Have a Craftsman gas push mower that I just bought at the beginning of
this summer. Suddenly the last two times I have used it it sounds like
it's going to stall although it never does. It hums along fine for a
few seconds then sounds like it's about to stall then it picks up and
hums along again for a few seconds, almost like clockwork. When I
push down on the handle to lift the front wheels off the grass, the
engine runs fine. Any ideas?

Jeffy3 wrote:
Have a Craftsman gas push mower that I just bought at the beginning of
this summer. Suddenly the last two times I have used it it sounds like
it's going to stall although it never does. It hums along fine for a
few seconds then sounds like it's about to stall then it picks up and
hums along again for a few seconds, almost like clockwork. When I
push down on the handle to lift the front wheels off the grass, the
engine runs fine. Any ideas?

Sounds like something with the carburator. Who made the engine?

Also, maybe it is still under warranty.

Jon

Jon Danniken wrote:
Jeffy3 wrote:
Have a Craftsman gas push mower that I just bought at the beginning of
this summer. Suddenly the last two times I have used it it sounds like
it's going to stall although it never does. It hums along fine for a
few seconds then sounds like it's about to stall then it picks up and
hums along again for a few seconds, almost like clockwork. When I
push down on the handle to lift the front wheels off the grass, the
engine runs fine. Any ideas?

Sounds like something with the carburator. Who made the engine?
....

Cleaned the air filter yet?

Make sure the throttle linkage is clear of debris/dirt.

DAGS for "surging" or "hunting" and small engines. B&S has a pretty
good FAQ site that leads thru troubleshooting process.

--

On Oct 12, 11:23*am, Jeffy3 wrote:
Have a Craftsman gas push mower that I just bought at the beginning of
this summer. Suddenly the last two times I have used it it sounds like
it's going to stall although it never does. *It hums along fine for a
few seconds then sounds like it's about to *stall then it picks up and
hums along again for a few seconds, almost like clockwork. * When I
push down on the handle to lift the front wheels off the grass, the
engine runs fine. *Any ideas?

When I had that symptom it was diagnosed as a bad carb.

Between that, 2 bald front wheels, a dull blade and a broken blade
mounting bracket, I opted for new.

Couldn't be happier. Honda engine with an automatic choke. Starts with
one pull (or less) everytime.

Hopefully it'll do the same after being stored for it's first winter.

On Oct 12, 12:44*pm, DerbyDad03 wrote:

snip

Couldn't be happier. Honda engine with an automatic choke. Starts with
one pull (or less) everytime.

Careful there, it may start by just touching the pull handle. Approach
with extreme caution.

Joe

On Oct 12, 2:18*pm, Joe wrote:
On Oct 12, 12:44*pm, DerbyDad03 wrote:

snip
Couldn't be happier. Honda engine with an automatic choke. Starts with
one pull (or less) everytime.

Careful there, it may start by just touching the pull handle. Approach
with extreme caution.

Joe

The "less" refers to restarting it while it's warm. A light half-pull
turns it over.

However, just to be safe, when not in use I remove the sparkplug and
store it he

http://tinyurl.com/yjqch6n

On Oct 12, 11:23�am, Jeffy3 wrote:
Have a Craftsman gas push mower that I just bought at the beginning of
this summer. Suddenly the last two times I have used it it sounds like
it's going to stall although it never does. �It hums along fine for a
few seconds then sounds like it's about to �stall then it picks up and
hums along again for a few seconds, almost like clockwork. � When I
push down on the handle to lift the front wheels off the grass, the
engine runs fine. �Any ideas?

Before you do anything, put in a new plug. A plug can break down over
time, but still start and run. If that dosen't fix it, then you can
move on to other things like carb, timing (shear pin), valves and
etc..

Hank

Jeffy3 wrote:
Have a Craftsman gas push mower that I just bought at the beginning of
this summer. Suddenly the last two times I have used it it sounds like
it's going to stall although it never does. It hums along fine for a
few seconds then sounds like it's about to stall then it picks up and
hums along again for a few seconds, almost like clockwork. When I
push down on the handle to lift the front wheels off the grass, the
engine runs fine. Any ideas?

That's familiar to me. It often means the gas tank is nearly empty. I
think the carburetor is set to run as lean as possible at normal speed.
If it gets too lean and the engine slows, the governor opens the
throttle, which enriches the mixture enough to prevent stalling.

If it's a bowl carburetor, I'd shut off or clamp the fuel line and
unscrew the screw at the bottom of the bowl and catch the gas to see if
it has water or crud. I'd make sure the jets in the screw are clear.
I'd open the fuel line for a moment to see if the flow from the tank is
ample and see if there is any water coming from the tank.

My Honda starts when it hears my foot steps.

(Yeah, this is a ****ing contest.)

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Joe" wrote in message
...
On Oct 12, 12:44 pm, DerbyDad03
wrote:

snip

Couldn't be happier. Honda engine with an automatic choke.
Starts with
one pull (or less) everytime.

Careful there, it may start by just touching the pull
handle. Approach
with extreme caution.

Joe

On Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:44:57 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03
wrote:

On Oct 12, 11:23*am, Jeffy3 wrote:
Have a Craftsman gas push mower that I just bought at the beginning of
this summer. Suddenly the last two times I have used it it sounds like
it's going to stall although it never does. *It hums along fine for a
few seconds then sounds like it's about to *stall then it picks up and
hums along again for a few seconds, almost like clockwork. * When I
push down on the handle to lift the front wheels off the grass, the
engine runs fine. *Any ideas?

When I had that symptom it was diagnosed as a bad carb.

Between that, 2 bald front wheels, a dull blade and a broken blade
mounting bracket, I opted for new.

Couldn't be happier. Honda engine with an automatic choke. Starts with
one pull (or less) everytime.

Hopefully it'll do the same after being stored for it's first winter.

One is supposed to run the engine until it runs out of gas, but even
that leaves some gas in the carburetor.

I'VE HAD GREAT RESULTS USING STA-BIL FOR THE LAST TWO FILL-UPS OF THE
SUMMER. ONE MOWER I DIDN'T USE FOR 18 MONTHS AND IT STARTED RIGHT UP.

I would never go into winter or fall without using it.

Sounds under powered, to me.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Jeffy3" wrote in message
...
Have a Craftsman gas push mower that I just bought at the
beginning of
this summer. Suddenly the last two times I have used it it
sounds like
it's going to stall although it never does. It hums along
fine for a
few seconds then sounds like it's about to stall then it
picks up and
hums along again for a few seconds, almost like clockwork.
When I
push down on the handle to lift the front wheels off the
grass, the
engine runs fine. Any ideas?

On Oct 12, 5:50*pm, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
My Honda starts when it hears my foot steps.

(Yeah, this is a ****ing contest.)

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
*www.lds.org
.

"Joe" wrote in message

...
On Oct 12, 12:44 pm, DerbyDad03
wrote:

snip
Couldn't be happier. Honda engine with an automatic choke.
Starts with
one pull (or less) everytime.

Careful there, it may start by just touching the pull
handle. Approach
with extreme caution.

Joe

"My Honda starts when it hears my foot steps"

My Honda starts when I think about mowing the lawn - and then does it
for me.

"Yeah, this is a ****ing contest"

I peed twice.

On Mon, 12 Oct 2009 08:23:20 -0700 (PDT), Jeffy3
wrote:

Have a Craftsman gas push mower that I just bought at the beginning of
this summer. Suddenly the last two times I have used it it sounds like
it's going to stall although it never does. It hums along fine for a
few seconds then sounds like it's about to stall then it picks up and
hums along again for a few seconds, almost like clockwork. When I
push down on the handle to lift the front wheels off the grass, the
engine runs fine. Any ideas?


That's exactly what my Craftsman did. It had quite a bit of water in
the fuel bowl. No idea how it got there. A week earlier it had been
running perfectly.

On Monday, October 12, 2009 8:23:20 AM UTC-7, Jeffy3 wrote:
Have a Craftsman gas push mower that I just bought at the beginning of
this summer. Suddenly the last two times I have used it it sounds like
it's going to stall although it never does. It hums along fine for a
few seconds then sounds like it's about to stall then it picks up and
hums along again for a few seconds, almost like clockwork. When I
push down on the handle to lift the front wheels off the grass, the
engine runs fine. Any ideas?

you guys are all wrong the engine or motor is probably filled with water the samething happened to me

On Sat, 17 May 2014 09:50:26 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

On Monday, October 12, 2009 8:23:20 AM UTC-7, Jeffy3 wrote:
Have a Craftsman gas push mower that I just bought at the beginning of
this summer. Suddenly the last two times I have used it it sounds like
it's going to stall although it never does. It hums along fine for a
few seconds then sounds like it's about to stall then it picks up and
hums along again for a few seconds, almost like clockwork. When I
push down on the handle to lift the front wheels off the grass, the
engine runs fine. Any ideas?

you guys are all wrong the engine or motor is probably filled with water the samething happened to me

After ALL these years; can you tell us where the water came from?!

I've seen car engines that have had water in oil pan. That's another
thread. Tell us more about water inside your lawn mower engine.
--
.... if I had the perfect woman, I'd want twins -- Blackberry Smoke