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I will start off by saying I know nearly nothing about engines.

Here is exactly what I did:

Bought this lawnmower in june2016
Stored it away in November with gas in it, no fuel stabilizer
Tried to start up a week ago, nothing
Bought some gumout choke&carb cleaner
Removed the airfilter, sprayed in some GumOut, 4th pull it started and died instantly.
removed the gas tank and dumped the gas out, put it back together, added fresh gas, reapplied gumout, 4th pull it started and died instantly.
Pulled off the gas tank, reapplied gumout, 4th pull it started and died instantly.
pulled off the carb, opened up the bottom, dumped the gas in the bulb, sprayed the gumout in the bulb and pretty much anywhere I could get it, reassembled, added a little more gumout for good measure, 4th pull it started and died instantly.
removed the carb again to confirm that new gas was in the bulb, reassembled, reapplied gumout, 4th pull it started and died instantly.

I have not touched the sparkplug, I don't have the tools to remove it or make sure the gap is correct, but since it's only a year old and can at least start I assume the spark is fine?

I don't know what to do, I might just buy a new carb (it's 37 dollars on amazon), I'm not comfortable taking the whole carb apart to fix it.

Thanks for your time.

When you take the bottom off the carburetor (the "bulb" I believe you called it), is the float free to move and, along with it, the needle valve? You can check this by rotating the carburetor between right side up and upside down and watching the float and needle valve.

With the bottom part off I was able to see a white plastic thing. I did push it up so that it was parallel to the ground, and when I removed my finger it angled down about 45 degrees? (This is off of memory.) I assume that was the float. The needle was not visible in the state I had it in.

Also, this mower is no choke no prime.

Watch this video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mfUWBQXk4U

Once you get the carburetor off, this video might also help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT_wQCyKjXQ

You'll need to disassemble the carburetor and clean it thoroughly. Make sure to drain the gas tank and rinse it out with fresh gas before you put the mower back together.

onacouch said:

With the bottom part off I was able to see a white plastic thing. I did push it up so that it was parallel to the ground, and when I removed my finger it angled down about 45 degrees? (This is off of memory.) I assume that was the float. The needle was not visible in the state I had it in.

Also, this mower is no choke no prime.

Click to expand...

Yes, that's the float. When it raises, it pushed a tapered thing (the "needle" valve) into a corresponding tapered fitting to shut off the flow of fuel into the bowl. As the engine runs, the level of fuel in the bowl drops, and the float, since it's floating on top of the fuel, drops with the float and allows more fuel into the bowl.

That's the function of the float, needle valve and seat--to keep the fuel level in the bowl at a sufficient level to allow the engine to run, even if it's mowing slopes, etc.

Ordinarily, needle valves are connected to the float in a way that they have to move with the float, both opening and closing.

If you have taken it apart a second time, was the bowl full of gas the second time you took it apart?

What do you mean by "no choke, no prime?"

cpurvis said:

Yes, that's the float. When it raises, it pushed a tapered thing (the "needle" valve) into a corresponding tapered fitting to shut off the flow of fuel into the bowl. As the engine runs, the level of fuel in the bowl drops, and the float, since it's floating on top of the fuel, drops with the float and allows more fuel into the bowl.

That's the function of the float, needle valve and seat--to keep the fuel level in the bowl at a sufficient level to allow the engine to run, even if it's mowing slopes, etc.

Ordinarily, needle valves are connected to the float in a way that they have to move with the float, both opening and closing.

If you have taken it apart a second time, was the bowl full of gas the second time you took it apart?

What do you mean by "no choke, no prime?"

Click to expand...

No choke, no prime means that it's an autochoke engine. Part of the Briggs and Stratton slogan for the autochoke engines. "No primer, no choke. Just pull for power!"

primerbulb120 said:

No choke, no prime means that it's an autochoke engine. Part of the Briggs and Stratton slogan for the autochoke engines. "No primer, no choke. Just pull for power!"

Click to expand...

How do you check to make sure it's working?

cpurvis said:

If you have taken it apart a second time, was the bowl full of gas the second time you took it apart?

Click to expand...

Yes, and I think I called it a "bulb" before because the guy talking in the youtube video I was watching had a southern twang and to me it sounded like he said "bulb".:laughing:

primerbulb120 said:

Watch this video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mfUWBQXk4U

Once you get the carburetor off, this video might also help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT_wQCyKjXQ

You'll need to disassemble the carburetor and clean it thoroughly. Make sure to drain the gas tank and rinse it out with fresh gas before you put the mower back together.

Click to expand...

This honestly doesn't look that intimidating. I think I'll give this a shot tomorrow morning. I've done pretty much everything these videos showcase except for take apart the tiny white pipe-looking-things (the jets?) and give them a good spray-down and a cleaning with wire.

I have to go to the store tomorrow anyways to buy more carb cleaner... yeah, I pretty much used the whole can. While I'm there, what wire do I buy for the cleaning? Will a paperclip be too thick?

Briggs&Stratton said:

No primer, no choke. Just pull for power!

Click to expand...

:confused2::confused2::confused2:


Also, what can I do to prevent this in the future? The gas tank I use is sealed, so long that I add fuel stabilizer to it will the fuel stay good for a long time? Also, before I end the season I plan to run it completely out of gas, is there anything else I can do?

Thanks for all your time.

Also, what can I do to prevent this in the future?

Click to expand...

Buy non-ethanol gas if it's available.

cpurvis said:

Buy non-ethanol gas if it's available.

Click to expand...

It's not, do I leave it completely bone dry for the winter?

I forgot to update, but taking the jets apart and spraying it down and cleaning it with a small paper clip did the trick. It was not easy to take apart and even harder to put back together, but it did work.

Thanks for everything, guys!