I have a tractor (MTD 1998) with a 14.5 OHV Briggs & Stratton. The
starter has been giving me fits over the last year or so. The starter
would not turn the engine over. I tried to turn the engine by hand but
could not.

Have brand new battery and some times I can jump start with the car
battery and will turn over. Once I get it running, there is no problem.
If I turn it off for an hour, it will start right up. Leave it off for a
couple of days and the starter will not crank. Any ideas?

On Fri, 05 Jun 2015 18:07:58 -0400, Arnie Goetchius
wrote:

I have a tractor (MTD 1998) with a 14.5 OHV Briggs & Stratton. The
starter has been giving me fits over the last year or so. The starter
would not turn the engine over. I tried to turn the engine by hand but
could not.

Have brand new battery and some times I can jump start with the car
battery and will turn over. Once I get it running, there is no problem.
If I turn it off for an hour, it will start right up. Leave it off for a
couple of days and the starter will not crank. Any ideas?

Sounds like you bought another cheap battery. Failed to do a few
simple things to make it start, routinely. For the record, a starter
with bronze or maybe brass shaft bushings have worn. The starter
begins to "drag", and the battery can't crank it. YMMV.

Arnie,

Check and adjust your valves.

Dave M.

Oren wrote:
On Fri, 05 Jun 2015 18:07:58 -0400, Arnie Goetchius
wrote:

I have a tractor (MTD 1998) with a 14.5 OHV Briggs & Stratton. The
starter has been giving me fits over the last year or so. The starter
would not turn the engine over. I tried to turn the engine by hand but
could not.

Have brand new battery and some times I can jump start with the car
battery and will turn over. Once I get it running, there is no problem.
If I turn it off for an hour, it will start right up. Leave it off for a
couple of days and the starter will not crank. Any ideas?

Sounds like you bought another cheap battery. Failed to do a few
simple things to make it start, routinely. For the record, a starter
with bronze or maybe brass shaft bushings have worn. The starter
begins to "drag", and the battery can't crank it. YMMV.

If starfter has Bendix type contacts, maybe it is pitted from
weak battery. Time to check the starter assembly.

On Fri, 5 Jun 2015 18:30:59 -0400, "David L. Martel"
wrote:

Arnie,

Check and adjust your valves.

Dave M.

Or do a simple thing like check compression.

On Fri, 05 Jun 2015 18:07:58 -0400, Arnie Goetchius
wrote:

I have a tractor (MTD 1998) with a 14.5 OHV Briggs & Stratton. The
starter has been giving me fits over the last year or so. The starter
would not turn the engine over. I tried to turn the engine by hand but
could not.

Have brand new battery and some times I can jump start with the car
battery and will turn over. Once I get it running, there is no problem.
If I turn it off for an hour, it will start right up. Leave it off for a
couple of days and the starter will not crank. Any ideas?

A lot of these engines use the exhaust valve in a compression release
scheme to allow the starter to turn the engine over. The exhaust valve
clearance must be set at the prescribed point in the rotation of the
camshaft to allow this function. Check the manual and verify if the
exhaust valve is gapped correctly.
--
Mr.E

Mr.E wrote:
On Fri, 05 Jun 2015 18:07:58 -0400, Arnie Goetchius
wrote:

I have a tractor (MTD 1998) with a 14.5 OHV Briggs & Stratton. The
starter has been giving me fits over the last year or so. The starter
would not turn the engine over. I tried to turn the engine by hand but
could not.

Have brand new battery and some times I can jump start with the car
battery and will turn over. Once I get it running, there is no problem.
If I turn it off for an hour, it will start right up. Leave it off for a
couple of days and the starter will not crank. Any ideas?

A lot of these engines use the exhaust valve in a compression release
scheme to allow the starter to turn the engine over. The exhaust valve
clearance must be set at the prescribed point in the rotation of the
camshaft to allow this function. Check the manual and verify if the
exhaust valve is gapped correctly.

Thanks for the tip on the exhaust valve. Thanks to everyone else for
responding with helpful ideas.

On Fri, 05 Jun 2015 18:07:58 -0400, Arnie Goetchius
wrote:

I have a tractor (MTD 1998) with a 14.5 OHV Briggs & Stratton. The
starter has been giving me fits over the last year or so. The starter
would not turn the engine over. I tried to turn the engine by hand but
could not.

Have brand new battery and some times I can jump start with the car
battery and will turn over. Once I get it running, there is no problem.
If I turn it off for an hour, it will start right up. Leave it off for a
couple of days and the starter will not crank. Any ideas?
I'd be checking for bad power or ground connections both at the
battery and at the engine/starter end.
Do a complete voltage drop test of the system, and go from there.

On Fri, 05 Jun 2015 18:07:58 -0400, Arnie Goetchius
wrote:

I have a tractor (MTD 1998) with a 14.5 OHV Briggs & Stratton. The
starter has been giving me fits over the last year or so. The starter
would not turn the engine over.

What does this mean? You get no sound at all? You get a click only
(does this have a solenoid that would click?)? You get rrrrgh while it
turns a bit, but it doesn't turn enough to start?

I tried to turn the engine by hand but
could not.

What does that mean? You coudln't pull the rope at all? You could
pull it a little? You could pull it the normal amount but it still
didn't start?

Have brand new battery and some times I can jump start with the car

Why only sometimes? It's inconvenient the other times and you don't do
it for that reason? Or you can try that way but it doesn't start? If
the latter, please answer the first four questions at the top.

battery and will turn over. Once I get it running, there is no problem.
If I turn it off for an hour, it will start right up. Leave it off for a
couple of days and the starter will not crank. Any ideas?

When the starter will not crank, what happens next? It never starts
again? That's probably not it, so what do you do to get it to start
after a couple of days?

On Friday, June 5, 2015 at 8:02:28 PM UTC-4, Mr. E wrote:
On Fri, 05 Jun 2015 18:07:58 -0400, Arnie Goetchius
wrote:

I have a tractor (MTD 1998) with a 14.5 OHV Briggs & Stratton. The
starter has been giving me fits over the last year or so. The starter
would not turn the engine over. I tried to turn the engine by hand but
could not.

Have brand new battery and some times I can jump start with the car
battery and will turn over. Once I get it running, there is no problem.
If I turn it off for an hour, it will start right up. Leave it off for a
couple of days and the starter will not crank. Any ideas?

A lot of these engines use the exhaust valve in a compression release
scheme to allow the starter to turn the engine over. The exhaust valve
clearance must be set at the prescribed point in the rotation of the
camshaft to allow this function. Check the manual and verify if the
exhaust valve is gapped correctly.
--
Mr.E

+1

A neighbor was having the same problem with his lawn tractor.
We had it misdiagnosed as a bad starter. Even with a fully
charged battery jumped to the starter, it would engage, but
not turn over. He wound up calling for service and it was
that it needed a valve adjustment. Which didn't seem to make
sense at first, until I thought about the compression release
part.....

On 6/6/15 1:42 AM, wrote:
On Fri, 05 Jun 2015 23:15:13 -0400, wrote:

On Fri, 05 Jun 2015 18:07:58 -0400, Arnie Goetchius
wrote:

I have a tractor (MTD 1998) with a 14.5 OHV Briggs & Stratton. The
starter has been giving me fits over the last year or so. The starter
would not turn the engine over. I tried to turn the engine by hand but
could not.

Have brand new battery and some times I can jump start with the car
battery and will turn over. Once I get it running, there is no problem.
If I turn it off for an hour, it will start right up. Leave it off for a
couple of days and the starter will not crank. Any ideas?
I'd be checking for bad power or ground connections both at the
battery and at the engine/starter end.
Do a complete voltage drop test of the system, and go from there.

This is my bet.

I had the same thing with my Craftsman rider and after I went over all
of the fat wire connections, putting star washers under the screws, it
worked great. I am not sure which one was bad but something was
dropping a few volts.
The other thing might be a bad starter solenoid.


Earlier this year, I checked mine for fun. First the voltage at the
battery terminals under load. Then the voltage across the starter
terminals. IIRC, it was 0.4V lower, but it was adequate.

Then I began to wonder where I was losing the 0.4V. It was across the
solenoid contacts. In view of the current involved, that looked like a
pending disaster. (Not really. I could have started it by bypassing the
solenoid.)

There had been times when the engine would start to turn and stop.
Turning the key again would work. I'd assumed it was too much
compression. Burnt solenoid points could also account for it. Now I'm
trying to remember if the problem has occurred since I replaced the
solenoid.

On Sat, 06 Jun 2015 13:24:43 -0400, J Burns wrote:

On 6/6/15 1:42 AM, wrote:
On Fri, 05 Jun 2015 23:15:13 -0400, wrote:

On Fri, 05 Jun 2015 18:07:58 -0400, Arnie Goetchius
wrote:

I have a tractor (MTD 1998) with a 14.5 OHV Briggs & Stratton. The
starter has been giving me fits over the last year or so. The starter
would not turn the engine over. I tried to turn the engine by hand but
could not.

Have brand new battery and some times I can jump start with the car
battery and will turn over. Once I get it running, there is no problem.
If I turn it off for an hour, it will start right up. Leave it off for a
couple of days and the starter will not crank. Any ideas?
I'd be checking for bad power or ground connections both at the
battery and at the engine/starter end.
Do a complete voltage drop test of the system, and go from there.

This is my bet.

I had the same thing with my Craftsman rider and after I went over all
of the fat wire connections, putting star washers under the screws, it
worked great. I am not sure which one was bad but something was
dropping a few volts.
The other thing might be a bad starter solenoid.


Earlier this year, I checked mine for fun. First the voltage at the
battery terminals under load. Then the voltage across the starter
terminals. IIRC, it was 0.4V lower, but it was adequate.

If this were a car, one could blow the horn while trying to start the
engine. If the horn blows well, there is something wrong with the
starter circuit. If it makes little or no sound, it's likely the
battery is weak.

Then I began to wonder where I was losing the 0.4V. It was across the
solenoid contacts. In view of the current involved, that looked like a
pending disaster. (Not really. I could have started it by bypassing the
solenoid.)

There had been times when the engine would start to turn and stop.
Turning the key again would work. I'd assumed it was too much
compression. Burnt solenoid points could also account for it. Now I'm
trying to remember if the problem has occurred since I replaced the
solenoid.

You'll think of it soon.

On Fri, 05 Jun 2015 16:42:28 -0600, Tony Hwang wrote:

Sounds like you bought another cheap battery. Failed to do a few
simple things to make it start, routinely. For the record, a starter
with bronze or maybe brass shaft bushings have worn. The starter
begins to "drag", and the battery can't crank it. YMMV.

If starfter has Bendix type contacts, maybe it is pitted from
weak battery. Time to check the starter assembly.

A lot of motor repair shops will test a starter for you for free or a
few bucks. They can test the battery too. I'd start there!
If the battery and starter are ok, then you have engine problems.

On 6/8/15 3:04 PM, Arnie Goetchius wrote:
I took the spark plug out and the starter turned the engine over with no
problem. Replaced with new spark plug. Also noticed what appeared to be
an excessive amount of oil in crank case so drained oil and replaced
with 42 oz of 30 W.(Briggs & Stratton 287707-1224) Started right up.
That was Sunday. Started several times during the day, all okay.

Proceeded to mow the lawn today with no problem. The acid test will be
if the starter will turn the engine over this weekend after having not
been run for 5 days. Fingers crossed!!

On motorcycles with horizontally opposed engines, I sometimes couldn't
kick them over because of hydrostatic lock. If the bike was left long
enough on the side stand, oil could seep past the rings into the
cylinder. I'd remove the plug, kick it over to blow the oil out, put the
plug back in, and start.

If you had too much oil, you may have had hydrostatic lock when you left
it more than a day.

Arnie Goetchius wrote:
Mr.E wrote:
On Fri, 05 Jun 2015 18:07:58 -0400, Arnie Goetchius
wrote:

I have a tractor (MTD 1998) with a 14.5 OHV Briggs & Stratton. The
starter has been giving me fits over the last year or so. The starter
would not turn the engine over. I tried to turn the engine by hand but
could not.

Have brand new battery and some times I can jump start with the car
battery and will turn over. Once I get it running, there is no problem.
If I turn it off for an hour, it will start right up. Leave it off for a
couple of days and the starter will not crank. Any ideas?

A lot of these engines use the exhaust valve in a compression release
scheme to allow the starter to turn the engine over. The exhaust valve
clearance must be set at the prescribed point in the rotation of the
camshaft to allow this function. Check the manual and verify if the
exhaust valve is gapped correctly.

Thanks for the tip on the exhaust valve. Thanks to everyone else for
responding with helpful ideas.

I had the valve problem, adjusted both valves. Happened again, then I
tightened a little better !

Greg

J Burns wrote:
On 6/8/15 3:04 PM, Arnie Goetchius wrote:
I took the spark plug out and the starter turned the engine over with no
problem. Replaced with new spark plug. Also noticed what appeared to be
an excessive amount of oil in crank case so drained oil and replaced
with 42 oz of 30 W.(Briggs & Stratton 287707-1224) Started right up.
That was Sunday. Started several times during the day, all okay.

Proceeded to mow the lawn today with no problem. The acid test will be
if the starter will turn the engine over this weekend after having not
been run for 5 days. Fingers crossed!!

On motorcycles with horizontally opposed engines, I sometimes couldn't
kick them over because of hydrostatic lock. If the bike was left long
enough on the side stand, oil could seep past the rings into the
cylinder. I'd remove the plug, kick it over to blow the oil out, put the
plug back in, and start.

If you had too much oil, you may have had hydrostatic lock when you left
it more than a day.
I think your right. Will try and start Friday (after three days) to see
if it works. If not, I can always remove the plug again. :-)

Arnie Goetchius wrote:
J Burns wrote:
On 6/8/15 3:04 PM, Arnie Goetchius wrote:
I took the spark plug out and the starter turned the engine over with no
problem. Replaced with new spark plug. Also noticed what appeared to be
an excessive amount of oil in crank case so drained oil and replaced
with 42 oz of 30 W.(Briggs & Stratton 287707-1224) Started right up.
That was Sunday. Started several times during the day, all okay.

Proceeded to mow the lawn today with no problem. The acid test will be
if the starter will turn the engine over this weekend after having not
been run for 5 days. Fingers crossed!!

On motorcycles with horizontally opposed engines, I sometimes couldn't
kick them over because of hydrostatic lock. If the bike was left long
enough on the side stand, oil could seep past the rings into the
cylinder. I'd remove the plug, kick it over to blow the oil out, put the
plug back in, and start.

If you had too much oil, you may have had hydrostatic lock when you left
it more than a day.
I think your right. Will try and start Friday (after three days) to see
if it works. If not, I can always remove the plug again. :-)

My old mower gained oil, well gasoline after carb stuck. Didn't last long.

Greg

gregz wrote:
Arnie Goetchius wrote:
J Burns wrote:
On 6/8/15 3:04 PM, Arnie Goetchius wrote:
I took the spark plug out and the starter turned the engine over with no
problem. Replaced with new spark plug. Also noticed what appeared to be
an excessive amount of oil in crank case so drained oil and replaced
with 42 oz of 30 W.(Briggs & Stratton 287707-1224) Started right up.
That was Sunday. Started several times during the day, all okay.

Proceeded to mow the lawn today with no problem. The acid test will be
if the starter will turn the engine over this weekend after having not
been run for 5 days. Fingers crossed!!

On motorcycles with horizontally opposed engines, I sometimes couldn't
kick them over because of hydrostatic lock. If the bike was left long
enough on the side stand, oil could seep past the rings into the
cylinder. I'd remove the plug, kick it over to blow the oil out, put the
plug back in, and start.

If you had too much oil, you may have had hydrostatic lock when you left
it more than a day.
I think your right. Will try and start Friday (after three days) to see
if it works. If not, I can always remove the plug again. :-)

My old mower gained oil, well gasoline after carb stuck. Didn't last long.

Greg

Started up today with no problems so I guess I'm good to go. But will
keep an eye on sales just in case.

Arnie Goetchius wrote:
gregz wrote:
Arnie Goetchius wrote:
J Burns wrote:
On 6/8/15 3:04 PM, Arnie Goetchius wrote:
I took the spark plug out and the starter turned the engine over with no
problem. Replaced with new spark plug. Also noticed what appeared to be
an excessive amount of oil in crank case so drained oil and replaced
with 42 oz of 30 W.(Briggs & Stratton 287707-1224) Started right up.
That was Sunday. Started several times during the day, all okay.

Proceeded to mow the lawn today with no problem. The acid test will be
if the starter will turn the engine over this weekend after having not
been run for 5 days. Fingers crossed!!

On motorcycles with horizontally opposed engines, I sometimes couldn't
kick them over because of hydrostatic lock. If the bike was left long
enough on the side stand, oil could seep past the rings into the
cylinder. I'd remove the plug, kick it over to blow the oil out, put the
plug back in, and start.

If you had too much oil, you may have had hydrostatic lock when you left
it more than a day.
I think your right. Will try and start Friday (after three days) to see
if it works. If not, I can always remove the plug again. :-)

My old mower gained oil, well gasoline after carb stuck. Didn't last long.

Greg

Started up today with no problems so I guess I'm good to go. But will
keep an eye on sales just in case.

Same problem again today. This time I unscrewed the plug about 1/2 turn
and turned over with no problem. Tightened plug and re-installed the
wire and it turns over and starts fine.

Your discharge valve is not working it seems that you might have busted
rod!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Arnie Goetchius" wrote in message ...

Arnie Goetchius wrote:
gregz wrote:
Arnie Goetchius wrote:
J Burns wrote:
On 6/8/15 3:04 PM, Arnie Goetchius wrote:
I took the spark plug out and the starter turned the engine over with
no
problem. Replaced with new spark plug. Also noticed what appeared to
be
an excessive amount of oil in crank case so drained oil and replaced
with 42 oz of 30 W.(Briggs & Stratton 287707-1224) Started right up.
That was Sunday. Started several times during the day, all okay.

Proceeded to mow the lawn today with no problem. The acid test will be
if the starter will turn the engine over this weekend after having not
been run for 5 days. Fingers crossed!!

On motorcycles with horizontally opposed engines, I sometimes couldn't
kick them over because of hydrostatic lock. If the bike was left long
enough on the side stand, oil could seep past the rings into the
cylinder. I'd remove the plug, kick it over to blow the oil out, put
the
plug back in, and start.

If you had too much oil, you may have had hydrostatic lock when you
left
it more than a day.
I think your right. Will try and start Friday (after three days) to see
if it works. If not, I can always remove the plug again. :-)

My old mower gained oil, well gasoline after carb stuck. Didn't last
long.

Greg

Started up today with no problems so I guess I'm good to go. But will
keep an eye on sales just in case.

Same problem again today. This time I unscrewed the plug about 1/2 turn
and turned over with no problem. Tightened plug and re-installed the
wire and it turns over and starts fine.

tony944 wrote:
Your discharge valve is not working it seems that you might have busted
rod!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Arnie Goetchius" wrote in message ...

Arnie Goetchius wrote:
gregz wrote:
Arnie Goetchius wrote:
J Burns wrote:
On 6/8/15 3:04 PM, Arnie Goetchius wrote:
I took the spark plug out and the starter turned the engine over
with no
problem. Replaced with new spark plug. Also noticed what appeared
to be
an excessive amount of oil in crank case so drained oil and replaced
with 42 oz of 30 W.(Briggs & Stratton 287707-1224) Started right up.
That was Sunday. Started several times during the day, all okay.

Proceeded to mow the lawn today with no problem. The acid test
will be
if the starter will turn the engine over this weekend after having
not
been run for 5 days. Fingers crossed!!

On motorcycles with horizontally opposed engines, I sometimes couldn't
kick them over because of hydrostatic lock. If the bike was left long
enough on the side stand, oil could seep past the rings into the
cylinder. I'd remove the plug, kick it over to blow the oil out,
put the
plug back in, and start.

If you had too much oil, you may have had hydrostatic lock when you
left
it more than a day.
I think your right. Will try and start Friday (after three days) to see
if it works. If not, I can always remove the plug again. :-)

My old mower gained oil, well gasoline after carb stuck. Didn't last
long.

Greg

Started up today with no problems so I guess I'm good to go. But will
keep an eye on sales just in case.

Same problem again today. This time I unscrewed the plug about 1/2 turn
and turned over with no problem. Tightened plug and re-installed the
wire and it turns over and starts fine.

I don't think I have a busted rod. I believe the valves just need to be
adjusted. The problem I'm having is described in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cWoEk5Guos

and the solution is shown he

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbYbSKN4CxI

On Monday, July 6, 2015 at 7:29:14 PM UTC-5, Arnie Goetchius wrote:
tony944 wrote:
Your discharge valve is not working it seems that you might have busted
rod!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Arnie Goetchius" wrote in message ...

Arnie Goetchius wrote:
gregz wrote:
Arnie Goetchius wrote:
J Burns wrote:
On 6/8/15 3:04 PM, Arnie Goetchius wrote:
I took the spark plug out and the starter turned the engine over
with no
problem. Replaced with new spark plug. Also noticed what appeared
to be
an excessive amount of oil in crank case so drained oil and replaced
with 42 oz of 30 W.(Briggs & Stratton 287707-1224) Started right up.
That was Sunday. Started several times during the day, all okay.

Proceeded to mow the lawn today with no problem. The acid test
will be
if the starter will turn the engine over this weekend after having
not
been run for 5 days. Fingers crossed!!

On motorcycles with horizontally opposed engines, I sometimes couldn't
kick them over because of hydrostatic lock. If the bike was left long
enough on the side stand, oil could seep past the rings into the
cylinder. I'd remove the plug, kick it over to blow the oil out,
put the
plug back in, and start.

If you had too much oil, you may have had hydrostatic lock when you
left
it more than a day.
I think your right. Will try and start Friday (after three days) to see
if it works. If not, I can always remove the plug again. :-)

My old mower gained oil, well gasoline after carb stuck. Didn't last
long.

Greg

Started up today with no problems so I guess I'm good to go. But will
keep an eye on sales just in case.

Same problem again today. This time I unscrewed the plug about 1/2 turn
and turned over with no problem. Tightened plug and re-installed the
wire and it turns over and starts fine.

I don't think I have a busted rod. I believe the valves just need to be
adjusted. The problem I'm having is described in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cWoEk5Guos

and the solution is shown he

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbYbSKN4CxI

The older Generac air cooled V-twins had a B&S Vanguard engine and I had to adjust the valves on them after a few years of normal testing or after days of continuous running when a severe storm knocked out power for days or weeks. ^_^

[8~{} Uncle Valve Monster

Uncle Monster wrote:
On Monday, July 6, 2015 at 7:29:14 PM UTC-5, Arnie Goetchius wrote:
tony944 wrote:
Your discharge valve is not working it seems that you might have busted
rod!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Arnie Goetchius" wrote in message ...

Arnie Goetchius wrote:
gregz wrote:
Arnie Goetchius wrote:
J Burns wrote:
On 6/8/15 3:04 PM, Arnie Goetchius wrote:
I took the spark plug out and the starter turned the engine over
with no
problem. Replaced with new spark plug. Also noticed what appeared
to be
an excessive amount of oil in crank case so drained oil and replaced
with 42 oz of 30 W.(Briggs & Stratton 287707-1224) Started right up.
That was Sunday. Started several times during the day, all okay.

Proceeded to mow the lawn today with no problem. The acid test
will be
if the starter will turn the engine over this weekend after having
not
been run for 5 days. Fingers crossed!!

On motorcycles with horizontally opposed engines, I sometimes couldn't
kick them over because of hydrostatic lock. If the bike was left long
enough on the side stand, oil could seep past the rings into the
cylinder. I'd remove the plug, kick it over to blow the oil out,
put the
plug back in, and start.

If you had too much oil, you may have had hydrostatic lock when you
left
it more than a day.
I think your right. Will try and start Friday (after three days) to see
if it works. If not, I can always remove the plug again. :-)

My old mower gained oil, well gasoline after carb stuck. Didn't last
long.

Greg

Started up today with no problems so I guess I'm good to go. But will
keep an eye on sales just in case.

Same problem again today. This time I unscrewed the plug about 1/2 turn
and turned over with no problem. Tightened plug and re-installed the
wire and it turns over and starts fine.

I don't think I have a busted rod. I believe the valves just need to be
adjusted. The problem I'm having is described in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cWoEk5Guos

and the solution is shown he

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbYbSKN4CxI

The older Generac air cooled V-twins had a B&S Vanguard engine and I had to adjust the valves on them after a few years of normal testing or after days of continuous running when a severe storm knocked out power for days or weeks. ^_^

[8~{} Uncle Valve Monster

Turning the engine by hand also works but it is not easy. I nailed several
(four) finishing nails into a 2x4 with the heads sticking out about 1/2 inch.
Turning that upside down so the nails are sticking through the screen on the top
of the engine makes it easy to turn. Once I turn it one revolution, it starts
right up.

J Burns wrote:
On 6/8/15 3:04 PM, Arnie Goetchius wrote:
I took the spark plug out and the starter turned the engine over with no
problem. Replaced with new spark plug. Also noticed what appeared to be
an excessive amount of oil in crank case so drained oil and replaced
with 42 oz of 30 W.(Briggs & Stratton 287707-1224) Started right up.
That was Sunday. Started several times during the day, all okay.

Proceeded to mow the lawn today with no problem. The acid test will be
if the starter will turn the engine over this weekend after having not
been run for 5 days. Fingers crossed!!

On motorcycles with horizontally opposed engines, I sometimes couldn't kick them
over because of hydrostatic lock. If the bike was left long enough on the side
stand, oil could seep past the rings into the cylinder. I'd remove the plug,
kick it over to blow the oil out, put the plug back in, and start.

If you had too much oil, you may have had hydrostatic lock when you left it more
than a day.

It turned out that I did have hydrostatic lock but from the gasoline, not the
oil. On the bottom of carburetor, there is a switch that is connected to the
ignition switch. When you turn off the engine, it also supposed to operate the
carburetor switch so that no more gas enters the carburetor. However, that
appears to be broken because there is a lot of gas left in the cylinder and I
cant turn the engine over after a week.

To turn the engine over with the starter, I had to remove the spark plug first.
When I turned the engine over with spark plug out, it yielded a lot of gas
coming out of the cylinder so I figured gas was leaking into the cylinder after
I turned the engine off. So I added a manual gas shutoff valve to the gas line
and turn that off to shut the engine down when Im done mowing. After the
engine stops, I also turn off the ignition. I let it sit for a week and just
started it up today with no problem.

I think I have solved the problem now but I thought so before so fingers
crossed!! Thanks for your tip on the hydrostatic lock.

Arnie Goetchius posted for all of us...



J Burns wrote:
On 6/8/15 3:04 PM, Arnie Goetchius wrote:
I took the spark plug out and the starter turned the engine over with no
problem. Replaced with new spark plug. Also noticed what appeared to be
an excessive amount of oil in crank case so drained oil and replaced
with 42 oz of 30 W.(Briggs & Stratton 287707-1224) Started right up.
That was Sunday. Started several times during the day, all okay.

Proceeded to mow the lawn today with no problem. The acid test will be
if the starter will turn the engine over this weekend after having not
been run for 5 days. Fingers crossed!!

On motorcycles with horizontally opposed engines, I sometimes couldn't kick them
over because of hydrostatic lock. If the bike was left long enough on the side
stand, oil could seep past the rings into the cylinder. I'd remove the plug,
kick it over to blow the oil out, put the plug back in, and start.

If you had too much oil, you may have had hydrostatic lock when you left it more
than a day.

It turned out that I did have hydrostatic lock but from the gasoline, not the
oil. On the bottom of carburetor, there is a switch that is connected to the
ignition switch. When you turn off the engine, it also supposed to operate the
carburetor switch so that no more gas enters the carburetor. However, that
appears to be broken because there is a lot of gas left in the cylinder and I
can?t turn the engine over after a week.

To turn the engine over with the starter, I had to remove the spark plug first.
When I turned the engine over with spark plug out, it yielded a lot of gas
coming out of the cylinder so I figured gas was leaking into the cylinder after
I turned the engine off. So I added a manual gas shutoff valve to the gas line
and turn that off to shut the engine down when I?m done mowing. After the
engine stops, I also turn off the ignition. I let it sit for a week and just
started it up today with no problem.

I think I have solved the problem now but I thought so before so fingers
crossed!! Thanks for your tip on the hydrostatic lock.

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

--
Tekkie

On Thu, 20 Aug 2015 14:25:39 -0400, Arnie Goetchius
wrote:

J Burns wrote:
On 6/8/15 3:04 PM, Arnie Goetchius wrote:
I took the spark plug out and the starter turned the engine over with no
problem. Replaced with new spark plug. Also noticed what appeared to be
an excessive amount of oil in crank case so drained oil and replaced
with 42 oz of 30 W.(Briggs & Stratton 287707-1224) Started right up.
That was Sunday. Started several times during the day, all okay.

Proceeded to mow the lawn today with no problem. The acid test will be
if the starter will turn the engine over this weekend after having not
been run for 5 days. Fingers crossed!!

On motorcycles with horizontally opposed engines, I sometimes couldn't kick them
over because of hydrostatic lock. If the bike was left long enough on the side
stand, oil could seep past the rings into the cylinder. I'd remove the plug,
kick it over to blow the oil out, put the plug back in, and start.

If you had too much oil, you may have had hydrostatic lock when you left it more
than a day.

It turned out that I did have hydrostatic lock but from the gasoline, not the
oil. On the bottom of carburetor, there is a switch that is connected to the
ignition switch. When you turn off the engine, it also supposed to operate the
carburetor switch so that no more gas enters the carburetor. However, that
appears to be broken because there is a lot of gas left in the cylinder and I
can’t turn the engine over after a week.

To turn the engine over with the starter, I had to remove the spark plug first.
When I turned the engine over with spark plug out, it yielded a lot of gas
coming out of the cylinder so I figured gas was leaking into the cylinder after
I turned the engine off. So I added a manual gas shutoff valve to the gas line
and turn that off to shut the engine down when I’m done mowing. After the
engine stops, I also turn off the ignition. I let it sit for a week and just
started it up today with no problem.

I think I have solved the problem now but I thought so before so fingers
crossed!! Thanks for your tip on the hydrostatic lock.

I believe this carburetor valve is to block fuel from the main jet to
keep the vaporized gas from igniting in the muffler when you shut down.
Sounds as though you may have a float needle and seat slowly leaking
which will not matter if the fuel is shut off with your added valve.
I hope this has fixed your problem for good as well as keeping
evaporative residue from building up in the bowl over longer periods of
non-use.
--
Mr.E

On 8/20/15 3:46 PM, Mr.E wrote:
On Thu, 20 Aug 2015 14:25:39 -0400, Arnie Goetchius
wrote:

J Burns wrote:
On 6/8/15 3:04 PM, Arnie Goetchius wrote:
I took the spark plug out and the starter turned the engine over with no
problem. Replaced with new spark plug. Also noticed what appeared to be
an excessive amount of oil in crank case so drained oil and replaced
with 42 oz of 30 W.(Briggs & Stratton 287707-1224) Started right up.
That was Sunday. Started several times during the day, all okay.

Proceeded to mow the lawn today with no problem. The acid test will be
if the starter will turn the engine over this weekend after having not
been run for 5 days. Fingers crossed!!

On motorcycles with horizontally opposed engines, I sometimes couldn't kick them
over because of hydrostatic lock. If the bike was left long enough on the side
stand, oil could seep past the rings into the cylinder. I'd remove the plug,
kick it over to blow the oil out, put the plug back in, and start.

If you had too much oil, you may have had hydrostatic lock when you left it more
than a day.

It turned out that I did have hydrostatic lock but from the gasoline, not the
oil. On the bottom of carburetor, there is a switch that is connected to the
ignition switch. When you turn off the engine, it also supposed to operate the
carburetor switch so that no more gas enters the carburetor. However, that
appears to be broken because there is a lot of gas left in the cylinder and I
can’t turn the engine over after a week.

To turn the engine over with the starter, I had to remove the spark plug first.
When I turned the engine over with spark plug out, it yielded a lot of gas
coming out of the cylinder so I figured gas was leaking into the cylinder after
I turned the engine off. So I added a manual gas shutoff valve to the gas line
and turn that off to shut the engine down when I’m done mowing. After the
engine stops, I also turn off the ignition. I let it sit for a week and just
started it up today with no problem.

I think I have solved the problem now but I thought so before so fingers
crossed!! Thanks for your tip on the hydrostatic lock.

I believe this carburetor valve is to block fuel from the main jet to
keep the vaporized gas from igniting in the muffler when you shut down.
Sounds as though you may have a float needle and seat slowly leaking
which will not matter if the fuel is shut off with your added valve.
I hope this has fixed your problem for good as well as keeping
evaporative residue from building up in the bowl over longer periods of
non-use.

Twenty years ago, I had a John Deere mower with a Kohler engine that
would shut off in use. I believe the problem was a bad electrical
connection to the fuel shutoff solenoid. IIRC, when I opened the bowl, I
found that the solenoid shut off fuel to all jets. If that's true of
the OP's engine, fuel must have been leaking past the solenoid.

I agree that a manual shutoff is a good idea.

On Thu, 20 Aug 2015 15:26:27 -0400, Tekkie®
wrote:

Arnie Goetchius posted for all of us...



J Burns wrote:
On 6/8/15 3:04 PM, Arnie Goetchius wrote:
I took the spark plug out and the starter turned the engine over with no
problem. Replaced with new spark plug. Also noticed what appeared to be
an excessive amount of oil in crank case so drained oil and replaced
with 42 oz of 30 W.(Briggs & Stratton 287707-1224) Started right up.
That was Sunday. Started several times during the day, all okay.

Proceeded to mow the lawn today with no problem. The acid test will be
if the starter will turn the engine over this weekend after having not
been run for 5 days. Fingers crossed!!

On motorcycles with horizontally opposed engines, I sometimes couldn't kick them
over because of hydrostatic lock. If the bike was left long enough on the side
stand, oil could seep past the rings into the cylinder. I'd remove the plug,
kick it over to blow the oil out, put the plug back in, and start.

If you had too much oil, you may have had hydrostatic lock when you left it more
than a day.

It turned out that I did have hydrostatic lock but from the gasoline, not the
oil. On the bottom of carburetor, there is a switch that is connected to the
ignition switch. When you turn off the engine, it also supposed to operate the
carburetor switch so that no more gas enters the carburetor. However, that
appears to be broken because there is a lot of gas left in the cylinder and I
can?t turn the engine over after a week.

To turn the engine over with the starter, I had to remove the spark plug first.
When I turned the engine over with spark plug out, it yielded a lot of gas
coming out of the cylinder so I figured gas was leaking into the cylinder after
I turned the engine off. So I added a manual gas shutoff valve to the gas line
and turn that off to shut the engine down when I?m done mowing. After the
engine stops, I also turn off the ignition. I let it sit for a week and just
started it up today with no problem.

I think I have solved the problem now but I thought so before so fingers
crossed!! Thanks for your tip on the hydrostatic lock.

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.

On 2015-08-20, J Burns wrote:

I agree that a manual shutoff is a good idea.

If so, get a ball-valve petcock.

The British , which used manual petcocks for their motorcycles,
typically made them with 3 positions. On, off, and reserve. Early
Japaneses m/c's used a vacuum actuated petcocks. When the engine was
off, no fuel flowed. These can usually be recognized by the "prime"
position, which bypasses the vacuum operated valve:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petcock

nb

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:
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.

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.

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.

On 8/21/15 7:57 AM, Arnie Goetchius wrote:
J Burns wrote:

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.

Me too. I added a shutoff because occasionally when it caught after
several turns, there would be a puff of smoke and it would act flooded.
One can't count on a float valve!

Mine takes extensive cranking. Yesterday I counted 20 compression
cycles (40 revolutions) before it caught after sitting a week. The bowl
must empty as it sits with the fuel shut off, but how?

It doesn't seem possible that it could be siphoned into the cylinder,
and I've seen no sign of flooding. I've found no gas deposits or wetness
on the bottom of the bowl, or odor after parking in the garage, to
indicate seepage past the washer at the bottom of the bowl.

Could it be evaporation? Because the bowl is closed, evaporation should
be slow, but the carburetor is boxed in above a metal floor that gets
hot because it's over the muffler. Intake air would cool the carburetor,
but it could get hot after shutdown.

When I shut down, I lift the seat and plastic body to shut off the fuel.
I leave it up for three reasons: to let the carburetor cool faster, so
maybe I'll smell the fumes of evaporating gas, and so I won't forget to
turn on the fuel before trying to start. I've never smelled gas fumes,
and the engine still requires a lot of cranking before it gets gas.

I guess the next step is to use a stopwatch to see how much cranking it
needs after being off for various amounts of time. That may show how
fast the gas is disappearing.

On 8/21/15 7:57 AM, Arnie Goetchius wrote:
J Burns wrote:


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.


I never had a backfire before or after installing the shutoff.

Strictly speaking, backfiring in the exhaust is afterfiring. Gas
self-ignites at about 500 F. One would think that when the ignition was
cut with the engine not under a load (small gas/air charge), each little
charge would ignite as it left the exhaust valve, without much noise,
like a blowtorch.

Maybe it doesn't ignite because it mixes with the exhaust in the
muffler, diluting it too much to explode. Maybe after ten seconds, the
cooler oxygen and gasoline settle to the bottom, reaching the
concentration necessary to explode.

How did afterfiring become a problem? The EPA! It used to be routine
to throttle down all the way before cutting the ignition, but for
decades, manuals have said not to throttle down. I think I see why.
It's hard to design an gas engine to burn clean at an idle. If engine
companies said not to idle, they could give the EPA emissions figures
that didn't include idle speeds.

If the ignition is cut at an engine's working speed of 3600 rpm, the
inertia of the engine will probably pump 16 times more air/fuel mixture
into the muffler than if the operator had first throttled down to 900
rpm BAM!

The reasons to run a mower at maximum rpms would be for blade power to
cut heavy growth, for wind to prevent clogging, and for ground speed to
race through a job. I don't have a tach, but I suppose I've generally
run at half speed for some time because full speed isn't usually
required. A slower engine means less noise, less dust, less fuel, and
less slowing for turns. Shutting off at half speed means much less
fuel/air in the muffler. That would explain why I haven't heard a bang
in a long time.

I believe I will now ignore the manual and throttle down all the way
before switching the ignition off. It couldn't cause much pollution
unless I idled extensively. What kind of guy idles a mower extensively?
The kind who takes cigarette breaks! He goes next door for a moment,
and all the children die of terrible diseases, and statisticians
attribute it to third-hand cigarette smoke, the smell on his clothes.
In fact, they died because they were downwind from his idling mower!

I'm starting to think consumers were saddled with expensive,
trouble-prone shutoff solenoids simply to pass EPA requirements that are
meaningless in the real world. It would be great if a solenoid could
prevent trouble from a leaky float valve, though!

"J Burns" wrote in message
...


How did afterfiring become a problem? The EPA! It used to be routine to
throttle down all the way before cutting the ignition, but for decades,
manuals have said not to throttle down. I think I see why. It's hard to
design an gas engine to burn clean at an idle. If engine companies said
not to idle, they could give the EPA emissions figures that didn't include
idle speeds.

If the ignition is cut at an engine's working speed of 3600 rpm, the
inertia of the engine will probably pump 16 times more air/fuel mixture
into the muffler than if the operator had first throttled down to 900 rpm
BAM!

The reasons to run a mower at maximum rpms would be for blade power to cut
heavy growth, for wind to prevent clogging, and for ground speed to race
through a job. I don't have a tach, but I suppose I've generally run at
half speed for some time because full speed isn't usually required. A
slower engine means less noise, less dust, less fuel, and less slowing for
turns. Shutting off at half speed means much less fuel/air in the muffler.
That would explain why I haven't heard a bang in a long time.

I believe I will now ignore the manual and throttle down all the way
before switching the ignition off. It couldn't cause much pollution unless
I idled extensively. What kind of guy idles a mower extensively? The kind
who takes cigarette breaks! He goes next door for a moment, and all the
children die of terrible diseases, and statisticians attribute it to
third-hand cigarette smoke, the smell on his clothes. In fact, they died
because they were downwind from his idling mower!


When I bought a Huskievarnia riding mower about 3 years ago I was told by
the service man at the dealers to always turn off the key with the engine at
full throttle. He mentioned something about it being bad for the engine,
but I forgot what it was. Never had a backfire doing that.

On 8/21/15 10:44 AM, Ralph Mowery wrote:
"J Burns" wrote in message
...


When I bought a Huskievarnia riding mower about 3 years ago I was told by
the service man at the dealers to always turn off the key with the engine at
full throttle. He mentioned something about it being bad for the engine,
but I forgot what it was. Never had a backfire doing that.



Briggs recommends idling down 15-30 seconds to prevent afterfire, but
not if you have an anti-afterfire solenoid.

http://www.briggsandstratton.com/eu/en/support/faqs/why-does-my-engine-backfire-out-the-muffler

They say idling down lets the engine and muffler cool, but I think it
would also mean less unburned gas pumped into the muffler.

My manual says to let it run at operating speed with no load for 20
seconds, IIRC, before shutting off, so it can cool evenly. By the time
I park it, it has run at least that long with very little load.

http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/mower-equipment-operation/27978-do-you-throttle-all-way-down-before-turning-off-engine.html

A lot of manuals and experts recommend idling down before shutting off,
but others say to shut off at full rpms. One says Kohler carbs will
cause afterfire if shut off when idled down. I'll see if it's true of mine.

(A few months ago, you recommended replacing the washer at the bottom of
the float bowl of my walk-behind when I replaced the bowl gasket. I
meant to order washers for both mowers, but I forgot. I'd better do it,
although I haven't seen seepage.)

On 2015-08-21, J Burns wrote:

cause afterfire if shut off when idled down.

WTF is "afterlife"? Is that a new term for "dieseling"?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dieseling

nb

On 21 Aug 2015 17:35:51 GMT, notbob wrote:

On 2015-08-21, J Burns wrote:

cause afterfire if shut off when idled down.

WTF is "afterlife"? Is that a new term for "dieseling"?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dieseling

nb

G "afterfire" (back-fire) is different from "afterlife"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afterlife

"Back-fire is an unintended explosion produced in a vehicle's engine."

On 8/21/15 1:01 PM, J Burns wrote:
http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/mower-equipment-operation/27978-do-you-throttle-all-way-down-before-turning-off-engine.html


A lot of manuals and experts recommend idling down before shutting off,
but others say to shut off at full rpms. One says Kohler carbs will
cause afterfire if shut off when idled down. I'll see if it's true of
mine.

Pages 5, 6, and 7 are especially interesting. A former International
Harvester employee said their shutdown procedure was 5 minutes at slow
idle, no load for liquid cooled, and 5 minutes at half speed, no load
for air cooled. At slow idle, there might not be enough air blowing.

That could be what the Husqvarna dealer was afraid of when he said to
shut off at full throttle.

I guess I won't throttle my mower engine down slow to shut it off. I
checked with a tachometer. The engine is rated at 3750 rpm, but if I
don't need the power, I run about 2500. Half of 3750 would be about 1900.