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Lawn Mower Maintenance – Grease is the Word

Sep 27

Posted by Lawn Care Business in commercial lawn mowers, lawn equipment, lawn mowers, maintenance | No Comments

Changes of seasons are great times to pay extra attention to your lawn mower maintenance schedule.

After a long, dry, dusty summer the first few weekends of autumn are great times to check all your grease fittings.  Proper bearing lubrication is very important to the longevity of your lawn mower.  I try to keep a weekly check on grease nibs but I have to admit that I often let them go neglected longer than I should.  So, if you are like me and have forgotten to check your grease fittings in a few weeks, take some extra time this weekend to make proper refills where necessary.

In addition to making rudimentary checks, if you are truly inspired (and have a few extra hours) to do proper maintenance on your lawn care equipment, consider pulling your bearings and  repacking or replacing them.  You will greatly increase the life of your lawn mower and you will have confidence in your bearings once spring rolls around again.

For more tips on how to keep your lawn mower running longer as well as a lawn care equipment buyer’s guidebook (new and used) check our main lawn care website for our lawn care business program:





http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com
Start A Lawn Care Business

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Lawn Care Equipment Security Camera

Sep 21

Posted by Lawn Care Business in equipment, lawn care innovation, lawn care videos, lawn equipment | No Comments

Are you worried about someone stealing equipment from the back of your lawn care pickup truck or trailer?

A motion detection camera might help deter would-be theives.  And if someone is stupid enough to steal your stuff, your camera can provide you with photographic evidence.  The Canon (CHDK) script turns your Canon point-n-shoot camera into a motion detection security camrea.  Stick it in the back of your pickup truck to catch people trying to steal your lawn equipment while you are servicing your customers.

http://www.CHDKCameras.com
http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK

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E15 Ethanol Gasoline in your Lawn Mower and Weedeater Engine

Jun 29

Posted by Lawn Care Business in commercial lawn mowers, John Deere, lawn care pollution, lawn equipment, lawn mowers, maintenance | No Comments

E15 Ethanol Gasoline is likely to be in many markets by late summer.
Do you feel that your lawn mowers are ready for E15 Gasoline?

I have heard a number of complaints from lawn care business owners all around the country that tell me E10 is damaging to their lawn mower engines. The implied complaint is that E10 draws moisture to the engine parts displacing gasoline and thereby clogging engine components.

I do not consider myself to be a small engine expert but I do know how to keep my equipment running with proper maintenance. As often as it is available, I buy 100% gasoline. However very few gasoline stations in my area carry 100% gasoline.

Are you worried about the new gasoline blend that might be hitting the market place later this year?

I would love to hear your thoughts.

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Stolen Lawn Care Equipment Trailer

Mar 25

Posted by Lawn Care Business in enclosed trailer, lawn care safety, lawn equipment, start a lawn care business | No Comments

Stolen Lawn Care Equipment Trailer

Lawn Care Trailer Wheel Locks

There was an article this morning of a lawn care business owner whose equipment trailer was stolen from his property. The thieves hack-sawed a lock away from the hitch, attached the trailer to their own vehicle, and drove away in the middle of the night. Luckily, this lawn care business owner had unloaded his equipment earlier in the evening. He lost his trailer but his lawn mowers and weedeaters are safe.

Unfortunately, thieves target lawn care business owners during the spring time.

In addition to hitch locks (like the guy mentioned above had) other deterent-locks can be used on your trailer.  The picture shows you two forms of wheel locks that can deter people trying to steal your trailer and your lawn care equipment when it is stored overnight or during a lengthy lawn care or landscaping job. 

Be cautious out there and be ever vigilant in securing your trailer and lawn care equipment.

Lawn Care Companies, Secure Your Equipment.

Mar 17

Posted by Lawn Care Business in enclosed trailer, lawn care safety, lawn equipment | No Comments

Secure your Lawn Care Equipment

A tie-down rope dangles dangerously from a pickup truck.

Granted, this picture is not of a lawn care company truck or a lawn care equipment trailer.  However, I saw this truck today at a stop light and I took a quick picture to help remind us all of the importance of properly securing our lawn care equipment while in transit.

This guy was hauling a refrigerator.  Though it looked like the driver had attempted to secure the refrigerator with a thin rope, he did not secure the end of the rope.  Airflow over the truck bed blew the rope out and left it dangling behind him as he drove along in traffic.

This is a potentially dangerous situation.  If the vehicle behind him drove over the rope, that vehicle’s tire could be damaged.  Additionally, the refrigerator could be yanked out of the truck bed.  I tried to get his attention at the stop light but he seemed preoccupied as he drove off.

We are all in a hurry from time to time.  Occasionally, we load our lawn care equipment in our trucks or on our trailers without paying attention to small details that cause serious consequences as we drive to our next lawn care or landscaping job. 

Try to remind yourself that it only takes a minute or two to properly load and secure your equipment.  Before you drive away to your next jobsite, spend an extra 30 seconds walking around your vehicle to make sure everything is properly secured.

Be safe out there!!!

For more tips on operating your own successful lawn care business:

Hauling Lawn Care Equipment Trailers
http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

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Commercial Lawn Mowing Equipment – Spring Tuneup.

Feb 17

Posted by Lawn Care Business in lawn equipment, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, maintenance, start a lawn care business | No Comments

Spring is here and it is time to pull the tarps off the lawn mowers and prepare them for the busy mowing season ahead.

As much as I have always liked to maintain my own equipment, I believe it pays to have lawn mowers, blowers, and weed trimmers professionally serviced at a favorite commercial lawn mower repair shop at least once per year.  Changing oil, oil filters, air filters, and gas filters as well as lubrication service is well within the reach of most all lawn care business owners.  However, perfectly dialing-in a lawn mower is a skill reserved for the repair professionals.  Perfect tracking, carb adjustment, and preventative maintenance inspections will help keep your equipment running smoothly.

Commercial Lawn Mower RepairIf you are like many lawn care business owners, you are well capable of routine maintenance  on your lawn care equipment.  But paying a professional lawn care repair center will help ensure perfectly operating equipment and less downtime in the months ahead.

If you are starting your lawn care company this year and want to know more about proper landscaping equipment selection for your business, we include an equipment selection manual in our lawn care business guidebook.

Learn more on our homepage:

http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com
Starting A Lawn Care Business

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Spring Time Lawn Care Equipment Maintenance

Jan 22

Posted by Lawn Care Business in lawn equipment, maintenance | No Comments

Sunny skies and 50 degree temperatures.

I love days like these.  The sun is bright enough to warm your skin but the weather hasn’t turned enough to make the grass start growing.   These January days are perfect for doing pre-Spring lawn care equipment maintenance.  Let’s be honest here; at the end of last season we all had good intentions of performing proper winter maintenance on our equipment.  Sharpened blades, changed oil, fresh fuel filter, greased lubrication nibs, etc….it just didn’t happen, did it?  Instead, you threw a tarp over your lawn mower (without cleaning off the old decaying grass from under the deck lid) and forgot about it.

Now that most of last week’s snow has melted, it is a great time to pull the lawn mowers out from under the tarps and perform a few pre-spring maintenance procedures.  I read an article recently of a St. Louis lawn care company.  In the article they pointed out that quality lawn care equipment maintenance is one of the most important keys to running a successful lawn care company.  I believe that without proper equipment maintenance your company will eventually experience significant equipment downtime.  Significant equipment downtime can kill even the most successful lawn care business.

So, this winter, when you get the occasional warm sunny day, take advantage of the slow season to properly maintain your lawn care equipment.  Once spring rolls around, you won’t have the burden of getting your equipment ready while customers are lining up.

Side Note:  Are you trying to determine what equipment to buy for your lawn care business?  Our Lawn Care Business Equipment Buyers Guide that is included with our Lawn Care Business training course is a huge and beneficial resource for any lawn care business owner.  Guide teaches you how-to buy equipment based on your company’s needs.

This guide helps you purchase the right equipment and avoid buying mistakes that many lawn care business owners make.

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Remote Controlled Lawn Mowers – Kick Back and Enjoy?

Jan 20

Posted by Lawn Care Business in lawn equipment, lawn mowers | 1 Comment

What do you think when you first hear the term “remote controlled lawn mower?”

My immediate vision is of a guy lounging back in a lawn chair sipping a cold beverage while an unmanned mowing vehicle tools around his lawn neatly manicuring his grass.  Before you think about starting a lawn care company employing an army of remote controlled lawn care units, put down your cold beverage….we’re not talking about those types of lawn mowers.

While there are robot lawn mowers for sale to the general public for residential lawn care, as lawn care professionals we don’t benefit from these small units.  Afterall, when it comes to cutting grass on a standard residential plot of land, there is nothing more efficient than a capable operator on a Zero Turn or walkbehind commercial lawn mower.

The big advances for remote controlled lawn mower is coming in the form of heavy duty slope mowers.  Any of us who have ever accepted jobs mowing slopes knows it is dreadfully difficult and dangerous work.  Slope mowing jobs are fraught with equipment breakdowns and dangers to the operator.  Remote controlled slope mowers are changing the scene for many lawn care business owners who bid on slope jobs.

When we visited last year’s Lawn Care Business Expo in Louisville, KY, we saw a find example of a slope mower we saw a fine demonstration of a remote controlled lawn mower.  More companies are now entering the field and we are seeing some very interesting prototypes.  This angle on the lawn care industry is becoming very interesting.  As these companies begin to refine their remote controlled slope mower concepts our jobs as mowing contractors will become easier.

For more information and advice on commercial lawn mowing equipment that will be perfect for your lawn care business, take a look at our Lawn Care Business training guidebooks.


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On our way home from GIE-Expo

Oct 30

Posted by Lawn Care Business in lawn equipment, lawn mowers | No Comments

by: Start A Lawn Care Business

If you read yesterday’s blog post you know that the staff of Start A Lawn Care Business took the weekend to drive to Louisville, KY to attend the annual Lawn Care Equipment expo.

We just want to give a huge thanks to the GIE-Expo staff, organizers, vendors, and participants.  We met lots of great people and learned a tremendous amount about the new lines of lawn care equipment product that will be on the market in 2011. 

If we did not get a chance to make it by your booth, please take a minute to drop us a line to make contact with us.  We are always interested in learning about the newest lawn care equipment products and passing the information onto the new (and old) lawn care business owners that visit our site daily.

If you are a vendor with new and interesting lawn care equipment products, we would love to demo your products for the coming lawn care season. 

Thanks again and we will see you next year:

Sincerely:

The Staff at Start A Lawn Care Business
http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

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New Lawn Care Equipment (GIE-Expo)

Oct 29

Posted by Lawn Care Business in lawn equipment, lawn mowers, lawn product development | 3 Comments

Hello from Louisville, KY at the GIE-Expo

One of our jobs at Start A Lawn Care Business is to bring you information on the latest trends in the lawn care industry. Lawn care equipment (mowers, blowers, and string trimmers) will be very much on your mind during the next few months as you make purchasing decisions for your lawn care equipment needs for the coming season.

We drove up to Kentucky early this morning to attent the lawn care expo. There are hundreds of vendors and we have been lucky to speak with some very innovative companies that are developing the new trends in the lawn care industry.

In the days and weeks ahead we will be able to provide you with information that will help you purchase your new lawn equipment. Keep an eye on this blog and if you haven’t purchased our Lawn Care Business training course, visit our main web homepage to learn more about what we offer.

One of the funnest pieces of equipment at this year’s trade show is the Spyder radio controlled slope mower. This company has been at the expo the last few years and their slope mower is always fun to watch. Too bad I’ve yet to be able to talk the operator into letting me drive it. I’ll include a picture below.

Spyder Slope Lawn Mower

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