Hour Meters, and Why Machines Are Serviced by Hours
Small engines, tractors, generators and boats are specified in running hours rather than dates. What an hour really measures, and how to track them without a meter.
Guide
Outdoor machines · OM-06
Small Engine Service Log
A free printable small engine service log for any four-stroke machine — tiller, chipper, log splitter, water pump, mixer or strimmer.
Download Free · no sign-up
One page. Choose your paper size — both versions are laid out identically, so neither one gets shrunk to fit.
Print it and write on it
Fill it in type and save
The fillable versions have real form fields — open them in any PDF reader, type into them and save. Printing help.
What this sheet is for
Give every small machine in the shed the same maintenance record, using one sheet per machine.
Who it is for
Smallholders, allotment holders, workshops and anyone with a shed full of engines.
How to use it
- Print one per machine and fill in the specification block.
- Log hours where the machine has an hour meter, or seasons where it does not.
- Track oil, air filter, plug and fuel system work.
- Keep the sheets together so you can see what is overdue.
What is on the sheet
The layout is fixed at a size that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the A4 and Letter files are visually identical and print at full size on either. Rows are set at a height that an adult can actually write a date and a few words into with a pen — most printable tables are built in a word processor and never tested with one.
Read next
Why Small Engines Will Not Start in Spring
Stale fuel is why most mowers, strimmers and generators fail after storage. What happens inside the carburettor, and the two storage methods that prevent it.
Guide
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Lawn Mower Service Log
Keep a mower running past its fifth year, by tracking the three things that actually kill them: stale fuel, a blocked air filter and neglected oil.
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Generator Service and Run Log
Make sure a standby generator actually starts when the power goes out, by recording the monthly exercise runs that keep it alive.
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Outdoor Machinery Winterising Checklist
Do one pass through everything with an engine before the cold, so nothing needs a carburettor rebuild in spring.
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One new sheet, most weeks
We are building this library out steadily. Leave an address and we will send the new sheets as they are finished — nothing else, and no more than one email a week.
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