A new way to spend a day

Good Evening all,

Today was my first day at my new job at Arrow Lumber here.  I will be working Thursday through Saturday on the counter and customer service.

Great company, great bunch to work for, and with.  I enjoyed my first day, lots to learn but I have many good, patient teachers.

I will continue to work on small engine equipment, so keep bringing in your lawn mowers, it may take a bit longer as I will be doing it in my "spare" time, but I enjoy working on these machines, wouldn't give it up.

Should you call, feel free to leave a message and I will get back to you.
360 385-6335  home / shop
360 531-3239  cell (I actually carry it, just sometimes have trouble figuring which button to push.

Have a great evening!!!
Tony

Another generator, that last windstorm has brought them out

A customer brought this generator in to me to work on.  He said initially that the engine ran but surged. He replaced some of its carburetor internals but, when he put it back together, the float bowl wouldn't seal so he used some gasket goop.  When I got it, when you turned the fuel on, it came out of the air filter.

A note on using gasket goop.  This is probably the same thing I would have done a few years ago.  The hard part was scrubbing the inside of the bowl (middle picture) and the carburetor (bottom picture) with alcohol to clean up the sealant that, apparently, softened and ran when exposed to gasoline.

Once cleaned, I installed a new needle, seat and bowl gasket.  While it was here, I changed the oil, cleaned the air filter, installed an new spark plug and did a complete set of diagnostics.  I now starts first pull and purrs like a kitten.

Another project for a customer

A customer called me, said that when they turn the on gas valve for their generator, gas comes out of the carburetor.  I picked it up and brought it to my shop.  I opened the valve and gas did come out of the area of the carb.  I pulled this apart and found that the float need valve was corroded to the housing preventing it from shutting off the gas flow to the float bowl.

Due to the  accumulation of water that frequently results from the alcohol in regular gasoline, the float bowl was both rusted and corroded.  (see photos).  Unfortunately, this is one of those machines shipped in from the far east so getting parts, even a parts list is a challenge.

I have the carb in my new ultrasonic cleaner and have cleaned the rust and corrosion from the float bowl.  Normally, in a case like this, you would replace the float bowl, but could not find the parts anywhere.  I have sent an inquiry to my best supplier, Tulsa Engine Warehouse requesting they research the parts.  I will get this back up and running!!

This is a good reminder to use only E-0 (no alcohol) gas in your small engines to assure the longest, trouble free service from them.
Back to the bench!

Latest addition to my arsenal of shop tools

As you can probably tell, instead of a boat or motorcycle, my "spare" cash goes into my shop.  This latest addition is an Oregon model 42-047 precision blade balancer.  This not only checks the blade balance (something like you would a tire) but also has a gauge to check if the blade is bent or warped.

Balancing the mower blade is very important.  When blades are no properly balanced, they cause vibration, noise, and can even damage the bearings and oil seal on walk behind mowers.

This is also important for riding mowers.  An out of balance blade can cause damage to the shaft and bearings in the mandrel, the part between the drive belt pulley and blade.

This was not cheap, but worth it to assure that my customers have get the best service possible.
Thanks for your business and confidence.
Tony

I just may have that part you need

I took a moment this evening to count up the number of different, distinct parts I have in stock for mowers and small engines.  The number is 435!!  I normally keep more than one of each in stock, sometimes several to make sure that I will have what I need to work on your machinery.

Guess what, nearly every week I need to add a new part or two because something comes in and I do not have the critical part in stock, so I place a priority order.

That number, 435, does not count the many generic parts, nuts, bolts, wire terminals, wire, grommets, a whole array of new parts.

Then there is the salvage parts department, including fully functional used wheels, fuel tanks, mufflers, on an on.  These came from machines given to me that were past hope  of repair.  I only use these with he prior permission of the customer, sometimes these are all we can get when it comes to older, machines for which parts are no longer available.

So, if you need a mower or other piece of gas powered equipment repaired, I have the tools, knowledge and probably the part needed to fix it.

If you are a do-it-yourself type, give me a call and I will set you up with the parts you need for your project.
Thanks and enjoy the sunshine!!
Tony

Catching up on my backlog of "personal" projects

This is that little red Honda Harmony riding mower that someone gave me. Finally got to work on it, finding that it is a bit older than I had first thought, have been told may be hard to get parts. Has a flat front tire, won't hold air, so will have to put in an inner tube. This may be a a challenge, but that is what I live for.

Rescued from the recycler's grasp

Old school walk behind mower. Was in tough shape when I got it. Runs great now, waiting for a replacement blade.