craftsman t2500 B&S platinum OHV 19HP: "ruixing" carb

[Florida]

edit: just realized I shouldve posted this in the small engines forum, will contact mod.
craftsman t2500 model 917.255830
briggs 33R877 0002 G1 CODE: 170227ZD

Mower was working but heard some questionable pops/surge when my father was riding it. He powered it down, tried starting and it dies when moving the lever off of choke.
I assume it may be the carb since its a 2017, ethanol fuel, slight debris in tank.
Date code used a RUIXING carb, not the nikki.
In my limited experience, buying an OEM replacement carb was a 30-40USD affair but I was shocked to see the price being $100+. The rebuild kit is $33+.
I'm wondering if it's worth rebuilding these RUIXING carbs using the kit or is it a gamble? Looks like the overhaul kit doesn't include a few of the important pieces like jets but I could be wrong.

Due to upcoming non-stop rain and current length of grass, I bought the cheapest chink carb I could find in hopes of making it through a cut but planning on buying the overhaul or taking a different route depending on any advice I may get.

Here is the research i've done on PNs:
RUIXING Replacement carb assy: 594601
RUIXING Rebuild kit: 594886

I plan on cleaning fuel tank, replacing lines, adding a fuel cut off valve (any advice on a good one?), fuel filter. Also may inspect head gasket as I read that it commonly blows for some reason on this model engine.

 

[Scrubcadet10]

rebuilding the carb isn't a bad idea, but i'd try taking apart it first and cleaning it thoroughly... a can or two of $2 parts cleaner...
fuel filter wise, if it has a fuel pump, i'd use a Wix 33011. if it's gravity fed, use a red or white flat briggs filter.

 

[Florida]

Good call, I do have a can handy. Was concerned that the rubber tip on the needle and/or needle seat (if applicable) may be deformed. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try. Will inspect oil for gas before hand to ensure fuel hasn't leaked into crankcase due to carb deformation.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Ruxing do not have any presence anywhere outside China
Thus you can only get them through the OEM Dealer network.
Briggs just shafted their suppliers, workers & the government to the tune of $ 600,000,000 .
And this is the second time they have done this
Thus suppliers that still willing to supply B &S do not offer the big discounts or much in the way of credit.
Add to that sales of new equipment with OEM B & S engines fitted are plumitting thus their sales volumes are dropping like a stone.
Very shortly the only stuff fitted with B & S engines will be on the products that they make themselves .
As such they are now required to increase the price of replacement parts to replace some of the lost income from new engine sales.
I would expect they will go the way of Tecumseh in the near future .

Carb solenoids do nothing actually useful.
They are an EPA regulation so waste of time & money trying to fit one where none was originally fitted .
do not spray carb cleaner on any rubber part as it softens viton .
From your description of the symptoms a blocked fuel line or blocked main jet are what comes to mind, both simple repairs .

 

[Florida]

Thanks for the indepth real talk of the situation involving B&S, kind of ties in with what you shared on my mandrel thread about trying to do things more 'efficient' i.e. cheaply. Yes, I did wonder why the old mower didn't have the solenoid. The EPA situation seems to be a scam when you view the statistics and reality of pollution. May check into bypassing it.
Top tip on the carb cleaner's interaction with viton parts. I will disassemble and have warm soapy water on the bench so that after I spray, ream and compressed air the carb I can dunk it and give a scrub and blow dry.
Are the needles on these things proprietary parts? Or is there a source like mcmaster carr that supplies them and/or the viton O-rings, fuel line etc?

 

[bertsmobile1]

This is one of the rare occasions I would suggest checking Amazon or ebay
There are some Ruxing parts available
I can get some from my wholesalers here and some more from agents in Hong Kong but mostly for cube carbs.
The whole idea of using Ruxing is they only supply to the OEM company under contract so unless some one else orders 10,000 of the same carb, no more are made.
From memory the needle is the same as a Honda part .
Been a while since I did one and being in trade I have grab packs of needles to rummage through & find a similar one then adjust the float to suit.
Back of the mind it was a GX 340 needle rubbed down a little to fit inside the seat hole.
You should be able to order the needle as a single part but expect to pay about $ 20 for it .

If you don't have trade type cleaning equipment available then the next best thing is to fully disassemble the carb then drop into a big pot of rapidly boiling water that has a couple of dishwasher tablets dissolved in it
Give it a rolling boil for a good 1/2 hour then rinse in clean boiling water that has a couple of drops of vinegar in it
Then a second rinse in boiling water followed by a rapid blow dry

 

[ILENGINE]

rebuilding the carb isn't a bad idea, but i'd try taking apart it first and cleaning it thoroughly... a can or two of $2 parts cleaner...
fuel filter wise, if it has a fuel pump, i'd use a Wix 33011. if it's gravity fed, use a red or white flat briggs filter.

I don't use the red briggs filter on anything because of too many logs and boulders get through them causing float needle sealing issues. And to the OP, removing the float valve and the other vulnerable gaskets then using the spray cleaner shouldn't be an issue.

 

[StarTech]

Ruxing do not have any presence anywhere outside China
Thus you can only get them through the OEM Dealer network.
Briggs just shafted their suppliers, workers & the government to the tune of $ 600,000,000 .
And this is the second time they have done this
Thus suppliers that still willing to supply B &S do not offer the big discounts or much in the way of credit.
Add to that sales of new equipment with OEM B & S engines fitted are plummeting thus their sales volumes are dropping like a stone.
Very shortly the only stuff fitted with B & S engines will be on the products that they make themselves .
As such they are now required to increase the price of replacement parts to replace some of the lost income from new engine sales.
I would expect they will go the way of Tecumseh in the near future .

I figure something was up with Briggs as my last order for 31,33 series governors has been on back order for some time now. It one their most common engine series here on riders. What I doing right now is burning though my stock inventory of Briggs parts as restocking as been problematic.

I too think Briggs is on it way out the door since they were purchase by an investment group.

As for prices here everything seems to going up a lot with some things going the roof as if they are on a rocket. A Nikki fuel bowl with solenoid that I purchased a couple years ago for under $30 is now $110 and the whole carburetor is just a few dollars more. It doesn't help either with all the shipping problems worldwide and all the tariffs

$5.60 for an o-ring that I can get for $0.57 is ridiculous. I would broke even on a pack of 10 by just selling two of them if I charge the Briggs retail price but I don't as pass the saving along to the customer. This a win/win/win example as I save, I make a profit, and the customer saves on cost.

As for carburetor cleanings I prefer the ultrasonic method over the chemical cleaning method. Just a couple benefits I have seen. One is that I can clean the carbs with most of the gaskets in place and two ii is definitely safer for my health. I do realize DIYers don't want to spend the money for a small USC but they are more useful then many think as once they get one they will other uses for it besides just cleaning a carb.

 

[ILENGINE]

@StarTech Been waiting on a pressure washer part since September. Backordered a 793880 camshaft on May 24 was supposed to be ETA June 17, and a carb for a leaf vacuum ordered April 28 with an ETA of September 2

 

[bertsmobile1]

This is the Nikki copy off Alibaba
Nikki copy
Postage to the USA should be about $ 20 for up to 3
If you don't like that then troll through this 20 pages of Ruixing carbs for B & S engines
Unlike Evilpay Alibaba actually vets all of the retailers so these are generally all perfect carbs, not scrap metal carbs pretending at being good .
Chinese web pages are always a bit difficult to navigate through
Even cheaper when bought off "made in China " but because you are buying direct from the factories that make them, the minimum orders are a fair bit higher
OTOH You can buy 20 and sell the 19 excess on ebay for 3 to 10 times what you paid for them.
I do this regularly for stuff that is either not brought in or offered at extortinate prices .
Did a load of go-cart clutches
Bought locally $ 150
Of MadeinChina $ 19.50 each or $ 25 with postage sold the excess 19 in 2 days for $ 50 + post , could have shifted 200 of them .
If the local retailer was buying them in lots of 500 the price dropped to $ 8.75