This is from the folks at John Deere and it's about mower maintenance. If you're like us and have an "on-again-off-again" relationship with small engines, below are a few tips worth following to keep the frustrating machines in working order.
Our feelings on these engines is summed up by something we overheard FOTS (father of Tool Snob) say a few weekends ago regarding his string trimmer: "I don't care if it trims grass, I just want it to start."
5 Tips for Mower Maintenance this Fall
We are well into fall and the dog days of summer are behind us, but before you abandon your lawn care duties, remember that your mower can be used year round for Mother Nature cleanup duty. Most riding lawn mowers, like the John Deere X310, or zero-turn-radius mowers, like the Z665 Ztrak™, come with a variety of attachments that can change with the seasons. When using your mower to mulch leaves this fall, be sure to provide proper and frequent maintenance checks for optimum performance.
Look for leaves. Fall leaves, though beautiful, present a particular challenge for mowers. Double check your air filters for stoppage. If filters are blocked, they will suck unfiltered air from elsewhere and damage the motor.
Stay sharp. The added strain of leaf mulching may dull the mower blade more quickly. You can use 20 percent more fuel with a dull blade, so either sharpen up or have a spare blade on hand.
For those who prefer to let their mowers hibernate for the winter months, there are a few important things to check before putting your machine in storage. Don't wait till spring to clean up your machines. A little work now will save you time and money when it comes to rolling your mower back out of the garage next year.
Hit the deck. Clipping and debris buildup under the deck can cut airflow and reduce effectiveness. A dirty deck can also cause rust and corrosion during winter storage. Turn the mower on its side and clean the undercarriage with a hose.
Fuel Fix. Add a fuel stabilizer to the gas tank to prevent separation that can lead to corrosion. After adding the stabilizer, run the engine for five minutes.
Give it a once over. Tighten all nuts and bolts; check belts filters, safety shields and guards. Replace any damaged or missing parts, including spark plugs. Check tire tread and pressure. Make sure your mower will be ready to hit the ground running next spring.
Spending a little bit of time maintaining your mower throughout the fall and possibly prepping it for winter storage will save you a lot of hassle in the spring. As temperatures drop, don't drop the ball on important lawn care duties.
We're fully aware that BBQ grills don't fall under the typical umbrella that this site covers, but the Stok Quattro has a significant connection to the tool world: it's made by Ridgid.
Yeah, that Ridgid. Sorta funny, isn't it. They've chosen Stok as the name they're going to make their grills under and at first glance, we thought it was some Nordic company founded by vikings (the 'o' in Stok has an accent line over it, giving it the pronunciation 'Stoke').
Familial heritage aside, this looks like a pretty cool grill. The distinguishing feature of it is the removable inserts that are actually built into the grill surface. The way it works is that the grilling surface has two circular areas that can pulled up and swapped out with either a vegetable tray, a pizza stone, or a griddle. All of the parts fit in nicely and add quite a bit of functionality to the grill. It's sort of like the JobMax of the grilling world.
If we're not making any sense, here's a video:
The Quattro works on propane and goes for $250 and is available only at Home Depot. There are also charcoal versions available
Black & Decker Cordless GrassHog Trimmer and Cordless Sweeper - Reviews
Black & Decker has revamped their selection of outdoor tools and they've based them around their 20 volt platform (it's 20 volt max...18 volts to the rest of us). They recently send us one of their string trimmers and a sweeper to check out. We gave them a good go round and here's what we thought...
Late last year, True Temper sent us their new Total Control Wheelbarrow to check out. Winter hit, so we didn't get to dig into it too much, but now that spring is here, the wheelbarrow with the funky handles is getting a workout.
With gardening season just getting underway here in the Northeast, Ames sent us a sample of their Planter's Pal, a sort of an all-in-one gardening tool. When we got it, we immediately handed it over to the head gardener, Mrs. Tool Snob, since it seems like we're only allowed in the garden when heavy things need to be moved. Other than that, it's off limits to us.
John Deere is introducing a bunch of new lawn mowers this season; 8 new ones in the 100 series and a couple of zero-turn models. The new 100s are marked by better fuel efficiency and lower emissions, as well as a redesign of the operator area. The zero-turn mowers, according to John Deere, come equipped with more horsepower and faster speeds than any other residential zero-turn units. There is plenty more information about these new releases in the press releases, which we've put after the jump.
John Deere has also put together a list of items to think about if you're considering a riding mower purchase this summer. We usually don't publish articles that come directly from a manufacturer, but this one doesn't specifically promote John Deere and it's filled with good points. A riding mower is a big investment and if you're thinking of getting one, these items are a good place to start. Here goes...
Choosing the right mower:
There's a number of elements and factors that should be taken into consideration when choosing a new mower this spring. Here's a few tips from John Deere:
Know your lawn - How big is your yard? Is it flat and smooth, or sloping? Do you need to mow around trees, sweep off your patio or plow yourdriveway? All of these are questions you want to ask yourself when considering buying a new mower. They'll help narrow down your options and ensure you pick the right mower for the job.
All grass isn't alike - Grass comes in a variety of types and it's important to know what makes up your lawn. If you want your mower to stick around for a while, you'll need to make sure you have enough power to handle the grass in your yard
Think about after-sale service - The goal is to save money AND headaches in the long run, so make sure your equipment provider offers reliable after-sale support and can guarantee quick repair if you run into any problems.
Keep it safe - It might not be the most interesting book on the shelf, but the operator's manual is essential to understanding the specific safety features on your equipment. General safety reminders and standards are also available through the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute at www.opei.org.
Riding mower or tractors versus zero-turn radius mowers:
Both machine types offer benefits and features that cater to different types of properties, understand the difference by reviewing below.
Choose a riding mower or tractor if:
You have plenty of jobs to do around your property and need a variety of attachments. In other words, you want to do more than just mow.
You have uneven terrain that you have to navigate.
You like using controls that are familiar and auto-like.
Your property has plenty of obstacles you need to trim around.
Choose a zero-turn radius mower if:
You want to improve your productivity, mowing your property in as little time as possible.
Your property is fairly flat.
You enjoy a mower that has more speed and can turn quickly.
You just want to mow, pure and simple.
More information at John Deere. And as promised, the press releases follow...
An inevitable byproduct of tinkering around on your house is something known in English as 'trash.' Scraps of sheet rock, cut-offs, demo'd materials, etc. For the big jobs, you go and get a dumpster, for the small ones, you cut everything up into small pieces and use contractor bags. But what about those mid-sized projects like a big set of built-ins or relocating a wall? The answer used to be: "find a friend with a pickup truck who lives in a town with a lax dump policy," but now, the answer may very well be, 'get a Bagster." Waste Management, who runs the Bagster program, was nice enough to let us fill one up for a review and here's what we found...
For the past six weeks, I've done little other than stack firewood. I woke up early and stacked wood. I stacked wood at lunch. I stacked wood in the dark. I dreamed about stacking wood. There were times when I would be stacking for hours and it would feel like the pile got larger, not smaller. There were also times when I wanted to build a massive and unsteady pile of wood, lay on the ground and let it topple on top of me.
But I finally prevailed. Man beats trees like rock beats scissors. In addition to a many-beer celebration accomplishing the task, I also wrote about the stacking process for Popular Mechanics. In the article, I compared three different methods of wood stacking, judging each for stability, speed, ease of stack, that sort of thing.
We're not kidding. This thing will set you back a grand. Well actually $909.95, but once you breach the $800 mark, who really cares? This is the Husqvarna 576 AutoTune Chainsaw. Is the engine block made of solid gold? Does it use liquefied silver for the chain lube? What gives? Why the sky-high sticker price?
When we first found out that Husqvarna was going to send us one of these saws to review, we danced around the shop in a very un-logger like fashion. We (obviously) like using tools, and we love using good tools, but when we get the chance to use an elite tool, it's a particular thrill. And at $1000, this one reeked of wonderful, pure, sugary elitism.
So what's the mystery of the Midas saw? We found out. Read on....
Are you really wearing your Hall & Oates pants in the press image of the Flowtron Leaf-Eater?
"Whoa-o here she comes...she's a Leaf-Eater."
The Leaf-Eater is (obviously) a portable leaf shredder. Set it up over a bag or a barrel and start stuffing leaves in. Simple. Elegant. Beautiful.
According to Flowtron, you can condense 11 bags on leaves into a single bag. Pretty good ratio. You can also capitalize on the cauldron look of the thing and stand in your yard pretending you're all three witches from Macbeth.
There is a smaller model available (LE 800) which works at a ratio of 8 bags to 1.
The Flowtron costs about $150 (smaller version is $130) and is available at Amazon.com
If you read the site, you know that we've recently had some big problems with a variety of string trimmers. The end result is that we're now cutting a good part of the tall grass out in the field by hand (for the rest, we got our pal with a field mower to stop by). So that's all fine and dandy, but what about the little stuff that grows around the well head and the flower beds? Since it's assumed that Mrs. Tool Snob would not be thrilled to see a scythe slashing away at the grass around her heirloom roses, we need another option. Thankfully, Worx recently sent us one of their new 24-volt trimmers to try out. We were hoping that it would solve our problem. So for the past few months we've been spending some QT with the tool and we've come to our conclusions.
We're well into the mowing season now and it's likely that you've heard the wonderful, 'mower blade meets rock' noise a few times. You might have also heard, 'mower blade meets tree root,' or even our favorite, 'mower blade meets random piece of metal that we think our son brought out to the lawn.'
Regardless of the specifics, our guess is that your blades need sharpening. Your options are (in increasing order of ruggedness) to 1) buy a new blade 2) bring your beat up blade to the hardware store and have them sharpen it or 3) sharpen it yourself.
If you've never sharpened a mower blade before, it's not too difficult and when it's all said and done it gives you that nice glow of self-sufficiency.
If you're interested, here are a couple videos that seem like a good place to start...
This guy just uses a bench grinder:
And this one is slightly more involved:
If this is all very discouraging, there is a nice selection of mower blades over at Amazon.com.
With the field out by the apple tree starting to get a bit overgrown and with FOTS (Father of Tool Snob) informing us that we'd better get to doing something about it before it goes to seed (he's in the know on this sort of thing), we decided we'd fire up a string trimmer to deal with the tall grass.
The long, overgrown grass (complete with thick weeds) seemed to be a good match for the heavy duty 4-stroke LEHR string Trimmer (we have the Craftsman branded one, but it's the same tool). After about ten minutes of relentless starter-cord pulling, we had nothing. So we pulled some more, and then some more after that. This coming from a tool that touts: no winterization and an easy start-up every time. We began to see that unique shade of white rage that accompanies uncooperative lawn machinery. We tried the 2-stroke trimmer that we have and that one was no better. No starting, no nothing. We went back to the LEHR and got another ten minutes of anger.
We were actually in the process of putting the trimmer in the log splitter when we recalled that the house came with an old scythe tucked in the back of the shed. After a few satisfying kicks to the trimmer, we went and dug it up also locating our box of sharpening stones.
After a pass with the angle grinder and a fine tune with the stones, the scythe was pretty damn sharp (a slip with the sharpening stone almost took a finger off, giving us a nice way to test SallyeAnder's claim that their hand soap works on bloodstains). Never having used a scythe before, but having once gotten a lesson from FOTS, we headed out to the field.
A few things to note about the remainder of the morning...
1. The scythe worked great. It's nice rhythmic work that quickly puts you smack dab in your 'happy place.' With no annoying trimmer motor or uncomfortable earplugs, we were relaxed and somewhat hypnotized by the satisfying swishing noise made by the cutting. The neighbors were probably pleased as well to not hear the high-pitched, 10lb mosquito whining of the trimmer motor.
2. We lasted about an hour, but after that we were toast. It's exhausting work. It's sort of like using a post-hole digger in that it seems to rely on muscles that you didn't know you even had. Our technique was OK, but not that great. We're going to have to work on it next time.
3. And there will be a next time. The trimmer would have been much less effort with the only energy burned being done by moving the shaft around. But the scythe gave us the whole package; we not only got a workout, but were engaged with the process, tweaking a grip, shifting our weight, trying to figure out the best way to work the tool. Above everything, we simply enjoyed ourselves. With no motor, we were able to hear the birds and the wind and all those other little noises that you miss in the muted cone of semi-silence that earplugs provide. The scythe was also able to handle some weeds that the trimmers would have likely had some problems with.
Needless to say, there was no stopping to load another string on the trimmer, no re-gassing, and no engine troubles. The only engine was us (with a pathetically small gas tank, by the way).
4. We also got to thinking about the time when people would spend entire days, no weeks, doing this work. It was one of those, 'we're a nation of sissies' moment, and while we were gasping for air around minute 55, we were in awe of the men who cut hay by hand.
5. If you've got a similar situation going on and there's a part of your property that gets overgrown and you only want to hack it down once or twice a year, we recommend getting a scythe and giving it a go. At the very least, it will give you a deep appreciation of your rural grandfathers. And probably a sore muscle or two.
Here's one at Amazon.com (looks like you have to buy the handle and blade separately). We also some on ebay, but if you start trolling barn sales, you'll probably have a good chance of finding one.
Because there are now so many tool blogs out there, we've decided to shift focus away from tools and towards things like soaps and facial scrubs. The first foray into this territory is SallyeAnder's Hogwash! Soap.
Actually the truth is that we were contacted by SallyeAnder, who thought that their multi-purpose soap would be a good match for all of you, our readers. Being the tool-using types, you're also probably the greasy, grimy, muddy pants types. If you've ever heard, "don't even think that shirt is going in the laundry with my blouse' then we can relate. You probably have a bar of Lava sitting on your basement slop sink.
And that's sort of where Hogwash! fits in. It's basically an all-natural Lava. It's made with an olive oil and soy base and doesn't have any artificial dyes. It has some cornmeal in it which gives it that pumice vibe, good for scrubbing glue off your fingers. It comes in a 6 oz. bar which is basically a 1-1/2" by 2-1/2" by 3" cube.
So on to the whole, 'does it work?' part of the review. Since our samples arrived from SallyeAnder over a month ago, we've been using Hogwash! on a daily basis and its size has hardly diminished at all. In fact the only wear is that the crisp edges of the brick are a little rounded over. This bar of soap is going to be around for a long, long time whether we like it or not.
And thankfully, we like it. We might even name it. It works great on everyday filth and SallyeAnder also claims that it works on grass stains and blood stains. We ended up testing both of these conditions (you'll have to wait until tomorrow's post to find out where the blood came from), and the soap does indeed work. Our stained rag was nice and clean in no time.
If you're concerned with the 'naturalness' of the products that you buy, it appears that all of the soaps that SallyeAnder makes are edible. We cut a small chunk off of our Hogwash! and gave it a go. It tasted terrible and it took about two hours before our mouth returned to normal, but if you're stranded on an island, at least it's something.
We also wanted to mention that SallyeAnder also sells a soap (and lotion) called No-Bite-Me which is a bug repellent in addition to a soap. We tried out a sample of this and it works great. There are also shave soaps and other similar things available. They're neat products with some really great packaging and we're happy that they took the initiative to introduce themselves to us. It's nice knowing that funky little companies like this are out there.
5 Tips for Mower Maintenance this Fall
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The Renovation Continues....