Lawnmower keeps stopping

[geordief]

At the first cut of the season I felt the carb must be dry and so I unscrewed it and (I must have touched something) petrol came through .

I put the carb back and it started well .I get an hour or so out of it and called it a day.

The next day I carried on but it stopped after 40 minutes or so.

I did the same thing and it started again but only lasted about 15 minutes.

I thought maybe just leave it for an hour and try again.

It started and stopped almost straight away.

I took the carb out again and it has started well but I haven't tried to run it yet.
Does it sound like I will have to clesn the carb properly?

I am hesitant to take it apart completely as there are some fragile looking wires with springs sitting in at the end of the two cables and space is fairly restricted

It is a Kawasaki Fuj 180

 

[Burnerman]

Is this engine in a Toro machine?
No matter.....if the thing runs for a good while before packing in, maybe there’s something heat related here so have a new spark plug standing by!
Does the machine have a fuel tap at all?
Next time it packs in, check the float bowl for fuel - there’s a chance the needle float valve is sticking shut, so if you can post a pic of the carb that would help.
Try running the machine with the filler cap loose for a bit.
John

 

[jj4091]

 

[Deluks]

Last year's fuel?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

As soon as it stops, try releasing the fuel filler cap - is there a 'siss' noise, as air it suddenly drawn into the tank? That would suggest the tank breather system is blocked.

 

[geordief]

Last year's fuel?

yes ,in a way.There was a little left but it has gone through a full tank on top of that .

(I know I should have run it dry but I have never done that till now as I have always managed without-normally not bothering to get it serviced-
Maybe this motor is a bit more demanding )

I went through a lot a dusty high grass full of "badger mounds" or molehills -at first I thought it was anthills but they were empty. So dust could have got in past the air filter as well.

Is this engine in a Toro machine?

I think it is a Weibang.

As soon as it stops, try releasing the fuel filler cap - is there a 'siss' noise, as air it suddenly drawn into the tank? That would suggest the tank breather system is blocked

I will try that if it keeps on

Does the machine have a fuel tap at all?

You mean to turn off the fuel easily ?No I would have to drain the tank .
stopping.

 

[Burnerman]

If you want to a little deeper......
Drop the float bowl off, and check out the plastic float within.
Lifting the float gently should stop the flow of fuel completely and letting it fall again should give you a good flow of fuel. This may flush out some debris from the float needle valve area if there's a problem there.
Look at the inside of the float bowl......if there's any rust then there has been water there so make sure it's fully clean.
For sure you'll lose a little fuel but at least you can see how good the supply is.
John

 

[Elsa TLC]

Do you store your fuel.in a green plastic can?

If so it could be sweating and your getting water in the carb.

 

[geordief]

Do you store your fuel.in a green plastic can?

If so it could be sweating and your getting water in the carb.

Yes,and now you mention it that wouldn't surprise me if it did.

Does the water vapour come out of the air in the can and condense onto the surface of the fuel and the can when the temperature drops?

I will have to pay more attention to that from now on.
.

 

[Burnerman]

I avoid using E10 fuel in all of my machines.......E5 or Aspen type for four strokes, and always Aspen Motomix for two strokes.
John

 

[geordief]

I avoid using E10 fuel in all of my machines.......E5 or Aspen type for four strokes, and always Aspen Motomix for two strokes.
John

I will look into that.

Well I may well have cured the problem.

When you start this machine you push the lever to the end and ,when it takes you bring it back a bit (I think this must be a choke although I am not certain)

Anyway ,the last time I noticed that ,when I brought it back it didn't seem to like it and so I pushed it back to the starting position again (giving it extra choke I am guessing)

After a little ,the engine began to fad again and so I changed the position of the lever back to the running position again .

After alternating positions a few times the motor was happy and settled n and I have left it running for an hour- and a half waiting for the fuel tank to empty (as I should have done last autumn.)


That is the good news .The bad news is that I have learned a very salutary lesson not to put my hands too close to the blades when the motor is running.

As I crouched down to look at the carb I lad my hand down beside the chassis and the blade inside and unseen barely touched my right ring finger(it felt like an electric shock)

It slightly half lifted about an eighth of the nail (the absolute least damage it could have done) and so taught me an invaluable lesson .

It stings and bleeds a bit and I will have to keep it clean until it heals properly but should not curtail any of my activities....

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

It slightly half lifted about an eighth of the nail (the absolute least damage it could have done) and so taught me an invaluable lesson .

It stings and bleeds a bit and I will have to keep it clean until it heals properly but should not curtail any of my activities....

Tetanus?

 

[geordief]

Tetanus?

I got a tetanus jab around a year ago when a sheep dog nipped me.It is a very small wound and I always think the flow of blood is reassuring as it cleans the area,

You have to keep it clean and covered after ,though and I intend to apply iodine as necessary.

 

[Burnerman]

Indeed, it is the choke you have found......essential to provide a cold start, and also occasionally needed when the engine is warm.
Using the choke when running gives a mixture that is too rich and may also produce black smoke so make sure the choke is fully off when cutting and the engine is running at full speed.
John