I have a 27 yr. old Craftsman mower. As I have said several times. I use E-10 Sunoco fuel. When I put it away for the season, I add a little Stabil and fill the tank. Always starts up without a problem. Always stored inside. I sometime wonder if it is the quality of the fuel used. Always buy gas from a busy station.
My old snow blower gets the same treatment. I have had to clean the jets a couple of times.
z31maniac wrote: Buy a Toro with a Honda engine.
Honda-powered Craftsman over here. It always starts on the first pull.
It will depend on the age of the mower and the complexity of its carburetor - I have a 40 year old Jacobsen that always starts on last year's gas, but the carburetor is very rudimentary. No floats or needles and seats or anything to get gummed up, it's not much more than a straw stuck in the tank.
Buy a new mower Todd, or come over and borrow mine. 2-3 year old Toro with a Honda engine, and it starts first pull pretty much all the time. Manual choke that auto shuts off, and it's quiet as a mouse. Great mower, and if I remember correctly it was pretty cheap. I don't use any stabilizer over the winter, and it will start in a few pulls in the spring. Is your mower British like your cars?
Get non-ethanol fuel if possible, otherwise mix some "HEAT" into your fuel container to dry up the water included in ethanol fuels.
I finally replaced my $99 Weedeater brand mower last year. It lasted 5-6 years with zero maintenance. It still runs fine but the yard got bigger so the new one is self propelled and has a bagging attachment. Not sure what brand, it's yellow. Not sure what engine. It starts first pull every time. I don't do anything to the fuel except burn it. When it pukes I'll replace it. It does get used year round. I use it on leaf duty in the winter months.
Unfortunately, push mowers are pretty much disposable, which is why I spent $500 repowering an 45 year old rider rather than buying a new one. There isn't a single piece of plastic in the entire mower. It'll last longer than me.
Toyman01 wrote: I finally replaced my $99 Weedeater brand mower last year. It lasted 5-6 years with zero maintenance. It still runs fine but the yard got bigger so the new one is self propelled and has a bagging attachment. Not sure what brand, it's yellow. Not sure what engine. It starts first pull every time. I don't do anything to the fuel except burn it. When it pukes I'll replace it. It does get used year round. I use it on leaf duty in the winter months. Unfortunately, push mowers are pretty much disposable, which is why I spent $500 repowering an 45 year old rider rather than buying a new one. There isn't a single piece of plastic in the entire mower. It'll last longer than me.
That $500 repowering your 45 yr old rider is still almost half the price of a new one. good on you
Meh, I've got a small yard so the $60 electric mower, plug in type, we bought from Home Depot on clearance is working great. Had a similar mower when I was growing up that lasted 20+ years. Keep it clean and in the shed...
I put gas in my push mower, pull the chord and it runs. Sometimes I wonder if there's oil in it, and then I don't bother looking.
ryanty22 wrote: today was the first time I ever had to put it in the shop because the pull start grenaded after about 5 years of my teenager using it.
That happened on my 5.5 Hp. B&S as well.
I drilled out the four or so rivets that hold the recoil assembly to the motor and replaced them with nuts n’ bolts to allow for a quick swap out.
Pay someone to mow your yard. Bonus is the great feeling of pulling into your driveway and seeing that the yard has been freshly mowed and you didn't have to mess with it.
foxtrapper wrote: I'm not tin hatting or saying everyone is wrong claiming no problems with their toys left outside. Honestly, most of the time I have had no problems with mine either. Just that there was enough that I didn't like wasting time on it. Eliminating the problems by keeping things out of the rain and stored dry is worthwhile to me. It's really no surprise to anyone in the shop come April that the customers non-running mower is covered with wet leaves and rust. And there's a lot of them there. Certainly they come in for other reasons. But there's a strong correlation. As well not seeing the ones taken care of and put away with a bit of thought. From lawn mowers to outboards, string trimmers to classic cars. Stored outside and neglected has more problems than stored inside with a little care.
+1. Can't beat a motorless push mower. If it gets jammed, roll it over to get clippings out and back to mowing.
DaveEstey wrote: I put gas in my push mower, pull the chord and it runs. Sometimes I wonder if there's oil in it, and then I don't bother looking.
This is exactly how I roll.
We have a "weedeater" brand push mower. No self propelled. No bagger. No nothing fancy. It works all the time everytime.
I think it was less than $150.00 from some box store.
I am not sure if it has oil in it or not.
DaveEstey wrote: I put gas in my push mower, pull the chord and it runs. Sometimes I wonder if there's oil in it, and then I don't bother looking.
That's pretty much I do as well. I put Stabil in the 5 gal can when I fill it (usually once a season). The mower I have was bought maybe 6 years ago (cheap; from Home Depot). A couple of years ago it didn't want to start on the first or second pull, so I took the carb apart, found crystlized gas in the bowl and jet. Blew it all out with carb cleaner (first time I think I've ever used carb cleaner for actually cleaning a carb...), reassembled and it started first pull again and for the rest of the season. It's starting to get finicky again, so I'm guessing I'll have to do this again next spring.
Aaarrrggghhh, put my mower in the shop to get its first problem in several years diagnosed, the shop calls me and tells me the mower is done and I owe them $150, for a USED recoil and labor to install, never called me with an estimate or anything. Funny thing is mosy expensive recoil of a similar type I found online was only 56 dollars and itsa straight up unbolt the old one bolt on the new one Iinstallation. Im gonna have a nice chat with them today
Cotton wrote: Pay someone to mow your yard. Bonus is the great feeling of pulling into your driveway and seeing that the yard has been freshly mowed and you didn't have to mess with it.
This is how I do things now.
yamaha wrote: Get non-ethanol fuel if possible, otherwise mix some "HEAT" into your fuel container to dry up the water included in ethanol fuels.
FWIW, HEET fuel additive is 99% Methanol. So you are fixing Ethanol fuel with Methanol. Both are alcohols, and both will mix with fuel and water at the same time.
Just so you know.
Never mind, answered above.
Awhile ago I posted a pic of a float bowl and carb filled with stuff that looked like corn starch and went through the whole ethanol debate. I have since cleaned out that same carb again and had the same stuff in my pressure washer, and my leaf blower and chainsaw act like they need carb work. A cut out valve and running it dry every time stopped the lawnmower issues but I'd rather not put a valve in the fuel lines of all my gas powered equipment. Any ideas?
MrJoshua wrote: Awhile ago I posted a pic of a float bowl and carb filled with stuff that looked like corn starch and went through the whole ethanol debate. I have since cleaned out that same carb again and had the same stuff in my pressure washer, and my leaf blower and chainsaw act like they need carb work. A cut out valve and running it dry every time stopped the lawnmower issues but I'd rather not put a valve in the fuel lines of all my gas powered equipment. Any ideas?
I used to run a mix of Sta-Bil and seafoam in my gas. It seemed to help.
MrJoshua wrote: A cut out valve and running it dry every time stopped the lawnmower issues but I'd rather not put a valve in the fuel lines of all my gas powered equipment. Any ideas?
Turn the tool over and dump the gasoline back into the gas can. Fire the tool up and run it out so the carburetor and fuel pump are dry. Takes about 30 seconds for it to quit running.
i've got an ancient Snapper self propelled of unknown vintage, which is powered by an ancient Briggs 3.5HP of unknown vintage... it sat in a barn that was in the process of falling over for 3 years until this spring, when i decided that i should mow the lawn at the house i'm renting... cleaned the carb, put in a new plug, and changed the oil for the first time in the 12 or so years that i've had it.. dumped in some fresh gas and it started on the 4th or 5th pull.. it dies sometimes, but usually restarts immediately and if not i just wait a few minutes and she comes back to life..
here is a shot of it during it's first "tuneup":
maybe next weekend i'll get my early 90's vintage Murray 48" rider with a 14HP Briggs 2 cylinder that has been sitting outside with half a tank of gas in it for the last 2 years here and see if i can breathe life into that, too..
My 3 yr old Poulan/Honda mower sat out in the sun all last summer as our new house had no grass yet. Then it sat in the snow drift all winter. Then when I had put the grass in this spring, I started it with the 2 yr old gas in it. 2 pulls. But it has an actual choke. Ran that tank through and filled it up with fresh gas. No difference. I think it would almost run on water...
You'll need to log in to post.
