Grass Cutting Equipment
Time To Maintain Grass Cutting Equipment?
Among the rites of spring is the one where the grass cutting equipment is taken out of the garage and put in shape for the upcoming season's mowing and trimming. Most of the tasks involved really are things which should have been attended to in the fall, but are tasks we never seem to get around to doing, aside from either draining the gas from the mower, or letting the engine run until the gas runs out. But there is sharpening to do, filters to clean or replace, spark plugs to check, and trimming wire or strings to check or replace.
Each year it seems new and better grass cutting equipment and accessories appears on the market. What we gain as far as convenience is concerned when it comes to mowing the lawn or trimming edges, is partially offset by an increasing amount of detail to take into account when it comes to maintenance. We haven't quite approached the era of the solid state throw-away mower yet, although solid state is very much with us in many types of grass cutting equipment. While attempting to remove a spark plug that seems frozen in place, or untangling a length of tangle-proof trimming wire, it's not hard to think back to earlier times. In some ways things were simpler, though in other ways much harder.
Grass Cutting Equipment Evolution -When I first started mowing my grandfather's rather large lawn, it was with a push mower, with a decided emphasis on “push”. His lawnmower didn't even have ball bearings in the wheels, and if I was lucky, he'd give the wheel axle a little grease in the spring and maybe sharpen the blades on the reel. His lawnmower was noisy too. Not the sound of the gasoline engine, but the mechanical clacking sound heard all throughout the spring and summer in our town.
Next came the "silent" lawn mowers. You still had to push them, but they were much quieter, and cutting grass was a much smoother operation. In the meantime, our grade school janitor had a sit-down tractor mower, a gang mower, with three reels that could cut a fairly large swath across the school lawn, playground, and football field. It wasn't until about the early 1950's that we first begin to hear the sound of gasoline engines other than in the schoolyard, as the rotary mowers made their first appearance in our small town. A rotary mower was somewhat of a status symbol. You could not only mow your own lawn, but the vacant lot next door, even if the ground was a bit uneven. The dad of one of my close friends was the first in our town to own a rotary mower. They were also the first to get a TV.
As I grew into adulthood I graduated from the push mower to the rotary mower, first gasoline powered, then electric powered, and finally back to gas power, as the cord was always got in the way. Later on came the edgers, trimmers , and weed whackers, adding to my collection of grass cutting equipment. A sit-down mower is still a future thought. Our back yard is large, but on a steep slope, and I'm not sure a sit down tractor-type mower would be all that safe. A self propelled rotary mower does nicely however. I still think occasionally of getting a reel mower again, for the smaller front yard. Reel mowers do a much nicer job of cutting grass, golf courses rely on them, especially on the greens.
There are even hover mowers on the market, which glide along on a cushion of air. Hover mowers are wonderful, until you hit an uneven spot. There are robotic mowers on the market also, most of which are guided by a wire placed around the boundary of the area you want mowed. Should the system fail however, you might have to go hunting for your lawnmower. That might involve following a newly cut path through your neighbors’ yards and flower gardens.
Steam Power? - We haven't had mechanical grass cutting equipment for ever of course. The English, well known for their beautiful lawns, were the ones who first invented the lawn mower, back in the late 1820's. The first mowers replaced the scythe, which must have been a joy to cut lawns with, and were originally animal powered. Around 1840 the first mechanically powered lawn mower made its presence, the mower being powered by a steam engine (wonder if it had a whistle?). Ironically, the engine powered lawn mower preceded the push mower by nearly 30 years, as the latter was not invented until 1870, by an American, and became an instant success. Now everyone could have a nice lawn.
Quick Tips - When you do maintain your relatively modern grass cutting equipment, don't forget to sharpen the blades, being careful on rotary mower blades not to upset the balance, replace or clean air filters, kerosene works well for fabric filters, lubricate wheels, pulleys and cables, and check the spark plug. If yours is a two-cycle engine, meaning you have to use an oil-gasoline mixture, the spark plug will become fouled more often than is the case with a standard gasoline engine. A fouled plug means loss of performance and less "mileage".