Small engines

From Tiny Farm Wiki

Small engines are in lots of farm equipment including mowers, edgers, tillers, chippers, etc. A few simple precautions will keep your equipment running well for years.

[edit] Maintainance

Maintaining your equipment is important for longevity, safety, and most of all it saves you time when you count on your equipment.

[edit] Preseason

At the beginning of the season make sure to inspect all your equipment for any thing that looks worn or loose. This includes your starter pull, throttle / kill cable, muffler, air filter, gas tank, gas lines, etc. Look closely to ensure that your equipment is in safe working order before firing it up.

Inspect your air filter. Most air filters that are in good shape need to be cleaned with soap, thoroughly rinsed, and re-oiled (you can use simple motor oil on most applications).

Add fresh gas. If you didn't add stabilizer to your gas in the fall then get rid of the gunk! It builds up in your carburetor and reduces overall performance.

[edit] During Use

Make sure to oil and tighten your chainsaw's chain, keep your air filter clean in your tiller (especially in dusty conditions), and follow all procedures outlined in your owner's manuals.

[edit] Storage

Make sure to fog your engines and stabilize the gas so it doesn't freeze or get too stale over the rest of the season. Inspect everything, again, before storage so that there aren't any suprises in the spring.

[edit] Failure

If your engine wont start remember the three things it needs: fuel, air, and spark. Check to make sure there's gas in the engine. Is it fresh? Spray some carb cleaner through the carb. Check the air filter and clean or replace as necessary.

To test for spark pull the plug and ground it to the block. When you pull the starter up to above 250 rpm you should see a nice blue spark jumping the plug. Alternatively you can test spark with a screwdriver by putting the spark lead on the screwdriver and holding the (isolated end!) of the screwdriver with the tip near the block. When you pull start it you should see spark jump from the screwdriver to the block.

(No spark on older Briggs & Stratton engines happens. If you've got an older one with a set of points (a black wire running from the coil to under the flywheel is a giveaway) you can now upgrade for a magentron type coil by replacing the entire unit or adding on the magnetron module.)