Lawn Tractor Maintenance Guide - How to Care for Your Lawn Tractor
March 04, 2010 Lawn & Garden 4 comments
In order to maintain the health of your lawn, it's important to maintain your tractor. A tractor needs to be properly cleaned, serviced and stored to deliver reliable performance every time out.
Lawn Tractor Cleaning
After each use, it's best to wipe down the entire tractor, remove grass clippings and spray it with a hose. Take off the cutting deck, remove any grass and wash the blades at close range with a hose, so they rotate with the water pressure.
Also, spraying the deck with cooking oil helps prevent grass from sticking.
Lawn Tractor Safety
The noise level and operation of a tractor provide unique safety issues to consider:
- Tractors are above the 85-decibel limit at which it is recommended to wear ear protection
- A safety feature that's common in most current brands stops the blades when you leave the seat
- When using a collection bag that adds weight in the rear, front-end lift can be a worthy concern - consider front weights to increase traction and safety, and rear weight kits to balance front attachments
- Be aware when side-discharging clippings because items can project at high speeds
Storing Your Lawn Tractor
When storing your tractor at the end of the season, be sure to run the engine dry, then drain the oil. Old gasoline clogs the carburetor and hinders it from operating correctly. Unplug your battery, and throw a cover over the tractor if you store it outside.
- Old gasoline is a major reason why tractors do not start the following season
Lawn Tractor Upkeep
Oil should be changed once a season, and just like a car, check it periodically. If the engine is not turning over as it should, take a look at the spark plugs and battery to see if they need to be replaced.
- Use fresh gasoline to start off each season and keep in mind that gasoline has a lifespan of only 30-60 days
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