Gardening for Old Folks (Adaptative)

[Molpet]

Rich, sounds delicious without the squash.
waiting for rain today.

LOL
Hoping for rain today and not the possibility of bad storms

 

[jvls1942]

the rain started about an hour early.
it was a nice steady farmer's rain.
I pulled the old Husqvarna zero turn lawn mower out. It ran when I parked it last summer, It needs a tube in one tire. I can't find my floor jack, so I will hoist it with Ollie's loader.
I am going to use it for mowing close to the grapes and around some bushes. Can't get close enough with the Cub Cadet rider.
It is in the mid 70's already. going to be muggy.

 

[wyoDreamer]

Yesterday was muggy. I stained the boards for the shelves in the greenhouse. I used a penetrating oil finish. Just wanted to seal them up a bit.
We got 0.85 inches of rain on monday, with another 0.15 yesterday evening. The garden is happy.

I did manage to get the garden area mowed with the John Deere mower with the vacuum system. It was getting pretty long, about 6 inches. What a pain in the butt. Now I remember why I let DH take over that job.

First, I have a hard time getting pull start motors started. Once I got the vac system started, I started mowing and after a complete round of the area - I noticed it wasn't picking up the grass. The hose had fallen off - so shut everything down and get it all hooked back up. Start everything, go 1/2 around and still not picking up the grass. Had to remove the other end of the hose and remove the jam in the mower chute. Got that cleaned out and everything restarted and started mowing again. Had to stop and pick up some sticks from the oak trees and the mower shut off when I got off. Suposedly, Dh had circumvented that safety feature. It wouldn't restart. Took over 20 minutes before it would turn over and start. Mowing went great after that. Went to empty the grass bin (3' x 4' x 4' trailer) when I realized that the pitchfork that I usually used was not in the greenhouse where it belongs but up in the hayloft. I just scooped out the grass by hand... After one more load of grass, the garden area was done and so was I.
SO, today after the rain stops, I have more mowing to do.

 

[R2elk]

Grabbed an armful thsi morning.

 

[cavemanrich]

wyoDreamer​

That John Deere motor may have an option to install an electric start. Of course you would need to purchase a starter, and a battery. I can direct you to where you can get a starter at reasonable price. The batteries are also not very expensive. (compared to automotive application ones)
Main thing,, you would need someone handy enough to install it, and wire it,, and set everything up.
I have no problem doing such,,,, but am only about 400 miles away .. I do such repairs for neighbors and friends free of charge,, I explain to them that it is for the PRIDE,, that I do it for.

Pull starting can get challenging when we get older, and weaker. My walk-behind lawnmower has electric start.
DW likes to cut the grass. If the small battery is not well charged, the mower needs to be pull started. She had difficulty pull starting it. So I come along,, and pull start it for her...
I explain to her that it just required a "BIGGER JERK"

 

[jvls1942]

I have my rototiller in pieces, sort of.
It kicks back when I pull the starter rope. can't figure it out. changed the flywheel key. I am thinking I did not torque the flywheel enough. ??
It is a B&S 9cc.

 

[cavemanrich]

I have my rototiller in pieces, sort of.
It kicks back when I pull the starter rope. can't figure it out. changed the flywheel key. I am thinking I did not torque the flywheel enough. ??
It is a B&S 9cc.

Check to see if the ignition points are correctly set. Something is giving you a too early spark,, I had a similar issue with my lawnmower a time back. The problem was a sheared keyway key. , and timing was too far advanced.
You changed the key,, so my first thought response would have been to check, what you already did. If the flywheel is on snug,, I don't see as the torque being insufficient. It would become an issue if motor was running, and then started having problems,,,,(due to loose flywheel)
In old school terms,, and still apply to point activated timing on magneto ignition. Change in dwell = change in timing.
I would suspect the points gap got smaller,, rather than larger. (if points got loose)

 

[jvls1942]

Thanks RIch. I will check the gap at the coil and flywheel. It is supposed to be .o1o" . I will also check the spark plug gap .o3o" . the torque on the flywheel nut should be 55 ft lb.
I will let you know.

 

[wyoDreamer]

@cavemanrich Thanks for the advice on the electric start.
The pull start is on the vacuum system. But I have problems with most pull starts.
We had a push mower for doing detail mowing and my husband would pull start it for me before getting on the rider and doing the main area. It took both of us to get the 3 acres of yard mowed in a reasonable timeframe.

@jvls1942 Good luck with the rototiller. Ours is not running very smoothly and probably needs a complete overhaul.

 

[jvls1942]

Well, I put the new plug in. It started and stopped almost immediately. So I took the plug out and blew out what gas I could through the spark plug hole. I let it set for a couple of hours to air dry. then I gave it a tiny shot of starter fluid and quickly put the plug in. I cranked the starter for about thirty seconds and it started....and it ran... I let it run. it ran very ragged and smoked a lot at first. and after about five minutes it stopped. I think it ran out of gas, I didn't have very much in it.
I will go at it again tomorrow.