[AT] Lawn mower carburetors are a piece of cake..... Wrong

Sun Jun 6 08:11:26 PDT 2021

Spencer, I am in the same camp as you---my first goal was to eliminate what
2 cycles I had---blower and trimmer--and have now gone even a bit further,
with EGO battery operated tools. Love em!

On Sun, Jun 6, 2021 at 10:01 AM Spencer Yost <spencer at rdfarms.com> wrote:

> To all the folks specifically mentioning weedeaters, hedge trimmers, and
> other small gas engines woes:  go electric. You will never go back.
>
> So it’s starts with my wife - who insists on doing some of the weed eating
> around the farm(a good thing cause I hate weed-eating) - not having the
> independence to weed-eat on her own.  I always had to start the weed eater
> for her.   I could start it fine  but she always seem to have trouble.
>
> So I sold it for 50 bucks and bought the Makita Electric.  I am absolutely
> flabbergasted that I didn’t think to make the switch years ago.   I love
> it.   I bought the package on Amazon that includes the nice charger and an
> extra set of batteries. Wasn’t particularly cheap but two sets of batteries
> provides way more than enough  power to cross anyone’s weed-eating
> stamina/boredom threshold.
>
> I can’t decide what the biggest benefit is. No smoke? Easy start? Quiet?
> No mixing fuel?  Absolutely anyone can run it?
>
> I’ll never go back to gas yard tools.  Only chainsaws and bigger stay
> gas.  Everything else is, or will be, electric.
>
> Spencer
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> > On Jun 6, 2021, at 8:34 AM, Cecil Bearden <crbearden at copper.net> wrote:
> >
> > Just FYI  If you need small engine parts here is a site I use a lot
> >
> > https://www.everestpartssupplies.com/
> >
> > ...Cecil
> >
> >
> >
> >> On 6/6/2021 6:28 AM, John Hall wrote:
> >> Welcome to modern small engines--sometimes you just can't fix them.
> >>
> >> My mother-in-laws 2 year old Briggs push mower wouldn't crank on its
> own. I replaced the primer bulb--that's about all you can do to it. Spray
> some starting fluid in it and it cranks and runs fine. Replacement carbs
> are aftermarket and cheap, but I don't really trust them. Some online
> research indicates some guys use 2 mounting gaskets, wonder if there is an
> air leak due to warped plastic parts?  I may try this, otherwise its headed
> to the dump as none of us need a push mower.
> >>
> >> Got a 25 year old weed trimmer that I've had the carb apart 5-6 times.
> About ready to buy a cheap replacement carb (thats all you can get). I've
> replaced all the usual suspects, cleaned the carb as best as I can , used
> OEM parts.
> >> What happens now is it will try to run with the choke completely on
> until it completely floods the crankase. Long story short the trimmer was
> given to me by a mechanic that told the owner it needed a new carb years
> ago. Its a high hour machine but has good compression, and has not been
> abused---just used a LOT. I did find the ignition kill wire would shock
> you--so that has now been disconnected as I'm sure that wasn't helping.
> This has really turned into pure stubborness to make this thing run again.
> >>
> >> I did manage to tear apart my hedge trimmer carb and get out all the
> debris from the primer bulb (it was literally coming apart, never seen that
> before) and it now runs better than it has in a couple years.
> >>
> >>
> >> So 1 for 3--if this was baseball not a bad batting average!!!!
> >>
> >> John Hall
> >>
> >>> On 6/5/2021 8:38 PM, Dean VP wrote:
> >>> You ATIS members need a good laugh once in a while.  This should help
> provide that at my expense. ,
> >>>
> >>> One of my Grandsons just purchased his first house which has a small
> grass lawn with it.  Small enough lawn a self-propelled 20 - 22" push mower
> would be just fine.  Since he is moving out of an apartment he would need
> to buy a mower.   I volunteered to give him one of mine that I have out in
> the barn that haven't been run for a while. Don't even remember now when or
> where I got this one, it was probably cheap at some garage sale or auction
> and is a Toro Model 20216.  Probably 20" to 22" (haven't measured) deck
> with a 4HP Briggs motor and it can be self-propelled with 3 forward gears
> .Everything worked fine on it when I used it last probably several years
> ago (ran when parked)  and my only two complaints about it were the 4HP
> made it underpowered and the aluminum deck was pretty brittle  and has been
> welded once. I have been blessed with a wealth of rocks on  my yard.   I
> noticed the deck now has a couple more cracks but the mower is useable as
> is all I have to do is get it running.
> >>>
> >>> I cleaned everything up, cleaned the spark plug, changed oil and put
> in new gas.  I don't have a manual for the mower and the only way I could
> figure out how to get the old oil out was to either pump it out or lay it
> on its side and drain it out the fill tube. . Very dumb and very owner
> unfriendly. . Anyway tried to start it.    Not even a pop. Choke full on.
>  Tried ether. Yep, I could get it to run for a second or two but obviously
> not getting gas to the cylinder. Check gas line, check bowl, yep getting
> gas to the carburetor.  Sum Ting Wong with the carburetor.
> >>>
> >>> Now mistakenly I think I know what I'm doing relative to carburetors
> with several successful Antique Tractor and Garden Tractor carburetor
> rebuilds  under my belt but it has been a long time since I have worked on
> a Lawn Mower Carburetor.   But needing to be humbled a bit I guess I have
> forgotten a key detail about Briggs carburetor's. I pulled the carb,
> removed the bowl and found a sandy white substance (dirt?) in the bowl and
> also in the needle and seat well.  Not typical of what I have seen in carbs
> in the past. But continue to disassemble removing the float and needle.
> Don't see a removable seat and disassemble the rest of the carb.  Run small
> wires through any opening I can find and make sure they are clean and blow
> air through any passage I can find.  One thing that happened worried me. I
> had the air hose nozzle on the gas intake pipe and a little pop occurred
> and something hit me in the face. My observation was that it had come out
> of the bottom where the needle seats.. Hmmmm .............must have been
> plugged right there. 😊 Couldn't find what came out. I bet the carburetor
> will work now.  Operator now in full idiot mode!😊
> >>>
> >>> Moving on, soaked the carburetor in Pine Sol overnight and this
> morning cleaned it with fresh water.  Carburetor looks like new.  Man.... I
> am really good.     Hmm, the bowl gasket has expanded in diameter in the
> pine sol. That is not good. But start reassembling the carburetor and put
> the float and needle in place  and it is obvious the needle is dropping too
> far down and not seating properly.   Aha, that is what must have blown out
> and hit me in the face. Hummmmm  how do you blow out a brass seat?  Now I'm
> confused.  Get on the internet and watch a video of an overhaul of this
> type of lawn mower carburetor.  Gets to the part about removing the needle
> and seat. " An easy way to get the little rubber needle seat out is to blow
> air into the gas inlet of the carburetor"    Been there, done that.   Yep,
> I can completely verify that works very well but I didn't know it when I
> did it. @#$%^&*()   Now I sure as hell know what hit me in  the face. I
> can't find that little sucker.  So... $9 gets me a carburetor overhaul kit
> over night from Amazon.   Needed a new bowl gasket too.  Isn't it amazing
> how the problem and solution can hit you right in the face???
> >>>
> >>> In searching for the right carburetor kit  I noticed I could buy a
> whole new carburetor for $10.49. But I have been down that road before and
> I was not pleased with what I received. So I'm staying with the OEM
> Carburetor.  One day delivery on the parts.
> >>>
> >>> BTW, I'm not very sure this mower is even worth the $9 carburetor
> repair kit. But....  I am going to  beat this sucker into submission.  This
> is the way us old folks turn one hour jobs into a full day's entertainment.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> Dean V
> >>> Snohomish, WA 98290
> >>> "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and
> gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery."
> >>> ..Winston Churchill...
> >>>
> >>>
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> >>
> >>
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-- 
Gene
Kenneth Gene Waugh
Elgin, Illinois
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