I have been looking over the stuff coming to the shop and the number one issue so far this spring has been gas problems. What happened was people put away the equipment last year without stabilizing or cutting off the fuel to the carb and it is all gunked up.
If you happen to find that your engine will not start this spring, do the following before bringing it into my lawn mower shop in Carlsbad New Mexico – Carlsbad Small Engine or All Seasons Engines in Roswell New Mexico ( this is my attempt for search engine placement so grin and bear it for a moment please!! have to pay for all this somehow ) where you can buy parts and get small engine repair done and save yourself some money. Not that I dont want your money, but really, it is a simple fix and you can do it yourself. Think of it as pentance for neglecting your lawn and garden repair responsibility or an opportunity to impress you son on you repair abilities. Either way, keep reading as to what to do. I also have a video for you that should help.
So the object here is to get the mower running. If your sure you have spark:
1. Take out the plug and make sure it is not too nasty dirty . If it is wipe it off and clean it up or simply replace it. Then Pull off the airfilter and then drain and get rid of all the old gas.
2. Look for the carb and locate the brass nut on the bottom. Remove the nut on the bottom of the bowl and get rid of the old gas in the carb and the lines to the carb. Most likely it will be a nasty smelling dark yellow color. It should be clear and smell like fresh gas.
3. Look at the nut you took off. You will see several holes in it. Run a wire through those holes, and spray in some brake cleaner to remove the varnish. That is where the gas flows. Also spray the bottom of the carb where the float is and the holes in the middle where the nut came from.
4. Pour a little gas through the gas tank with seafoam treatment to flush out the lines
5. reinstall and fill up the tank with treated gas.
6. Try and start it. If it works come to my shop and buy all the filters sparkplugs and oil you will need to finish the tune up.
For more information check out the youtube site:
ask the mower guy Episode 1
There I have many examples of how to drop the bowl and other minor repair examples
ASKTHEMOWERGUY BLOG IS WRITTEN BY HAROLD KLAUS
