Hello,
Whether you recently purchased a new mower or are upgrading your old reliable machine, you will need fuel to start the engine.
If it’s your first time buying fuel for your machine, you may be confused because various options are available on the market.
However, it’s not too challenging to find the right type. Does a lawn mower take regular gas? This article will discuss this question.
Now, let’s dive into it to get some explanations before your purchase.
Contents
Does A Lawn Mower Take Regular Gas?
The short answer is Yes! Almost all lawnmowers can take regular gas. And you don’t need to use premium gas while driving a small engine.
You should only use premium gas for high-powered automobiles featuring engines with a greater compression ratio.
Nevertheless, it’s worth noting that the octane rating of regular gas varies. Regular gas generally has an octane rating of 87, which is suitable for models.
To determine if your machine requires a certain kind of gas, you must always read the user’s manual.
If it does not mention a specific type, it’s acceptable to use regular gas with an 87-octane rating. Also, ethanol content must not be higher than 10%.
Read more: [Top 5] Best Lawn Mowers For Women
It’s common to use regular gas for mowers.
How Can I Make My Lawn Mower Pull Easier To Start?
It may be challenging to start your mower’s engine when its pull cord becomes trapped or too tight to pull.
Luckily, you can usually repair the problem and start your machine by making a few adjustments.
Change Your Pulling Technique
By carefully examining your model, you can observe the direction in which the cable leaves its recoil starter.
It’s better to position yourself to pull your machine’s starter cord without creating friction on the wire.
Moreover, it would be best to stabilize your machine with the other hand. This way, the energy used to pull the cord will remain in itself rather than transferring to the machine.
Remove All Blade Obstructions
Try starting your machine in another location if you think the grass may be obstructing the start-up process.
For instance, you can start it in a good place, like your driveway, where the grass won’t cause any issues.
If you notice the difference, you should try a new method to start your machine on the next ride.
Read more: Great States 815-18 Reel Mower Review
Replace The Handle And Cord
If the handle is broken or the cord is damaged, it is hard to start your lawn mower.
Once you have noticed these problems, finding solutions to fix or replace them is best. If you need a tutorial, you can watch this video:
Tips for making your machine pull easier to start
Can You Start A Lawn Mower Without The Pull Cord?
The answer depends on your device. Some machines don’t require a pull cord to start, like electric mowers.
Mowers with an electric start utilize batteries to power their engine’s starter, enabling you to turn them on by pressing a button.
Moreover, there is no risk of the cable snapping and leaving you unable to use the machine.
These machines are simple to start and make less noise than the types with the pull cord.
For this reason, investing in a model without a pull cord is better. However, self-starter lawn mowers are more expensive and have some drawbacks. Consider carefully before your purchase.
How To Start A Lawn Mower Without The Pull Cord?
You can use a thin rope to wrap around the mower’s flywheel to start it without a pull cord.
Before wrapping this thin rope around your machine’s flywheel, pull out the plastic protection enclosing it, and you will see the flywheel.
The flywheel nut—an elevated metal ring with a hole in the center—will be located there. And it’s the part you need to wrap a rope around.
Start wrapping the rope around this component. Remember to leave a part of the rope to use for pulling.
Pull this rope off the mower’s flywheel as quickly as possible to start it. The string should come off the nut after the machine starts.
The rope falls off since it hasn’t been fastened to the machine’s pull cord starter, so it can’t automatically retract after starting.
Store this start cord carefully so you can start your machine quickly whenever you want.
Starting the machine without string
Can You Use A Drill To Start A Lawn Mower?
The good news is yes! Besides using a thin rope to wrap around the flywheel, it’s possible to utilize a drill to start your lawn mower.
The pull cord spins a spindle which is directly attached to the flywheel. When it starts turning, it ignites an electromagnet and activates the spark plug.
The spark plug starts a compressor by lighting up the gasoline pumped into the combustor by the carburetor.
The engine starts to run, the blades begin to rotate, and the machine is eager to go after enough gasoline has been collected.
A drill features a starter with a cone-shaped detail to fit the flywheel nut. Press down your drill while inserting the cone into the crankshaft. Turn the drill on and wait until the mower starts.
How To Start A Lawn Mower With A Drill?
If you have a drill and you can’t start your machine, you can consider the following tips:
- Pull the rope and determine which direction it’s going. It may go clockwise or to the right.
- Take a paint marker and draw arrows on it, so you won’t forget the direction.
- Then you take a 10-millimeter socket and remove those nuts. Pull off this whole assembly.
- Put the 10mm nuts back on to hold the gas tank in place.
- To make this work, you need an adapter that turns a breaker bar into a ratchet.
- Put this device at the end of your drill and tighten it up. Make sure it turns to the right as you.
- Be very careful. When it starts, it can jerk this out of your hand.
- Turn the choke on while turning on the hole-down button to lock up the blade.
- Turn on your drill. Wait until the machine starts. Now it works!
Starting the mower with a drill
The Bottom Line
Does a lawn mower take regular gas? Yes. Most of these machines don’t need premium gas. It’s common to use regular gasoline fuel for small engines.
You can read the user’s manual carefully before selecting the correct fuel type for your model.
If you have further questions, please comment below to let us know. We’re willing to answer them all. Thanks for reading!
