I just bought an old Snapper riding mower that still has the Briggs and Stratton motor installed. When I first bought it, it ran fine, but after a few days when I had to bring it out to use it, it just flooded on me. I didn't turn it over or anything. So, I've changed the air filter; fuel filter; cleaned the carb and ran some Sea Foam through the tank. It ran for a little bit, and I mean about two minutes, and it still is shooting out white smoke along with black liquid from muffler. Now it won't turn over. Still looking through the internet for some information, but most of intel says to do exactly what I did. What should I be looking for and what should I do now?
Float needles stuck, time to clean and rebuild the carb.
#4
tom3
If it won't turn over I'd suspect a hydro-locked cylinder, full of gas or oil. Might have bent the rod - if aluminum can be bent. Pull the plug and try it.
I hope everyone installs a fuel filter and a shut off valve in every mower they have. Simple things like fuel stabilizer used year round. Lube the bearings in your push mower wheels and drive bearings slash idler pulleys. Take your used motor oil mixed 50/50 with Diesel fuel and spray it on your thirsty wooden stockade fences.
To each his own opinion, but I don’t see a need for most non riding small engines to need a shut off valve, filter or Seafoam. Just use non-ethanol fuel and normal maintenance, plus drain the system at the end of the season and you will be fine. Just remember, when pumping non ethanol fuel into your can, put a gallon or two into your vehicle first, then fill your can. You don’t know what the person before you used and you don’t want to fill half your can with the ethanol gas that was left in the hose from the nozzle back to the transfer valve.
In theory nothing should need a fuel shut off valve except a diesel engine.
In practice it is different and down here walk behinds have shut off taps because the biggest local manufacturer fitted them so all of the imported ones fitted them as well.
I suppose it will be local climate dependent .
Down here if you leave a mower full of fuel in your garden shed the fuel tank will be 1/2 empty in a week and the float bowl will be full of the non volatiles.
In fact the biggest local factory invented a plastic carb that draws the fuel for the main jet from near the top of the vertical float bowl to defeat this problem.
It also allows a lot of water to accumulate in the carb before it enters the engine.
The other worthwhile purpose of a fuel tap is it allows you to turn the fuel off and starve the end off when you finish mowing which is better for the engine & the enviroment than stopping the spark.
To be fair Victa made two strokes so starving the engine off also burns the accumulated carbon / oil off the plug which made the engine easier to start next time.
Sure, everyone has an opinion on shut off valves. All I know is the internet and youtube are full of videos of mowers that won't start. Most of them, are relate to NOT having a shut off valve. I've installed a shut off and a filter on every mower plus use Stabil fuel stabilizer year round. Haven't had a starting issue in 20 plus years. Please leave them out of your mower. I enjoy reading about them, just like the original poster did right here.
Like a lot of things
People fit a tap to fix the symptom ( flooding carb ) because it is easier to do rather than fix the problem.
Then the flooding carb causes carbon build ups which cause more problems .
