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I picked up an abandoned mower someone had left in the yard of an abandoned house. The grass was over knee deep and it had been out in the rain for months.

It's a Murray 21 inch with B&S 500E engine. I washed it and got it going after removing the dirtiest-air-filter-I'd-ever-seen and cleaning the spark plug.

My main mower needs a carb rebuild and I have yards needing mowing now that the storm front has passed though. I spent yesterday doing an oil change, taking the slop out of the handle, and wire brushing certain bolts.

Today I got the blade sharpened and balanced it when I got home. The blade is no longer made so I hope to try and find a backup replacement.

I did a test mow and she cuts fine.

Tomorrow I have 3 yards to mow and 1 to finish since I was rained out of it last Monday.

It's so much fun to get a machine going........and......really fun to make money with it.

I did that with an Old Dynamark lawn tractor 3 or 4 decades ago a customer gave me,, It had sat outside for years and looked pretty well shot. A few months later I went back and mowed his lawn with it. He could,nt believe I got that running and mowing.

That's how I got my Honda mini-tiller. It was stuffed in a corner of a neighbors shed for about 10 years I think. He was gonna throw it out. I asked if I could drag it to my place & have a look. He used 2 stroke mix in that 4 stroke, which seems kept the cylinder wall oiled. a $9. carb off ebay & new fuel lines & flush out, & it fired on 1st pull. Been running fine since.

He was watching me tilling & said I didn't know you had a tiller. (course I cleaned it up real good after it ran so sweet, even painted the handles etc.) I said this is the one you were gonna throw out. He was surprised.

Now I service his mow equipment & etc...

7394 said:

That's how I got my Honda mini-tiller. It was stuffed in a corner of a neighbors shed for about 10 years I think. He was gonna throw it out. I asked if I could drag it to my place & have a look. He used 2 stroke mix in that 4 stroke, which seems kept the cylinder wall oiled. a $9. carb off ebay & new fuel lines & flush out, & it fired on 1st pull. Been running fine since.

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Same here - Honda 100 mini tiller except it was just dirty carb. From this and other stuff I have found, amazing what people throw away...

Thanks for the replies and "likes."

It was actually yesterday (Saturday) that I was able to get out as the rain continued, even a little into today.

THE MOWER IS DA BOMB. It's easier-to-maneuver and is clearly lighter. It cuts like a champ. I was able to mow fairly deep and even wet grass with ease, only having to stop and clean under the deck twice. My mainstay, "Little Blacky," a 22 inch MTD, would have required nearly constant stops to clean under the deck.

Also, this "new" mower used a fraction of the gasoline that Little Blacky would have needed. Also, no apparent use (burning) of oil. I think I have found a new mainstay for my budding mowing business.

Thanks man. I did wash under the deck the next day......good amount of grass washed off but there was still an enormous amount of space between the deck and the blade. It could have trapped much more grass before it became a problem.

Excellent mower at an excellent price (price of fresh oil, sharpened blade, and new air filter).

I never use water on my machines. I will scrape the underside with non-metallic scraper.

Even tho there is a lot of room, the captured grass will disrupt the flow of cutting.

I use water and soap also at times........but I always dry or drain and leave to drive in the hot sun.

I don't put my tools up wet.

A clogged ejection chute will absolutely clog up a mower! My Little Blacky is prone to that.

Mowed four yards with the mower today.....I LOVE THIS MOWER.

Lighter than Little Blacky, uses much less gasoline.

HOW COULD ANYONE ABANDON SUCH A WONDERFUL LITTLE MOWER?

Mower still going strong! Mowed another yard with it yesterday, grass nearly 8 inches tall in places.

I did have the deck raised all the way up though.

I don't know how much money I've made with this cast away mower, certainly over a grand so far.