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Oil filter recycling by Lucas Lane Inc.

Have you every wondered what happens to that oil filter that is taken off your car every time you have your oil changed? Here is how Lucas Lane ...

FilterMatic oil filter recycling machine

FilterMatic, by Arnold Machine, is an automated machine for processing used automobile oil filters in order to maximize the recycling potential of ...

Oil Filters Should Be Recycled

To stop landfill contamination, officials are requesting all oil filters be recycled.

Mower Maintenance – Yes You Can!

The mower wasn’t used last season, so it was no surprise that it didn’t start. Annual maintenance costs was about $90 at the John Deere dealer, but by April the stores had a four to six-week waitlist!  Handy Granny wanted to mow the yard (for the first time in 30 years) so she could continue to move more by doing chores.  Could she do her own annual mower maintenance? It couldn’t be too hard, could it?

The Owner’s Manual will provide the specifics about maintenance for your mower. If you can’t locate it, try searching online. A lot of companies post their manuals on their Web sites. After reviewing the manual, clean the top and underside of the mower using a scraper or brush.  Then remove the blade. You can have it sharpened when you pick up parts for maintenance. Removing the blade was the hardest part of this project. My John Deere only had two bolts to remove but they did not want to budge. After applying Liquid Wrench to loosen the bolts, I put leather work gloves on to hold the blade, attached a 12-inch ratchet and socket to the bolt, and resorted to a hitting the ratchet with a heavy mallet before it finally budged. After my son arrived he asked why I didn’t use the two foot ratchet – the engineer in me should have remembered the longer the lever arm the less work to do the same job – Handy Granny did not feel so smart right then!  

After removing the blade, Handy Granny drove to the John Deere store to pick up the maintenance kit  and a new blade, since sharpening would take a few days. For $30, Handy Granny had the parts for maintenance. Now the only question was if she could actually do the work and save $60 plus paying for lawn mowing while waiting on mower maintenance.

Changing the oil was easy; follow the instructions in your Owner’s Manual. Handy Granny turned the mower on the left side, inserted the provided drain tube, and drained it into an oil pan. To be environmentally friendly, recycle the oil at Wal-Mart or other recycle location. While the oil drained, the air filter was facing up and it was a perfect time to change the air filter. Handy Granny used her “girl tool” which is a flowery screwdriver, to open the air filter (it is easy, remember lefty loosy). Note: when putting together tools for your Handy Granny tool box, if you get something with flowers, the tools somehow stay in your tool box! 

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