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

Wed Jun 9 05:44:03 PDT 2021

Jim, a decent zero-turn with relatively little wear in the steering levers
will take you about 5 minutes to be cutting like a pro.  They are very
intuitive.   Mine has small dampers (tiny shock absorbers, basically) on
each lever, which I now understand to be there so it's less jerky.  When I
was first thinking about a zero-turn, my neighbor brought his over for me
to test out.  It was a well-worn Cub Cadet brand from a big-box store and
cost less than a grand brand-new; in other words it was the cheap-o model.
It certainly didn't have those little dampers,it was jerky, and I was
uncomfortable on it.  I bought mine anyway, a nicer model (Gravely) from a
real power equipment shop.  Essentially zero learning curve on it.

SO

On Wed, Jun 9, 2021 at 7:30 AM Jim Thomson <macowboy at comcast.net> wrote:

> Mike,
>
>   My neighbor gave me the mower that needed the levers adjusted. It was a
> little jerky for me. Give me about a hour or soand I'll get it. ZTs are
> productivity machines!
>
> Jim Thomson
> Blairsburg, Iowa
>
> On 06/08/2021 10:14 PM Mike M <meulenms at gmx.com> wrote:
>
>
> 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>
> <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> 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. 2nd
> And 3rd 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> *On Behalf Of *Cecil
> Bearden
> *Sent:* Monday, June 7, 2021 5:39 AM
> *To:* 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>
> <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> <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> 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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> Jim Thomson
> Blairsburg, Iowa
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