My problem is the mower simply quits while mowing. Now I've been mowing for 40 years, I know what I'm doing, and I have read all 3 manuals for the dixie chopper silver eagle cover to cover. The mower simply quits while mowing, I'm not running it too fast or anything like that. Usually on a planned restart, there's no need to choke the engine (Generac 24 hp). The first two times it quit and it would not restart (it quit a total of 4 times within the first 9 hours of operation), I tried everything, including choking a hot engine, no luck. At that point, the local small town dealer (whom I've dealt with for several years) replaced the mercury switch (tilt switch), and checked the wire routing (apparently there where issues with the way the wires were routed on some mowers). The mower again quit twice at approximately 25 hours. In these cases, after 4 or 5 attempts to restart, if I choke the heck out of the mower, it'll sputter and cough and eventually run fine. Each time I checked that I had plenty of gas. The local dealer hauled it in (they gave me a loaner, it's raining like crazy around here), I told him I also had had problems with the left control handle, you need to put them all the way out before engaging the parking brake, but it would still die when I went to get off it (blade had been stopped). If I repositioned the left handle, then it worked as designed. This time around, they replaced the fuel solenoid (the local service guy said he had heard of problems with them, he said the solenoid was there to prevent backfiring, I told him it's always backfired when I throttle it down and let it idle, after turning the engine off, it always backfires once). I trust the local dealer, I have my mower back and tonight it worked fine, but really makes me wonder if I can depend on it. I payed a premium price for a mower that's crowed about how reliable it is, but here I am, nearly out of warrantee, and not sure it'll keep going. I'd be cranked off if this was a brand new $1500 Sears mower and it quit this many times, but a $5000 mower that fails like this, and the manufacturer hides behind the dealer, that's just not right. It obviously is a manufacturing problem, and they need to at least reply. I've also been told there's a 2 year warrantee on this thing, but all I can find in the manual is a 1 year warrantee. If it's 2 years, that also needs to be in WRITING, considering my experience with this company so far.

The "Cylinder Leakage Tester" costs $162.00. You say "if I am handy" I could improvise. I can certainly make something with tubing or 1/8" pipe, a gauge, and small valves to inject some air into the cylinder. What can I use for spark plug threads on my homemade device? Here's an excerpt from Kohler's book. Air escaping from crankcase breather ......................................................Rings or cylinder worn. Air escaping from exhaust system ............................................................Defective exhaust valve/improper seating. Air escaping from carburetor .....................................................................Defective intake valve/improper seating. Gauge reading in âÂÂlowâ (green) zone ........................................................Piston rings and cylinder in good condition. Gauge reading in âÂÂmoderateâ (yellow) zone ............................................Engine is still usable, but there is some wear present. Customer should start planning for overhaul or replacement. Gauge reading in âÂÂhighâ (red) zone ..........................................................Rings and/or cylinder have considerable wear. Engine should be reconditioned or replaced. If you notice, none of Kohler's "tips" indicate a blown head gasket. Would a bad head gasket be included under "improper seating"? What will I see/hear and, where will the air be escaping to if it is a typical blown head gasket? While I'm having the engine held with the piston at TDC, do I pressure-up the cylinder and then close-off the source of air? Or, do I maintain a small continuous flow of air going to the cylinder and determine where the leak is coming from and how bad it is, by looking/listening? I don't see any reference to the breather reeds. Will this air test reveal a problem if it is a reed issue?

I use a vidalia onion chopper (As Seen on TV) https://www.chopwizard.com/?s_kwcid=vidalia%20onion%20chopper:2130968899&gclid=CLH98sqepaMCFQ9jswod6F6U4A I got it for $20 at Bed Bath and Beyond. Plus I used a $5 off coupon so it ended up costing me $15. I like that I have 2 different chop sizes, everything comes out uniformly chopped, it has a measuring cup on the catch basin, plus it is safe for my 5 year old daughter to operate. Plus it is dishwasher safe. Downside is that I do have to slice things up first to a size that will fit in the chopper. And it does have to be emptied often. But seriously, I can chop up 8-10 cups of zucchini for a relish in 5 minutes or less.

The chopper that I posted in my earlier post (I included it here, too) is the one I use and it is fantastic. I've chopped onions, peppers (cut into 8ths so the pieces are more uniform), cukes, summer squash...basically most veggies. It made the process of prepping salsa 10 times faster. I enjoy the process of using my knives. However sometimes it's just more convenient to use the chopper, especially when I need lots of small, uniform pieces. The caveat I have with it is that sometimes you need to use force to get it to chop through, especially if you're chopping a half of an onion. I've had to use both hands and put my full weight on the top to get it to go through. I got it at my local hardware store. It is the "Progressive International" brand. Jill Here is a link that might be useful: Onion Chopper