When things don't go as planned!

[leehljp]

I had to attend some leadership conferences at our Southern Baptist Convention in Dallas earlier this week. My daughter in Missouri called last week and said her mower wasn't working (neither the riding or the push mower.) The push mower was an older one of mine. We got here Thursday late afternoon. I started working on the push mower trying to figure out why it wouldn't crank. It had gas; no water in the gas. Felt like it was not firing. I checked to see if the release handle was properly adjusted so that when squeezing the handle bars it was allowing it to fire. But that wasn't the problem. I started to take the top off to check the electronics of it. Then suddenly I decided to check the spark plug to see if it was firing. The plug was caked with carbon! I cleaned it out and the mower started on the first pull. But I did go to Lowes to get a new spark plug and install it. Worked fine then. In all my years of dealing with engines small or large, that is the first plug that was caked up.

Next I started working on her 10 year old riding mower. It would not start. Two weeks ago when I was here, the battery had some fire to it. This time it didn't even click. I put a battery charger on it and the charger kept telling me to attach the charger cables (positive and ground). I did. Nothing. SO I figured the battery was 100% dead. I pulled out a long screwdriver to touch across the poles - but nothing. It was dead. Went to Walmart and got a replacement battery and installed it. Cranked immediately.

Now to try cutting grass, which was wet! Didn't get 10 feet. Checked the mower belt and it was frayed. Went to get a new belt - it said I needed a 96". I got a 95" instead. Installed it and tried using it in the wet grass. Suddenly it slowed down. I stopped and looked at the belt and the new belt had started fraying and jumped off of one pulley. I made sure everything was aligned correctly and it was and I put the belt back on. then I tried it again in wet grass and that belt broke. This time I went and bought a 94" belt. The Autozone guy didn't have a 95" or 96"and I said "Good, give me a 94" instead if you have one. He did. The 95 seems to have too much play in it." The guy tried to talk me out of it - going from a recommended 96" to a 94". I told him I wanted to try the 94" anyway. I bought the 94" and came back to my daughter's house and installed it in minutes. Turned the mower on and it seemed to be running so much more smoother. I tried cutting about 10 ft of wet grass and there was no slowing down. The 96" and the 95" belts just had too much play in them, and the 94" was not too tight either

Nothing went as planned but I spent a day getting my daughter's mowers running finally! I am tired and aching!

[Jim Frye]

My 7 year old Ryobi electric riding mower doesn't have belts. Each of the two blades has their own motor and controller processor. I still get a bit surprised when they change sounds when the loads change or one side gets some buildup under the deck. The controllers are programmed to maintain the set speed, so the motors get more juice when the loads increase. Juicy grass shows up as increased recharge wattage.

[leehljp]

My 7 year old Ryobi electric riding mower doesn't have belts. Each of the two blades has their own motor and controller processor. I still get a bit surprised when they change sounds when the loads change or one side gets some buildup under the deck. The controllers are programmed to maintain the set speed, so the motors get more juice when the loads increase. Juicy grass shows up as increased recharge wattage.

Early on, I did not like electric riding mowers, as I didn't like the price of batteries. While Ryobi's 18V batteries have lasted for a decade for me, Two of three 40V batteries didn't last 3 years.

That said, I love the idea of electric powered blades far more than belt driven blades on gas powered mowers!

[Jim Frye]

The RM480 mowers use SLA/AGM batteries. Four 12 volt batteries connected in series to form a 48 volt pack. I got five years out of the OEM set and they were just beginning to show reduced run times. I found a replacement set for a price that was less than what the mower had saved over a gas mower, so I ordered the new, larger amperage batteries. There are five of them on my street, mine being the oldest. One has been converted to lithium. FWIW, my 7 40 volt Ryobi packs are all over three years old and showing no signs of wear. My six One+ packs are anywhere from two to ten years old. My first three One+ packs went 13 & 14 years before giving up.

[leehljp]

While I didn't go into detail in my OP, I did learn something - the difference in the proper belt length vs too long - which isn't the one the manufacturer recommends. I have replaced the belt on my daughter's mower about every 2 to 3 years. And there has been a bit of vibration in the mower when it hits thick or wet grass. THIS TIME, with the shorter belt (actually 2" shorter) than recommended, it did not vibrate when it hit the wet grass. After thinking about it since yesterday, it has dawned on me that a slightly over length can cause the belt to wobble and set up a vibration and jump off or cause premature feathering/wearing of the belt.

The MFG recommended belt is 96" but the 94" is much smoother and still has plenty of space/length to prevent tension when the blades are not engaged. The mower deck is still set at the original spot, so the distance from the drive pulley to the mower deck has not changed.

[pearson]

does it work now? We’ve all been there — projects that should take a couple hours somehow stretch into days. The unexpected setbacks can be frustrating, but they also make the end result more satisfying. I had that happen recently while working with some tools from worx, and while it slowed me down, I learned a ton along the way.

[leehljp]

Sure does, and smoother than before.