My lawn mower was giving me the worst time tonight. The only way I could keep it running was to pull the choke back and the engine would start again.
Finally, after 30 minutes of messing with it, the lawn mower kept on. I just put new gas in it. The gas might have been left outside for awhile. Many lawnmowers use a plastic vane under the engine shroud that interacts with air moving off fins on the flywheel to work as a speed control mechanism to open and close the carburetor throttle valve in response to the engine speed changing because of loading changes.
Lawnmowers often operate in very dusty environments and the linkages associated with the vane assembly can get all gummed up or even stuffed up with dirt. This can lead to the surging type behavior that you are seeing. The fix for this is to carefully disassemble part of the engine covering and give the vane mechanism and its linkages a good cleaning and re-lube. Surging can also be caused by dirt particles entering the innards of the carburetor. The typical fix for that is a complete carburetor removal, dis-assembly, cleaning and reassembly.
It is also necessary to fully clean the area where the carburetor mounts and connects to the engine. Any dirt left there can easily find its way into a nicely cleaned unit and set you back to square one. Note that these small engine carburetors can have many small parts that are easily lost so it is necessary to work in a clean area where parts can be found if they try to get away.
It is also possible to take a carburetor to a small engine repair shop for servicing if you are leeiry about tackling it yourself. Usually, it's a quick fix, but you will get fuel on your hands. Then, you want to remove the carburetor's fuel bowl by removing just its center bolt. Often the problem is the use of gasoline with additives such as corn based products that gum up tanks and carbs.
As suggested by others, disassemble and clean the carb and tank with carb cleaner. It cost a little more but use premium gasoline. Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. If it is sealed shut with dirt, the carburetor cannot get enough fuel. Remove the cap and clean it with a paper clip or needle. Water in the fuel is another issue that causes surging. Water can enter the gasoline through condensation, rain or from the fuel station.
A fresh batch of fuel should solve the problem. Always dispose of discarded fuel properly. Contact your local environmental agency for instructions on getting rid of old fuel. Carburetors can also get fouled by dirt and grime that gums up its internal components. You can take your mower to a small engine specialist or remove just the carburetor and take it in for cleaning.
If you are comfortable in your machine repair skills, you can disassemble and clean the carburetor yourself. Check the float for pinholes and free movement, and clean the orifices, ports and needle valves with carburetor cleaner approved for your engine.
The lawnmower carburetor is designed to operate with a controlled amount of air intake. If you have leaks in your air intake — the carburetor and therefore the engine — will not run smoothly. Try these 5 steps to inspect your lawnmower for vacuum leaks:. Without a proper spark delivered from the lawnmower engine spark plug, the engine will not run correctly. The role of the carburetor is to mix the perfect ratio of gas and air.
Sometimes the jets can get clogged with dirt or debris or corrosion which can also be caused by using old gas. Therefore, fixing a surging lawn mower engine can be just a matter of cleaning the carburetor. When that main jet gets blocked the engine stalls, as no fuel is being delivered.
This situation causes the carburetor idle circuit to supply fuel and the engine — which will fire again, returning the throttle to full. If the carburetor is not cleaned, this stall and firing cycle will repeat itself, again and again, causing the engine to die then surge. You can try these 5 steps to clean a dirty lawn mower carburetor:. Even though it sounds bad — an engine backfire does not typically damage a small engine.
It can, however, be a sign that one of the following issues is occurring:. A bad spark plug will certainly cause your lawnmower to run poorly or not at all. Fortunately, it is fairly simple to determine if your Spark plug is bad, and needs to be replaced.
Before lawnmower storage — you should always add a good fuel stabilizer to the tank such as Sta-Bil — then fill the tank completely with fresh gas. Next, run the mower engine for 2 minutes to circulate mixed gas through the engine. The fuel stabilizer will keep gas stable for up to 24 months.
Bare patches in your grass lawn can be the result of many causes. The most prevalent being pet urine and bug infestation, both of which can be fixed in a jiffy.
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