Points can develop an almost-invisible film that will inhibit spark. Never tried the dollar bill, but I know a point file works great. Sandpaper will work, but do NOT use emery cloth. I think it contains little bits of iron, which will mess up the points, I believe. Magnetos always seemed to get less attention than battery ignition, in my day ("way back when"). Maybe because the points were a little hard to get at. Worth a little filing and point-gap check. Points will slowly get closer together with use, so it's a good idea to check the point gap. Too close, weak spark. Too far, weak or no spark. True of either mag or coil ignition. There are point specs for each tractor, but a quick rule-of-thumb that will work in a pinch is "one thin dime," my father's formula for adjusting points. I suspect it comes out around .010". Spark plug gaps spread with time and heat, too. Too wide means you need hotter spark to jump the gap. I don't have a gas tractor any more, but I have found from unpleasant experience that leaving gas in mowers and chainsaws is not a great idea. I run the tanks dry, then spray a little very light oil in through the plug hole(s) to lube the cylinders for the winter. Gun oil is wonderful--you can get it at a gun store or any store like Wal-Mart that has a gun department. This oil is heavier than WD, but still very light. I use it on all kinds of things, including door hinges on my car. Of course if your tractor has 10 gallons of gas in it, you're not going to run it dry! An easy drain would be to disconnect at the carb and let the fuel run out into a can. I suppose that leaving a carb completely dry for a good part of a year might not be great for the bowl gasket, but I'm not sure if this is true. Anybody know? I have a little 2-cyl diesel that I use for chores and mowing. With that, I put conditioner in the fuel at the last run in the fall, run the engine long enough to distribute the conditioner through the system, then shut 'er off. I do like the idea of not shutting the engine off with fuel in the cylinders--condensation and all that. If I were going to store a gas tractor for months, I'd shut off the fuel, let it stop, then do the oil-spray routine through each spark plug hole. I charge the battery about once a month during the winter (dead batteries freeze and crack open). In the past 2 springs, the little thing has popped off and started its usual shakey-shakey dance after a couple turns of the starter. Of course a diesel is different in ways--you don't want to mess with the injectors by pulling them out to put oil in the cylinders--air in the lines is a mess, I'm told.
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Today's Featured Article - Choosin, Mounting and Using a Bush Hog Type Mower - by Francis Robinson. Looking around at my new neighbors, most of whom are city raised and have recently acquired their first mini-farms of five to fifteen acres and also from reading questions ask at various discussion sites on the web it is frighteningly apparent that a great many guys (and a few gals) are learning by trial and error and mostly error how to use a very dangerous piece of farm equipment. It is also very apparent that these folks are getting a lot of very poor and often very dangerous advice fro
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