819
moisture out and discourages
rust,” Garthe said.
Covering the mower with a plas
tic tarp also helps keep out mois
ture and rodents. “Mice have been
known to chew wires and other
engine parts, and even to build
nests in the mower,” Garthe said.
A plastic tarp will discourage these
pests more than cloth, which mice
chew up for nesting material.
“These simple steps may keep
you from having to buy a new
mower next year,” Garthe said.
Panel members include Hum
berto Dominguez, director of sec
ondary schools in Mexico’s Mini
stry of Education; Tom Norton,
president of the Association of
Canadian Community Colleges;
and Frank Linnehan, a business
consultant based in Haddonfield,
NJ.
Wednesday’s workshops will
include a presentation on how to
make the most of School-To-Work
opportunities at the local level.
Riley Harrison, deputy managing
director of fleet operations for the
City of Philadelphia, will be the
featured speaker.
The deadline for conference
registration is June 9.
Registration fee for the confer
ence is $4O. Room and meal pack
ages start at $ll3 per person,
which includes breakfast and
dinner.
For information, contact Carol
Conroy, PVEC-95 conference
chair, 323 Agricultural Admi
nistration Building, University
Park, PA 16802. Conroy also can
be contacted at (814) 863-3824.
THE