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Ok, so it's Saturday, and apparently the grass grows pretty quickly here in Texas. So, earlier this afternoon, I decided it was time to mow the lawn.
I went outside to one of our storage closets and took the lawn mower out. As I was pulling it down, I noticed a little bit of liquid on the ground, but didn't really think twice about it.
... until I tried to start the lawn mower, and my arm almost came off when the cord got stuck after about 2 inches!
That engine was not moving at all; totally seized up. So it was hardly a surprise when I opened up the oil reservoir to find it dry as a bone. I immediately filled it up with oil, and spent about the next 45 minutes helplessly pulling on a cord that wouldn't budge. Then I gave up.
Later on this evening, I was actually just about to head down to the store to buy a new lawn mower, when I decided to give it one more try. I guess it just took a couple of hours for the oil to work it's way through, because the mower started up ... lol, and let off some pretty foul smelling smoke.
Ok, so what's the lesson I learned from all of this? ... and how does it relate to the title of this post?
If you ever get the bright idea to store your lawn mower standing up vertically on two wheels, because that's the only way it will fit in the storage closet you want to put it in ... don't do it !
Lawn mowers should be stored horizontally on all 4 wheels.
lol, and that concludes today's public service announcement from your friendly neighborhood 40 year old dummy 
Keep havin FuN!
Todd
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Todd Morris
Hey Todd, I am glad you got’ter workin’ again! LOL
You may want to change the spark plug too because chances are all that blowout nasty smoke coated the elements.
Best of luck and happy mowing brutha!
AL
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Hey Al,
Yes, I expect to have to make a run over to the store for a spark plug next weekend when the mower doesn’t start. lol, I just need my 16 year old son to come live with me again. Not that I don’t like mowing the lawn … but it’s so much more fun to make him actually earn his allowance.
Todd, isn’t that picture showing an electrical lawn mower?
Secondly I would like to add that if your lawn mower are running on gas then you should never tip it to the side where the engine is because the gas will quickly fill the engine and if you can get it going then it’ll smoke like hell
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Very useful post here! I now know how to store my mower properly. Thanks for your funny yet really informative post. It’s good to know that you won’t need to buy a new mower.
Raffy
Great advice above, its bad enough trying to get a mower started when its being stubborn so you certainly did well getting it going. One solution for those stubborn moments is to purchase a Classic Reel mower, because there’s no motor so no more head aches.
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Sounds like the some of the oil may have filled the cylinder causing a hydraulic lock. It drained out of the cylinder when the mower was sitting back down in normal running position.