stonetrooper Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 I have mentioned in several recent posts of me wanting to buy a new anvil and blower and overall get set up to start blacksmithing. Last weekend I changed the oil in my lawn tractor, sharpened the blades, cleaned the deck, cleaned the filter, gave it a good going over. Yesterday I was cutting grass when I apparently threw a rod blowing a ping-pong size hole in the side of my engine. I know without a doubt I refilled it with oil but I always have a hard time knowing exactly how much to put it so I usually err on the side of adding too much. I must not have put enough this time. I do know that any money that was going to blacksmithing will now have to be diverted to buying a new engine. The engine is a 14.5 HP, I/C Quiet (it's really quiet right now), OHV, model # 287-707, type 1272-EI, code 00082870 and it's for a Murray 42" cut lawn tractor if anybody has any used engines they'd like to sell and get me back on track for blacksmithing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keykeeper Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 Man, that stinks. Sounds like my luck. I have an old mower with the same motor. Motor is good, rest of the mower is shot. The starter is trashed. I was trying to jump start it and burned it up. Got another, haven't had the time to fix it yet. Keep your chin up, when things go bad, they can only get better. Just takes time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBrown Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 i might have something im about 1.5 to 2 hours north of atlanta in belton sc if you are interested in traveling that fare let me know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donnie Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 Remember, this is a temporary situation.;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Dean Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 WHAT!?!? Are you CRAZY!??! Yard work before blacksmithing, no way! The grass will thank you for not cutting it. The wife and neighbors....well that's a different thing.... Sorry to hear about you misfortune. It is usually cheaper to just buy a new mower than to buy just a motor...not sure about your particular mower tho. Hope it all works out for ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabre Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 well i fixed one of those engines before and it seems to get really hot quickly. how much property do you have? just use the push mower to do the places you need to do! those engines run about $700 + to get new so look on ebay and ect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stonetrooper Posted May 26, 2008 Author Share Posted May 26, 2008 Thanks guys. I knew you would understand. Today I brought back to life my 30" Snapper that was replaced by the 42" Murray Lawn Tractor. It had been under cover outside for about 2 years (no room in the workshopf or both). I pumped the tires, greased her up, got the rust off the deck, painted the bottom of the deck with Krylon, sharpened the blade, checked the spark plug, filter, changed the oil, put some gas in and after a few false starts and white smoke she started up. Now I can at least cut grass while the Murray is fixed. I have 8 acres of which I cut about 3. See why the 42" was a big improvement over the 30" cut? Side note. Who has ever seen the ball that is inside a can of spray paint? I've always wondered so after the can was empty today I took it out back on the property with my 16 gauge and, from a safe distance, blasted it a couple of times. I had to cut it open but what did I discover?.......a blue marble. Now I wonder if they all have blue marbles or different colors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keykeeper Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 Re: Ball in paint cans. Yep, they are marbles. Color will vary from batch to batch. There's still some factories (overseas I'm sure) that make the marbles for them. We used to cut 'em open all the time when we were kids. Shot 'em with a pellet gun first to release the pressure. Get the right angle on the shot, they will take off like a rocket. Not that I advocate that, for safety's sake. Did a lot of ignorant things growin' up. Sometimes it hurt, sometime's it didn't. Have fun and be safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philip in china Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 Buy a goat. Will eat the grass and eventually provide luncheon. Also goat dung can power your forge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FieryFurnace Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 Since you got another mower does that mean you can spend the money on the forge? Do you have a pair of clippers? Those work well as long as they are sharp! Check into what "Philip in China" said. We do animals on a rotational grazing. That keeps the yard clean and stink free! (Our pigs don't even stink!) Lowes sells electric tape and plastic posts with solar powered chargers. They work great! If you have any questions about how to do it, you can mail me on the "user cp." The Kidsmith, Dave Custer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stonetrooper Posted May 26, 2008 Author Share Posted May 26, 2008 (edited) Yes and no. The other mower is just so I don't have to stop cutting grass until the Murray gets fixed. The Murray is much more powerful and has the 42" cut which makes world of difference in the time it takes to cut. When I have the money I would like to fence in sections of my property and have some cows and goats. Used to have 4 chickens but my wife was not crazy about them and would not be crazy about having other critters. Please do not ever mention that home improvement chain that starts with the letter "L" on this forum again. I work in marketing and advertising for The Home Depot so if everyone out there can help me out please do ALL your blacksmithing shopping at The Home Depot. What the heck are electric tape and plastic posts with solar powered chargers used for? Kidsmith, I may still be interested in your blower if you can let me know when you'll be in GA. RBrown, let me know what engines you have that meet the criteria I listed at the beginning. An hour or two north of Atlanta is no problem for me if the price is right. Edited May 26, 2008 by stonetrooper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 Buy a goat. Will eat the grass and eventually provide luncheon. Also goat dung can power your forge. Sheep not goats. Goats are browsers and while they will eat grass they much prefer leaves, branches, bark, etc. especially from the decorative plants. Sheep are grazers and they wag their tails when they drop pellets (how's that for a family friendly term?) so the berries are spread out. The manure isn't very hot so it's fine on the lawn right out of the animal. Buy a couple lambs in spring and put them in the freezer come fall. 2-3 should keep about 1.5-2 acres trimmed to around 3/4". Come fall be sure to feed them a premium sheep feed for a few weeks before the big wrap so they taste their best. Unless you like mutton don't keep them over the winter or buy grown sheep in spring. Lamb is excellent with a little black pepper, rosemary, marjoram and garlic. Sheep were the standard lawn mower till the mechanical reel mower was invented around the turn of the last century. The White house had two herds of about 20-25 sheep each, with herdsmen, dogs and all. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrogPondForge Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 Try these guys:Small Engine Warehouse Small Engine Distributors There is another called ACE Engines (Air Cooled Engines) . They sell surplus engines. There are a few deals to be had. Good luck, MIKE FatherofFrogPond Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stonetrooper Posted May 26, 2008 Author Share Posted May 26, 2008 I'm going to have to find this engine used some how. I spent $500 for the Murray and it was used. No way could I spend $500 plus for a brand new engine. I need something in the $5-$10 range. I'll hold my breath. Seriously I'd be willing to spend $100-$200 for a good used engine. Thanks for the links to the websites. What is the horse power of one sheep? The Murray is 14.5 HP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Dean Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 Stonetrooper, I've got several engines but the shaft is horizontal,sorry . My biggest problem with having 6 acres to take care of is that people keep trying to give me goats. They just don't seem to understand when I tell them that thier beloved little precious pet goat will end up as a blood spatter when I catch it on top of my truck! We have cattle, one is about ready to go to the freezer, one is a yearling and two are month old bucket calves. It takes about 1.5 acres of grass for a cow calf pair. Sheep pull the grass out by the root because of the way thier jaw is shaped. Cattle chew off the grass. now for the winter problem, does anyone raise corn around you and mind having the stalks grazed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayco Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 Stonetrooper, I sometimes find usable engines , decks,tires, etc, sitting in someone's back yard with weeds growing around the abandoned mower. Not in all cases, but in some, a riding mower is 'junked' because the starter or battery had died, or the deck is rusted out, or the tires are all flat. Of course, sometimes the motor is shot. IN the past few years, I've had valves stick in engines like yours when the engine gets hot in heavy usage. We started removing the hoods to keep the engines cooler.......looks funny, but the engines don't get as hot. Also, a lot of different mower brands use that same engine in their mowers. Good luck!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBrown Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 iv got 3 of the 11 hp and 12 hp and an 18 hp twin in undetermined condition i would guess all of those would need at least carbs rebuilt but thats not hard or expensive except the twin. Iv got a 15 hp sitting on a zero turn the motor i know was rebuilt and used less than a season before they wrecked one of the tranys in it. you can have that one for $25 but you got to haul the whole thing away cause i don't want it. the 15 is an ohv but don't think its an ic. the good thing about lawnmowers is about 9 times out of 10 the bolt patterns are dead on and you don't have to do any thing strange or crazy with switching out motors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FieryFurnace Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 What the heck are electric tape and plastic posts with solar powered chargers used for? Kidsmith, I may still be interested in your blower if you can let me know when you'll be in GA. RBrown, let me know what engines you have that meet the criteria I listed at the beginning. An hour or two north of Atlanta is no problem for me if the price is right. Hey! I answered you the "cp." Let me know if you got it. I did not know if it sent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfb343 Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 I'd bet for not too much $$$ you could rebuild that motor, or failing that I'd bet you could find another murray(or at least a similar product) for less than that. Check CRAIGSLIST. BTW HD customer service leaves a bit to be desired in my area, not that lowes isnt nipping thier heels on crappy service and no better prices than the local hardware store, but perhaps you could pass that on the leadership, but for the mean time support your independant hardware and building supply dealer :cool: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stonetrooper Posted May 26, 2008 Author Share Posted May 26, 2008 Right now the thing at HD is to "get more aprons on the floor" meaning more employees in the stores. They of course have to find the money to divert to the stores. How do they accomplish that. Laying off 500 people at the corporate office a couple of months ago and cutting back on alot of other things. I was a customer of HD before I worked there and I experienced the decline in customer service so no argument here. I hope to be a part of the turn around. You can do it. We can help. Also no argument on your last statement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 Dunno about other areas but we have Home Depot and that "L" place right across the street from each other. I have to make a left turn across a major street to get to the "L" store so I tried HD when they opened after "L's." I got less than satisfactory customer service at HD once and I tend to make the left turn more often now. Sorry, but the customer is alway supposed to be right! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBrown Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 When Hd opened up in my town they had grate to exceptional customer service and lows was the pits they had been the only super chain in our town and only other big hardware store was an independent that had about all you ever needed but they were a little pricey at time. Since then cant pinpoint the time but its switched now hd is the pits and lows has much better service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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