Garden Tractors for the Small Country Place

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I got the big 1-lunger engine to cough asthmatically and puff black smoke...once but then I had to disassemble it down to the piston to pick abandoned mouse nest out of the carburetor and intake manifold.

I even had to remove the head and pick half-burned grass and mouse leavings out of the valves before I could fire it up and get to work for the season.

...And During the Season

During the season, check and top up lube and coolant in larger water-cooled engines, clean air screens and prefilters, and check to See that cooling fins on air-cooled engines are clear before starting off each day.

Change engine oil every 10 to 25 operating hours for a small engine, every 20 to 50 hours for a large (over 10hp) engine, and change all filters every 20 to 100 hours-more frequently if operating conditions are hot, dusty, or the engine is under constant Strain. Lubricants and filters are cheap; better to change them too often than not often enough to keep air and lubricants pristine. Get rustproof plastic gasoline or diesel containers and keep ,fuel fresh and clean. In the heat of Summer-between the busy spring and fall seasons-the tractor sees limited use and gas can lose its high-end volatiles.

Water vapor in the air can condence and settle to mix with dirt at the bottom of a gas can. Stale or dirty fuel that clogs fuel lines, carburetor jets or fouls the plugs is the #1 problem-causer in lawn equipment. Store tractor and gas cans in the coolest place you can. If you must leave the tractor out in the summer cur, run the tank dry after each use to prevent gas in tank and carburetor from evaporating into gummy varnish. During the slow season, when a gas can is nearing half-full, I like to empty it into the truck's tank and fill it with fresh fuel next trip to the gas pumps. Be Scrupulously careful not to get dirt in the gas; keep caps on the tractor's tank and on storage cans screwed down tight against air-borne dust, and wipe off filler tubes before use.

Never use the last quarter-cup of fuel in a can unless you Strain it through Several layers of dirtcollecting and water-absorbing cheesecloth Studded in a funnel. But don't just dump contaminated fuel out to contaminate air, Soil, and water. Reportedly, we dump and Spill enough gasoline on the ground in America each year to fill the Exxon Valdez all over again. Most evaporates, adding ozone and complex hydrocarbons to ground Smog. I collect watery or gritty fuel residue in an old gas can and use it to Start fires to dispose of wet logging slash, brush, and bug-and-plant-disease harboring garden trash once alight Snow has fallen in early winter.

End-Of-Seaoon

If you will be moving Snow with the tractor, clean, grease well and winterize engine according to manual instructions: adjust carb for a richer mix and more deliberate choke for winter starts, add thinner lubricants, hotter plugs, Snow-Shield or winter baffles to the air Supply. Otherwise, clean and grease all over. Tighten all bolts (very important in a machine Subjected to the constant vibration of a Small engine). Replace the muffler if it is beginning to Sound off.

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