Blue Collar Compendium is a collection of videos sharing my process of conducting home projects in hopes of helping others accomplish their own; and to help me get better.
You have to connect the positive battery wire positive battery terminal and connect the negative to the negative battery post that’s how I do it when working on lawnmowers
I hear you on the figuring out the most effecient way to mow. I thought I needed a zero turn when I moved into my place 5 years ago but I had a hand-me-down tractor that learned how to mow it with. I bought a new tractor and I still mow different ways to see if I can shave time off. I've come to realize that doing a few loops and backing up is just part of the game.
You missed a couple Alrights 😋 I think it was 2 or 3.. I'm not the one who normally counts, but when you slap a counter on screen, I look for them 😋 Anyhow, great video and fun to see you fix those! I've seen most of your videos and you got yourself another subscriber 😃 I really like the paper box storage you have, such a long time ago I saw one of those, seems to be in great shape also!
Thanks Chris! You probably don't want to hire me as an accountant! I bought the paper box storage off of marketplace some years ago because it took me forever to find the correct hardware when I would do a project. I love it and highly recommend them.
21 horsepower from a single cylinder? Now I can see why briggs and other companies got into trouble for false advertising there horsepower ratings. I got a kawasaki v twin 21.5 horsepower engine and that thing doesn't bog at all. There no way that's a true 21 horsepower engine. I'm sure they calculated to be 21 horsepower max speed with no load so yeah that might be right but it's under load is where it really matters
I have brought many a mower back to life . The first thing i do is, engine cover off and check to see if any pest have made a home or chewed on any wires,only then will i start working on getting it to run.When i service any mower I always pull the engine cover just to check,it,s not that hard or time consuming and can prevent a burn up engine.Not just mice, mud dobber wasp love to build nest between the heat fins. Engine can,t dissipate heat correctly won,t last very long.
For my lawn, I've always found the best pattern to be starting at the perimeter and keep going around your property concentrically towards the middle. Depending upon the shape of your property, you may need to divide it into sections to limit overlap.
Thanks for the feedback! I grew up with much larger lawns and was spoiled to have commercial zeroturns at my disposal. I have mowed a few times now and Im using the advice you mentioned. The turning radius is not bad but it is still leaving small half-moon strips when I turn, which I have to go over again. My gut is saying its how the deck is designed when I take sharp turns but Im not yet sure. At this point the push mower mowed better but the riding mower is much easier.
The Nikki carburetors can be decent, but they have to be absolutely clean, and care must be used when reassembling the "labyrinth" gasket. Some claim they run too lean and recommend opening up the main jets slightly, but I haven't had to do this. Since I made my feelings about the music clear on your first video, I won't mention it here, except I'm looking forward to more videos from you without it.
Haha, yeah I hear ya. Its one of those thing which you think is a good idea at the time but isn't good. As for the carburetor I am using 100% clear gas "ethanol free" and keeping good inline filters to help prevent future problems.
I'd give you a thumbs up and possibly subscribe, but the music completely detracted from everything you did. On this kind of video I'd much rather hears the sound of wrenches than music. You seem to have a nice shop and your stepwise method of getting this mower running was quite good, but I muted it after about six minutes.
@@BlueCollarCompendium Thank you. Honestly, the only time I think music is appropriate in "mechanical" videos such as this is when the recording is played back at a higher speed, where the sound would be jibberish. Your video skills are quite good, so let your commentary, the sounds of tools working and water splashing help to tell the story.
your video was inspiring and interesting. your work area is immaculate almost sterile. being a life long mechanic for 60 years, i noticed one important thing that was questionable. when you replaced the battery, you disconnected the positive cable first. Granted the battery had low voltage which you checked prior to disconnecting it, and wasn't important or dangerous, but after placing the new battery fully charged backwards (oops) you proceeded to install the negative cable first and then the positive cable using metal wrenches in an area that was surrounded by metal. this is sometimes dangerous (sparking or worse as damage could occur to a system that was on). Your video was great and if I was still teaching automotive repair, I would USE IT AS A TEACHING AID, it was that good. I was impressed by everything i saw including the securing of the mower and the clean up of a rental trailer. this is not criticism meant to offend, but some people who watch these videos are probably less skilled than you, and would follow your approach to repairs as gospel. Thank you for making this video, you are professional and knowledgeable. i wish I was motivated to keep my work area as nice as yours, but sadly mine is a disaster. Thank you for setting the bar so high, I am going to wash my John Deere mower, as soon as I finish this note. Bill B
In regards to my work area, I have a hard time staying focused if my bench is too cluttered however, some of the best mechanics Ive ever had the pleasure of working with haven't seen the top of their bench in years!
Great job man you just got to watch out how much you use the choke on those single cylinder Briggs, the kohler singles are even worse but one this with those Briggs singles is that the compression release on the camshaft goes bad on 70% of them and it almost seems like week starter or battery
The compression release mechanism on the camshaft very rarely breaks. Do not listen to the above post. I have replaced 2 total from hundreds of engines I have worked on.
The biggest thing is to use good quality belts like stens and there really long lasting if it’s serviced regularly Oil and filters are dirt cheap and I charge oil every 20/25 hours no matter what 😊
I think your issue with the original carburetor was you did not put the O-ring and plastic retainer back in carburetor. They were retained on the intake tube. Also these type of carburetors are easy to disassemble and clean.
I appreciate the feedback however, my channel isn't geared towards any one particular subject. I'm not perfect and don't claim to be. I do the repair or fixes as they come and hope my failures and vulnerability encourages others to attempt things they might not otherwise do. If people need deeper explanation I'm sure they'd find it at @jjsmowersmobilerepair548, you appear to have a good service.
People who are engineers at heart challenge themselves to improve tools as cheaply as possible. Every time you improve something or fail trying, it makes you a better engineer.
Thanks for the input @Bob_Adkins, I agree and I have a long way to go, but the bottom dollar drives the pace and scope of my projects. Farmers and blue collar workers I know come up with some excellent solutions to problems which are elegant in their simplicity. I'm blessed to know them and draw inspiration.
@netffk You're totally right. I have one which I made a long time ago however, it was too large for my clamp and the work peice. Perhaps I'll make a smaller set, or a better set of jaws because I do keep running into this issue.
Just stumbled across this video. Appreciate you taking the time to purchase one of our products and post a review! Looks like you just started up your channel, keep up the great content!
@PipeVise, thanks for the feedback. I really like the Micro5 being that its a very durable one handed wrench still a pocket size. I tend to abuse tools by asking more of them than they're designed for but the Micro5 keeps working for me. I like that its Made in USA as well. I could see myself purchasing a larger one or the fixed base model to take the place of my older Ridgids.
Has Jess used the snowplow yet? I believe the channel would like to hear her review of the snowplow operation. Can the snowplow be used without taking off the mower deck? Was deck removal a pain, will the snowplow removal be difficult?
Thanks for the idea! My limited research leads me to believe the Nikki's have very little if any adjustment. I read they are leaned out in order to meet emission standards for small motors, however I still need to look more into it.
