What was wrong with this mower?

[TobyU]

Mid 1990s I had a Kawasaki engine on a John Deere 21" SP that did the same sort of thing. A new NGK spark plug would last 2 years, not 3. Sparked outside the engine but would not run. IIRC it would more likely start cold than restart hot. Once running it stayed running.

NGKs run great.... Until they don't. Lol
I find plain old champions to last longer.

 

[mikehouse]

Crank shaft badly bent.

 

[GrumpyCat]

NGKs run great.... Until they don't. Lol
I find plain old champions to last longer.

NGK = No Good in Kawasaki.

Yes, I agree NGK makes good product. In 10 years with that mower I didn't experiment with other brands of sparkplugs, I should have. Honestly blame the ignition on the Kawasaki not the plug. Yet bought a zero-turn recently specifically with a Kawasaki engine.

 

[SeniorCitizen]

My experience with champion plugs in a chevy . You may have to walk some .

My experience with NGK plugs in a new 7042 cu. in. Waukesha . If you be lucky you replace the plugs with champion before quitting time the 1st day . If you be un-lucky you replace the NGK with Champion at 2:00 A.M.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Here we go with another Ford vs Chev useless pig headed arguement .
Spark plugs 101
Any genuine brand name spark plug is tested a dozen times during manufacture and another 1/2 dozen at the end of the line before the brand name & grade is painted on the plug
There is no such thing as a best plug or a bad brand of plug .
There is the RIGHT plug for your engine, your elevation & your fuel
Bad out of the box plugs are not bad , the fuel being used is what is bad
Unleaded is conductive at cylinder pressures and E-anything is even worse
Now depending upon a lot of variables, if the engine does not fire on the first full stroke, the fresh fuel condenses on the insulator nose so the second spark runs down the insulator rather than jump the gap
As or brand differences
NGK's have a narrow band of optimal conditions while Champions have a wider band of optimal conditions.
I personally find Champions seem to work better than NGK's in 2 strokes & visa versa for 4 strokes
But I am at the same latitude as LA and almost the same weather
A fellow tech in Melbourne, finds the opposite

 

[TobyU]

Here we go with another Ford vs Chev useless pig headed arguement .
Spark plugs 101
Any genuine brand name spark plug is tested a dozen times during manufacture and another 1/2 dozen at the end of the line before the brand name & grade is painted on the plug
There is no such thing as a best plug or a bad brand of plug .
There is the RIGHT plug for your engine, your elevation & your fuel
Bad out of the box plugs are not bad , the fuel being used is what is bad
Unleaded is conductive at cylinder pressures and E-anything is even worse
Now depending upon a lot of variables, if the engine does not fire on the first full stroke, the fresh fuel condenses on the insulator nose so the second spark runs down the insulator rather than jump the gap
As or brand differences
NGK's have a narrow band of optimal conditions while Champions have a wider band of optimal conditions.
I personally find Champions seem to work better than NGK's in 2 strokes & visa versa for 4 strokes
But I am at the same latitude as LA and almost the same weather
A fellow tech in Melbourne, finds the opposite

I have found the same to be true..so best is relative...
As I said, in small push mowers even Hondas, I find NGK to be a little faster to start and maybe run a little smoother BUT they will stop working at any random time. Usually 2-4 years or more but it could be 2 weeks, 2 months etc.
I HATE champions for cars unless it's a Chrysler (since they came with them and seem to like them) but in a mower.... CHAMPION is my plug of choice.
Autolite work fine too despite what some say about their -one experience 18 years ago-....