The last cut of the lawn in autumn raises the question: what needs to be done to ensure that a lawn mower survives the long downtime in winter? This checklist gives a compact overview of how to properly overwinter petrol and electric mowers.
The lawn mower should never be left outside in the snow
Check 1: Clean the lawn mower
Every type of lawn mower should go into the winter break sparkling clean. How you clean a lawn mower depends on the drive. How to do it right:
Clean petrol mower
Clean the top view of the mower housing with a damp cloth and cleaning agent. Before you devote yourself to the heavily soiled underside, important safety precautions must be taken:
- Pull spark plug cable
- Turn off the fuel tap
- Lawn mowers tip up with spark plugs
- Place the block on the knife block
- Clean the grass residue from the blade block with a brush
Stubborn dirt on the housing can be removed with a high-pressure cleaner (€119.90).
Clean electric and cordless mowers
When cleaning electric and cordless mowers, other premises must be observed than with petrol engines. You should pay attention to this:
- Shut down the energy supply: Disconnect power cord, remove battery
- Dry cleaning: Clean the housing of the electric mower with a dry cloth
- brush knife: Remove grass debris from the blade block with a brush
For cleaning, you can either tilt an electric mower on its side or turn it upside down.
Check 2: Service petrol engine
With the petrol lawn mower, cleaning is seamlessly integrated into the following maintenance program. How to properly prepare a petrol engine for winter storage:
- empty the tank: Set the mower to idle and let it run until it shuts itself off
- change oil: replace old oil with fresh lawn mower oil using the oil suction pump
- Replace spark plugs: Replace spark plugs, clean recently installed spark plugs
- Check air filter: remove, tap out, blow through or rinse with water
With an electric lawn mower, maintenance is limited to greasing all moving parts. Please do not use the battery again.
Check 3: Winterize the lawn mower
Lawnmowers prefer to overwinter in a dry, frost-free location. The freezing point should not be fallen below in the winter quarters, primarily for mowers with a starter battery.
If you overwinter a cordless mower properly, important criteria must be observed. Store the battery separately from the device at ideal temperatures between 5° and 12° Celsius. Nickel-cadmium batteries (CiCd) must be discharged before putting them away for the winter. Nickel-Metal Hydride (NIMH) batteries stay fully charged over the winter. Modern lithium-ion batteries can easily be stored for many months when half charged.
tips
When you wake a lawnmower from hibernation depends on the weather and the condition of the lawn. The best time to cut the lawn for the first time is when the temperature is consistently pleasant above 10° Celsius and the lawn is noticeably dry with blades of grass 8 to 10 cm high. Mow according to the golden one-third rule from the start.