Hello,

My name is Chris and I work for a power equipment service center in southeast Texas.

We see alot of interesting things involving power equipment and I would like to share some of the more common problems and mistakes people make when considering purchasing used equipment.

Most people think that when they buy a new machine, the manufacturers warranty covers basic maintenance items, so they wait until a problem arises, but by that time, it's too late.

On walk behind equipment, the ever popular Bent Blade/Crankshaft is still an issue because people will continue to run the machine until the vibrations cause un-repairable damages to the machine, oblivious to the problem. Buying a used walk behind mower online from an individual is a mistake!

I've see riders with 250 hours on the meter that have never had a tune up. Smoking, knocking, spitting, using oil, and power loss to some people is the way it should run, I guess. Untill it stops completely, there really no reason to spend any money on it, right? They'll never tell you these things of course because they just don't know any better and that's another good reason not to buy power equipment from an individual. 

Pressure washers and Generators are a different story altogether since they are used more than mowers (hours of runtime).

 Pressure Washers are constructed of brass and  aluminum with steel pistons and rubber seals. They only have a short life expectancy depending on the WATER quality you use. As you may know, all water is corrosive to brass and aluminum when left in contact with bare surfaces. There is no way to remove all of the water in a PW pump, so over time, it corrodes the passages in the pump, shutting down the water supply and causing the pump to fail. Regardless of the warranty period, damages to the pump caused by corrosion are not covered! The motors are run for long periods of time and if they are not maintained properly, they will also fail prematurely which is about the norm. The best way to have a pressure washer is to rent one.

Generators will be run 8-10 hours at a time and must be started and shut down properly to avoid damages to the power unit. In the maintenance guide supplied with the engine, this translates to a tune up every 5 uses or so. Do you think that this is what they get? Not likely! Only when it quits does it need a tune up, right? 75% of jenny's that we see are abused. Hooking up too much wattage and  shutting it down with accesories running are common mistakes made with these machines. Repairs on the power units are very expensive and have to be done by qualified techs (not lawnmower mechanics). We send ours out to Houston Generator when the power unit needs repair, engine repairs we do ourselves.

Trimmers......be very careful when it comes to 2-stroke equipment. Again these machines have to be run under the strictest of guide lines. The feul mixture will make or break these units. Ethanol feul will bring them to their knees unless you use "Iso-Heet" to dissolve the water and the 'goo' it seems to attract. Running too rich of a mixture, ie. 16:1 in a 32:1 machine, will cause gum deposits in the crankcase and cylinder stopping lubrication and siezing unit. Using that Cheep Crap sold at wally world for $.89 that has no stabilizer in it will destroy your machine. The best thing to use is "Opti-2" smokeless/ashless synthetic 2-stroke and a touch of "ISO-HEET"!

Again, buying used power equipment is a mistake because there are too many variables that rely on the human element to insure proper operation. In my years of doing this, I have yet to meet anyone that is very attentive to their power equipments needs. They just cruise along expecting their stuff to last forever with little or no effort on their part, then 'BooM', it's too late!

If you do buy your own power equipment, maintain it the best that you can and follow the manufacturers suggestions for proper operation. Just about every small engine shop has the correct filters, oil, and tuneup supplies for your equipment and good advice to help you get it done right. If you can't find a good one, contact me, I'll help you make the right choices to protect your investment properly to the best of my ability.

Big Rental centers and some lumber yards (like McCoys) rent most types of power equipment and it is the best way to go in most cases (cheaper too) because the maintenance is up to them and if it blows up, you get another one for free, or at the most, the cost of your deposit.

Feel free to Email me with questions, comments, orders, part inquiries, etc..

Thanks for listening to my ramblings, more later.

Chris C

About Me