Keep Your Lawn Mower Running Right: Briggs & Stratton Offers Tips on Easy Annual Mower Maintenance

MILWAUKEE, April 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A trouble-free lawn care season begins with a lawn mower that's easy to start and keeps on running.  The key to making that happen may be as simple as doing a mower tune-up, which only takes about 30 minutes and costs less than $15 for a typical push mower.  

According to the engine experts at Briggs & Stratton Corporation, doing this easy annual maintenance can help homeowners' pocketbooks as well as reduce their impact on the environment.  The benefits include:

• A lawn mower that starts more easily and runs smoothly
• Extended mower life because the mower is maintained
• Reduced engine emissions, which is easier on the environment
• Even a small savings in the amount of gasoline used

"The best part is, anybody can really do this easy task," says Mike Barnett, Marketing Manager for Briggs & Stratton.  "We even show you how with an online video (www.mowertuneup.com) that walks you through the process."

This year, anyone who proves their tune-up skills by posting a brief YouTube video of their mower tune-up will earn a free Briggs & Stratton T-shirt.  Simply view the tune-up video on the company's YouTube channel at  (http://www.youtube.com/BriggsStrattonEngine) showing Briggs & Stratton CEO Todd Teske doing his own lawn mower tune-up, then post a video response from April 15 through June 30, 2011.  See the Briggs & Stratton Engine YouTube Channel for details.

A tune-up involves only four simple steps:  changing the oil, air filter and spark plug; and adding fuel preservative to the gasoline to keep it fresh longer.  Gasoline goes stale in as little as 30 days, and is one of the top problems when it comes to poor starting, Barnett points out.

Briggs & Stratton tune-up kits are available at authorized dealers, home improvement stores or online (www.briggsandstratton.com/engines/shop/parts-and-accessories/partcategory/?id={F39A08AD-4E40-4633-B324-6634DD463BC7}.   The kits contain everything needed for a lawn mower engine tune-up, including exactly the right amount of oil, a new spark plug, air filter and fuel preservative.  The kits for walk mowers range in price from about $10 to $12.

Briggs & Stratton even offers an environmentally correct way to dispose of the used mower engine oil for free at participating Briggs & Stratton dealers.  Find a participating dealer at (www.recyclemoweroil.com), then drop off the used lawn mower oil in any closed container.

"You can do this, even if it's your first time working on your mower," Barnett says.

Briggs & Stratton Corporation, headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is the world's largest producer of gasoline engines for outdoor power equipment. Its wholly owned subsidiary Briggs & Stratton Power Products Group LLC is North America's number one manufacturer of portable generators and pressure washers, and is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of lawn and garden and turf care through its Simplicity®, Snapper®, Ferris® and Murray® brands. Briggs & Stratton products are designed, manufactured, marketed and serviced in over 100 countries on six continents.

SOURCE Briggs & Stratton Corporation