Honda commercial. Toro consumer. Fresh gas. Etc. Rope pulled so much it is nearly abraded through, as the Honday starter deal routes the rope through a plastic slot instead of a nice smooth metal ferrule. Ready for a lawn service. Tired of maintenance, cleaning, storing, covering, and of course, mowing.

Always use non-ethanol gas?

Oh no, that stuff is not available here at the pump. I use marine fuel treatments that supposably fix the water+ethanol problem. Perhaps the long term use of 10% ethanol has made the fuel lines collapse or something. It's like no fuel is getting to the carb bowl.

Stuck needle?

Choke problem?

If I let my Toro self propelled mower sit for too long the float sticks, took me a long time to figure it out. Now a tap on the bowl does the trick

I'd just throw a new carb on it and be done with it.

This reminds me of my childhood though. My father would NEVER buy anything new/good. He always bought cheap shit used lawnmowers that he had to "fix up". I suppose it was a major event when us kids finally convinced him to get rid of the push reel mower and go motorized, but with him it wasn't much of a step up. Getting those pieces of crap to start and continue running long enough to finish the mowing was a never-ending source of aggravation. Every other week he'd have the damned thing torn apart and put back together, only to run temporarily. Rinse and repeat.

Had a mower that wouldn't start. I was going to overhaul the carburetor until I saw that Amazon had a $15.99 deal that included a carburetor, fuel filter, air filter, and spark plug. The mower starts now.

Bad starting a recent development or a slow process?

If you've hit a root or something, the flywheel can shift on the crank (soft metal key can shear or distort). The timing is thrown off, starting could be difficult or impossible.

With me it was Stihl weedeaters. After multiple trips to the small engine repair man, I finally ditched the damned tning and got an Echo. It has been marginally better. Only thing I run in either of them is the pre-mixed Stihl fuel, which also contains stabilizer and is non-ethanol.

It has been challenging to start for a year. For some reason, at times, it even backfires.

Exhaust valve is too tight.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
I'd just throw a new carb on it and be done with it.

This reminds me of my childhood though. My father would NEVER buy anything new/good. He always bought cheap shit used lawnmowers that he had to "fix up". I suppose it was a major event when us kids finally convinced him to get rid of the push reel mower and go motorized, but with him it wasn't much of a step up. Getting those pieces of crap to start and continue running long enough to finish the mowing was a never-ending source of aggravation. Every other week he'd have the damned thing torn apart and put back together, only to run temporarily. Rinse and repeat.

^^ THIS ^^

Plus a new fuel line from the gas tank to the carb. I had one on my Toro get "gummy" from ethanol and a new fuel line was easy, cheap, and quick.

4MUL8R, whenever you are ready, I've got $50 that I'll give ya for that Honda

quote:

Originally posted by mutedblade:
4MUL8R, whenever you are ready, I've got $50 that I'll give ya for that Honda

Are you planning to throw it in Lake Anna? That's where it belongs. Way down deep. Maybe the fish will build nests in the deck.

Have you tried spraying starter fluid in the carb?

I had a Toro consumer that started 2nd pull every time for years, even after sitting for 6 months. Never did an ounce of upkeep on that thing. Found it free on a trash pile.

But every other small engine yard tool I’ve ever owned was a giant steamy ball of crap and frustration. This past spring I gave up on them and bought into the Greenworks 40v system. Mower, multi-head capable string trimmer, blower, chainsaw. I couldn’t be more happy with them.

If you’re just an average homeowner with a small lawn a few bushes, I’d give up on gas totally.

Friend who mowed my yard with a 48 inch ztr found a passage in the carb gunked up. It starts now but is still a device on my fecal roster.

Run some SeaFoam through it . It'll clean out the crud . Works for me .

1)With ethanol fuel, make sure you have one of the new style cans, that will blow up like a balloon if you leave it in the sun. These cans are REALLY air tight, and they keep the fuel fresh much longer than older style cans that have vents.

2) Use painters tape, and a sharpie marker to label and date your fuel cans. When the fuel gets 4-6 months old, dump it in your truck.

3) Mower carbs are easy to replace. I can litterally do most of them in under 5 minutes. Youtube has plenty of tutorials on how to do it.

4) ALWAYS find out the cost of a replacement carb before you do any work. Most carbs these days are $10-$15 on eBay and Amazon. You DO NOT rebuild a carburetor that cost under $40. Throw it in the trash, put a new one on. Rebuilding a carb only works 50% of the time, and takes hours and hours. Or you could just throw a new carb on it in 5 minutes and be done.