Lawnmower (2): Sixpence (0)

[sixpence]

The epic tale:
So I decided to try to mow the lawn of the house I rent. I took out the lawn mover, checked the gas/oil, primed it, set it to "start", held down the little e-brake handle-release doo-hicky, and tried to pull the rip chord. On my first attempt, I pulled the chord, but no starting occurred. On my second attempt, the chord would not budge. After fiddling with the thing for a bit, I threw my hands up and went in the house. (1pt to lawnmower) After a nice rest from all that hard work, I called some friends and looked online to try to discover why the chord might be stuck. After I short period, I determined that something must be caught in the blade. I went back out and looked underneath, to find a stick caught in the blade. I pried it out using a second stick. Proud of my accomplishment, I set the thing down, gave it another little prime, and tried the chord (which now worked fine). After about 10 attempts, I decided that either I do not have the required upper body strength (probably the case) or I flooded the engine when I tipped the mower. Either way (Mower 1: Sixpence 0).

feel free to move to lame board if this is too lame...

[BG45]

I feel your pain, the mower at home was always screwing up. I really think it might be the flooded engine personally, because when I tip it to clean it out, that sometimes happens. Also, please, please, please tell me when you looked underneath you unplugged the spark plugs...

[sixpence]

yes I followed all the nice happy online forums... How do you fix a flooded engine??

[BG45]

I have no clue. I just knew the first time I did that, I forgot to take off the spark plugs and my dad freaked out. I just let it sit for an hour or so usually...

[MissyP89]

SIX YOU'RE SO EPIC.

[Mark of the Cross]

[quote name='sixpence' timestamp='1347222685' post='2480720']
yes I followed all the nice happy online forums... How do you fix a flooded engine??
[/quote]
Take the plug out and check if it's wet. If yes let dry, if no a thing that helps with hard starting engines is a product called Aerostart?? (different brands have different names) but it contains 'ether' which is very volatile and will start engines easily. Don't sniff it though or you will have an afternoon nap where you will only dream you cut the grass.

[MIKolbe]

Six, stick to sammiches, honey.

[Nihil Obstat]

Did you try kicking the wheels?

[Brother Adam]

Our choir director is also our lawn mower salesman. She cries every time I tell her about trying to fix our mower and begs me to bring the poor thing to her, free of charge. She takes a man card from me every time I do, too.

[Papist]

If the lawnmower has been unused for a long time, you'll need to flush out the gas in the line. Get trying to start and pushing the primer button the pump gas trough the fuel line. It should eventually start.
Could be sediment in the gas tank. In that case, dump out the gas, rinse out tank, let dry and replace with new gas.
Might need new spark plus.

[Anomaly]

Six,
DON'T "rinse out the tank" with WATER, and it's probably one of the last things to do.
A small engine needs Air, Fuel, and Spark.
The easy things first.
Spark - Pull off the spark plug wire, and shove the boot back to expose the metal end or spark wire. Get a piece of cardboard to prop the wire end from the spark plug end about 1/8". Have someone observe (while you pull cord) for a spark. The more fun method is to have them hold the wire while you pull. They will be SPARKED. Very entertaining, but they probabaly won't help any more.
If there's no spark, check to make sure the 'e-brake handle thingy' is all hooked up. They usually operate by breaking the electrical contact to the plug. If you can't see anything wrong, (loose wire, inoperabe cable) a shop needs to fix it.
Air - Check to make sure the air fiddler is clean, not clogged. You can't mow the lawn if you hold your breathe, neither can the mower.
Fuel - It's unlikely the fuel is bad from sitting there. It would have to sit for more than 6 months at least. If you suspect it's water or bad fuel, check for a fuel line you can disconnect to drain the fuel. Don't tip to dump it.
If you have the ability to remove the spark plug, you can check if it's wet or smells like fuel. If it's reall black, use an emory board to clean the center pin and metal tab above it. Gap would be about the thickness of the board and it'll still run. Leaving it open for 20 minutes would let any excess fuel evaporate.


If you've done all that and it won't run, give the neighbor kid $20 to mow it with his/her mower.

[cmaD2006]

[quote name='Anomaly' timestamp='1347300319' post='2481013']
If you've done all that and it won't run, give the neighbor kid $20 to mow it with his/her mower.
[/quote]

This ^ is my recommendation.

[Ed Normile]

Anomaly gave you decent advice all the way around. I would have to add that replacing the spark plug on an old mower is only a few bucks and easier than cleaning it. Most engines have a little water collection bowl at the bottom of the carb, just open the screw and let it drain to see if water comes out with the gas, irs easy to tell as the gas will not mix with the water and will float on top of it. If teh engine has set outside it could also be the dirt or rust on the magneto that is keeping it from producing spark, many older engines and some chinese cheapies still have points and condensors.

ed