Outta-wack Lawnmowing

While I was out of town, my wife decided to help out by mowing the lawn. That night, as we talked on the phone, she mentioned that the mower engine had died about a dozen times. I thought that was unusual since it’s a new mower and I’d never had any trouble with it.

When I got home, I knew what the problem was as soon as I pulled into the driveway. An inspection of the mower confirmed it. I always kept the wheels at the highest setting. While my wife was mowing, she had hit a landscaping stone in the yard, knocking the left rear wheel down to its lowest setting. This caused the blade to drag through the dirt on one side, repeatedly killing the engine. Every pass of the mower gave the lawn a nice “cultivated” look.