• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

Lawnmower question

Hypancistrus

Hypancistrus

New member
Hey folks,

I'm hoping someone on here will be able to offer some advice so I don't have to spend $150 to get a new mower.

Last week I cut my grass for the first time. Had to use started fluid to get it running the first try, but after that it did fine.

This week, I pulled and pulled to no avail. Added starter fluid and it turned over and started, ran for about 10 seconds and cut off. Added a little more fluid, it ran for 15 or 20 seconds and cut off.

Called my uncle up and had him look at it. Checked/cleaned the spark plug, all the cables, the air filter, etc. Looked at the accelerator. Replaced the gas with new gas.

It is still doing the same thing-- runs for 30 seconds or so with the addition of starter fluid, and then conks out. Can anyone think of something simple I might be missing? I looked at repair services here and they're ridiculous... I could easily buy a new mower for the price they ask...
 
ghosthousecorns said:
Choke stuck on?
Click to expand...

No, we looked at that. It DOES run longer (but nor forever) when you manually tweak the accelerator while holding the kill bar down like you do during mowing. There is no acceleration adjustor bar on this one though. It's an old Craftsman but not that old.

I am thinking it must be a carboerator (sp?) thing after doing a little reading online... my uncle has never taken one off of this type of mower, so I am going to see if my father in law has and if so, if he can show me how it's done this weekend.
 
Hypancistrus said:
No, we looked at that. It DOES run longer (but nor forever) when you manually tweak the accelerator while holding the kill bar down like you do during mowing. There is no acceleration adjustor bar on this one though. It's an old Craftsman but not that old.

I am thinking it must be a carboerator (sp?) thing after doing a little reading online... my uncle has never taken one off of this type of mower, so I am going to see if my father in law has and if so, if he can show me how it's done this weekend.
Click to expand...

Good luck, hope he can help you fix it! As a person who has spent a lot of my life mowing, I will say I have always hated the craftsman brand. They seem to have a short life. If you can find an old, cheap, Toro or Snapper they are usually much more reliable. Mowers are cheap at garage sales sometimes...
 
Hypancistrus said:
Hey folks,

I'm hoping someone on here will be able to offer some advice so I don't have to spend $150 to get a new mower.

Last week I cut my grass for the first time. Had to use started fluid to get it running the first try, but after that it did fine.

This week, I pulled and pulled to no avail. Added starter fluid and it turned over and started, ran for about 10 seconds and cut off. Added a little more fluid, it ran for 15 or 20 seconds and cut off.

Called my uncle up and had him look at it. Checked/cleaned the spark plug, all the cables, the air filter, etc. Looked at the accelerator. Replaced the gas with new gas.

It is still doing the same thing-- runs for 30 seconds or so with the addition of starter fluid, and then conks out. Can anyone think of something simple I might be missing? I looked at repair services here and they're ridiculous... I could easily buy a new mower for the price they ask...
Click to expand...

2 stroke or 4 stroke?
You sure you did not have it on its side and flooded it with oil?
 
It's not getting any fuel through the carburetor. You have blockage in the tank, filter, hose, or carburetor. Could be that the float-operated valve in the carb is stuck shut.
First find out if it's getting fuel TO the carb;
If there's a valve on the tank close it, if it doesn't have a valve just pinch the hose from the tank to the carb. Remove the end of the hose from the carb, most of the time you need to remove the air cleaner to get to it easier. Open the valve/un-pinch the hose to see if you have fuel flow. If you don't have flow look in the tank for blockage.
If you have fuel to the carb you know it's being stopped in the carb, you're going to have to clean it/free the float valve. I can help with that if you want to do it.
Give me the make and model number of the mower and engine (or just the makes of the mower and engine, hp, and approximate age) so I know what type of carb it is. You'll only need a few tools and a can of carburetor cleaner.
 
Alan, I will have a look at it tomorrow and get back to you. We pretty thoroughly checked the gas can. I think it may be the carb.
 
I didn't really read this thread so if the answer is here, I didn't even bother reading so, same advice twice? I would say carb. for sure. Blockage, or guncked up.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top