Monday, May 12, 2014

My Trail of Mishaps.

     I have written a couple of posts this winter about equipment  that has  broken down. 

     The first couple of break downs happened last fall. I was going to cut my grass for the last time in late October.  The forecast for the next day was for snow. I was trying to start the lawn mower motor and all of a sudden the rope went limp.  Yes you guessed it. The rewind spring had broken. Under the weather conditions I quickly put the lawn mower away and said , "I'll attend to this next spring."

    Just a few days before the lawn mower crashed, I had put winter tires on my car and had to adjust the air pressure. My air compressor wouldn't work. Since it was cold and late in the season I said, "I'll attend to this next spring."

   In the winter my thermostat crashed, my CO 2 detector  died and my microwave oven ceased to work. I dealt with these three things when they happened.

    So it's now spring and time to deal with my other two problems. I checked the air compressor first. I first checked the fuse and it was fine. Then I checked the switch and it was dead. So I replaced the switch and away it went. I turned the switch off and then on and the compressor would not start. I discovered that the air pump needed lubrication. So one thing repaired. That air compressor was a pretty sick puppy.

    I started with my lawn mower. I took it apart to make sure that it was the rewind spring. Yes the rewind coil was in several pieces. Now since this lawn mower is very old, I had to work pretty hard to find parts. When I found a part , I didn't like the price , but that was the only choice. I had replaced a spring 12 years ago and decided to do it myself again. The Internet is a great help. I want to check with the technician before I proceed because there are a number of methods that can be used to change the spring. I want to get his advice,




    So you notice that I don't have a picture to show the lawn mower running. That will have to wait until tomorrow.

    Is anybody else as stubborn and cantankerous as I am and insists on fixing things on their own?