Three things usually kill small engines: stale gas, bad spark plugs, or old fuel lines. @andrew693 if you blew through three hours it's probably a carb issue that needs a quick clean. My dad taught me to drain the gas before winter and it saves me every spring.

I used to think pressing was just for fancy quilters or whatever, but after fighting with a few wonky topstitch lines I finally tried it and yeah, you're totally right. That 30 seconds is a game changer.

Double down on what wade780 said about clean cuts. I've been watching the research from the International Society of Arboriculture and pretty much every study I've seen says pruning paint slows down the tree's natural callusing process. The tree builds a protective zone around the wound on its own, but paint stops that from happening right. Your buddy's story about the maple limb sounds pretty typical, I've pulled off old paint on job sites and found nothing but decay underneath more times than I can count.

Yeah I saw something about this on the news the other day. Some guy skipped his oil change for like 8 months and ended up with sludge in his engine that cost him over two grand to fix. 400 bucks seems almost too good to be true for something like that. But I also wonder if the dealer is just trying to scare people into paying for stuff they don't really need. Either way I would rather pay for the regular maintenance and avoid the headache. Engine repairs are no joke and they can mess up your whole month.

Totally @wendy_garcia16, it's like that with so many things in life once you find the right tool or trick. You just stop guessing and start DOING. It's funny how one piece of gear can turn a whole situation from stressful to totally calm.