Lawn mower
Blade types
Metal blade:
- Keeps on cutting, given an occasional sharpen
- Can cut through thick weeds in limited numbers, level molehills etc
- Serious foot injury potential
Plastic blades:
- Need regular replacement
- Muck on the blade holder stubs can cause them to come off frequently
- Less effective than metal blades, generally
- Don't cut tough weeds
- Relatively toe safe
Electrical connectors
- Always use a connector with the same number of pins as the flex has cores
- NEVER fit a connector with pins on the mains plug side, or you'll have live pins sticking out. Its always socket nearest mains plug, pins nearest appliance.
- If the connector has a cover you have to thread the flex through, don't forget to put the cover on first!
Electric vs petrol
Electric:
- Lower power generally
- Lead gets in way
- Risk of chopping lead
- Limited range
- Cheaper
- Near zero maintenance
Petrol:
When it won't start
Fault diagnosis is a wide & complex topic, but the following homes in on the majority of faults.
In most cases the problem is either with fuel or spark. Test for presence of spark with a neon in series with the spark plug lead - keeping yourself well away from the very high voltage. Test for fuel problems by spraying easystart or similar into the air intake and trying to start it.
Repair Links
Reviews
MTD Lawnflite 703 ride-on. Also see [1]