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Hello to all,
I recently acquired a 1984 Lawnboy model 7271 push mower. I do not have a photo of it yet. When it runs, it runs beautifully ! I do not have an owner's manual and have to guess at how many times I must push the primer button. I fear that I 'overprime' it. If I let it sit overnight, it sometimes starts up without priming ! This is my first two stroke lawn boy. I am using a 1/32 oil to gas mixture and added 2 ml of Marvel mystery oil to the gas.
Any suggestions would be welcome.

Thank you all, NCdad

Do a search for the Lawn Boy repair manual.
This is an excellent factory manual for the older Boys.
I have a 8237 and a 7229, both antiques? if automobiles would be antique, anyway.
With the 8237 I had to re-new the fuel line and the Squeeze bulb line to the carb at a cost of several dollars...then you may need a new squeeze bulb - my are still OK...Lawn-Boys uses excellent materials, IMO
Nigh impossible to over-prime a cold engine, but a hot engine ?
I do not know....But as compared to an automobile, lawn mower fuel economy is horrid....but then, each fuel injector alone may be $100...
https://lookup3.toro.com/ttcGateway/acrobat/manuals/lball.html
The excellent "Service Manual", of which we allude.
One time, in this ultra hot heat wave of ours, the 10685 LB started with no squeezes...surprising me.

Thank you earthworm ! I am grateful for all advice I can get. The primer button on my Lawnboy looks pretty good, which is amazing for the age of this mower. By the way, I am using an oil to gas mixture of 32 to 1 ( which is 4 oz. to one gallon) plus I added 2ml of Marvel Mystery oil. I read somewhere on the internet this was good for this mower.
I also read a posting by another member of this forum that they used an oil to gas mixture of 50 to 1 ( STIHL oil ). Could I have too much oil in my mixture ?

Here is a short Youtube photo of a Model 7271 lawnmower: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aDahcB1wsQ

You can download an owners manual on either the Toro or Lawn Boy website.

I'd keep her at 50 to 1 plus a little ATF.....JMO.....any synthetic will do, I think...
Your controls are a mile better than the old 8237 and probably more troublesome, being so much longer amd complex.
Break out your Mitey-Vac and check out the hose to the carb....
That this hose from the primer may be leaking is not very likely.....but.....if its old and hard it may leak at a connection.

earthworm said:

I'd keep her at 50 to 1 plus a little ATF.....JMO.....any synthetic will do, I think...
Your controls are a mile better than the old 8237 and probably more troublesome, being so much longer amd complex.
Break out your Mitey-Vac and check out the hose to the carb....
That this hose from the primer may be leaking is not very likely.....but.....if its old and hard it may leak at a connection.

Click to expand...

Rivets said:

You can download an owners manual on either the Toro or Lawn Boy website.

Click to expand...

Thank you earthworm and Rivets !
I shall try the 50/1 mixture on my next tank of gas refill. I shall also look for the owners manual as you instructed - rivets.
I live in rural North Carolina. I've never worked on lawn mowers, except to change the oil, spark plugs, and air filters. I had always wanted to own a Lawn boy mower since I lived on Long Island, many years ago. They were too expensive for me back then. There are a lot of fellows down here in the country. Hereabouts they call them 'good ole country boys' (no matter that they might be over 60) age makes no difference. These fellows tend to be experts at various skills. They can fix almost anything from lawn mowers to 1938 Buicks in no time flat and their fees are downright inexpensive. I took my Lawn boy and a Briggs and Stratton mower to one this weekend. He fixed both for a grand total of $35. He told me (just like earthworm) to reduce my fuel mixture to 50/1.
He also offered to sell me an almost identical Lawn boy to my 7271 for $35 in top running condition ! The mower looked like new! What an agonizing decision ! I already have two mowers. He has yet another lawn boy model 104** (I forgot the last two digits) that needs a coil.
spring. I must get back to him and obtain the complete model number so I can look up the part number on the internet.
Oh God, I love living here with: rivers, rolling hills, tiny towns and farms, the mountains in the background. We have plenty hunting and fishing. There are a lot of people here with old cars that still drive them to church - like 1930 and 1940 Fords, Chevys, etc. There are also plenty of cars from the 50's & 60's (my era).
Sorry, if I carried on a bit, But I a GRATEFUL for your advice and grateful to be where I am.
George

Have you discovered "paradise" ?
30s to 40s Fords and Chevys ...
a 1938 Buick
afford-ability?

earthworm said:

Have you discovered "paradise" ?
30s to 40s Fords and Chevys ...
a 1938 Buick
afford-ability?

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I've been here since 1987. I've seen lots of collectible cars. If you can get to them first, they are dirt cheap or almost for free. Just tow them out of the barn. But some of the locals are real sharp. They know gold when they see it. They haul the cars up to Pennsylvania and sell them at some big show they have up there. The one car I really regret I missed was a 1940 Lincoln, 2 door coupe, in ivory white. Even the steering wheel was ivory white. It didn't have two inches of rust on it, The chrome on the bumpers was still great. The guy picked it up for junk. God knows what he got for it in Pennsylvania.
One guy here is the king of them all. I once told him that I wished one day to find a Model T. He lives two blocks over from me. He said he has over a ton (2,000+ lbs) of parts for it if I need them. He totally rebuilds his cars. I once saw, I believe a 1927 Buick, 4 door convertible top parked in his driveway. It was drop dead gorgeous ! I believe it was deep maroon colored with a tan colored top.
Me, I am retired, living off social security. I don't have the stuff or the money to rebuild these cars. As for the locals, show them a 1940 Ford and they seem interested, but show them a beat up pick up truck and they absolutely drool.
I found it amusing that on the first day of Deer hunting season none of the boys would show up for classes. Nowadays, the kids all have computers and most show up.
Life is good here,
George

Re: Need help with my Lawn Boy Model 7271

NCdad said:

Hello to all,
I recently acquired a 1984 Lawnboy model 7271 push mower. I do not have a photo of it yet. When it runs, it runs beautifully ! I do not have an owner's manual and have to guess at how many times I must push the primer button. I fear that I 'overprime' it. If I let it sit overnight, it sometimes starts up without priming ! This is my first two stroke lawn boy. I am using a 1/32 oil to gas mixture and added 2 ml of Marvel mystery oil to the gas.
Any suggestions would be welcome.
Thank you all, NCdad

Click to expand...

The number old problem is old gas. Is your gas/oil mixture (in the can/mower) over 30 days old? Ethanol begins to break down with age more so than straight gasoline. Even though your using a known Ethanol stabilizer (MMO) it needs to be in a ratio of 4 oz/10 gal. or 2.5 oz/gal. Your 2 ml/gal works out to 0.06 ounce/gal., not enough to prevent the Ethanol from breaking down. You would need to go up to 45 ml/gal for Ethanol stabilization.

Is the spark plug clean/gapped. I usually change mine every spring (or clean it if I didn't use the LB much previous year).

My Lawn Boy recommends a 32:1 mix, that is 4 oz oil per gallon. So that seems correct.

I went looking on the MMO website to see what they recommend for oil use in 2-cycle engines. (Did ya'll know that Marvel Mystery Oil is owned by Turtle Wax?)

Here's what they say in their FAQ:
"Can I use MMO in 2-cycle engines?
Yes, MMO is safe for use in 2-cycle engines. Replace 25% of the 2-cycle oil with MMO. For example, if use 8oz of 2-cycle oil, replace 2oz of 2-cycle with 2oz of MMO at oil change."

... and don't think it isn't a real bear to do an "oil change" on a 2-cycle engine......

Personally, from a cost prospective, I would recommend Sta-Bil gas treatment. Use 1 oz/10 gal if you intend to use the gas-oil mix in 30 days or so, 1 oz/5 gal if you intend to store the mix for up to a year (or take up to a year to use it all up). (Using 2.5 oz/gal. of MMO can become quite costly).

Now, if you still have problems with a fresh gas-oil mix, and the plug is good, consider adding Sea-Foam to the gas-oil mix mix, to dissolve varnish deposits. Takes a while but should work over a season. (Also will prevent the Ethanol from going bad for up to two years). I don't think that Marvel Mystery Oil will clean the old deposits out of the carb (at least I could not find anything on their website that stated they would).

Re: Need help with my Lawn Boy Model 7271

Thank you enigma-2. I will continue to use the stabilizer for ethanol. I have a different brand not STABIL. On the oil mixture, I am going to switch to STIHL 50/1 as earthworm suggested, when I buy oil again. Everyone here has given me good advice but it is not all the same advice, so I can only choose which to do first. I appreciate you checking out the website for MMO. I should have thought about that myself but did not. I will definitely change the spark plug. What is the correct gap ? I really want to buy the other Lawn boy that was offered to me for $ 35 but I know my wife is going to flip out. She has already said "What are we going to do with THREE lawn mowers?" I need to dream up a credible answer.

To earthworm,
I forgot to fully answer your question about 'affordability' of the old cars around here. Some of them you can probably get for $ 100 or for free - especially if the title was lost. Others, like a 1950 Pontiac, in poor condition, the guy wanted $ 2,000 for because as he stated he could get that much for selling it in Pennsylvania. On the other end of the spectrum, two weeks ago I saw the junkyard crush a 1948 Studebaker pick up truck. I used to dream of picking up an old car and rebuilding it. I no longer do. I decided it would cost me too much. I just can't afford to pursue that fantasy. One car/vehicle that never went out of fashion down here is the Chevy Camino. It has the front of a car but with a pick up truck bed in the back. The country boys down here love them ! They never let them die. The will put rebuilt engines and transmissions in them and run them forever. I have never heard of anyone here willing to sell one.

I put Startron in all my gas. buy it at walmart in marine 8oz, treats 100gal.