So yesterday my neighbor a 35ish married dude with two kids is busy attempting to start his pressure washer.... with no success whatsoever. After 30 minutes or so of watching the effort, I cautiously approached so not to frighten him.

I asked if I could assist and he looked relieved with the offer. I started with, When was the last time the engine run? Last year. Did you change the fuel from last year? Does fuel go bad he asked, so no, old fuel. I automatically assumed no stabilizer, no winterization, and probably the same oil and sparkplug from conception.

Apparently no one ever bothered to explain this nor had he ever bothered to read the operator manual. So I spent an hour changing the oil, cleaning the air filter, replacing the spark plug, draining and changing the fuel to fresh, non-ethanol fuel (had to explain all that to him). Three pulls and the engine springs to life to fight another day. Since he only uses it once a year, I will go over this weekend and show him how to winterize a small engine.

What is with this generation that no one seems to understand mechanical things? I suppose with electronic everything these days, the basic mechanical gene has been bred out of them.

The Helpless Generation

Pretty common these days.

You do write some fine fiction.

Did he have a relationship analyst too?

My son starting picking up non-running lawnmowers, weedeaters, tillers, chainsaws, etc.. when he was in high school fixing them and selling them for a profit. Quite often the fix was cleaning the carb due to bad gas. He is 24 now and still fixing small engines for side money. He enjoys doing fixing stuff and has become quite the small engine specialist.

Believe it or not, there times when the mower or whatever was simply out of gas and the person giving it away thought it was dead. Sometimes the use of the choke or "ON" switch befuddled people and they would give the tool away. Fairly often he would sell a mower to someone and they would bring it back a year or two later wanting him to fix it due to leaving ethanol gas in it all winter even though he warned them about what fuel not to use.

He probably was just about to throw it away and buy a new one with better reviews.

Just cut my lawn for last time this season ....I hope.

Turned off the fuel supply on Honda mower and ran carb dry.

Using Tru fuel so no methanol. A little left in the tank. In past I dropped a little MMO in there. Might this time....might not. I didn't change oil this year either , Level is still good and you are supposed to just fill as needed.....which I will never get used to.

Will pump out some of the old oil in spring.

Lonny I fixed a mower for a buddy who has never fixed anything but really got into the whole thing. It was rewarding. Was going to say I wonder how many folks never learned how to use the choke on a weed eater even though instructions are usually right there.

IF the progressives get their way, small engines will go the way of the dinosaur. So I suppose there is some hope for the Helpless Generation.

I had some old duffer, probably sounded about 70 call my office one day.

He says “I’m from Arizona...why in the hell these people around need a water pressure intensification device to wash their cars and driveway” ? “Back in Arizona, the water pressure is just fine”

After about 2-3 minutes of his moronic rantings, I was able to pick it apart that he was grumbling about his neighbors using pressure washers to clean their driveways and wash their pickups

Water pressure intensification devices.

lol

Dang Boomers

Ask him what his master’s degree is in.

Just spent the last three days working on equipment maintenance. Tractors, zero turn, three vehicles, chain saw, weed wacker, generator. Oil filters, grease, fuel filters, hydraulic oil. stabilizer and on and on. All my stuff is old and can't afford to replace any of it so upkeep is crucial... but not cheap anymore.

If I do buy a piece of equipment it is always used. If it doesn't come with a manual I get one off the internet. I don't know how folks can afford to have their stuff serviced by someone else. Too expensive to replace equipment for lack of maintenance. And it will only get more expensive moving forward.

Did he help you open a pdf after? Bit of a trade?

Years back the manual of an auto gave directions on how to set the valves. Todays manuals tell not to drink the contents of the battery!

We’ve come a long way……NOT!!

Younger folks seem to think everything is disposable now.

If it quits working throw it in the trash...

A lot is disposable. Cheaper to buy new. But a lot isn't and just needs a few brain cells to fix.

You da man!

Tried to instill basic maintenance habits in my sons growing up.It didn't take,neither one will even bother to check the oil before starting something up.They have learned not to ask to borrow anything of mine.

Believe me it's not a generation thing - many boomers [my age group] can't do anything . I've known grown men who struggle to change a Flat Tire correctly and have never worked on their own car .
Use to be ''old gas'' meant 5 years old .
Vehicles - pretty much everything else are so good - you buy it and drive it for several years before 'needing' to have it worked on .
I enjoy doing maintenance & mechanical work on my stuff , I hate letting anything I own out of my sight - most garage shops are a bunch of hacks these days .

So, who was responsible for teaching that guy about engines and such when he was growing up? Probably some boomer who just couldn't take the time away from the golf course to help his little son with learning some life lessons. Maybe he grew up with just his mom in the house as dad has been AWOL since mom first announced she missed a period. Nobody is born with knowledge, everyone has to be taught . Somebody dropped the ball where the OP's neighbor is concerned.

I spent a couple years in Barrow mid-90's. I kept looking at this pristine Skidoo someone had left on the metal salvage pile. I am pretty mechanically inept, so I did not get it- should have. After it disappeared I later learned a teacher had salvaged it, put a new carburetor in it, and had himself a fine-running machine.

My guess is that yes, someone even more ignorant than I was had long-term stored it without precautionary measures

On the other hand, my 2nd snow machine was a John Deer 600. My first was a 300, and I liked that little beast so well that when the dealer put the 600 demo up at cost, I grabbed it. Then I found out why. 40mph was it's top speed, and lacked power - he said it cost him sales, and I believe it.

Just for the hell of it, I took the carb apart (remember my ineptitude, more then than now). In the carb were I think 7 plates with small in-line fuel holes drilled through them. One plate had the holes drilled at a 45 degree angle. I ordered out a plate like the other 6, put it in and took the machine out at 2 a.m on the black-iced Chena Hot Springs road near my brother's homestead, where I had the machine.

I chickened out at 80, with the machine still picking up speed.

Didn't do much for fuel consumption tho - that thing was a gas hog!

Whether those 45 degree holes were mis-machined or deliberate as a governor, I have no idea.

I have a couple friends with PHDs that can barely put gas in their car. If you told them to change the oil, they would have a panic attack.

"Restrictor" plate to limit HP, just like NASCAR . . .

To be fair, ethanol gas makes it a lot more work to keep small engines running nowadays.

Official curmudgeon status now!

You didn't go Clint Eastwood and call him a zipperhead did you???

Bob Vela review are the best...

I almost bought Milwaukee, but Bob Vila said Ryobi was much better... what a genius he is.

Yeah because when I was growing up everybody’s dad was whiz with small engines.

LOL

Give me a break.

Been my experience, too, that sometimes those more mechanically astute can overthink a mechanical issue when in fact it was really something basic and would've been a quick, simple fix.

Seen that happen more than once.