What makes grass cutting better or worse?

Gary Ward

Gary Ward

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Challenger1
Got a 2002 Kaw 25 horse on my zero turn mower, older before emissions I am thinking? It will puff out a small black cloud from the exhaust for second under a new load. I like older non green engines I am finding out. I have owned it since new and it still running strong. I cut a lot of grass, 2 locations I drag it to most of the summer and cut 4 acres at home.
I usually run it on 90 octane no ethanol gas, it has dual tanks.

Over the weekend one tank ran empty and I switched to the back up tank which was low also. Finished what I needed to finish.
I put a gallon or 2 of 100LL in it to keep it from going empty because I didn't feel driving to go get some reg gas.
Fire it up tonight and forgot about fuel for it until I got that big whiff of 100LL smell. I love that smell, makes cutting grass a little better except do you think I am wasting what little brain cells I have left by breathing the lead?
Is it lower lead than what was in gas early on.
Anyway it smells like an airport in my backyard today! lol
 
Last edited:
Gary Ward said:
Got a 2002 Kaw 25 horse on my zero turn mower, older before emissions I am thinking? It will puff out a small black cloud from the exhaust for second under a new load. I like older non green engines I am finding out. I have owned it since new and it still running strong. I cut a lot of grass, 2 locations I drag it to most of the summer and cut 4 acres at home.
I usually run it on 90 octane no ethanol gas, it has dual tanks.

Over the weekend one tank ran empty and I switched to the back up tank which was low also. Finished what I needed to finish.
I put a gallon or 2 of 100LL in it to keep it from going empty because I didn't feel driving to go get some reg gas.
Fire it up tonight and forgot about fuel for it until I got that big whiff of 100LL smell. I love that smell, makes cutting grass a little better except do you think I am wasting what little brain cells I have left by breathing the lead?
Is it lower lead than what was in gas early on.
Anyway it smells like an airport in my backyard today! lol
Click to expand...
That made me think of this....
 
Ah, the smell of race gas.

The fact that you raced and now fly means the brain cell impact will greater percentage-wise because you started with a smaller load to begin with :D Alternatively, if you think you’re smarter than most people, which pilots generally do, then you have brain cells to spare. It’s a dilemma.

I throw 100LL in the chain-saw year-round, and in the leaf blower near winter, to keep em happy. I don’t like the smell of 100LL in 2 strokes as much though.
 
You live in a place where we aren't ostracized for our lawnmowers, but for our lawns.
 
Dilemma... lol

Yes beer and good tunes in my headphones helps.
 
luvflyin said:
Agghh!! Beer supposed to be room temp. You can actually smell it that way
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Many years ago when I used to drink beer, my refrigerator broke.

I came home after a long, hot day, one of those hot and very humid east Texas days where everything went wrong and seems like nothing was accomplished. I wanted a beer.

All I had was Lone Star in longnecks. That had been sitting in my unairconditioned living quarters all day. But I really wanted a beer. So I opened one and took a swig. Hmmmm.... another swig, and another until the first bottle was empty. I was really surprised that it was good.!!
 
Gary Ward said:
Got a 2002 Kaw 25 horse on my zero turn mower, older before emissions I am thinking? It will puff out a small black cloud from the exhaust for second under a new load. I like older non green engines I am finding out. I have owned it since new and it still running strong. I cut a lot of grass, 2 locations I drag it to most of the summer and cut 4 acres at home.
I usually run it on 90 octane no ethanol gas, it has dual tanks.

Over the weekend one tank ran empty and I switched to the back up tank which was low also. Finished what I needed to finish.
I put a gallon or 2 of 100LL in it to keep it from going empty because I didn't feel driving to go get some reg gas.
Fire it up tonight and forgot about fuel for it until I got that big whiff of 100LL smell. I love that smell, makes cutting grass a little better except do you think I am wasting what little brain cells I have left by breathing the lead?
Is it lower lead than what was in gas early on.
Anyway it smells like an airport in my backyard today! lol
Click to expand...

A small amount of lead is not dangerous for adults. For children, there is no known safe amount of lead exposure. The problem with lead is that it doesn't go away, the lead you spread over your lawn is there indefinitely, and at some point there's likely to be a child there, who may absorb a little bit of lead from playing in that yard. Fortunately, the amount of lead in current avgas is pretty low.
 
FormerHangie said:
A small amount of lead is not dangerous for adults. For children, there is no known safe amount of lead exposure. The problem with lead is that it doesn't go away, the lead you spread over your lawn is there indefinitely, and at some point there's likely to be a child there, who may absorb a little bit of lead from playing in that yard. Fortunately, the amount of lead in current avgas is pretty low.
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Which is why we keep shouting, “Hey! You kids keep off my lawn!”

It’s for the children.
 
Does making hay qualify as cutting grass?

There is nothing in this life better than an ice cold beer after a long day balin' hay

Even better in a frosted mug, but not required.
 
A push mower is bad enough, the lawn tractor was a move up, but the Z-Turn makes it nearly fun.

But the best is to just let Jeeves do the lawn before cleaning the pool. :)
 
Chip Sylverne said:
Does making hay qualify as cutting grass?

There is nothing in this life better than an ice cold beer after a long day balin' hay

Even better in a frosted mug, but not required.
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Depends….ya sitting in an air conditioned Deere making round bales or pulling a square baler with a Ford Jubilee and bucking the bales by hand?
 
Bill said:
While 100LL smells nice, nothing beats the smell of a two stroke running bean oil like Maxima 927 or Klotz Benol. Nothing!!!
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especially if it’s mixed with something like VP C12…
 
wrbix said:
Depends….ya sitting in an air conditioned Deere making round bales or pulling a square baler with a Ford Jubilee and bucking the bales by hand?
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58 Massey-Ferguson 65 and a New Holland 68 baler.
What do you think.
 
Allis WD and a roto-baler!
 
I'm pretty allergic to grass so Margy mows both our lawn and takes turns doing the runway. She ran our old JD lawn tractor without oil so the engine blew (I think intentionally), so I had to buy her a new Zero Turn. The runway gets done with a zero turn with a side car mower.
 
Side car mower? I’m getting flashbacks of Jesse James and monster garage!
 
a572mike said:
I agree! One of my favorite checks that I write every month is the one to my lawn guy.
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I'm still too cheap to pay someone so I do it myself, lol. The Kubota diesel 60" mower makes pretty quick work of a 3/4 acre lot, but when it's dry and dusty (like right now) it's like mowing dirt. It's just an activity that takes up an hour and a half of my day once a week.
 
SoonerAviator said:
I'm still too cheap to pay someone so I do it myself, lol. The Kubota diesel 60" mower makes pretty quick work of a 3/4 acre lot, but when it's dry and dusty (like right now) it's like mowing dirt. It's just an activity that takes up an hour and a half of my day once a week.
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Me too, been too cheap all my life. I have been cutting my elderly neighbors yard for at least 15 years now ever since her husband passed away.
I even load the thing up on a small trailer and go cut grass at my 2 business locations where I could easily afford to pay someone to do it. I used to pay for a service at the one location. And I used to have my employees go cut it as we have a commercial walk behind. But for the last 3 years I have been doing all of it myself like a dumbazz. Also we have gotten busier at work and am keeping the guys busy and don't have as much free time for them to cut it. So i do it...4 acres at home and 3 acres for work just about once a week.
 
Get this, back in 1985 I talked my new wife into us buying kaw 3 wheeler ATV so I could pull a mini bush hog to cut grass on our hill that a reg tractor could not do. I used that antique for almost 20 years. a 3 wheeler with spinning blade mower on the back!! If you can learn to ride a 3 wheeler then you can ride anything!! LOL

We still have the 3 wheeler...
IMG_0877.JPG
 
The two smells I like most are jet exhaust smell and heated brake pads… they remind me of my happy places (airports and race tracks)
 
Tools said:
Side car mower? I’m getting flashbacks of Jesse James and monster garage!
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Don't know what it's officially called but it's another mower (with its own engine) that sticks out echelon right behind the main mower.
 
What makes it better?
Neighbor lady laying outside in bikini while I mow.

What makes it worse?
Neighbor lady outweighs me by 50lbs, and has tattoos.
 
Uh? You don’t weigh 50 lbs do you? Tryin to be optimistic here…
 
What is this thing called grass everyone speaks so highly of.??

All I got in my yard is dirt, rocks, cactus, ants, lizard, horned toads, tarantulas and cedar bush/tree....
 
flyingron said:
Don't know what it's officially called but it's another mower (with its own engine) that sticks out echelon right behind the main mower.
Click to expand...

It's likely just a pull-behind mower with an offset tow bar. Could be a flail mower, but those are less common.
 
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