I’ve been using a lawn mower regularly for the past quarter of a century.
While by no means an expert, I believed I was familiar with the basic principles of mower maintenance: keep it topped up with petrol and oil, don’t leave it out in the rain, and get a professional to give it a service at least once a year.
But recently I learned an expensive lesson about fuel – though what best practice is when it comes preventing this issue arising remains unclear.
In the coming weeks, most gardeners will be giving their grass its final cut before putting their mower into storage for the winter.
Traditionally, I always tried to run my mower dry, or as close to dry as I can, to ensure the fuel doesn’t lie in it for months on end.
Fuel will go stale if left static in a tank for several months, meaning it’s unlikely to effectively fulfil its function come spring.
The professionals will tell you that after just 30 days, it starts breaking down, losing its combustive properties, and forming “varnish-like” deposits.
It’s then prone to clog up the carburettor and fuel lines, preventing your engine from firing up.
Only recently did I learn that some mowers, including my own, have a fuel tap that enables you to drain the tank – but more of that later.
Said mower was bought for £500 in March and is a Mountfield, a model I’ve trusted and favoured ever since inheriting my father-in-law’s 25 years ago.
But in early August, the new mower wouldn’t start and on the rare occasions it did, only managed to keep going for barely a minute.
After taking it to be checked, and told that it would require the carburettor to be cleaned, I was also informed that the problem lay with my fuel.
It transpired the issue may not have been one of stale fuel but what could be described as substandard fuel: using ordinary unleaded rather than ‘super unleaded’.
Interestingly, when I spoke to Mountfield they insisted that it wasn’t necessary to use super unleaded and that it wasn’t something the company recommended.
However, they do advise not leaving the same fuel in your machine for more than 30 days – which is when I learned about the fuel tap.
I think in future I’ll just err on the side of caution and whenever possible use super unleaded.
Every day is a school day.
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