Filter Service: How often should I change filters?

John Deere Air Filter #M113621

The age old questions comes up all the time, especially since mowers go by hours of operation and not by miles like your car does as an indicator that you need to change oil. You might have a push mower that doesn't even have an hour meter on it. Many folks don't change their filters when the owner's manual suggests, they just do how they feel is best or think is best.  So the questions still remains, how do you know when it's time to change your filters?

Push mowers:

Huskee 22" Push Mower

My suggestion is to change your push mowers filters and oil every year before the season starts. While you are sharpening the blade and cleaning the old grass clippings from under the mower deck, this would be a great time to drain the oil from the mower. Also, I recommend that you replace the air filter at this time too. The cleaner the air filter the better your push mower is going to run and the better it runs the better your yard looks. Air filters for these mowers aren't very expensive, so purchasing one isn't going to break the bank.

Riding mowers:

John Deere Z-Track Z425

Riding mowers are a different animal altogether. Many do have hour meters so you can regulate the hours in between each oil change. My suggestion is that you change the oil at the beginning of the season and then again sometime during July. Of course you may need to do so more often if you are mowing a lot (commercial mowing) or less if you mowing less than an acre per week.

As far as the air filter, riding mowers have bigger motors with bigger air filters than push mowers. Many times a filter has a main element or paper element and a foam pre-filter. These filters can both be cleaned out and reused. The Paper filter can be blown out with an air compressor (Be careful not to blow a hole in your filter, because then it would be useless and a new one must be purchased). You should blow out the existing filter no more than 10 times, after that it time to purchase a replacement. The foam filter can be cleaned with soap and water and dried. Then a light film of oil (we use penetrating oil) is put on the foam help catch the real fine particles of dust. Once you have them cleaned you can put them back on and you are ready to fire it up. *I suggest that you have more than one foam pre-filter in stock so you can wash the last one and put a clean one on why the other dries, it helps to eliminate the down time of allowing the pre-filter to dry.

Cost:

John Deere Fuel Filter  #AM116304

Some of you may be saying to yourself that you can't afford to purchase filters every year for your stuff, and I say to you that's silly. One large particle of dirt that gets in your motor and you have to purchase a new mower you will wish you would have just opted to pay $10.00 for a new filter. Also, look around for deals, companies like Fram and Wix may make the same filter for your machine at a cheaper price. Also, look for sales at your local dealership. John Deere has filter sales every year in February and August. Lastly, ask if they offer a Home Maintenance Kit. These kit come with all the needed filters and sometimes the oil to do a complete service at home, and our offered at a cheaper price than buying individual filters.

Anyway, the key to keeping your mower running at peak efficiency is keep up the maintenance on your equipment. Your grass will look cleaner and your mower will cut better, taking less time to cut your grass and giving you more free time to relax.

The John Deere D Series

Many have seen them on the shelves at major stores like Lowe's, Home Depot and other places. People often get hooked by the name "John Deere." While these tractors are made in the USA, many folks could swear they aren't. The lack of quality and the constant headaches they cause can only raise an eyebrow to these tractors.

Their brothers before them the L and LA series lawn tractors were thought by Deere as a competitor to such brand names as Craftsman and MTD. What they have put out is a tractor series that has let down many people and is ruining the reputation of John Deere and the consumer equipment division.

Issues range from the construction of the deck and the gauge wheels, which seem to lack the sturdiness to mow large yards. To the pulley system on the mower deck and the bearing housings for the blades, which often fail. The most promising thing about these tractors is that the parts are relatively cheap and are always available at your local John Deere dealer.

If I was going to purchase this a lawn tractor I would go with the X300 series of John Deere. They are more heavy duty and have stronger components for working a longer and larger amount of ground. My dealership I work for doesn't even stock the D series mowers anymore and suggest that their customers move up to the next size up just for the fact of the quality.

When you travel to choose your new lawn tractor this spring make a look at both series and you will see the difference.

Gauge Wheels

Summer is approaching quickly and with that comes mowing the lawn. Many folks use a riding lawn mower to cut their grass. These lawn tractors have large decks to mow a big yard in a short amount of time. There are negative effects of these decks on uneven yards, because they tend to scalp the high areas. This is why gauge wheels are put on a mower deck.

These wheel are often misused on John Deere and other equipment that are designed to have the deck "hang" from the frame of the lawn tractor to achieve the proper height adjustment. Their are some companies that actually use the gauge wheel to adjust the height of the cut, but John Deere isn't one of those companies. So reading any further will just be for your knowledge.

The gauge wheels on a John Deere and like designed mower decks are intended to guide the deck up and over a hump or obstacles that may be in the mowing path. These wheels are intended to be a 1/4" to 3/8" above the bottom of the deck. The wheel should never ride on the ground. This can be seen when the gauge wheel becomes flattened from the weight of the deck over time.

John Deere designs their tractor so that the weight of the deck is supported by the frame of the tractor rather than by the ground. These are not to set the height of the cut. JD has a knob and adjuster that stops the lift mechanism to achieve cutting height. Also, the anti-scalping wheel is the roller directly at the front of the deck. It is intended to lift the deck over items to insure the middle blade doesn't cut the grass too low.

To adjust this you will need to pull the mower onto a level concrete or hard surface and lower the deck into operating position. Turn off the tractor and grab a tape measure or ruler. with the deck lowered to mowing position check the height of the gauge wheel in relativity to the mower deck. There should be that gap we talked about earlier between the bottom of the wheel and the bottom of the deck. Hope this makes your mowing easier. Any questions wanted answer mail them to awan318@gmail.com.