Week Notes forOctober 4 - 10 (#119)

It was mostly a quiet week, but I did have a nice win with fixing up my lawn mower.

Troubleshooting the Push Mower

I have an old Craftsman push mower. I haven't used it in a while as I have my riding mower that I tend to use as it's faster. Well I was thinking it'd be nice to use the push mower to get some exercise. Walking and pushing is definitely more exercise than sitting around driving. Unfortunately, my push mower didn't start right up. I wasn't all that surprised. I figured the carburetor was gunked up. I had cleaned it before, but after talking with a former hockey teammate who often works on small engines, decided to just replace it. I paid $30 for a new one, replaced it, and it started up.

I started cutting the grass, and ugh, then it started burning oil. Replaced the oil and about 30 minutes into the grass, it starts smoking. Well crud. Talking with my teammate, the running theory was that it was overheating and the cooling fins were dirty which was both helping cause the smoke, and hurting the engine's ability to cool off. Cleaned them off and I was able to finish the lawn without issue. I'm hoping that that's the end of it, and I can continue to use the push mower. My hope is to use the push mower in the spring and fall when the weather is more temperate, and still use the rider when it's just too brutally hot out.

I feel accomplished that I was able to, with the help of my teammate, troubleshoot and get the mower and the engine working again.

Writing

I've gotten back into writing more for my site. I have a bunch of posts laid out and started. It helps the weather has been nice and has allowed me to sit out on the porch with my feet up in the evenings.