Ella McEntaffer
Tom Trump uses his decades of experience to diagnose and maintain mowers and other small engines at the Solon Hardware Store.
Perhaps the age old question that homeowners have as the colder months approach each year is what to do with their lawnmowers.
Different online sources each give different pieces of advice, and the process differs from neighbor to neighbor. Luckily, Tom Trump at Solon Hardware is an expert in this department, and is here to set the record straight for the Solon Community.
“Either fill your gas tank completely up and put a fuel stabilizer in it, or start it and run it completely empty,” Trump said. “It’s the partial tank of fuel with the temperatures going up and down that will draw some condensation in there and can give you problems trying to start it in the spring.”
Besides the gas tank, homeowners should also be aware of the damage that winter weather can inflict on lawnmower batteries.
“So if the mower has a battery on it, probably the best thing to do is to fully charge it and store it someplace that it won’t freeze,” Trump said.
Trump also provided recommendations on when to bring in lawnmowers for repairs and general maintenance.
“Some people like to bring them in through the course of the winter to have them serviced,” Trump said. “My recommendation is to wait and do it early in the spring. If you do it through the course of the fall or the winter, then come springtime, your battery may or may not be charged up.”
As far as oil goes, Trump says that this is something that the majority of lawnmower owners don’t need to worry about, as the oil or oil filter only needs changed from between 50-100 hours of equipment usage.
“Generally speaking, the oil you really only have to change once a year,” Trump said. Furthermore, an oil change is one of the services provided by Solon Hardware when a lawnmower is brought in for maintenance in the spring. Trump says that regular maintenance on lawnmower equipment is essential for the longevity of equipment and also helps to reduce overall costs.
Lawnmower repairs are undoubtedly Solon Hardware’s most popular service, but Trump also works on snowblowers as well.
“We’ll do 150, 200 lawnmowers in a year, as far as service and repair, and we might do 50 snowblowers,” Trump said. “A good share of that is repairs throughout the season when they’re actually using [the snowblowers] or they go out and won’t start for whatever reason.”
Trump has a fast turnaround for the majority of equipment repairs as well, depending on the season and different parts that have to be ordered.
“In the spring of the year, when I’m doing lots and lots of spring service stuff, we might get out to two, two and a half weeks from the time somebody calls in until I’ve got it in, repaired and back home to them,” Trump said. “Other than that, most generally I can do about a one week turnaround. I haul them in, take a look at them, get parts ordered if I need to, the parts dribble in Thursday or Friday, and we get them done and at home for the weekend.”
Overall, Trump recommends calling earlier rather than later for repairs and general equipment maintenance in the spring in order to beat the rush and be prepared for the season change.
In the fall and winter months, Trump also works on vinyl window replacements.
For those interested in visiting Solon Hardware or services by Trump, they can visit the East Main Street shop location or call 319-624-3461.