J Burns wrote:
On 8/20/15 9:24 PM, Arnie Goetchius wrote:
J Burns wrote:
On 8/20/15 6:04 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 20 Aug 2015 15:26:27 -0400, Tekkie®
wrote:

Never heard of this switch but it is good info you posted. Thanks much.

The pilot jet is unlikely to be your problem. You have a leaky needle
and seat - guaranteed.

I agreed with you. Regardless of the solenoid, a carburetor wouldn't flood if
the float valve worked right. (I've never trusted float valves on parked engines
with gravity feed.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQLvAFQC5L8

Carlsbad Small Engine says we're wrong. Somehow, a properly working float valve
will flood an engine if the shutoff solenoid doesn't seal.

The mechanic didn't say this is true of all riding mowers with fuel shutoff
solenoids.

J Burns wrote:

Great video. Many thanks for providing the link. My $6 manual shutoff valve from
Advanced Auto and 15 minutes of work has solved the problem without having to
clean or replace the shutoff solenoid.

Does yours backfire when you shut it off?

I'm getting intrigued. The only shutoff solenoid I was familiar with, was on the
Kohler engine of a John Deere riding mower from the late 80s. If it was to
prevent backfiring, I wonder why earlier engines didn't backfire when shut off.

I have a Simplicity from the early 90s with a Kohler engine. The carburetor
looks identical to carburetors with shutoff solenoids, but this carburetor never
had one. It was 20 years old when I got it. For the first year, it would
backfire perhaps ten seconds after I shut it off. For some reason, it hasn't
backfired in a long time. Whatever caused it to backfire, it doesn't need a
solenoid to prevent it.

It had no manual shutoff. The level in the tank was a little above the
carburetor. At first, I thought the valves in the fuel pump would prevent
seepage when it sat. I found that sometimes fuel would seep through the pump
and the float valve and into the cylinder. I wasted no time installing a
shutoff. The lack of one seems like poor engineering.

I never had a backfire before or after installing the shutoff. I did notice that
after installing the shutoff, the engine starts right up within a second or two.
Before the valve, if I could get the starter to turn over the motor, it would
take 15 to 20 seconds before the engine would start. I attribute that to the gas
that leaked into the cylinder.