I forgot to mention the valves also prevent leakdown so oil pressure is more consistant than it would be if it were allowed to leak down between uses. Thanks for bringing that up.
Scag, as mentioned is a pro level zero turn mower- made in USA. Very expensive- but they give excellent results and longevity/retain high resale value. I believe I paid $8000.00 for a 2 year old Scag Wildcat mower with a 60" deck and full bagger system, with only 200 hours on it - which for commercial use is NOTHING in terms of hours. New it cost over $11K
CHAINSAWS: I too have been having some issues with saws and lawnmowers and my 200HP Mercury Optimax Saltwater outboard.
A long time ago I was a pro tree surgeon, but a lot has changed in terms of saws and gas, not necessarily for the better.
I find that from what the guys who service saws, and sometimes my saws have to say is this: Ethanol wreaks havoc and makes everyone crazy. Stihl and Echo have branded their own oils, which for premixs contain ethanol treatment built in. BUT some saws with lots of hours on them and even new ones can end up with problems with the jets and needles and sometimes no matter what one does they just end up bolting on a new carb to solve many gas related issues. I've seem the 5 gallon buckets full of tossed carbs and its frightening as an owner of many carbed engines.
So there is no easy solution but these tips may help.
Run the highest octane fuel you can in your saws/ mowers/weed eaters etc. Higher octane allows for higher octane as the ethanol starts to degrade and phase seperate into WATER and other incombustibles. Use up ANY and all left over fuel in your car/truck so it gets used up instead of sitting in a can or tank where all the bad stuff goes to the bottom- right where the pickup is.
And continue doing what you're doing, running the saws out of fuel in their onboard tank if you're going to store the saw for some time- weeks or longer.
BTW, what's an electric chainsaw?!:laughing:
