Lawn mower starts, but that's all it does.

[lafinfil]

Good advice testcase - I would also recommend using some Seafoam in the gas to help clean up varnish problems http://www.acehardwaresuperstore.com/sea...tml?ref=42

I use it in my power equipment to keep it running good and it has also salvaged more than a few "dead" yard sale buys.

I was ready to rebuild the carb on my current tractor, and after a few tanks with Seafoam it now runs fine.

[Carm]

Sounds like old gas.
Follow testcase's advice.

Joe

[davec]

I also use stabil (fuel stabilizer) with my lawn mower at the end of each mowing season. The directions recommend running for a minimum of 5 minutes so the stabilizer is pulled through the fuel system. Perhaps I've just been lucky, but this has worked very well for me. In the past, when I had access to a small fishing boat, I did follow the routine suggested by testcase when winterizing a very old (2 cycle) outboard motor. That process did work very well too.

Dave

[testcase]

"Use stabil to avoid this problem...I think...."

Stabil will but you some time but not that much. Once you're leaving gas sitting for more than a month or three, gas will start to form varnish. Because the fuel passageways are so small on small engines, it takes very little varnish to gum things up. Save a lot of work in the long run and empty the tank if a small engine is going to sit unused (or fire it up for a few minutes each week to keep the gas passages clear).


Thanks for the Seafoam link lafinfil, I'll give it a try!

[OWC Jamie]

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