(08-31-2021, 09:09 AM)jagibelieve Wrote:

(08-30-2021, 07:39 PM)Jags Wrote: We usually only let them warm up in the winter and on the first lawn. The mower, I may let warm up in summer a bit but our route is super tight.  After that first stop of the day, there really isn’t much time in between stops for the equipment to cool down. When we had enlclosed trailers our equipment couldn’t cool down. Made for fun times trying to start them. Sweating more to get it started than running it.    If the route is tight that equipment is probably still warmed up before the fire it up. We use stihl and the bigger units they offer.  I started off with shindaiwa. Their slogan is/was “first to start, last to quit”. I found that to be not only a lie but pretty funny after I switched brands.  I’ll get 2-3 years out of my equipment by just doing the bare minimum.  Air filter/fuel filter/plug and grease if it’s not a blower.  2-3 years may not sound like much time when you buyit at 4-500+ /piece of equipment, but when in any given week that piece of equipment would have done what a homeowner would do in roughly 3.75 years if they mowed 40 times a year, I’m happy.  Especially when you factor in the amount it cost per lawn cut that it does. We use and abuse them, that’s for sure.   A couple pennies per  lawn depending on the equipment.  I’ve found blowers and edgers last the longest, that’s taking the mowers out of the equation.we’ll replace the mowers ever 3-4 years.  Better to sell off the old and have new ones than risk sitting one in the shop and being out a 8-13k piece of equipment.   String trimmers, yeah we tear them up.   The commercial warranty is half the residential warranty.  And I’m sure for that reason.  And yes, the right or “wrong” employee can cut a piece of equipment’s lifespan in half.  Or in a matter of months as I’ve experienced.  But being warm, our equipment has no issues being such. They were made to run all day and do a good job of it. 

Now, I have bought “residential use” stihl products in the past here or there as a backup.  And we killed them.  Quickly!

Having said all that, I think I’ve bought 5-6 new pieces this year alone. 370-500 a pop.   Sometimes it’s easier to buy a new piece when under the gun when one needs repairs.  I know mowing a lawn sounds easy on a singular basis.  On a business level, it’s not that easy.

I just bought a Stihl FS-111 trimmer last week for a bit over $400.  I got tired of killing "residential" class tools.