Non boaty alert - Lawnmower issue

[peter2407]

I have a viking 4 stroke, gear driven (right term?) lawnmower that recently has started playing up by not starting immediately after having been stopped. Leave it 20 minutes and it will start again and work happily until the next stop when the 20 minute regime starts over again. Also, although it works ago, the engine does sound as if it is "hunting". This is a single speed job.

 

[Rigger Mortice]

If you've been using it off your boat to cut eel grass it's probably flooded.

 

[peter2407]

If you've been using it off your boat to cut eel grass it's probably flooded.

No, no, thats WHY i want it working. Studland here i come ...

 

[Rigger Mortice]

No, no, thats WHY i want it working. Studland here i come ...

Just hitch it up to the sea horses.

Have you checked fuel/plug/carburettor?
Is it a Briggs & Stratton engine?

 

[NickRobinson]

Just hitch it up to the sea horses.

Have you checked fuel/plug/carburettor?
Is it a Briggs & Stratton engine?

Though my £12 Ebay B&S lawnmower is perfect despite my neglect..... the dealers apparently call them 'Briggs 'n Scrap'em'..........

 

[Billjratt]

sounds as if it may be running rich. is the choke linkage OK? Check the sparkplug colour to confirm

 

[Paul_G]

If it has a Briggs & Stratton motor check the gasket between the carb and the petrol tank. They call it a diaphragm, They are about £6 and take a bout 20 mins to change, Its a two piece gasket and hey swell with teh petrol and cause all sorts of poor running, hunting, lack of power, inability to rev etc. The difference to mine was almost magical, and completely transformed its performance

P

 

[mtb]

fuel blockage
needle valve

 

[RichardS]

If it has a Briggs & Stratton motor check the gasket between the carb and the petrol tank. They call it a diaphragm, They are about £6 and take a bout 20 mins to change, Its a two piece gasket and hey swell with teh petrol and cause all sorts of poor running, hunting, lack of power, inability to rev etc. The difference to mine was almost magical, and completely transformed its performanceP

Your're right on the money there Paul! That diaphragm is one of the worst engineering "solutions" I've ever come across. It was either designed by an idiot or designed by a genius to ensure that people bought a new lawnmower every five years!

I always keep a spare new one in the garage and change it as soon as the engine starts to become difficult to start and only runs for a few minutes before stopping.

Richard

 

[Dave100456]

Try running the mower with the petrol filler cap loose as its displaying symptoms of becoming "vacuum locked" due to a blocked fuel tank breather.

 

[huldah]

Probably a totally different engine to the one I worked on. That engine had 4 tiny hole drilled into the air inlet. Perhaps idle jets? One was blocked.