Sam Rourke
Sam Rourke is the maintenance & care editor at Mower Mentor. Sam covers the routine, preventive side of mower ownership: oil changes, blade sharpening and balancing, air-filter and spark-plug tune-ups, deck cleaning, fuel care, winterizing and spring start-up, and the by-the-hours maintenance schedules that tie it all together. Sam came to this work through fifteen years of small-engine service, holds Equipment & Engine Training Council (EETC) certification, and has run a Briggs & Stratton and Honda GCV service bench long enough to know which maintenance steps actually matter and which are dealership upsells. Every procedure on the site is one Sam has done on a real machine, photographed step by step, with the torque values and part numbers that the manual buries. Sam's own fleet - a gas walk-behind, a battery mower, and an aging riding mower - is the documented test bed for the maintenance calendar. Sam lives in the US Great Lakes region.
Published work
Articles by Sam Rourke
Maintenance & Seasonal CareMatch your Toro air filter to its exact model and engine (Recycler 22, Kohler, Briggs, Toro OHV) - plus an OEM-vs-generic verdict and where to buy.
Maintenance & Seasonal CareTune up your Toro in one afternoon: air filter, spark plug, oil, fuel and blade, plus the DIY-vs-shop cost math and a printable checklist.
Maintenance & Seasonal CareMatch your Briggs & Stratton engine to the right tune-up kit with a by-engine finder table, what's inside each kit, and an honest OEM-vs-budget verdict.
Maintenance & Seasonal CareClean a Briggs & Stratton foam filter with soap and oil, tap (never wash) a paper one, service a dual-element in 10 minutes, plus the re-oiling fix.
Maintenance & Seasonal CareChange and gap your Briggs & Stratton spark plug in 6 steps - RJ19LM vs RC12YC, the 0.030″ gap, 5/8″ socket, plus how to read a fouled plug.
Maintenance & Seasonal CareMatch the right Briggs & Stratton air filter to your engine model number, with a by-series part table, OEM-vs-generic verdict and prices.
Maintenance & Seasonal CareMatch your Briggs & Stratton engine to the right spark plug: Champion/NGK cross-reference, 0.030″ gap, 5/8″ vs 13/16″ socket, plus the upgrade verdict.
Maintenance & Seasonal CareTune up your Briggs & Stratton mower in one afternoon: air filter, oil, spark plug and fresh fuel, the right kit for your engine, and DIY-vs-shop cost.