All too often, we at BAM! Green hear people say, “My lawn mower died. I guess I need to get a new one.” Every year, we pull out our lawn mowers, change the spark plug, the air filter, and the fuel filter. But when the motor dies, most people seem to think they need to throw away the whole machine!
In fact, pulling the motor off your old mower and putting a new one on is not that difficult, although you may want to get a small engine shop to ensure all the belts, levers, and attachments are removed and reinstalled correctly. A replacement motor for most lawn mowers can be bought for about $200.
So before you spend several hundred dollars on a new lawn mower, consider spending a couple hundred on a new motor!
If your lawn mower is in fact finished, and this goes for any other piece of lawn or garden equipment as well, you can bring it to a small engine repair shop. Some shops will rebuild them along with other spare parts and give them a few more miles on the turf. If they can’t use it, they can ensure that your lawn mower is recycled.