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Hi Jim, I transitioned to a Scag zero turn about 5 years ago and
never looked back, it cut my mowing time in half. I found the
learning curve was very short, and the controls very precise. Just
remember you don't have to push the control levers all the way
forward, you can creep at a snails pace if you want to. Our friends
have a JD zero turn that his 16 year old daughter drives, no
problems.<br>
<br>
Mike M<br>
<br>
<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 6/8/2021 8:39 PM, Jim Thomson wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:1623578349.435432.1623199196256@connect.xfinity.com">
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
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<div style="font-size: 12pt; font-family:
helvetica,arial,sans-serif; color: #333333;"> Cutting the lawn
is also one of my wife's favorite things to do. In Massachusetts
we had a Cub Cadet with a 50" deck and a Kawasaki engine to cut
1.5 acres. She loved this little tractor. I also bought her a
Sthil blower and string trimmer. Fast forward to Iowa where we
have a solid 4 acres of lawn to cut. Our current mower is a
Kubota B2301 with a 60" 3 pt finish mower. I have to give the
wife lessons on this as she is a little scared of it. A funny
story, last weekend our farmer/landscaper neighbor called me and
said he was coming over Sunday morning to cut our yard. There is
a cemetery a half mile from us and he wanted the lawn looking
good for Memorial Day . He brought over his big JD(Z945?) zero
turns and asked if I wanted to try it. I gave it a try and it
scared me to death. This thing had to be going 10 plus miles an
hour with perfectly cut grass. This was my first time on a zero
turn so there was a steep learning curve. I thought I would
drive this right into the ditch. After 2 passes, I parked it and
went back to the Kubota. My wife then started using the JD and
did just fine with it. My neighbor created a monster and now she
wants a small zero turn mower! BTW, both Sthil's and our Honda
push mower always start even with old gas. My HF generator is a
first pull starter too. </div>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; font-family:
helvetica,arial,sans-serif; color: #333333;"> </div>
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helvetica,arial,sans-serif; color: #333333;"> </div>
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helvetica,arial,sans-serif; color: #333333;"> </div>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; font-family:
helvetica,arial,sans-serif; color: #333333;">
<div class="default-style" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family:
helvetica,arial,sans-serif; color: #333333;"> Jim Thomson </div>
<div class="default-style" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family:
helvetica,arial,sans-serif; color: #333333;"> Blairsburg, Iowa
<div class="default-style" style="font-size: 12pt;
font-family: helvetica,arial,sans-serif; color: #333333;">
Jim Thomson </div>
<div class="default-style" style="font-size: 12pt;
font-family: helvetica,arial,sans-serif; color: #333333;">
Blairsburg, Iowa </div>
</div>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div> On 06/08/2021 5:40 AM Stephen Offiler
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:soffiler@gmail.com"><soffiler@gmail.com></a> wrote: </div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div>
<div dir="ltr"> Couple general comments loosely related to
Dean's mower and not sure how to tie in to antique tractors.
<div> </div>
<div> One, Honda engines. I needed a small push-mower for
some tight spots on my 3-ish acres that I mow with a 48"
zero-turn. My one criteria was Honda engine. Got one at
the big-box store. And yes that thing has absolutely never,
and I am not exaggerating, never ever failed to start on the
literal first pull, even in the spring after sitting for 5
months (I do use Sta-bil in my gas). One of these days I
hope to tear apart a Honda carb and maybe figure out a
couple of their secrets, but I need to find a dead one
first, which doesn't seem likely. </div>
<div> </div>
<div> Two, self-propelled. I paid little attention to that
feature when I got said Honda powered mower. It played up
the "Front-Wheel-Drive". Sounds like a car commercial from
the 1970's when that was a new thing. Turns out there's
little weight on the front wheels and none at all when you
tip it back to steer it. Stupid design, and my own damn
fault for not giving it more consideration before purchase.
</div>
<div> </div>
<div> OK, tractors... some may recall I picked up a Cub last
summer with a sickle mower. It got parked as I was very
busy with home renovations at that time, with deadlines to
meet. Then it got buried at the back of the barn as winter
approached. Now I've got a couple areas I don't mow
routinely, adding up to about 1-1.5 acres, with 3' tall
grasses... starting to eye that Cub again... </div>
<div> </div>
<div> SO </div>
<div> </div>
</div>
<br>
<div class="gmail_quote">
<div class="gmail_attr" dir="ltr"> On Tue, Jun 8, 2021 at 3:18
AM Dean VP < <a href="mailto:deanvp@att.net"
moz-do-not-send="true">deanvp@att.net</a>> wrote: </div>
<blockquote>
<div style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">
<div class="gmail-m_-2674995854095337770WordSection1">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext;">The
Lawn Mower lives. Runs pretty good too. Idle setting
is a bit mysterious. Hard starting when cold. I’m
not sure the choke butterfly is working properly.
It’s nice and free but I can put it on full choke
and nothing happens when it is running. Must be
something not connected right. I did hook up the rod
when installing the carb. Did find out why it was a
little wimpy power wise. The little flipper that
drives the throttle butterfly needed a little
adjustment. Now get full RPM’s at full throttle.
Need to try to figure out if the choke is working
properly then I think it is ready to go. I had
forgotten how useless the geared drive is. In low I
can hardly keep up with it walking a fast pace. 2<sup>nd</sup>
And 3<sup>rd</sup> are not useable by this old man.
.Anyway, cleaning up the carb and installing the new
kit gets me a running mower for my Grandson. Need
to make sure it isn’t a terribly hard starter. Not
sure why it had to be so obstinate for a while</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext;"> </span></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext;">Dean
VP</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext;">Snohomish,
WA 98290</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext;">"Socialism
is a philosophy of failure, the creed of
ignorance, and gospel of envy, its inherent virtue
is the equal sharing of misery."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext;">..Winston
Churchill...</span></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext;"> </span></p>
<div>
<div style="border-right: none; border-bottom: none;
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padding: 3pt 0in 0in;">
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="color:
windowtext;">From:</span></strong><span
style="color: windowtext;"> AT <<a
href="mailto:at-bounces@lists.antique-tractor.com"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
moz-do-not-send="true">at-bounces@lists.antique-tractor.com</a>>
<strong>On Behalf Of </strong>Cecil Bearden<br>
<strong>Sent:</strong> Monday, June 7, 2021 5:39
AM<br>
<strong>To:</strong> <a
href="mailto:at@lists.antique-tractor.com"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
moz-do-not-send="true">at@lists.antique-tractor.com</a><br>
<strong>Subject:</strong> Re: [AT] Lawn mower
carburetors are a piece of cake..... Wrong</span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p>I bought one of those little Stihl top handle saws
nearly 10 years ago. I love the balance of it. I put
the longest bar I could get on it from Bailey's so I
could cut brush in fencerows without bending down so
much. Within 3 hours of using it, the stop switch
quit working. I have to choke it to kill it. Still
the same way 10 years later....<br>
Cecil</p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">On 6/7/2021 1:29 AM, Dean VP
wrote:</p>
</div>
<blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal">Gene,<br>
<br>
<br>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I’m jealous. I’m still fighting
gas engines. Your Stepson lives only 5 or so miles
from us. He is just North West Of Monroe, WA
actually closer to Monroe than Snohomish with a
Snohomish address. Looks like he is up on the ridge
North and above Evergreen State Fair Grounds which
is the county fairgrounds. I suspect he gets to
hear the Saturday night racing at the fairgrounds
really well. We are 7.5 miles out of Monroe and when
the weather is right we too hear the racing. The
area where he lives is just exploding with new homes
since Monroe is within commuting distance of Seattle
and the High Tech East side. IF… one is willing to
put up with the traffic. Monroe is right on the
junction of 522 and Hwy 2y which heads over the
Cascade Mountain Range to the Wenatchee area. 522
heads toward Seattle and also intersects with I405
which heads S into Bellevue. 522 is now mostly a 4
lane road but where it is still only 2 lane it is a
traffic mess for commuters. WA State DOT does not
have a clue about how to build roads that not only
meet current needs but maybe a few years to the
future. I’ve lived in this state since 1976 an d I
have yet to see a road built or refurbished that
wasn’t overloaded the day it was opened. Ok, I’ll
admit we have seen a huge influx of residents but
newcomers are the ones usually getting the higher
paid wages so the tax base should be going up
dramatically. But WA state is fixing the traffic
problems by building a multi-billion dollar
North/South light rail system that nobody rides.
It is pretty obvious they are going to let
traffic get so bad that people will finally give up
and ride the light rail. But those that come in
from the East such as those in the Monroe area are
SOL. With house prices and cost of living going
so crazy high here it won’t be long and we will have
a net loss in population. The City Governments have
so alienated the population many want to leave and
from what I am picking up on the street is that many
Western WA and Western OR residents are looking East
at states like Idaho and Montana. Several Eastern
Oregon counties are trying to attach themselves to
Idaho and if successful Eastern Washington counties
will do the same. Coastal cities in CA are losing
population to states like Texas, AZ and NV. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We winter in AZ and it reminds me
so much of when we lived in SO CA in the 60’s and
70’s. They know how to build roads for future needs.
Even at commute hours one can get to work driving 30
miles in less than 30 minutes. Yes ,there are
exceptions but they are few and far between.
But…. There is a huge problem staring California,
NV and AZ right in the face. The lack of water.
They are already restricting water usage and it
isn’t even summer yet. That is going to put a real
limit on how many people can move to AZ and NV.
That leaves Texas as the place to escape to. . IMHO,
the movement of people to the Coastal cities on the
West Coast is coming to an end. As a result of
idiotic city governments, the defund police
movements and Covid 19, people want out. They want
to move out to where we live in the country or
further East out of the state. . I get phone calls
at least once a week from Relators begging us to put
our house on the market. Have active cash buyers
they say. I think it is a bit of BS but we have
lived here for 22 years and it has never been like
this before. It is at best called CRAZY. We are
staying here until we can’t take care of the place
any longer. We figure we have about 5 years left. I
will be dead inside of a year if I have move back in
the city. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I almost bought a Battery powered
chain saw a couple years ago but I bought a
Smaller/Lighter Stihl which is 2 cycle and I really
like it. It has started easily and I’ve worked its
butt off. More than I even envisioned when I
bought it. I had a bigger Stihl which I had owned
since 1976 but is finally gave up a couple years
ago. Coil went bad and they are made out of
unobtanium. Darn thing only gave me 40 plus years of
service. They don’t make things like they used to.
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Dean VP</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Snohomish, WA 98290</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Socialism is a philosophy of
failure, the creed of ignorance, and gospel of envy,
its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">..Winston Churchill...</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<div style="border-right: none; border-bottom: none;
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padding: 3pt 0in 0in;">
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong>From:</strong> AT <a
href="mailto:at-bounces@lists.antique-tractor.com"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
moz-do-not-send="true"><at-bounces@lists.antique-tractor.com></a>
<strong>On Behalf Of </strong>Kenneth Gene Waugh<br>
<strong>Sent:</strong> Saturday, June 5, 2021 6:13
PM<br>
<strong>To:</strong> Antique Tractor Email
Discussion Group <a
href="mailto:at@lists.antique-tractor.com"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
moz-do-not-send="true"><at@lists.antique-tractor.com></a><br>
<strong>Subject:</strong> Re: [AT] Lawn mower
carburetors are a piece of cake..... Wrong</p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;
font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif;">Dean, THANK
YOU!! I have never gotten as involved as most
on this list, and my experience with
carburetors is pretty dismal. Not total
failure, but dismal! And my 2 cycle experience
is really, really dismal! Over the past couple
years I have gotten rid of ALL 2 cycle
equipment! :-)!! I have replaced trimmer,
blower and a couple other functions with EGO
battery powered equipment. Been very pleased.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;
font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif;">Dean, I have
a stepson who lives with his wife on 126th St
SE there in Snohomish---nice area!</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;
font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif;"> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;
font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif;">Gene Waugh</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;
font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif;">Elgin, IL</span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 7:38
PM Dean VP <<a href="mailto:deanvp@att.net"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
moz-do-not-send="true">deanvp@att.net</a>>
wrote:</p>
</div>
<blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal">You ATIS members need a good
laugh once in a while. This should help provide
that at my expense. ,<br>
<br>
One of my Grandsons just purchased his first
house which has a small grass lawn with it.
Small enough lawn a self-propelled 20 - 22" push
mower would be just fine. Since he is moving
out of an apartment he would need to buy a
mower. I volunteered to give him one of mine
that I have out in the barn that haven't been
run for a while. Don't even remember now when or
where I got this one, it was probably cheap at
some garage sale or auction and is a Toro Model
20216. Probably 20" to 22" (haven't measured)
deck with a 4HP Briggs motor and it can be
self-propelled with 3 forward gears .Everything
worked fine on it when I used it last probably
several years ago (ran when parked) and my only
two complaints about it were the 4HP made it
underpowered and the aluminum deck was pretty
brittle and has been welded once. I have been
blessed with a wealth of rocks on my yard. I
noticed the deck now has a couple more cracks
but the mower is useable as is all I have to do
is get it running. <br>
<br>
I cleaned everything up, cleaned the spark plug,
changed oil and put in new gas. I don't have a
manual for the mower and the only way I could
figure out how to get the old oil out was to
either pump it out or lay it on its side and
drain it out the fill tube. . Very dumb and very
owner unfriendly. . Anyway tried to start it.
Not even a pop. Choke full on. Tried ether.
Yep, I could get it to run for a second or two
but obviously not getting gas to the cylinder.
Check gas line, check bowl, yep getting gas to
the carburetor. Sum Ting Wong with the
carburetor.<br>
<br>
Now mistakenly I think I know what I'm doing
relative to carburetors with several successful
Antique Tractor and Garden Tractor carburetor
rebuilds under my belt but it has been a long
time since I have worked on a Lawn Mower
Carburetor. But needing to be humbled a bit I
guess I have forgotten a key detail about Briggs
carburetor's. I pulled the carb, removed the
bowl and found a sandy white substance (dirt?)
in the bowl and also in the needle and seat
well. Not typical of what I have seen in carbs
in the past. But continue to disassemble
removing the float and needle. Don't see a
removable seat and disassemble the rest of the
carb. Run small wires through any opening I can
find and make sure they are clean and blow air
through any passage I can find. One thing that
happened worried me. I had the air hose nozzle
on the gas intake pipe and a little pop occurred
and something hit me in the face. My observation
was that it had come out of the bottom where the
needle seats.. Hmmmm .............must have
been plugged right there. <span
style="font-family: 'Segoe UI
Emoji',sans-serif;">😊</span> Couldn't find
what came out. I bet the carburetor will work
now. Operator now in full idiot mode!<span
style="font-family: 'Segoe UI
Emoji',sans-serif;">😊</span> <br>
<br>
Moving on, soaked the carburetor in Pine Sol
overnight and this morning cleaned it with fresh
water. Carburetor looks like new. Man.... I am
really good. Hmm, the bowl gasket has
expanded in diameter in the pine sol. That is
not good. But start reassembling the carburetor
and put the float and needle in place and it is
obvious the needle is dropping too far down and
not seating properly. Aha, that is what must
have blown out and hit me in the face. Hummmmm
how do you blow out a brass seat? Now I'm
confused. Get on the internet and watch a video
of an overhaul of this type of lawn mower
carburetor. Gets to the part about removing the
needle and seat. " An easy way to get the little
rubber needle seat out is to blow air into the
gas inlet of the carburetor" Been there, done
that. Yep, I can completely verify that works
very well but I didn't know it when I did it.
@#$%^&*() Now I sure as hell know what hit
me in the face. I can't find that little
sucker. So... $9 gets me a carburetor overhaul
kit over night from Amazon. Needed a new bowl
gasket too. Isn't it amazing how the problem
and solution can hit you right in the face???<br>
<br>
In searching for the right carburetor kit I
noticed I could buy a whole new carburetor for
$10.49. But I have been down that road before
and I was not pleased with what I received. So
I'm staying with the OEM Carburetor. One day
delivery on the parts.<br>
<br>
BTW, I'm not very sure this mower is even worth
the $9 carburetor repair kit. But.... I am
going to beat this sucker into submission.
This is the way us old folks turn one hour jobs
into a full day's entertainment.<br>
<br>
<br>
Dean V<br>
Snohomish, WA 98290<br>
"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed
of ignorance, and gospel of envy, its inherent
virtue is the equal sharing of misery."<br>
..Winston Churchill...<br>
<br>
<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><br clear="all">
</p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal">-- </p>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-family:
Tahoma,sans-serif;">Gene</span></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-family:
Tahoma,sans-serif;">Kenneth Gene
Waugh</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-family:
Tahoma,sans-serif;">Elgin, Illinois</span></p>
</div>
</div>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><br>
<br>
</p>
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