[AT] Lawn mower carburetors are a piece of cake..... Wrong
Mike M
meulenms at gmx.com
Tue Jun 8 19:14:35 PDT 2021
Hi Jim, I transitioned to a Scag zero turn about 5 years ago and never
looked back, it cut my mowing time in half. I found the learning curve
was very short, and the controls very precise. Just remember you don't
have to push the control levers all the way forward, you can creep at a
snails pace if you want to. Our friends have a JD zero turn that his 16
year old daughter drives, no problems.
Mike M
On 6/8/2021 8:39 PM, Jim Thomson wrote:
> Cutting the lawn is also one of my wife's favorite things to do. In
> Massachusetts we had a Cub Cadet with a 50" deck and a Kawasaki engine
> to cut 1.5 acres. She loved this little tractor. I also bought her a
> Sthil blower and string trimmer. Fast forward to Iowa where we have a
> solid 4 acres of lawn to cut. Our current mower is a Kubota B2301 with
> a 60" 3 pt finish mower. I have to give the wife lessons on this as
> she is a little scared of it. A funny story, last weekend our
> farmer/landscaper neighbor called me and said he was coming over
> Sunday morning to cut our yard. There is a cemetery a half mile from
> us and he wanted the lawn looking good for Memorial Day . He brought
> over his big JD(Z945?) zero turns and asked if I wanted to try it. I
> gave it a try and it scared me to death. This thing had to be going 10
> plus miles an hour with perfectly cut grass. This was my first time on
> a zero turn so there was a steep learning curve. I thought I would
> drive this right into the ditch. After 2 passes, I parked it and went
> back to the Kubota. My wife then started using the JD and did just
> fine with it. My neighbor created a monster and now she wants a small
> zero turn mower! BTW, both Sthil's and our Honda push mower always
> start even with old gas. My HF generator is a first pull starter too.
> Jim Thomson
> Blairsburg, Iowa
> Jim Thomson
> Blairsburg, Iowa
>> On 06/08/2021 5:40 AM Stephen Offiler <soffiler at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Couple general comments loosely related to Dean's mower and not sure
>> how to tie in to antique tractors.
>> One, Honda engines. I needed a small push-mower for some tight spots
>> on my 3-ish acres that I mow with a 48" zero-turn. My one criteria
>> was Honda engine. Got one at the big-box store. And yes that thing
>> has absolutely never, and I am not exaggerating, never ever failed to
>> start on the literal first pull, even in the spring after sitting for
>> 5 months (I do use Sta-bil in my gas). One of these days I hope to
>> tear apart a Honda carb and maybe figure out a couple of their
>> secrets, but I need to find a dead one first, which doesn't seem likely.
>> Two, self-propelled. I paid little attention to that feature when I
>> got said Honda powered mower. It played up the "Front-Wheel-Drive".
>> Sounds like a car commercial from the 1970's when that was a new
>> thing. Turns out there's little weight on the front wheels and none
>> at all when you tip it back to steer it. Stupid design, and my own
>> damn fault for not giving it more consideration before purchase.
>> OK, tractors... some may recall I picked up a Cub last summer with a
>> sickle mower. It got parked as I was very busy with home renovations
>> at that time, with deadlines to meet. Then it got buried at the back
>> of the barn as winter approached. Now I've got a couple areas I
>> don't mow routinely, adding up to about 1-1.5 acres, with 3' tall
>> grasses... starting to eye that Cub again...
>> SO
>>
>> On Tue, Jun 8, 2021 at 3:18 AM Dean VP < deanvp at att.net
>> <mailto:deanvp at att.net>> wrote:
>>
>> The Lawn Mower lives. Runs pretty good too. Idle setting is a bit
>> mysterious. Hard starting when cold. I’m not sure the choke
>> butterfly is working properly. It’s nice and free but I can put
>> it on full choke and nothing happens when it is running. Must be
>> something not connected right. I did hook up the rod when
>> installing the carb. Did find out why it was a little wimpy power
>> wise. The little flipper that drives the throttle butterfly
>> needed a little adjustment. Now get full RPM’s at full throttle.
>> Need to try to figure out if the choke is working properly then
>> I think it is ready to go. I had forgotten how useless the
>> geared drive is. In low I can hardly keep up with it walking a
>> fast pace. 2^nd And 3^rd are not useable by this old man.
>> .Anyway, cleaning up the carb and installing the new kit gets me
>> a running mower for my Grandson. Need to make sure it isn’t a
>> terribly hard starter. Not sure why it had to be so obstinate for
>> a while
>>
>> Dean VP
>>
>> 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...
>>
>> *From:*AT <at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
>> <mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com>> *On Behalf Of
>> *Cecil Bearden
>> *Sent:* Monday, June 7, 2021 5:39 AM
>> *To:* at at lists.antique-tractor.com
>> <mailto:at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>> *Subject:* Re: [AT] Lawn mower carburetors are a piece of
>> cake..... Wrong
>>
>> I bought one of those little Stihl top handle saws nearly 10
>> years ago. I love the balance of it. I put the longest bar I
>> could get on it from Bailey's so I could cut brush in fencerows
>> without bending down so much. Within 3 hours of using it, the
>> stop switch quit working. I have to choke it to kill it. Still
>> the same way 10 years later....
>> Cecil
>>
>> On 6/7/2021 1:29 AM, Dean VP wrote:
>>
>> Gene,
>>
>>
>> I’m jealous. I’m still fighting gas engines. Your Stepson
>> lives only 5 or so miles from us. He is just North West Of
>> Monroe, WA actually closer to Monroe than Snohomish with a
>> Snohomish address. Looks like he is up on the ridge North
>> and above Evergreen State Fair Grounds which is the county
>> fairgrounds. I suspect he gets to hear the Saturday night
>> racing at the fairgrounds really well. We are 7.5 miles out
>> of Monroe and when the weather is right we too hear the
>> racing. The area where he lives is just exploding with new
>> homes since Monroe is within commuting distance of Seattle
>> and the High Tech East side. IF… one is willing to put up
>> with the traffic. Monroe is right on the junction of 522 and
>> Hwy 2y which heads over the Cascade Mountain Range to the
>> Wenatchee area. 522 heads toward Seattle and also intersects
>> with I405 which heads S into Bellevue. 522 is now mostly a 4
>> lane road but where it is still only 2 lane it is a traffic
>> mess for commuters. WA State DOT does not have a clue about
>> how to build roads that not only meet current needs but maybe
>> a few years to the future. I’ve lived in this state since
>> 1976 an d I have yet to see a road built or refurbished that
>> wasn’t overloaded the day it was opened. Ok, I’ll admit we
>> have seen a huge influx of residents but newcomers are the
>> ones usually getting the higher paid wages so the tax base
>> should be going up dramatically. But WA state is fixing the
>> traffic problems by building a multi-billion dollar
>> North/South light rail system that nobody rides. It is
>> pretty obvious they are going to let traffic get so bad that
>> people will finally give up and ride the light rail. But
>> those that come in from the East such as those in the Monroe
>> area are SOL. With house prices and cost of living going
>> so crazy high here it won’t be long and we will have a net
>> loss in population. The City Governments have so alienated
>> the population many want to leave and from what I am picking
>> up on the street is that many Western WA and Western OR
>> residents are looking East at states like Idaho and Montana.
>> Several Eastern Oregon counties are trying to attach
>> themselves to Idaho and if successful Eastern Washington
>> counties will do the same. Coastal cities in CA are losing
>> population to states like Texas, AZ and NV.
>>
>> We winter in AZ and it reminds me so much of when we lived in
>> SO CA in the 60’s and 70’s. They know how to build roads for
>> future needs. Even at commute hours one can get to work
>> driving 30 miles in less than 30 minutes. Yes ,there are
>> exceptions but they are few and far between. But…. There
>> is a huge problem staring California, NV and AZ right in the
>> face. The lack of water. They are already restricting water
>> usage and it isn’t even summer yet. That is going to put a
>> real limit on how many people can move to AZ and NV. That
>> leaves Texas as the place to escape to. . IMHO, the movement
>> of people to the Coastal cities on the West Coast is coming
>> to an end. As a result of idiotic city governments, the
>> defund police movements and Covid 19, people want out. They
>> want to move out to where we live in the country or further
>> East out of the state. . I get phone calls at least once a
>> week from Relators begging us to put our house on the market.
>> Have active cash buyers they say. I think it is a bit of BS
>> but we have lived here for 22 years and it has never been
>> like this before. It is at best called CRAZY. We are staying
>> here until we can’t take care of the place any longer. We
>> figure we have about 5 years left. I will be dead inside of a
>> year if I have move back in the city.
>>
>> I almost bought a Battery powered chain saw a couple years
>> ago but I bought a Smaller/Lighter Stihl which is 2 cycle and
>> I really like it. It has started easily and I’ve worked its
>> butt off. More than I even envisioned when I bought it. I
>> had a bigger Stihl which I had owned since 1976 but is
>> finally gave up a couple years ago. Coil went bad and they
>> are made out of unobtanium. Darn thing only gave me 40 plus
>> years of service. They don’t make things like they used to.
>>
>> Dean VP
>>
>> 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...
>>
>> *From:* AT <at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>> <mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com> *On Behalf Of
>> *Kenneth Gene Waugh
>> *Sent:* Saturday, June 5, 2021 6:13 PM
>> *To:* Antique Tractor Email Discussion Group
>> <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>> <mailto:at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>> *Subject:* Re: [AT] Lawn mower carburetors are a piece of
>> cake..... Wrong
>>
>> Dean, THANK YOU!! I have never gotten as involved as most on
>> this list, and my experience with carburetors is pretty
>> dismal. Not total failure, but dismal! And my 2 cycle
>> experience is really, really dismal! Over the past couple
>> years I have gotten rid of ALL 2 cycle equipment! :-)!! I
>> have replaced trimmer, blower and a couple other functions
>> with EGO battery powered equipment. Been very pleased.
>>
>> Dean, I have a stepson who lives with his wife on 126th St SE
>> there in Snohomish---nice area!
>>
>> Gene Waugh
>>
>> Elgin, IL
>>
>> On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 7:38 PM Dean VP <deanvp at att.net
>> <mailto:deanvp at att.net>> 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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>>
>> --
>>
>> Gene
>>
>> Kenneth Gene Waugh
>>
>> Elgin, Illinois
>>
>>
>>
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