Hi all,

My petrol lawn mower has been in the shed for a few years unused. Last I recall it went ok but spluttered a bit. At one point (before the spluttering) I thought I had put diesel in it by mistake although I took it all out when I thought that and replaced with fresh petrol.

I am now looking to go back to cutting the lawn myself and was wondering if you had any top tips for me to get it up and running again. I was thinking of things like
1. Replace with fresh fuel
2. Clean plug
3. Oil / grease anything
Etc

Or maybe I should just try starting it and deal with issues (if any) from there.

Would appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks

Lee.

On 08/06/2020 15:05, Lee Nowell wrote:
Hi all,

My petrol lawn mower has been in the shed for a few years unused. Last I recall it went ok but spluttered a bit. At one point (before the spluttering) I thought I had put diesel in it by mistake although I took it all out when I thought that and replaced with fresh petrol.

I am now looking to go back to cutting the lawn myself and was wondering if you had any top tips for me to get it up and running again. I was thinking of things like
1. Replace with fresh fuel
2. Clean plug
those two very important.


3. Oil / grease anything

not such an issue. is it a magneto system?
#
Etc

Or maybe I should just try starting it and deal with issues (if any) from there.

2+ years will make the petrol unstartable most likely but if there is
only a bit in it, just top up with fresh
]

Would appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks

Lee.



--
In todays liberal progressive conflict-free education system, everyone
gets full Marx.

In article ,
Lee Nowell wrote:
Hi all,

My petrol lawn mower has been in the shed for a few years unused. Last I recall it went ok but spluttered a bit. At one point (before the spluttering) I thought I had put diesel in it by mistake although I took it all out when I thought that and replaced with fresh petrol.

I am now looking to go back to cutting the lawn myself and was wondering if you had any top tips for me to get it up and running again. I was thinking of things like
1. Replace with fresh fuel
2. Clean plug
3. Oil / grease anything
Etc

Or maybe I should just try starting it and deal with issues (if any) from
there.

it is said that fuel only lasts a few months before it isn't any use. If
the fuel has been in the tank/carburettor for more than a year, I'd replace
it with fresh stuff.

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle

On 08/06/2020 15:05, Lee Nowell wrote:
Hi all,

My petrol lawn mower has been in the shed for a few years unused. Last I recall it went ok but spluttered a bit. At one point (before the spluttering) I thought I had put diesel in it by mistake although I took it all out when I thought that and replaced with fresh petrol.

I am now looking to go back to cutting the lawn myself and was wondering if you had any top tips for me to get it up and running again. I was thinking of things like
1. Replace with fresh fuel
2. Clean plug
3. Oil / grease anything
Etc

Or maybe I should just try starting it and deal with issues (if any) from there.

Would appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks

Lee.

You may find that the main jet in the carb is gummed-up. Carb cleaner
may work, but new carbs from feebay are cheap.

On 08/06/2020 15:05, Lee Nowell wrote:
Hi all,

My petrol lawn mower has been in the shed for a few years unused. Last I recall it went ok but spluttered a bit. At one point (before the spluttering) I thought I had put diesel in it by mistake although I took it all out when I thought that and replaced with fresh petrol.

I am now looking to go back to cutting the lawn myself and was wondering if you had any top tips for me to get it up and running again. I was thinking of things like
1. Replace with fresh fuel
2. Clean plug
3. Oil / grease anything
Etc

Or maybe I should just try starting it and deal with issues (if any) from there.

Would appreciate your thoughts.

Fresh fuel and remove air-filter to pour a bit of petrol into the carb.
9 times out of 10 this would cure the "it was working when I put it away
last year but now it won't start" syndrome.

Thanks very much all. Not sure what you meant by a magneto system but it is a Briggs and Stratton engine with a pull chord start mechanism.

Hope that helps

Lee.

On Mon, 8 Jun 2020 07:05:41 -0700 (PDT), Lee Nowell wrote:

1. Replace with fresh fuel

Probably not a bad idea, though I've never experienced problems with
fuel left in the mower/strimmer over the winter. I do top up both
before use but that will be fuel from the can that might be the
previous seasons or even the season before. The can is vapour tight
and kept in the garage which is always cool. Tanks have breathers to
let air in as the fuel is used, may also let volatiles out if the
fuel gets warm.

2. Clean plug

Check for spark?

3. Oil / grease anything

Check the oil level and drive components for lubrication (chain and
bearings if a cylinder mower). Check things move and aren't seized.

Or maybe I should just try starting it and deal with issues (if any)
from there.

A rotary I'd be tempted to just try it but if it showed no sign of
life after a couple of pulls replace the fuel, check spark etc. A
cylinder I'd check the drive for lubrication and freeness first.

--
Cheers
Dave.

So what happens to all the power then?
Brian

--
----- --
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"charles" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Lee Nowell wrote:
Hi all,

My petrol lawn mower has been in the shed for a few years unused. Last I
recall it went ok but spluttered a bit. At one point (before the
spluttering) I thought I had put diesel in it by mistake although I took
it all out when I thought that and replaced with fresh petrol.

I am now looking to go back to cutting the lawn myself and was wondering
if you had any top tips for me to get it up and running again. I was
thinking of things like
1. Replace with fresh fuel
2. Clean plug
3. Oil / grease anything
Etc

Or maybe I should just try starting it and deal with issues (if any) from
there.

it is said that fuel only lasts a few months before it isn't any use. If
the fuel has been in the tank/carburettor for more than a year, I'd
replace
it with fresh stuff.

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle

Was just thinking... What do I do with the old fuel?

On Mon, 8 Jun 2020 08:31:36 -0700 (PDT), Lee Nowell wrote:

Was just thinking... What do I do with the old fuel?

Have a car? Bung it in that, even if it's as diesel. Less than a pint
of petrol in a couple of gallons of diesel isn't going to be a
problem. If worried fill the car up then add it.

Or wave good by to your eyebrows using it to light a BBQ. B-)

--
Cheers
Dave.

After serious thinking Lee Nowell wrote :
but it is a Briggs and Stratton engine with a pull chord start mechanism.

Its a magneto system, it doesn't need a battery to be connected,
provide the ignition voltage, the voltage is generated by a magnet
spinning past a coil.

On 08/06/2020 15:19, charles wrote:
In article ,
Lee Nowell wrote:
Hi all,

My petrol lawn mower has been in the shed for a few years unused. Last I recall it went ok but spluttered a bit. At one point (before the spluttering) I thought I had put diesel in it by mistake although I took it all out when I thought that and replaced with fresh petrol.

I am now looking to go back to cutting the lawn myself and was wondering if you had any top tips for me to get it up and running again. I was thinking of things like
1. Replace with fresh fuel
2. Clean plug
3. Oil / grease anything
Etc

Or maybe I should just try starting it and deal with issues (if any) from
there.

it is said that fuel only lasts a few months before it isn't any use. If
the fuel has been in the tank/carburettor for more than a year, I'd replace
it with fresh stuff.

I've had starts up to 2 years, but a 3 year old tankful would not start
- ride on westfield lawnmower with electric starter - but adding a tank
of fresh got it going


--
"Anyone who believes that the laws of physics are mere social
conventions is invited to try transgressing those conventions from the
windows of my apartment. (I live on the twenty-first floor.) "

Alan Sokal

On 08/06/2020 16:31, Lee Nowell wrote:
Was just thinking... What do I do with the old fuel?

use it as an additive

--
"Anyone who believes that the laws of physics are mere social
conventions is invited to try transgressing those conventions from the
windows of my apartment. (I live on the twenty-first floor.) "

Alan Sokal

On 08/06/2020 16:07, Lee Nowell wrote:
Thanks very much all. Not sure what you meant by a magneto system
but it is a Briggs and Stratton engine with a pull chord start
mechanism.

Hope that helps

Lee.

oh - no battery then

a magneto.

if you don't know what that is not much point me telling you how to set
the points!


--
"Anyone who believes that the laws of physics are mere social
conventions is invited to try transgressing those conventions from the
windows of my apartment. (I live on the twenty-first floor.) "

Alan Sokal

On 08/06/2020 15:48, wrote:
On 08/06/2020 15:05, Lee Nowell wrote:
Hi all,

My petrol lawn mower has been in the shed for a few years unused. Last
I recall it went ok but spluttered a bit. At one point (before the
spluttering) I thought I had put diesel in it by mistake although I
took it all out when I thought that and replaced with fresh petrol.

I am now looking to go back to cutting the lawn myself and was
wondering if you had any top tips for me to get it up and running
again. I was thinking of things like
1. Replace with fresh fuel
2. Clean plug
3. Oil / grease anything
Etc

Or maybe I should just try starting it and deal with issues (if any)
from there.

Would appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks

Lee.

You may find that the main jet in the carb is gummed-up. Carb cleaner
may work, but new carbs from feebay are cheap.

Or even possibly that the gasket inside the carb has disintregated.
Spare ones are easily obtainable.

On Mon, 8 Jun 2020 08:07:50 -0700 (PDT), Lee Nowell
wrote:

Thanks very much all. Not sure what you meant by a magneto system but it is a Briggs and Stratton engine with a pull chord start mechanism.

Ah! Okay, those are simple. Think FAST -- fuel air spark timing.

(Timing is generally only a problem if it has hit something very hard -- there's
a shear key inside that shears to protect the crankshaft, and then the timing is
off... replaceable in minutes, once you have done it a few times.)

I'd do this:

Drain all fuel, replace with fresh fuel, check oil, prime, pull, pull, pull,
.....

No luck?

Shot of ether/StartYa******* into the air cleaner, pull, ...

No luck?

remove plug and see what it looks like, see if it sparks outside the cylinder.
etc.

(... and then continue by reading the text where I learned the above:
https://www.repairfaq.org/samnew/lmfaq.htm)


Thomas Prufer

On Monday, 8 June 2020 15:05:44 UTC+1, Lee Nowell wrote:
Hi all,

My petrol lawn mower has been in the shed for a few years unused. Last I recall it went ok but spluttered a bit. At one point (before the spluttering) I thought I had put diesel in it by mistake although I took it all out when I thought that and replaced with fresh petrol.

I am now looking to go back to cutting the lawn myself and was wondering if you had any top tips for me to get it up and running again. I was thinking of things like
1. Replace with fresh fuel
2. Clean plug
3. Oil / grease anything
Etc

Or maybe I should just try starting it and deal with issues (if any) from there.

Nip down to Halfords and buy a can of "Easy Start".

In article , harry
wrote:
On Monday, 8 June 2020 15:05:44 UTC+1, Lee Nowell wrote:
Hi all,

My petrol lawn mower has been in the shed for a few years unused. Last
I recall it went ok but spluttered a bit. At one point (before the
spluttering) I thought I had put diesel in it by mistake although I
took it all out when I thought that and replaced with fresh petrol.

I am now looking to go back to cutting the lawn myself and was
wondering if you had any top tips for me to get it up and running
again. I was thinking of things like 1. Replace with fresh fuel 2.
Clean plug 3. Oil / grease anything Etc

Or maybe I should just try starting it and deal with issues (if any)
from there.

Nip down to Halfords and buy a can of "Easy Start".

i'm about to try a similar product (bought off ebay) on my hedge trimmer.

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle

"Thomas Prufer" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 8 Jun 2020 08:07:50 -0700 (PDT), Lee Nowell

wrote:

Thanks very much all. Not sure what you meant by a magneto system but it
is a Briggs and Stratton engine with a pull chord start mechanism.

Ah! Okay, those are simple. Think FAST -- fuel air spark timing.

(Timing is generally only a problem if it has hit something very hard --
there's
a shear key inside that shears to protect the crankshaft, and then the
timing is
off... replaceable in minutes, once you have done it a few times.)

I'd do this:

Drain all fuel, replace with fresh fuel, check oil, prime, pull, pull,
pull,
....

No luck?

Shot of ether/StartYa******* into the air cleaner, pull, ...

No luck?

remove plug and see what it looks like, see if it sparks outside the
cylinder.
etc.

(... and then continue by reading the text where I learned the above:
https://www.repairfaq.org/samnew/lmfaq.htm)

It's worth checking that the HT lead is still intact and is making good
contact with the sparking plug. I tend to unplug the HT lead when I'm
working under the mower (eg cleaning out the munched-up grass that sticks to
the walls of the mower) as a safety precaution. A mower will not start (!)
if you forget to reconnect the HT lead and it is only resting on the top of
the plug ;-) A damaged lead will have the same effect. If the mower (with a
magneto) is very difficult to turn, even though there is nothing stopping
the blade turning, you might have a short to ground in the HT system. Or you
might just have a damn good compression ratio!

Do modern mowers with electronic ignition actually use a magneto - a
generator that directly produces HT - or do they use a low-voltage
alternator and a coil, as for a car engine? Presumably electronic ignition
doesn't need a contact-breaker but instead can use a Hall effect magnetic
sensor to control the spark timing and advance/retard.

On 08/06/2020 15:05, Lee Nowell wrote:
Hi all,

My petrol lawn mower has been in the shed for a few years unused. Last I recall it went ok but spluttered a bit. At one point (before the spluttering) I thought I had put diesel in it by mistake although I took it all out when I thought that and replaced with fresh petrol.

I am now looking to go back to cutting the lawn myself and was wondering if you had any top tips for me to get it up and running again. I was thinking of things like
1. Replace with fresh fuel
2. Clean plug
3. Oil / grease anything
Etc

Or maybe I should just try starting it and deal with issues (if any) from there.

Would appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks

Lee.


Changing the air filter may also help.

--
Michael Chare

On Mon, 08 Jun 2020 19:42:40 +0200, Thomas Prufer wrote:

(Timing is generally only a problem if it has hit something very hard --
there's a shear key inside that shears to protect the crankshaft,

Try telling that to my B&S engined rotary mower. Hit some thing "very
hard". Bent the crankshaft as it emerged from the bottom bearing. Out
by at least 1/8", had to hack saw the protruding bit of shaft off to
enable the remains to pass back through the bearing.

--
Cheers
Dave.

In message , Michael Chare
writes
On 08/06/2020 15:05, Lee Nowell wrote:
Hi all,
My petrol lawn mower has been in the shed for a few years unused.
Last I recall it went ok but spluttered a bit. At one point (before
the spluttering) I thought I had put diesel in it by mistake although
I took it all out when I thought that and replaced with fresh petrol.
I am now looking to go back to cutting the lawn myself and was
wondering if you had any top tips for me to get it up and running
again. I was thinking of things like
1. Replace with fresh fuel
2. Clean plug
3. Oil / grease anything
Etc
Or maybe I should just try starting it and deal with issues (if any)
from there.
Would appreciate your thoughts.
Thanks
Lee.


Changing the air filter may also help.

Yes. Might explain the *spluttering* in the OP.


--
Tim Lamb

On 08/06/2020 20:13, Michael Chare wrote:
On 08/06/2020 15:05, Lee Nowell wrote:
Hi all,

My petrol lawn mower has been in the shed for a few years unused. Last
I recall it went ok but spluttered a bit. At one point (before the
spluttering) I thought I had put diesel in it by mistake although I
took it all out when I thought that and replaced with fresh petrol.

I am now looking to go back to cutting the lawn myself and was
wondering if you had any top tips for me to get it up and running
again. I was thinking of things like
1. Replace with fresh fuel
2. Clean plug
3. Oil / grease anything
Etc

Or maybe I should just try starting it and deal with issues (if any)
from there.

Would appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks

Lee.


Changing the air filter may also help.


I hope you changed the oil before you did anything else. If not, it
isn't too late.

Andy

On Monday, 8 June 2020 16:31:40 UTC+1, Lee Nowell wrote:

Was just thinking... What do I do with the old fuel?

chuck it into your petrol can so it mixes with fresh fuel, then it's good.

Check the mower has enough oil then it's fine to try starting it. If it won't, check it has spark. If it does, the problem is most likely fuel or fuel-air mix. A little volatile fuel in the air intake often helps em get going - fuel gas of any sort works.


NT

On Tuesday, June 9, 2020 at 12:05:44 AM UTC+10, Lee Nowell wrote:
Hi all,

My petrol lawn mower has been in the shed for a few years unused. Last I recall it went ok but spluttered a bit. At one point (before the spluttering) I thought I had put diesel in it by mistake although I took it all out when I thought that and replaced with fresh petrol.

I am now looking to go back to cutting the lawn myself and was wondering if you had any top tips for me to get it up and running again. I was thinking of things like
1. Replace with fresh fuel
If its been lying idle esp if 2 stroke throw the thing to the junk pile.
Buy a new one. if you cann't, blame and change the govt ?!!
2. Clean plug
3. Oil / grease anything
Etc

Or maybe I should just try starting it and deal with issues (if any) from there.

Would appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks

Lee.

Lee Nowell wrote:
Was just thinking... What do I do with the old fuel?

Car repair, usually have a barrel they put shop solvents in.
They can take fuel and add it to that container for recycling.
Give them a call first, to see if accepting a small amount of
fuel would upset them.

Municipal hazardous waste should also accept fuel, but
again, check the list of what they're taking. The last time
I went to one of those, we had to wait in a line, sitting
in cars, to do the dropoff. Hazardous waste is only open
a few days per summer. This is intended to prevent people
from using it I guess. Normally, we take paint cans there.

If you didn't mix the gas and oil, in preparation for
fueling a 2-stroke, and you kept your gas and oil separate,
stale gas could then just be chucked into your almost full
car fuel tank. And dispose of it that way. After the oil
is added, I wouldn't throw that in my car gas tank.

With a lawn mower, you run the tank dry at the end of
the season. That should reduce the stale gas problem when
you tank up at the beginning of the next season. For
a 4-stroke riding mower, you can tip that up and change
the oil at the end of season.

Paul

On 08/06/2020 21:40, Vir Campestris wrote:
On 08/06/2020 20:13, Michael Chare wrote:
On 08/06/2020 15:05, Lee Nowell wrote:
Hi all,

My petrol lawn mower has been in the shed for a few years unused.
Last I recall it went ok but spluttered a bit. At one point (before
the spluttering) I thought I had put diesel in it by mistake although
I took it all out when I thought that and replaced with fresh petrol.

I am now looking to go back to cutting the lawn myself and was
wondering if you had any top tips for me to get it up and running
again. I was thinking of things like
1. Replace with fresh fuel
2. Clean plug
3. Oil / grease anything
Etc

Or maybe I should just try starting it and deal with issues (if any)
from there.

Would appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks

Lee.


Changing the air filter may also help.


I hope you changed the oil before you did anything else. If not, it
isn't too late.

I add a bit of oil to my lawnmower every year, but I have never changed
it in 18 years.

At around 40 hours per year usage, it hardly seems worthwhile


Its done 720 hours at 3 mph. Just over 2000 miles

Andy


--
Theres a mighty big difference between good, sound reasons and reasons
that sound good.

Burton Hillis (William Vaughn, American columnist)

On Mon, 8 Jun 2020 21:40:28 +0100, Vir Campestris
wrote:

I hope you changed the oil before you did anything else. If not, it
isn't too late.

You'd do the oil first?

Unless the oil is recognizably bad (water, turned to tar, not oily, ...) I'd let
it run for a bit first. "Stir up the dirt and flush it out" sort of thing,
change it hot and let it drip for a long time.

Not arguing, just asking.




Thomas Prufer

On Monday, 8 June 2020 19:17:32 UTC+1, charles wrote:
In article , harry
wrote:
On Monday, 8 June 2020 15:05:44 UTC+1, Lee Nowell wrote:
Hi all,

My petrol lawn mower has been in the shed for a few years unused. Last
I recall it went ok but spluttered a bit. At one point (before the
spluttering) I thought I had put diesel in it by mistake although I
took it all out when I thought that and replaced with fresh petrol.

I am now looking to go back to cutting the lawn myself and was
wondering if you had any top tips for me to get it up and running
again. I was thinking of things like 1. Replace with fresh fuel 2.
Clean plug 3. Oil / grease anything Etc

Or maybe I should just try starting it and deal with issues (if any)
from there.

Nip down to Halfords and buy a can of "Easy Start".

i'm about to try a similar product (bought off ebay) on my hedge trimmer.


Ignore all the crap posted here.
The volatiles have evaporated from the petrol that's all.
The easy start fixes all that.
The old petrol will be largely gone after the mower is run for an hour.

charles posted
it is said that fuel only lasts a few months before it isn't any use. If
the fuel has been in the tank/carburettor for more than a year, I'd replace
it with fresh stuff.


What is it that goes wrong with it? It doesn't happen with cars. You can
leave them sitting for months and they'll start.

--
Algernon

Algernon Goss-Custard wrote
charles wrote

it is said that fuel only lasts a few months before it isn't any use.

Only by fools.

If the fuel has been in the tank/carburettor for
more than a year, I'd replace it with fresh stuff.

What is it that goes wrong with it?

The volatiles evaporate making the engine hard to start.

It doesn't happen with cars.

Because the volatiles cant evaporate with cars.

You can leave them sitting for months and they'll start.

I could with a Mercury two stroke outboard motor too.

On 09/06/2020 08:06, Algernon Goss-Custard wrote:
charles posted
it is said that fuel only lasts a few months before it isn't any use.Â* If
the fuel has been in the tank/carburettor for more than a year, I'd
replace
it with fresh stuff.


What is it that goes wrong with it? It doesn't happen with cars. You can
leave them sitting for months and they'll start.

5 years was iffy on my camper. But cars and vans have better seals on
the fuel system

2years is iffy on my lawnmower


--
Truth welcomes investigation because truth knows investigation will lead
to converts. It is deception that uses all the other techniques.

On Tue, 9 Jun 2020 17:34:47 +1000, cantankerous trolling geezer Rodent
Speed, the auto-contradicting senile sociopath, blabbered, again:

FLUSH the trolling senile asshole's latest troll**** unread

--
Keema Nam addressing nym-shifting senile Rodent:
"You are now exposed as a liar, as well as an ignorant troll."
"MID: .com"

"Rod Speed" wrote in message
...
Algernon Goss-Custard wrote
charles wrote

it is said that fuel only lasts a few months before it isn't any use.

Only by fools.
If the fuel has been in the tank/carburettor for more than a year, I'd
replace it with fresh stuff.

What is it that goes wrong with it?

The volatiles evaporate making the engine hard to start.
It doesn't happen with cars.

Because the volatiles cant evaporate with cars.
You can leave them sitting for months and they'll start.

I could with a Mercury two stroke outboard motor too.

Why do lawn mowers suffer so much more with volatiles evaporating? Is it
that the venting system on a car's fuel tank is more sophisticated and will
allow air in to replace the fuel that is used, without allowing volatiles
out? And why should a two-stroke outboard motor be better than a lawn mower?
I'd have thought that it would have a less sophisticated vent, similar to a
lawn mower's. Does the presence of the oil in the petrol help the volatiles
not to evaporate as readily?

I imagine that diesel engines don't suffer problems with old fuel - as long
as it isn't so cold that it has developed wax crystals, which is why the
more expensive "winter diesel" (with less tendency to go waxy) is sold in
the colder months. As long as the battery on my diesel car is OK, it always
starts first time and is never sluggish and prone to engine-fade until it
has warmed up. I drove a petrol car when I took my car in to be repaired and
I'd forgotten the "joys" of an engine that lost power as I accelerated
immediately after setting off when the engine was cold - and that was
fuel-injected rather than carburettor-and-choke. Mind you, that car had a
puny 900 3-cylinder engine that was little more than a lawn-mower engine: it
emitted a rather disconcerting, head-turning barking noise whenever I tried
to accelerate. But it got me around while my car was being repaired, so I
can't complain.

Algernon Goss-Custard wrote:
charles posted
it is said that fuel only lasts a few months before it isn't any use. If
the fuel has been in the tank/carburettor for more than a year, I'd
replace
it with fresh stuff.


What is it that goes wrong with it? It doesn't happen with cars. You can
leave them sitting for months and they'll start.


Cars have extensive feedback systems.

The 2-stroke has nothing. It has a governor, on a gasoline engine,
to control the speed for lawn mowing sessions. But it doesn't have
any information to speak of, about the gas. Actually, you "give" the
engine information, by adjusting the choke according to your
knowledge of engine temperature.

*******

https://www.livescience.com/58117-do...ne-go-bad.html

"Gasoline is mostly a mixture of carbon and hydrogen atoms bonded together,
forming a variety of energy-rich compounds called hydrocarbons. ...
achieve the desired octane number.

Octane numbers represent how much compression the gasoline can handle.
The higher number, the less likely it is to ignite from the pressure.

With the final, carefully calibrated product, the gasoline is composed
of hundreds of different compounds — too many to even identify and
characterize, Speight said." === as a chemist, this statement is a joke.

"over time, "the lighter hydrocarbons start evaporating out of gasoline,"
Stanley told Live Science. And your car engine may not be designed
to handle the resultant gasoline, if left too long."

What he means by that, is at some point, insufficient highly volatile
material is there to "easily ignite" via the spark. For example, winter
gasoline has additional "lights" added to it, to improve winter starting.
Use summer gas in winter, and you risk a failure to start. Even if the
gas was not "old", but merely poorly blended, that can cause problems.

I didn't know about this one.

"Aside from evaporation, "[gasoline] is like wine — once you take it
out of the bottle, it starts going bad. It starts oxidizing away," Stanley said.

As some of the hydrocarbons in the gasoline evaporate, other hydrocarbons
react with the oxygen in the air, Speight said. The gasoline then begins
to form solids called gum.

In short, you want to store your gasoline in cool, low-oxygen
environments, Speight said."

On our 2-stroke lawn mower back home, the gasoline used gravity
feed, and the "gas cap" had a hole in the top, to prevent
restriction on gasoline flow. This should allow a good "flow" of
oxygen, when the barometric pressure changes.

Cars have a more enclosed system. You'll get a Check Engine light,
if the gas cap is loose - the car enforced VOC rules by checking
that the fuel system is sealed (after a fashion).

Paul

"NY" wrote in message
...
"Rod Speed" wrote in message
...
Algernon Goss-Custard wrote
charles wrote

it is said that fuel only lasts a few months before it isn't any use.

Only by fools.
If the fuel has been in the tank/carburettor for more than a year, I'd
replace it with fresh stuff.

What is it that goes wrong with it?

The volatiles evaporate making the engine hard to start.
It doesn't happen with cars.

Because the volatiles cant evaporate with cars.
You can leave them sitting for months and they'll start.

I could with a Mercury two stroke outboard motor too.

Why do lawn mowers suffer so much more with volatiles evaporating?

Crude gravity feed petrol which isnt possible to seal.

Is it that the venting system on a car's fuel tank is more sophisticated
and will allow air in to replace the fuel that is used, without allowing
volatiles out?

Yes, and they almost all use proper fuel pumps.

And why should a two-stroke outboard motor be better than a lawn mower?

They go to more trouble with the gravity feed so that
they don't leak when you are moving the outboard
motor around in the back of the car or ute etc. And
have a petrol tank that can be in the boat below the
outboard motor itself when in use.

I'd have thought that it would have a less sophisticated vent, similar to
a lawn mower's.

More sophisticated actually so the separate
fuel tank can be below the motor itself.

Does the presence of the oil in the petrol help the volatiles not to
evaporate as readily?

No.

I imagine that diesel engines don't suffer problems with old fuel

They have a different problem. Diesel actually varys
with the season to it works better in winter.

- as long as it isn't so cold that it has developed wax crystals, which is
why the more expensive "winter diesel" (with less tendency to go waxy) is
sold in the colder months.

Yes.

As long as the battery on my diesel car is OK, it always starts first time
and is never sluggish and prone to engine-fade until it has warmed up. I
drove a petrol car when I took my car in to be repaired and I'd forgotten
the "joys" of an engine that lost power as I accelerated immediately after
setting off when the engine was cold

Mine doesn't do that normally even in the depths of winter
with a very heavy frost and the car living outside, not in
a garage or carport. And I don't warm it up before driving
it, that isnt good for the engine lubrication wise.

- and that was fuel-injected rather than carburettor-and-choke.

Mine is injected.

Mind you, that car had a puny 900 3-cylinder engine that was little more
than a lawn-mower engine: it emitted a rather disconcerting, head-turning
barking noise whenever I tried to accelerate.

Never driven one of those. Mine is a 1.6L 4 cylinder DOHC non turbo.

But it got me around while my car was being repaired, so I can't complain.

On Tue, 9 Jun 2020 19:26:47 +1000, cantankerous trolling geezer Rodent
Speed, the auto-contradicting senile sociopath, blabbered, again:

FLUSH the trolling senile pest's latest troll**** unread

--
FredXX to Rodent Speed:
"You are still an idiot and an embarrassment to your country. No wonder
we shipped the likes of you out of the British Isles. Perhaps stupidity
and criminality is inherited after all?"
Message-ID:

On Monday, June 8, 2020 at 3:29:21 PM UTC+1, charles wrote:
In article ,
Lee Nowell wrote:
Hi all,

My petrol lawn mower has been in the shed for a few years unused. Last I recall it went ok but spluttered a bit. At one point (before the spluttering) I thought I had put diesel in it by mistake although I took it all out when I thought that and replaced with fresh petrol.

I am now looking to go back to cutting the lawn myself and was wondering if you had any top tips for me to get it up and running again. I was thinking of things like
1. Replace with fresh fuel
2. Clean plug
3. Oil / grease anything
Etc

Or maybe I should just try starting it and deal with issues (if any) from
there.

it is said that fuel only lasts a few months before it isn't any use. If
the fuel has been in the tank/carburettor for more than a year, I'd replace
it with fresh stuff.

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle

I think this is nonsense. We used to run a boat with a V6 260hp engine and a 120 gallon petrol fuel tank. She would sit for 6-8 months in the off season and the petrol never caused a problem at the start of the following season.

Equally we have several pieces of petrol powered garden machinery and they never get the fuel decanted at the season end without any obvious problem

In article , fred
wrote:
On Monday, June 8, 2020 at 3:29:21 PM UTC+1, charles wrote:
In article ,
Lee Nowell wrote:
Hi all,

My petrol lawn mower has been in the shed for a few years unused.
Last I recall it went ok but spluttered a bit. At one point (before
the spluttering) I thought I had put diesel in it by mistake although
I took it all out when I thought that and replaced with fresh petrol.

I am now looking to go back to cutting the lawn myself and was
wondering if you had any top tips for me to get it up and running
again. I was thinking of things like 1. Replace with fresh fuel 2.
Clean plug 3. Oil / grease anything Etc

Or maybe I should just try starting it and deal with issues (if any)
from there.

it is said that fuel only lasts a few months before it isn't any use.
If the fuel has been in the tank/carburettor for more than a year, I'd
replace it with fresh stuff.

-- from KT24 in Surrey, England "I'd rather die of exhaustion than die
of boredom" Thomas Carlyle

I think this is nonsense. We used to run a boat with a V6 260hp engine
and a 120 gallon petrol fuel tank. She would sit for 6-8 months in the
off season and the petrol never caused a problem at the start of the
following season.

Equally we have several pieces of petrol powered garden machinery and
they never get the fuel decanted at the season end without any obvious
problem

I thought that, too, when I was told by the company that service my mower
which was misbehavig. So I googled.

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle

On Mon, 8 Jun 2020 08:31:36 -0700 (PDT), Lee Nowell
wrote:

Was just thinking... What do I do with the old fuel?

You will be very fortunate if the fuel is the only problem.

Plenty of stuff on Google and youtube about getting a four stroke
mower back up and running.

Carb cleaner and a gasket sheet is a must, if you dont want a box of
bits lying around while waiting for an order.

It isn't a pleasant job stripping a carb, but last year I did get away
with a good spray of cleaner an air filter clean and then left the
mower chugging away with a cable tie round the "dead mans" for a half
hour.



AB
From the well pummelled keyboard of Archibald Tarquin Blenkinsopp Esq