lawnmower kaput?

[velosam]

I have an electric lawn mower. It does not work at the moment. I can hear the hum to the motor but the blades will not turn.

I opened it up and there is some grey gunge out of the capacitor but I dont think that is the problem.

Tried 'impact' technology to dislodge anything stuck in the blades, but that did not work either.

Is it now a case of a new mower or worth getting repaired?

Its about 5 years old and its a black and decker.

thanks

[Kim]

If it's an induction motor, failure of the capacitor could cause the exact symptoms you describe.  If the capacitor is only needed on startup, there may be a centrifugal switch that brings the capacitor out of circuit once the motor is up to speed, failure of which may have killed the capacitor.

[velosam]

Thanks, capacitor looks to be around £20 so maybe worth a punt, given an equivalent new machine is close to £140

[Diver300]

You could try, with the usual cautions, to spin it in the correct direction when starting. Put it on its side, have one person turn it on, and someone else flick it round with a long bit of wood, like a broom handle.

If it then runs, it is almost certainly the capacitor. I've had that happen on one.

Mowers normally don't have a centrifugal switch. If the capacitor is small, it won't hurt to leave it connected, so no switch is needed. The small capacitor gives poor start torque, but on a mower that's fine as the user will just keep the blades away from grass until they're up to speed.