Splangj
Well-Known Member
This mower never quits. I bought it at our local dump in the early 90s for $5 I believe. I rebuilt the carb, and it ran for years. When it needed points, I installed the electronic ignition system, magnetron I think, but don’t quote me on that! My then girlfriend mowed her parents massive yard a couple of times back then. We’re talking country life, so that yard was hundreds of feet by hundreds of feet. Then I bought a house nearby in ‘96 with a decent size grassy sloped yard. I wore cleats while mowing it so I wouldn’t slip and jam my foot under its deck. That went on for years and years. My only issue was not using fuel stabilizer, so the fuel ruined my carb diaphragm and couple times. Then my girlfriend at the time ran over a metal stake and really bent the out shaft/blade mount. I took one whack with a sledge, and got lucky. It’s never run so smoothly, no oil leaks either.
It sits for 3-5 months in winter, outside with an old skylight over it. It fired up today for the first time since last fall, fourth pull, no smoke, idled perfectly. I do run VR 1 in it because it takes so little, but it is a mechanical cam, so why not. Point being, everyone around here has new fangled mowers that run a high rpm’s, and I hear them stall throughout the day. They last 5-8 years max it seems, then replaced again. Mine runs at a moderate rpm, maybe 2000ish, and rarely stalls, thanks to the still functioning governor. It’s a B&S 3hp. The brand is Pencraft (I’m sure long gone). It’s compression feels much better than modern mowers I feel out, and the oil patina keeps rust away, much like my RRs under side. I know it looks like S##t, but this mower owns this town!
It sits for 3-5 months in winter, outside with an old skylight over it. It fired up today for the first time since last fall, fourth pull, no smoke, idled perfectly. I do run VR 1 in it because it takes so little, but it is a mechanical cam, so why not. Point being, everyone around here has new fangled mowers that run a high rpm’s, and I hear them stall throughout the day. They last 5-8 years max it seems, then replaced again. Mine runs at a moderate rpm, maybe 2000ish, and rarely stalls, thanks to the still functioning governor. It’s a B&S 3hp. The brand is Pencraft (I’m sure long gone). It’s compression feels much better than modern mowers I feel out, and the oil patina keeps rust away, much like my RRs under side. I know it looks like S##t, but this mower owns this town!
