It's always a good idea to get a jump on servicing your lawn mower and other gas-powered equipment a couple of weeks before you'll need to put them back to work. If you had a chance to winterize your equipment last fall before storage, then you can expect efficient, long-lasting performance from your machines.

Winterizing gas-powered machines involves:

• fuel stabilization
• changing the oil
• changing spark plugs
• battery service (if applicable)
• and a general checkup.

Even though you won't be able to stabilize your fuel in retrospect, other "seasonal" maintenance can be done (and should be done) year-round.

Read about winterizing maintenance in our How to Winterize Power Tools and Machines article, and get caught up on any gas-powered service issues that might have been overlooked.

OK, so you might be a power tool owner who is on top of maintenance and wondering what else you can do to keep your yard equipment in high gear. Luckily for you, when it comes to gas engines and the tools that use them, the only limit to the maintenance that you can do is the time you have to do it.

Here are a few suggestions for additional mower and yard tool maintenance:

• Test Engine Compression- Valves and rings that seal an engine will wear with normal use over time, reducing its compression of the air/fuel mixture in the compression cylinder. This low compression will seriously reduce the performance of your mower.
  

Test- You can test the compression of your mower's engine by accessing its flywheel. With the machine off, rotate the flywheel by hand counterclockwise. If engine compression is good, the flywheel will rebound quickly and with significant force. If the flywheel rebounds weakly or not at all, it might be time to replace a valve or ring.

• Degrease and De-Carbon- Degreasing will do more than make your mower. Grease and other gunk can clog areas that need ventilation, can cause the engine to heat up, and even damage some parts. Make sure to use a degreaser that won't damage plastic and aluminum parts.
  

Carbon can also build up around the cylinder head, gasket, and valves, and should be scraped off for the best engine performance. Accessing the cylinder head can be tricky, but it shouldn't be a problem if you have experience with basic engine repairs. Plus, it might be time for a replacement gasket while you're in there.

• Check the Breather- Many mower engines have a crankcase breather usually located over the valve chamber. Because it lets excess heat and gas out of the crankcase, it should be checked at least every couple of years.
  

It's time to replace the breather if the tiny holes on its body are closed, or if there is no longer a gap between its fiber valve and body.

Visit our Home Page at eReplacementParts.com to find the parts you need for your seasonal equipment repairs and maintenance. Our inventory is stocked with parts for all your favorite brands. 

Like, for example, our selection of Murray replacement parts for their lines of cultivators, edgers, lawn mowers, lawn tractors, and trimmers. An online inventory here to take care of all your maintenance and parts replacement needs.

Not only were they the first company to introduce a gas-powered hedge trimmer to market, but they are even more well known for producing the first light-weight, hand operated chainsaw in 1963, the XL-12.

The XL-12's slim twelve pound total weight made an impact on professional and personal use chainsawing everywhere, but strangely enough, it also received some pop culture recognition for being used in the 1974 Texas Chainsaw Massacre film.

Homelite has continued to introduce innovative chainsaw designs over the years:

• Zip Start^TM- This Homelite patented system makes cord starting gas-powered chainsaws much easier as faster.
  
• Safe-T-Tip^TM-This unique nose guard makes it easier for the saw to engage its work by stabilizing the nose. It also works to reduce vibration and prevent kickback.
  
• Power Stroke^TM- A design that improves engine start-up, life, and power.

Homelite trimmers are also very well circulated, and are known for time-saving convenience features. Their many trimmer models include gas and electric designs, and are especially suited for homeowners and non-professional applications.

• Pro Cut^TM Trimmer Head- The most time consuming part of any lawn trimming job is refilling the trimmer's cutting line. This design feature from Homelite makes replacing that trimmer line fast and easy.
  
• Push Button Starter- A battery powered electric starting system available on many of their gas powered trimmers.

Example: The Homelite UT-41002 15" Trimmer

At eReplacementParts.com, our online tool and machine parts inventory includes replacement parts for Homelite chainsaws, trimmers, blowers, lawn mowers, and more.

Owners of Homelite lawn and garden products can make their tool's comfort and convenience last for years with simple, cost-efficient maintenance and parts replacement. Find your Homelite tool's breakdown diagram and parts list by typing its model number in the part finder on our home page.

Is my lawn big enough for a riding tractor, or do I just stick to the conventional walk-behind mower?

Like the wording of the question suggests, the size of your lawn should determine whether you really have a need for a riding unit.

The general rule of thumb is that if your lawn exceeds 100 ft. sq., then it might be worth it to consider the time saving investment of a riding tractor. A riding mower might be a bit of overkill if your lawn is any smaller, but there's no law against taking it easy if the idea of shaded, drink-holder-access mowing is just too irresistible.

Don't let it stifle your excitement, but you still have some critical (and fun) decisions to make if your heart is set on an MTD riding mower. In the first place, MTD riding tractors come in two varieties-"lawn tractors" and "garden tractors." So what's the difference?

In general, the major difference between lawn and garden tractors is size.

• Lawn tractors are designed for smaller acreage and lighter-duty mowing needs that don't require extra horsepower or heavy-duty mower construction.
  
• Garden tractors, on the other hand, are bigger all around, with larger wheels, more horsepower, heavier frames and transmissions, and are made for large acreage jobs and high torque applications.
  

The more specific differences between MTD lawn tractors and MTD garden tractors have to do with attachment options.

• Lawn tractors can use work attachments that do not engage the soil, like dozer blades, grass catchers, mulch kits, snowblowers, and tow-behind assemblies.
  

MTD Dozer Blade Attachment

• Garden tractors can use all of the attachments that lawn tractors can, plus attachments that engage the soil. This is because attachments like tillers, plows, harrows, and cultivators need the extra power that garden tractors offer.

MTD Harrow Attachment

So really, the choice between garden tractors and lawn tractors comes down to what kind of work you need the machine to do.

When it comes to attachments though, the varieties that MTD offers do not stop at those we've mentioned here by any means. Other accessories include things like:

• tire chains
  
• grass collection systems
  
• ramps
  
• tow-behind carts
  
• sunshades
  
• and more
  

Some patented MTD riding tractor options actually affect the compatibility of some types of attachments. Many models of MTD tractors include their special AutoDrive™ system that makes driving a tractor much like driving a car. Attachments for MTD AutoDrive™ models are made for fast installation by virtue of another patented design feature, FastAttach™, which makes attachments changeable without tools.

Lawn tractor or garden tractor, attachments or no attachments, eReplacementParts.com is an authorized dealer of genuine replacement parts for MTD's full lines of outdoor equipment. Our huge inventory includes parts for MTD chippers, edgers, snowblowers, and trimmers, among others. We also carry MTD attachment parts like those discussed above.

Our online parts replacement service is here to keep your MTD riding tractor running strong, so you can enjoy your rightful place in its seat

Many of the light, affordable, and most-used Bolens products out there are their gas powered machines, which all use various types of small engines to get that yard work done. Although different from machine to machine, the small engines used in gas powered Bolens equipment have similar maintenance requirements, and run in to similar situations when ordering parts.

Like other gas powered tools, the engines used in Bolens machines should see some normal parts replacements in their lifetimes. Some of the most commonly replaced parts that have to do with small engine repair and/or service are:

• spark plugs
• fuel caps
• starter cords
• air filter housings, and
• oil fill caps

So, lets say this time it's a spark plug for a Bolens 13AM762F065 Lawn Tractor (like the one pictured below), and I pop over to eReplacementParts.com to find the part that matches the Bolens model number of my tractor…

But wait. Is that a Bolens engine on that tractor (or tool)?

Chances are that the small engine used on a Bolens power tool comes from a separate manufacturer, and this is a question that Bolens and other gas powered outdoor tool users frequently ask us.

Bolens, a member of the MTD family of brands (including Troy-Built, Yard Man, and Yard Machines), contracts the specialty of small engine manufacturers for their products, much like many other lawn and garden equipment manufacturers. That means that when a replacement part is needed that relates to a tool's gas engine, the part has to be matched to the model number of the engine, not the tool.

Most Bolens gas powered tools are matched up with the dependable, well-known Briggs & Stratton brand of engines. If your Bolens product has a Briggs & Stratton engine, the good news is that eReplacementParts.com carries parts both for your tool, and its engine.

So, first check to see if your Bolens tool uses a Briggs & Stratton engine. If so, here are the steps to find the matching part you need for your tool:

1.       Find the stamped number.

If your tool's engine is a Briggs & Stratton make, it will have a stamped model/type/code number (pictured below) somewhere on the engine, often on or near the starter housing.

2.       Type the engine model number in our model number search field.

This will direct you to that engine's parts page.

3.       One more step before an accurate parts match.

That Briggs & Stratton type number will also be needed to narrow down parts that match your engine's type.

Each Briggs & Stratton engine parts page on our website has an additional search feature (pictured below), just above the engine's breakdown diagram.

By entering the Briggs & Stratton type number in this field, the parts page for that engine model number will refresh and display only the parts that match the engine type number as well.

Not all Bolens lawnmowers, lawn tractors, edgers, log splitters, snowblowers, tillers and trimmers use Briggs & Stratton engines, but many of them do, so take a look at that engine make before heading online to make a parts order.

Whether Bolens or any other brand that uses Briggs & Stratton small engines, customers at eReplacementParts.com can get the parts they need all in one place with our specialized search features, ordering and shipping service.

We recently ran across an interesting story in an article that also links together the economy, friendliness, and Poulan chainsaws, although in a very different way. As the article we've linked below reports, a thief left a rather polite "Sorry" note after making off with a Poulan chainsaw, telling the previous owner that "times are hard."

"Car burglar leaves note: 'Sorry bro, times are hard'"

We also found an interesting listing for a home that includes a Poulan riding mower as part of its "negotiable items" for sale of the property.

Considering the heavy handed role of the housing market in the economic shake-up, the value of Poulan products is certainly being appreciated when their equipment can contribute to the sale of a large home.

Along with a suggestion to keep those valuable tools stored correctly and locked up, eReplacementParts.com also offers OEM parts replacement for Poulan machines and equipment as one of our dozens of supported brands. Because when it comes to making the most with what you have and power tools, a dependable parts replacement resource is the most important ingredient.

As far as international equipment manufacturer companies being international goes, Karcher is a globally recognized mega-brand. They produce diverse lines of both commercial and residential cleaning equipment, and have brought many innovations to the industry. The word "Karcher" is even used synonymously with "pressure washer" in several countries, kind of like how we might say "Band-Aid" to mean medical bandage. Feel free to try it out for size at dinner parties when your vocabulary could use some international sophistication.

Karcher is also recognized worldwide for its involvement in several large-scale cleaning projects of famous landmarks. They have put their own products to the test by volunteering to daringly clean sites like the 130 ft. tall Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, The Colonades in Rome, Seattle's Space Needle, the Statute of Liberty, and even Mount Rushmore (pictured below).

These projects take a lot more than manpower to complete too; they take precision planning and experience. Cleaning already-eroding monuments like Mount Rushmore with power pressure washers is much more like finely-tuned, large scale curating than a "point and shoot" kind of operation. Although experts in their field, some of the projects that Karcher has taken up have also given them cause to do some head-scratching. This New York Times article is an interesting read if you'd like to know more about the painstaking care Karcher has taken when restoring sensitive historical surfaces.

As a new eReplacementParts supported brand, Karcher is a little different in that they exclusively manufacture cleaning equipment. Although certainly power tools in their own right, the vacuum, sweeper, and pressure washer parts that we've had in stock up until now have belonged to strictly power tool and outdoor equipment manufacturing brands like Ridgid and MTD. With the addition of Karcher, we're doing our part to keep those cleaning machines in good repair so they can keep doing their part cleaning house on the world.

The most exiting thing about the Karcher company might be what we've saved for last in this post…

They make robots:

Pictured above is the Karcher RC3000 (They even have awesome, droid-like, Star Wars-esque model names), part of Karcher's line of robotic cleaners. Talk about making the world a better place!

So, if your Karcher machine is in need of a parts replacement, you know now that you can depend on eReplacementParts.com's precision ordering and shipping service to get your tool moving dirt and cutting grime again. And if you ever doubt that your Karcher machine is worth the love that good maintenance requires, just remember…they make robots!

(Seriously, robots.)

Briggs and Stratton, a manufacturer of small engines and outdoor equipment, is a company that has earned its far-reaching and reputable status in the industry by making its products versatile for many uses, rather than just branching out into many areas of manufacture type. Although their lines of air compressors, generators, outboard motors, pressure washers, and water pumps are diverse, it’s really their tradition of small engine manufacture that makes the Briggs and Stratton name such a well known one in so many niches of engineering appreciation.

Briggs and Stratton small engines are used in log splitters, riding mowers, trimmers and other outdoor equipment across the industry, and they’ve earned the respect of their users by returning investment in the form of durability, performance, and environmentally conscientious design. This way, their company’s products reach an expansive variety of applications and uses through this one product line, but use of Briggs and Stratton small engines doesn’t quite end (or begin) with the expected sorts of uses.

Since the early beginnings of the company in 1908, Briggs and Stratton has been invested in the racing industry and still continues support of competitive racing and manufacture of small engines designed for small dragsters and mini cars. In fact, one of the company’s earliest products was a 1hp motor called the Motor Wheel that was adaptable to both bicycles and scaled down roadsters.

As a small engine manufacturer, their efforts are fittingly aimed at inspiring and encouraging each new generation of racers to keep the sport going, and their name is just as respected in the world of racing as it is in the world of outdoor equipment. Today, they produce engines that span a wide range of horsepower and size adaptable to almost any need.

Well, with a devotion to racing and a product line that includes riding mowers, maybe it’s not hard to see where this is heading… You guessed it; Briggs and Stratton engines also gets a great deal of lip service and use in the arena of riding lawnmower racing. Their engines have proven conveniently upgradable and adaptable to mower racers, and their line of engines is broad enough to cover every mower racing division.

Regardless of the uses that owners of Briggs and Stratton engines and products put their machines to, the O.E.M. parts that keep those machines and engines running great are the same and available here at eReplacementParts.com.

Whether you’re tuning up your small engine for drag race or a another summer of racing the growth rate of your lawn, take advantage of our detailed breakdown schematics and quick parts finding features on our website for your maintenance and parts replacement.

Tool trade shows like the STAFDA convention (Specialty Tools and Fasteners Distributors Association) are the hottest front-line venues where tool and machine manufacturers show off their latest gadgets and newest improvements.

In the interest of appealing to money-saving durability, JET introduced a new line of “Unbreakable Handle” hammers this year.

With a well-known reputation for producing some of the toughest shop tools and equipment around, JET also meets these expectations in their line of hand tools by fully guaranteeing these hammers’ tempered steel handles.

Makita also rattled the power tool industry this year by making one of its most specialized tool design features available in more models.

Many smaller Makita rotary hammer models now benefit from the manufacturer’s unique sequential hit technology that was previously available only in larger hammers. With precisely timed bit rotation and piston striking, Makita sets a standard for fast, energy efficient drilling.

Some innovations by manufacturers have gotten really high tech this year too. One example is Bosch’s eyebrow-raising advances in laser level technology.

Their new dual plane laser levels (like the one pictured above) lack the typical spinning laser heads that would normally rotate to make a horizontal plane of light. Instead, they simply shine the light at a specially shaped reflective cone that scatters it into a two dimensional plane without moving parts, drawing a sharp line of creativity for their competition.

We at eReplacementParts.com have also been busy this year meeting the needs of the growing replacement tool and machine parts industry. After all, an expanding power tool industry means more parts for those tools and machines.

2009 has come with the addition of parts from over 20 brand name manufacturers to our inventory, including Briggs and Stratton, MTD, Campbell Hausfeld, Bolens, and Murray.

eReplacementParts.com has also seen several innovations to the website this year, including discussion features, customer product reviews, repair questions, and the most user-friendly search features and service around.

The approaching New Year makes this season more than one of reflection on the past, because new resolutions and commitments to the future also come with the calendar change.

Our valued customers can look forward to the same eReplacementParts commitment to service this year as any year. Keep an eye out for more parts availability from more top-of-the-line manufacturers, more customer-minded website features, and more of the same quality parts replacement service keeping those tools in great shape from year…to year.

Recognizing the diversity of ways that people energetically celebrate and thoughtfully observe various traditions this time of year sometimes makes simple things, like conveying “season greetings,” complicated. After all, it is difficult (if not impossible) to acknowledge such a wide range of cultures and backgrounds in a neatly-packaged, five-syllables-or-less salutation.

Even groups that share traditions of observing the same holiday practice their observance in drastically different ways world-wide, and are reinventing holiday traditions every year.

Indeed, the practice of custom-fitting traditions and social customs to spread the cheer around as far as it can go might itself be the new, overarching holiday trend.

So here we are, eReplacementParts.com, wanting to spread our holiday blog wishes in the face of so many considerations.

In the spirit of custom-fitting, holiday tradition “replacement” (had to be done), we’ve decided to risk disaster and try to make it our own too.

We initially thought a song would be pretty straight forward and easily negotiated. Like:

“On the fourth day [of my project], eReplacementParts shipped to me…

Four hole saw mandrels!

Three Ryobi saw blades!

Two Bolens string trimmer carburetor gaskets!

And a breaker circuit for my Briggs and Stratton 5,000 Watt PowerBoss Portable Generator!!!”

We couldn’t quite get the rhymes right…

eReplacementParts.com’s tradition, as a company, is specializing in replacement parts service for power tools and machines, so any attempt at starting a new holiday tradition on our part will have to reflect, in some way, what brings us together as a business.

After careful consideration, we’ve decided to debut the first ever eReplacementParts.com Power Tool and Machine Parts Holiday Tree, all trimmed up with today’s featured manufacturers as click-able link ornaments in blog sensibility fashion.

It just might be the first electronic image map-linked power tools and machine holiday blog tree ever, but you never know.

Either way, please enjoy:

Whatever your holiday traditions, we extend our warmest season’s greetings and best wishes.

-eReplacementParts.com

Last week we launched our first of the Walter Meier tool and machine brand names with the addition of Powermatic parts to our inventory.

eReplacementParts.com is now proud to announce the addition of Wilton and JET brand replacement parts as the newest additions to our online inventory, rounding out the Walter Meier triforce of manufacturing machine products.

No, not like

from Office Space…

And not like

,the ball.

And not like

,the band…

Or like

…a jet.

We mean JET and Wilton, two of the finest producers of metalworking, woodworking, and power tool products in the industry.

(With all of the recent expansion, we thought it would be a good idea to clear up any possible confusion.)

Like Powermatic, the Wilton and JET names include large shop machines. But unlike Powermatic, its counterparts are not exclusive to large machines only, as they also include power tools as part of their product lines.

Parts for JET bandsaws, drill presses, dust collectors, grinders, jointers, lathes, mortisers, sand rammers, sanders, and table saws can now be ordered from our website.

Wilton parts are also available for their lines of bandsaws, cold saws, drill presses, grinders, and sanders.

Although even simple things (like names) can sometimes be tricky to keep straight, we at eReplacementParts.com keep the needs of our customers in mind by organizing and categorizing thousands and thousands of parts for thousands of tools.

Our detailed tool breakdowns, parts lists, and streamlined search features transform the would-be chaos of tool and machine parts replacement into a fast, enjoyable, dependable service.