Prepare your Mower for Winter

Reader Contribution by Nevin Hawlman

This week (and perhaps several other weeks in November) we have a guest blogger in the Do It Yourself department. The following was written by Nevin Hawlman, a homesteader in Pennsylvania. Please share your thoughts in the comments section below. –Mother

This is the time of year when most people winterize their lawn mower — by putting it in the shed and forgetting about it. A few of us drain all the gasoline and run it until it stops to prevent varnish deposits from clogging the carburetor. We might even drain the oil while it is hot, and fill it with new oil. 

Here’s an additional tip: Remove the spark plug and squirt a teaspoon of motor oil into the hole, pull the starter rope and replace the plug. This lubricates the piston and rings during storage. You should also remove the blade(s) and sharpen or replace them. And clean or replace the air filter. To prolong the battery’s life (if it has a battery),  move the battery to a warm place during winter.

How many of us mouse-proof the mower to prevent those miserable mice from making a potentially dangerous nest of flammable materials under the engine shroud, right next to the hot exhaust pipe? A mouse nest can overheat and ruin your engine by blocking air from the air-cooling passages. Their excrement can also corrode metal parts and wires,
and they love to chew on the insulation.

  • Published on Nov 1, 2007
Tagged with: Reader Contributions
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