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Thanks to you both for the help. I'll be doing the after/after test: > The voltage should be lower after you run the starter and higher after you're done mowing (probably near the pre-start voltage)... Or maybe I'll just use the mower. It seems to be charged up just fine every time I start...

I know what you mean about the school system. My father had to teach me how to read in first grade by showing me how to sound out words. Identifying consonants and diphthongs didn't work. See "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" for the way it can be done right. And then there's...

Now I feel bad for asking...

Giterdun!

Not sure what you mean.

. The volts coming from the generator in this mower is 45 although the battery is 12. Is that a problem? If so, perhaps I need a new generator and perhaps it toasted the original battery. How do I check the amps coming from the mower generator that will keep my battery charged up? I looked it...

Meant to say Amp hours or Amps, whatever. I'm no expert on electricity. I've decided to assume the output from the mower is correct. I've matched the battery closely except for size so will go with it. Saw documentation somewhere that there is output from mower back to battery which I...

@6620, This is an excellent overview of what you can do yourself. If you were near me, I'd offer to help, but I bet you're not. Notice the spun wire cleaners in my Avatar which is the little picture above my name to the left of each of my posts. That's what I use to clean jets in carbs...

If you're not going to try to fix it yourself, then you need a dealer who will. The dealers you're working with are not skilled enough to fix this. Change that or get some tools and go at it. Acting like it's running out of fuel and surging is probably carburetor related or maybe something as...

Just might shorten that part of the handle eventually. It is tough to turn in the tight spots. Thanks for your note.

Battery came, so I installed it. Before I did I checked the voltage coming back out of the machine while it's running and it's 45 volts. Will have to check Amp hours coming back out as well...

Cleaned the main jet with a spun wire cleaner and it starts right away now. Surges some at an idle, but runs evenly at the top end. Adjusted the drive cable so it moves sooner when you push on the handle, cleaned the plug, sharpened the blade. All ready to go except for the battery. Still...

I've mowed some with the door closed which worked fine. Even w a bag I don't understand the handle design because of so many other brands that allow the bag to go back past the handle. It is goofy. I'd cut a section out and re-weld it, but then all the cables would need shortening the same...

Spark plug was loose - and it still ran! Fixed that and replaced one of the handle bolts at the wheel mount. Handle is more upright now after adjusting/tightening. All simple and it's ready for some action. The wheels have grease zerks. Now where is that grease gun?

Ordered a new battery that is slightly larger than the box in one dimension. I think I can make it work with some washers and longer bolts.

Traded a hardly used, basic push mower for this antique. Never had an LB before although I have worked on my friend's. Put in fresh gas (50:1), a little starter spray and hooked it up to my 12V battery charger. It started, but smoked a ton, eventually clearing and then I cut some grass with...

I'll have to purchase some cleaning drills for comparison.

Here's a torch tip cleaner compared to a round file I happen to have in my shop. Torch tip cleaner is on top, round file on the bottom. Big difference. Torch tip cleaner is basically flat with grooves cut in it while the round file has flares.

Here's a side hole on that Brigg's jet. It's nice and clean.

Got me a new digital microscope to take some better pictures. Look at the resolution on the threads on this new Briggs main jet. I'm wondering what torch tip cleaners really look like up close...

I believe you are correct, but that kind of time is not a factor here. I'm just trying to get the crud out of the jet so it will stop surging after I put the carb back together. My metal cleaners did that for me per my son's microscope before/after views. We did NOT see any metal bits - and...

How do you know this? I've not seen any metal on my spun wires. Will have to look closer and report back.

I'll stick with the twisted wire tool. Thank you very much.

Hah. Water in a mower. Why would they think that? Cars have radiators that take water. I suppose that's part of their thinking.

Thanks for your reminder. I better make that clear to the neighbor boy who is mowing for the family down the street with a girl that has cancer. I've been mowing their lawn for a month to help them out and just handed the task off to this boy who's looking for work. They gave him $20 last week.

Just did a training exercise with the neighbor boy. I showed him where the level was, had him wipe the stick with a rag and check it again. I think (hope) he's got it. We'll see when he's done mowing. I'll have him check it again as a test and to show him that it doesn't change with one...

Have not seen that one.

@ILENGINE - what do you tell people to steer them correctly? I don't want to be insulting, but then I want them to understand.

Nothing like the old dipstick demonstration to bring their focus to the most important part, regardless of the bottle size, but you know this. "It's like your car..." is what I like to say. Now for Tesla owners, that's irrelevant. Hah!

Any damage caused by that? Sounds like an opportunity to train about the level on the stick. Had to teach my daughter that with her car after she ran out of trans oil. Ouch. Note I added damage photos from no oil in an 8 hp snowblower. See above.

I have seen a snowblower with no oil in it and a piston that tried to go through the side of the case. Ended up buying it and putting in a $99 Harbor Freight motor in that works great. Turns out the older neighbor who owned it is memory challenged and forgot to put in the good stuff. Wreckage...

Yikes. Have not seen that...yet.

...the rest of the story is - the neighbor bought his first home with a lawn that needs mowing, so he has no experience with mowers at all. I showed him where the oil level needs to be and he was content to test it noting that it smoked less. "You fill it with gas and check the oil, not the...

Ok, these must be what you mean as they are made to be used by hand.

Isn't your main jet being pointed to here with a punch? I'm after clarification. Not saying you shouldn't have bought new.

Drills like these? I like that concept and I happen to have a set of these. Will use them, but the spun wires bend easily, so not a lot of pressure can be applied. And the wires are round, not with sharp edges. Plus I'm careful when I use them. The purpose is to remove debris, not increase...

I've not had any problems with the spun wire cleaners. They're pretty soft so you can't apply a lot of pressure with them. I am careful...Your point is well taken. We're removing debris, not expanding the inside diameter.

Good clarification! Carb jet cleaners are spun wire: Torch tip cleaners are files:

I once got a mower to run by spraying out the carb with cleaner. It ran, but it surged some, so my son said to give him the jet. He put it under a microscope and we saw all kinds of fuzz around the hole. We had to change the focus some to see the extent of it, but it was clearly dirty still...

Just the other day a neighbor came over and said his push mower was smoking. It was a mess with oil all over the top of the deck by the exhaust can. Oil was about an inch too high on the stick. Drained it out and replaced with 1/2 quart of clean 30W and it started to smoke less. Will take a...

Haha. We used a kid's microscope from when our kids were little. I bought one with a phone attachment so I could take pictures and post them, but haven't gotten around to it.

@LarryJohnson - I once had a surging problem that was solved by running jet cleaners through the holes in the nut at the bottom of the bowl. Spray and/or air isn't enough sometimes. See my avatar picture to the left. Jet cleaners are twisted wires of different sizes and often come with new...

Interesting comment about the bearings. We checked for slop and what we found was explained away by my son as the piston going past the port holes thereby creating a jumpiness. I thought it was bearing wear. We'll see.

It's fixed...or so we thought. Owner mowed his back yard the next day and it started surging again. He was able to finish by running at a lower rpm. I had him using 50:1 fuel and he asked about switching back to 32:1, so we did. Still died in about 30 seconds. Then we checked the rpm, which...

Thanks for the help on this. Not so easy of a fix, but we got it.

Vane was clear: But the spring controlling the vane was much weaker on the new carb compared to the old. The sprocket at the red arrow above can be moved one way or the other to alter tightness of the spring and the top end. Tighten the spring by moving the sprocket clockwise to increase...

Yes, you've got it. Will check the problem you've described asap. Thanks.

Here's a broader view. Even though the white blade appears to be hitting the machine at the top, it isn't. The photo was taken at a bad angle.

Pushed primer button down and held it to stop possible air flow and it made no difference. Later analysis of the primer tube showed no leaks. Rather than drill out the main jet of the old carb, I installed a new carb. Now it doesn't rev up like it should although it runs fine. I can make it...

Mine is not a 10323. Mine is a Briggs branded mower, a 4 stroke. Just trying to help a friend. Eliminate the primer with the thought being it leans out the mixture? That's a good thing to check. I'm going to my friends house tonight to work on it, so I'll try that first. Thanks! All...