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just take it apart and investigate, i do the same with all my tools now as i can't afford to wait for the repairs to be done as it takes weeks and even months for the guys at the repair shop to even look at it. Having said that the guys at my local repair shop are fantastic and i just take the broken bits in and they order them for me and pay the cost price they pay. I now can easily fix my honda roller mowers, stihl kombi engines and attachments at a fraction of the cost and in a matter od days, they often have th necessary parts already in stock.
as far as youtube goes try looking for donyboy73's small engine channel, he has tons of great videos for small engines, quite a few snow blower ones as he's in canada but i've been able to diagnose and fix plenty of problems myself after learning from watching his videos
i was just about to say check youtube there usually plenty of help or simple type your model on google search and see what come up, just be aware when you take a machine apart for the first time take plenty of picks is can be a jigsaw puzzle trying to put machines back together again, i speak form experience. =]
I presume both blades are moving, they carry on moving when you "cut" things and the "teeth" are actually crossing each other..... if thats so, they're either very blunt or they not clamped together properly.
You're right, it really isn't that hard and a lot of it is just down to common sense/logic and a bit of mechanical aptitude helps. Make a careful note of how things came apart, ideally taking photographs as you go and don't use excessive force on anything as you must be doing it wrong!!
This is quite a good question and has got me thinking when do you think the time is to stop throwing money at old equipment and buy replacement. For example How long is a Lawn Mower supposed to last?
Hi Austin i think the saying "if it aint broke dont fix it" and "if it still works why replace it" ?
Austin Powell-Allen said:
Trouble is, they all have different levels of use, so there's no way of saying "a lawn mower will last xx seasons".
I've always thought that when something major fails on a machine, the chances are that everything else is worn out as well, so buy a new one. Small repairs, like a cable or something, are about as far as I go. One day with a machine down is a pain, and a real cost to the business.
I still think the advice my old supplier gave has some validity. Buy new every spring, and sell it every autumn. A nine month old machine, still under warranty, should fetch half it's purchase price easily. You have new gear every season, and are unlikely to have any down-time with it. On a Hayter or Kaaz pro, that's about £10 per week as a fixed cost, not a bad way to have a new machine every year.
Austin Powell-Allen said:
Hi Andrew, I have the same issues regarding machinery - just got my stihl 45 back from the shop. Turned out he had to put a second hand carb in to keep it in service. I do all the easy stuff - replacing blades, sharpening, filters etc but other than that it goes into the experts. I find it costs me more in my time than paying someone else to do it. I guess it depends how much time you have on your hands? I have 2 hedge cutters now so at least i've always got a back up - Good Luck