LM
Reel mower winter storage: Drain the fuel, book the sharpening
I’m seeing a lot of people stop reel mowing over winter, which makes sense with worm castings and thinning ryegrass. Do you drain the fuel from your reel mowers for winter, or leave it in and run them every few weeks?
Drain the fuel and run the carb dry. You can do it by leaving it running until it dies, or there's usually a drain bolt under the carb if you want to be quicker about it. Worth doing either way because fuel goes stale fast these days, even a few months and it's causing problems come spring.
I also get mine sharpened over winter. The local reel mower sharpening guy goes pretty quiet this time of year, so I book mine in early and I know he appreciates having the work. Everyone seems to hold off and then wants it done right when the grass takes off, which is exactly when he's already flat out.
If you've got a good local sharpener, winter's the time to use them.
@Jonny Hicks Who do you use in Christchurch?
@David R I use A Reel Mower shop. They recently moved to Tai Tapu.