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

Sun Jun 6 15:20:53 PDT 2021

I feel the same way Dave, I have the DeWalt 60volt chainsaw and trimmer and I wouldn't go back to gasoline.  Modern batteries are amazing.  20 years ago they were all under powered, but now the only reason to go back to gas is if the job is big enough to drain all your batteries.  If you own a home gas powered lawn tools are antique collectables.  The only reason pros can't give up gasoline yet is nobody has a good solution to the dead battery problem. Even then for the smaller stuff they should be thinking hard about trying to figure out how to remember to plug things in every night. 

Just remember when buying battery operated tools the battery is the expensive part so choose a tool line/brand to get the best use out of the fewest batteries you can get by with.  There are several good brands of tools that have been around for years, none of them pay me to push their brand so I'll just recommend them all.

-- 
  Henry Miller
  hank at millerfarm.com <mailto:hank%40millerfarm.com>

On Sun, Jun 6, 2021, at 10:41, Dave Maynard wrote:
> Hi guys. I'm pretty impressed with some electric things I've gotten.  I bought a 2 for deal of 60v Dewalt chainsaw and leaf blower. Came with battery and charger for around $500. I then bought 2 more batteries for about $240. Since bought the string trimmer to match. Push the button and go! I've always used larger McCullough chainsaws, but now looking at 70 this fall...
> The chainsaw, I wear out before the battery...lol. And the adaptive charger will charge my 12 and 20v batteries fast as well. They said I can cut 70 pressure treated 6 x 6 cuts on a battery, did the math, that's 10 cuts on 16" diameter  logs. Cut 30 cuts on 3 batteries and last on had a little left, pretty accurate I'd say. For handiness around the farm for trimming and the trees that always fall from the woods into the field it's perfect. And for taking on trails with four wheelers, golf cart and or snowmobile its perfect, dont have to take gas and keep staring and shutting off. Just get out, squeeze the trigger, put it back and drive on to the next. Still use the gas ones for major jobs, but would never be without the battery ones.
> The adaptive batteries will operate any of the 20v items and last a long time. I have a 20v fan in my shop that seems like I'm running all the time. Just charged the battery last night first time in a month!
> Good luck in your endeavors and have fun out there doing all the things you love!
> Dave
> 
> On Sun, Jun 6, 2021, 11:11 AM Kenneth Gene Waugh <kgwaugh0943 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 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...
>>> >>> 
>>> >>> 
>>> >>> _______________________________________________
>>> >>> AT mailing list
>>> >>> AT at lists.antique-tractor.com
>>> >>> http://lists.antique-tractor.com/listinfo.cgi/at-antique-tractor.com
>>> >> 
>>> >> 
>>> >> _______________________________________________
>>> >> AT mailing list
>>> >> AT at lists.antique-tractor.com
>>> >> http://lists.antique-tractor.com/listinfo.cgi/at-antique-tractor.com
>>> > _______________________________________________
>>> > AT mailing list
>>> > AT at lists.antique-tractor.com
>>> > http://lists.antique-tractor.com/listinfo.cgi/at-antique-tractor.com
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> AT mailing list
>>> AT at lists.antique-tractor.com
>>> http://lists.antique-tractor.com/listinfo.cgi/at-antique-tractor.com
>> 
>> 
>> -- 
>> Gene
>> Kenneth Gene Waugh
>> Elgin, Illinois
>> _______________________________________________
>> AT mailing list
>> AT at lists.antique-tractor.com
>> http://lists.antique-tractor.com/listinfo.cgi/at-antique-tractor.com
> _______________________________________________
> AT mailing list
> AT at lists.antique-tractor.com <mailto:AT%40lists.antique-tractor.com>
> http://lists.antique-tractor.com/listinfo.cgi/at-antique-tractor.com
> 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.antique-tractor.com/pipermail/at-antique-tractor.com/attachments/20210606/77ef5942/attachment.htm>