**Understanding Four-Stroke Engines**
Four-stroke engines are widely used in various applications, including lawn mowers. The engine cycle consists of four strokes: intake, compression, combustion, and exhaust. When you get to the top of the stroke, the spark plug fires, igniting the fuel-air mixture which causes the piston to go back down, resulting in the power stroke. This is followed by a short crankcase action, where the piston comes back up and pushes the exhaust gases out through the port into the muffler and outside.
The engine cycle repeats itself with each rotation of the crankshaft, which can achieve speeds of up to 3600 revolutions per minute (RPM). It's essential to maintain this engine by keeping it full of oil at all times. The four-stroke engine is designed to run efficiently, but it does require regular maintenance to ensure optimal performance.
**Two-Stroke Engines**
A two-stroke engine is smaller and lighter compared to a four-stroke engine. Despite its size, it performs the same function in terms of intake, compression, combustion, and exhaust. However, instead of having separate valves for each stroke, the cylinder has only one port through which all three strokes occur simultaneously. The piston starts on its way down in the first stroke, intakes fuel and air, and expels exhaust. In the second stroke, the piston compresses the fuel-air mixture, fires it, and turns over the crankshaft.
Two-stroke engines have a different lubrication system compared to four-stroke engines. They use a 50:1 oil mix with gasoline as a lubricant, which is added directly to the fuel tank. This means that two-stroke engines do not have a crankcase to hold oil. The proper mix of oil and gas is essential for the engine's longevity.
**Maintenance and Upkeep**
To ensure the optimal performance of your lawn mower engine, regular maintenance is crucial. Spark plugs should be changed at least once a season or if the machine is experiencing trouble running. It's also recommended to disconnect the spark plug when working on the mower to prevent accidental starting.
The air filter should be checked regularly and replaced when necessary. A dirty air filter can cause significant problems with engine performance, including poor starting and reduced power output. The filter is designed to keep heavy dirt out of the engine, which is essential for maintaining its efficiency.
Oil checks are also vital to ensure the longevity of your lawn mower engine. Always check the oil level before using the machine and inspect the condition of the oil. Dirty or old oil can lead to serious problems with the engine, including damage to moving parts and reduced performance.
**Fuel Management**
When it comes to fuel management, there are a few key things to consider. It's recommended to stockpile no more than one gallon of gas at any given time due to the limited shelf life of gasoline, typically four to six weeks. Using high-octane fuel can help improve engine performance and make the machine run better.
However, modern fuel contains ethanol, which can attract water over time and accumulate in the bottom of your gas can or tank, causing problems with engine performance. The pink stabilizer has been used for years to extend the shelf life of gasoline but doesn't address the issue of ethanol. The blue stabilizer, on the other hand, not only stabilizes fuel but also addresses the water problem created by ethanol, allowing the machine to burn off the water by mixing with it.
**Recycling and Stabilizers**
When storing gas for an extended period, using a high-octane fuel and a stabilizer like blue can help preserve its quality. However, recycling is essential for maintaining the longevity of your lawn mower engine. After 20 years, the machine may need significant repairs or maintenance to restore it to optimal condition.
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enokay Roger this is a four-stroke engine here it's actually off a snowblower or we move the cylinder head give you an idea what the internals look like okay spark plug is still installed now all engines have Pistons and crank shafts okay the piston goes up and down and when it does it turns the crankshaft okay in the crankshaft is what powers the machine in this case a snowblower okay now you need four processes for this engine to run you need intake compression combustion and exhaust okay and I'll walk you through how that works now these are the valves this is the intake valve and that's the exhaust valve so what happens is when the piston starts to go down the intake valve opens it brings in a fuel and air mixture into the cylinder that's stroke one that's stroke one then the piston comes back up to compress the fuel and air mixture stroke to stroke two when you get to the top the spark plug fires the fuel and air mixture which causes the piston to go back down which is the power stroke stroke three stroke three and then at the bottom of that the exhaust valve opens the piston comes back up and pushes all the brunt gases out through that port into the muffler and outside stroke four and ready to go again drogue for and running the golf cause that happens pretty quickly because we actually can get thirty six hundred revolutions permitted on this crank that's correct that's correct so it's important to keep this engine full of oil all the time let's take a look at a two-stroke okay as you can see this engine is much smaller but does perform the same function as a four-stroke engine it has intake compression combustion and exhaust but it only does it in two strokes well you cut away part of the cylinder here so we can see that piston now is it starts on its way down in the first stroke it intakes fuel and air and expels exhaust and now start the second stroke going up it compresses the fuel and fires it and when this fire is this really turns over a crankshaft gets going pretty good right they turn up pretty high a four-stroke engine maxes out at about 3600 rpm but a two-stroke will go as high as 12 or 13,000 there's no crankcase here to hold oil to lubricate the engine that's right because a two-stroke engine is lubricated by adding oil to the fuel and the proper way to do that is you take the oil mix and you add it to one gallon of gas okay in this case this is a 50 to one mix so that would give you the exact mix for this engine every gas engine requires maintenance and Paul with your help with the maintenance on this MOA it's run for 20 years why was it been 20 years already I'm afraid so let's check the maintenance on this machine okay we'll start with the spark plug all right spark plugs are always good to change at least once a season or if the mo is giving you a little trouble running off I want to change that now the other tip is to weave that spark plug disconnected when you're working on the mower there's no way it could ever start it's a good safety tip now we'll look at the air filter okay this particular machine uses a paper element with a foam wrap the foam wraps made to keep the heavy dirt out and you need to keep the dirt out of the engine because that's what makes it run as long as it does 20 years okay and you'll see the filters light and color when it gets dirty it's going to really dark this is dirty that's going to be changed because that's what it should look like errect okay then when you check your oil you should always check your oil before you use the machine you want to check the level and you want to check the condition of the oil at the same time and this oil is pretty dirty yeah considering this is what new oil looks like and this is what the oil is like in that machine and that could lead to a problem with the engine it sure could now some machines you take and physically tip on its side and the oil comes out where the oil rigidly went in that's right the others have a plug on the side and you can connect a hose to it and let that oil run into a pan and then recycle the oil always recycle let's talk a little bit about fuel what do we need to know ok these days you don't want to stockpile much more fuel than you'll need in the course of a month ok because the shelf life of gas is pretty short these days 4 to 6 weeks tops so go with a one gallon container instead of like the large one that right and most manufacturers recommend these days to use a high octane fuel because it helps burn properly it makes the machine actually run better yeah we just upgraded to high octane and everything seems to be running great there you go another thing is today's fuel contains ethanol which is a water-based fuel okay and it'll also attract water over time which will accumulate in the bottom of your gas can or in your tank of your machine and they don't run on water very well huh we have to treat them now we've been using this pink stabilizer for years it helps us get you know maybe two months out of the can of gas yeah the pink stabilizer is good to keep fuel from going stale but it doesn't address the ethanol problem the blue stabilizer does okay this will stabilize fuel to keep it from going bad and it also addresses the water problem created by the ethanol it allows the machine to burn off the water created by ethanol by mixing with it youokay Roger this is a four-stroke engine here it's actually off a snowblower or we move the cylinder head give you an idea what the internals look like okay spark plug is still installed now all engines have Pistons and crank shafts okay the piston goes up and down and when it does it turns the crankshaft okay in the crankshaft is what powers the machine in this case a snowblower okay now you need four processes for this engine to run you need intake compression combustion and exhaust okay and I'll walk you through how that works now these are the valves this is the intake valve and that's the exhaust valve so what happens is when the piston starts to go down the intake valve opens it brings in a fuel and air mixture into the cylinder that's stroke one that's stroke one then the piston comes back up to compress the fuel and air mixture stroke to stroke two when you get to the top the spark plug fires the fuel and air mixture which causes the piston to go back down which is the power stroke stroke three stroke three and then at the bottom of that the exhaust valve opens the piston comes back up and pushes all the brunt gases out through that port into the muffler and outside stroke four and ready to go again drogue for and running the golf cause that happens pretty quickly because we actually can get thirty six hundred revolutions permitted on this crank that's correct that's correct so it's important to keep this engine full of oil all the time let's take a look at a two-stroke okay as you can see this engine is much smaller but does perform the same function as a four-stroke engine it has intake compression combustion and exhaust but it only does it in two strokes well you cut away part of the cylinder here so we can see that piston now is it starts on its way down in the first stroke it intakes fuel and air and expels exhaust and now start the second stroke going up it compresses the fuel and fires it and when this fire is this really turns over a crankshaft gets going pretty good right they turn up pretty high a four-stroke engine maxes out at about 3600 rpm but a two-stroke will go as high as 12 or 13,000 there's no crankcase here to hold oil to lubricate the engine that's right because a two-stroke engine is lubricated by adding oil to the fuel and the proper way to do that is you take the oil mix and you add it to one gallon of gas okay in this case this is a 50 to one mix so that would give you the exact mix for this engine every gas engine requires maintenance and Paul with your help with the maintenance on this MOA it's run for 20 years why was it been 20 years already I'm afraid so let's check the maintenance on this machine okay we'll start with the spark plug all right spark plugs are always good to change at least once a season or if the mo is giving you a little trouble running off I want to change that now the other tip is to weave that spark plug disconnected when you're working on the mower there's no way it could ever start it's a good safety tip now we'll look at the air filter okay this particular machine uses a paper element with a foam wrap the foam wraps made to keep the heavy dirt out and you need to keep the dirt out of the engine because that's what makes it run as long as it does 20 years okay and you'll see the filters light and color when it gets dirty it's going to really dark this is dirty that's going to be changed because that's what it should look like errect okay then when you check your oil you should always check your oil before you use the machine you want to check the level and you want to check the condition of the oil at the same time and this oil is pretty dirty yeah considering this is what new oil looks like and this is what the oil is like in that machine and that could lead to a problem with the engine it sure could now some machines you take and physically tip on its side and the oil comes out where the oil rigidly went in that's right the others have a plug on the side and you can connect a hose to it and let that oil run into a pan and then recycle the oil always recycle let's talk a little bit about fuel what do we need to know ok these days you don't want to stockpile much more fuel than you'll need in the course of a month ok because the shelf life of gas is pretty short these days 4 to 6 weeks tops so go with a one gallon container instead of like the large one that right and most manufacturers recommend these days to use a high octane fuel because it helps burn properly it makes the machine actually run better yeah we just upgraded to high octane and everything seems to be running great there you go another thing is today's fuel contains ethanol which is a water-based fuel okay and it'll also attract water over time which will accumulate in the bottom of your gas can or in your tank of your machine and they don't run on water very well huh we have to treat them now we've been using this pink stabilizer for years it helps us get you know maybe two months out of the can of gas yeah the pink stabilizer is good to keep fuel from going stale but it doesn't address the ethanol problem the blue stabilizer does okay this will stabilize fuel to keep it from going bad and it also addresses the water problem created by the ethanol it allows the machine to burn off the water created by ethanol by mixing with it you\n"
