Why would my lawnmower's carb keep clogging?

[StageLeft]

Two year old briggs and straton. It runs like a lion when it's running, but the only problem is that after a few weeks the carb clogs such that the primer bulb has no "grab" to it; no gas is shot around when you press it.

I once took the air filter off, poured a bit of gas in directly to the carb, started the mower, it died a few seconds later, but that cleaned the carb such that the primer then worked, so then I mowed the lawn without issue. This didn't work yesterday, so I soaked the entire carb overnight in gas and then shot tons of carb cleaner through it and this morning it's running like a champ, but I am concerned that it will clog up again! I am using fresh chevron w/ techron gas in it.

TIA I suppose worse case I can spend 5 min each time I need to mow the lawn and take the carb off and clean it, but that sucks!

 

[Kalvin00]

Try draining the gas tank to get out any dirt or junk that might be in there. You could also put in a small fuel filter between the tank and the carb to prevent junk from entering..

 

Buy a Lawn-Boy. My dad's 30-year old Lawn-Boy just died last year (after 30 faithful years of service), and he promptly went out and bought another bright-green Lawn-Boy. When I finally own a house with a lawn, I'll be buying a Lawn-Boy too.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: jumpr
Buy a Lawn-Boy. My dad's 30-year old Lawn-Boy just died last year (after 30 faithful years of service), and he promptly went out and bought another bright-green Lawn-Boy. When I finally own a house with a lawn, I'll be buying a Lawn-Boy too.

Yeah, I would lean towards a different brand next time. My dad's honda went for over 20 years and kept going but he couldn't find new blades for it or something, since it was bought in England.

Try draining the gas tank to get out any dirt or junk that might be in there. You could also put in a small fuel filter between the tank and the carb to prevent junk from entering..

There are tiny little mesh filters, but totally draining the tank isn't an awful idea. I did in fact drain it at the end of last year, but I didn't "clean" it. I suppose shaking it around and then dumping it out might help.

 

[JasonSix78]

Sounds like there's trash in the gas tank. Do like Kalvin00 said and you shouldn't have anymore problems.

-Jason

 

[GoingUp]

I clog it up on purpose when you're not around. I enjoy the view when you're bent over workin on it

 

[Ornery]

Originally posted by: jumpr
Buy a Lawn-Boy. My dad's 30-year old Lawn-Boy just died last year (after 30 faithful years of service), and he promptly went out and bought another bright-green Lawn-Boy. When I finally own a house with a lawn, I'll be buying a Lawn-Boy too.

Oh, whoop-de-shlt, my 23 year old POS Briggs is still running, and it was a fraction of the price of a Lawn Boy. Approximately $100.00. No wimpy Lawn Boy can cut what a 4-cycle machine can.

The stupid primer in mine has never worked right, but so long as the choke is close, it can suck fuel up the nozzle eventually. The primer is just an aid, it isn't a critical component.

Check with Eli about how to tweak the carburetor.