Looking for Small Engine Courses

grumpygrizzly · Apr 4, 2014

OK, if anyone has taken a small engine course from a place like Foley-Belsaw or one of the other training institutes that offer courses, can you give me your opinions??

Also, over at Lawnmowerman, he's got a bunch of DVD's were he teaches a lot of stuff.

Short of going to a factory school, what would you recommend for someone trying to get more into this business in a serious way?? Working in a small local shop isn't an option either.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Fish · Apr 5, 2014

The factory schools don't really teach much, and they are only available to dealership's employees.

I doubt that the other schools that you pay for are that good either.

Offer to work some Saturdays at a lawn mower shop in lieu of pay, you will learn far more that way.

lzn197 · Apr 5, 2014

Fish said:
The factory schools don't really teach much, and they are only available to dealership's employees.

I doubt that the other schools that you pay for are that good either.

Huh? Poor advice.

Fish · Apr 5, 2014

Which one?

exotion · Apr 5, 2014

Grab some cheap broken mowers off craigslist. Disasemble and reasemble. Fix and rebuild. That's how I learned. If I can't figure something out I Google it or YouTube it and then try it

grumpygrizzly · Apr 5, 2014

exotion said:
Grab some cheap broken mowers off craigslist. Disasemble and reasemble. Fix and rebuild. That's how I learned. If I can't figure something out I Google it or YouTube it and then try it

That's what I've been doing for the past couple of months. I've got a couple of older small engine manuals I can sometimes browse through but, they're a little dated. Granted, when you get things from CL, they're pretty dated as well.. haha..

Picked up an Edger that I'm asking questions about in another post that was made in 1988. The little critter is very impressive in it's construction.. Pain is still in great shape even.

I can figure out a lot of things on getting the chainsaws, weed eaters, and leaf blowers going but, I'd like to learn more from a decent course.

I'm definitely putting some cash in my pockets doing this, I just want to make a more quality product for my customers.

Fish · Apr 5, 2014

grumpygrizzly

If you P.M. me your name and address, I'll mail you a copy of the Stihl Mediacat dvd.

It contains all of the illustrated parts lists, and all of the newer model's mechanic's manuals. Stihl doesn't like folks to have them, but I'll be glad to send you a copy. Stihl has excellent mechanic's manuals.

seagiant · Jul 30, 2019

exotion said:
Grab some cheap broken mowers off craigslist. Disasemble and reasemble. Fix and rebuild. That's how I learned. If I can't figure something out I Google it or YouTube it and then try it

Hi,
Good advice!

The idea about working for free at a repair shop is good too!

Books, DVD's, Utube, Forums, are all sources.

I'm still learning and asking things myself, it never ends!

Be advised, even the Pro's, get stumped sometimes!:confused2:

MowLife · Jul 30, 2019

I was certified through a vo-tech trade school. Although it did land me a good job in the small engine repair field I really didn’t learn much from the school. On hand training is the only way to really learn mechanics.

bertsmobile1 · Jul 30, 2019

seagiant said:
Hi,
Good advice!

The idea about working for free at a repair shop is good too!

Books, DVD's, Utube, Forums, are all sources.

I'm still learning and asking things myself, it never ends!

Be advised, even the Pro's, get stumped sometimes!:confused2:

We get stumped all the time.
Knowing the theory is well & good but knowing how it is applied is another thing all together.
For me the light bulb moment was getting my hands on the first JD technical manual.
Now I was no newbie to engines & have been playing with vintage motorcycles for 40 years.
But it is all the other bits, the pulleys & levers & electrics that have taken a long while to get my head around.
The U-tube videos were good, most showed how to replace things but almost none showed why it was being done nor how to repair rather than replace.

Looking for Small Engine Courses

More options

grumpygrizzly

Well-Known Member

Fish

Lawn Pro

lzn197

Active Member

Fish

Lawn Pro

exotion

Lawn Addict

grumpygrizzly

Well-Known Member

Fish

Lawn Pro

seagiant

Well-Known Member

MowLife

Well-Known Member

bertsmobile1

Lawn Royalty

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