Outdoor Power Equipment and Other Small Engine Mechanics
Career Snapshot
What do a massive bulldozer engine and a little lawn mower have in common> they both require maintenance and occasionally break down. A small engine specialist is needed when a small engine, such as the one on a lawn mower, needs to be serviced. You could work for a retail hardware or garden store, a repair shop, an equipment rental firm, a wholesale distributor, or a landscaping service. One in every three small engine specialists is self-employed.
Because they work with so many various types of engines, small engine specialists should be able to read an instruction or operations manual. Certain processes, however, are common. They inspect an engine before repairing, replacing, or adjusting any broken parts.
If these techniques do not fix a broken engine, the mechanic becomes more like a doctor, trying to figure out what is wrong with the 'patient,' or engine. The ability to assess a situation is essential for WO. Patience is required to disassemble and reassemble a complex engine.
Hand tools, such as wrenches, pliers, and screwdrivers, and power equipment, such as drills and grinders, should be familiar to small engine mechanics.
This is not a rapidly expanding field. When experienced mechanics retire or change professions, new opportunities appear. Formal training, which is provided in vocational schools or high school automotive programmes, makes finding work easier.
Some businesses send mechanics through specialist programmes to service specific types of engines. When it comes to local repair shops, the kind of engines that come in for repairs vary depending on the season, so it's a good idea to be familiar not only with the engine on a lawnmower, but also with the workings of a snow or leaf blower.