Tipped out last years petrol, put in fresh from the petrol station. Fuel runs from the tank to the carb, i've taken the carb bowl off, opened the tap and it pees out. The carb is also clean as a whistle. There is also a decent spark. Air filter is clean and tube to carb is clear.
Pull cord and it starts, runs absolutely fine for 15- 30 seconds and then dies in a manner that suggests fuel starvation ie it doesn't cough and splutter, just gives up. It then won't start again straight away but if you leave for a while (half hour at a guess) then it will start and run for the short period of time again.
Nothing has been altered on it since last mowing season and it ran fine then.
It is driving me nuts! And no i can't cut my grass in 15 second intervals 😀
Fuel breather blocked? Try running it with the petrol cap off and see if that solves it.
Get some sheep they keep going 😆
Tried that, made no difference.
In true middle class STW world I did think about getting a pygmy goat 😀
take the airfilter off and try it - see what happens ...
i have a suzuki motored allen that used to do this , although the airfilter looked clean had got wet - paper filter. and had clogged.
worked fine with the filter off - then subsequently with the new filter on
If you take the plug out once the engine has died is it wet with fuel or dry?
One would suggest it's drowning, the other fuel starvation.
Hmm, tried with the airfilter out but that was before i realised it needed 20 mins to get it to go again. Will try that when i get home.
Wwaswas - will check but if its drowning would it not cough and splutter before giving up?
It is a Kawasaki engined Ibea if that is any use.
Fuel gets to the carb, but not from the carb to the motah?
floats sticking?
i had something similar on a strimmer last year, one of the fuel lines had perished, with no pressure on the fuel feed it started, fuel seemed to trickle in. Once it was running and sucking fuel in the split in the line opened and it drew air in and no fuel and stopped.
Klumpy - float flops up and down with no resistance when I've taken the bowl off so should be fine.
Fuel line is fine.
Is the choke stuck on?
With mowers at work that have been left for a while not used, we whip out the plug and squirt a tiny bit of fuel into the cylinder and put the plug back to start
Is the choke manual or auto? If manual, what effect does it have on the symptoms? If auto, could it be faulty?
+1 one for breather pipe. Mine is on its last legs and is blowing an oily petrol mix back in. Solution remove breather pipe and keep an eye on oil levels.
Mine was just the same last year. I couldn't sort it, took it to a mower fella who told me it was the coil which was about eighty quid to replace so I binned it.
is it a briggs and stratton? every now and then you need a new diaphragm
If it's a Honda you'll need to clear the carb jet. Remove the bowl, then the pin that the float pivots on. With a ratchet and a screwdriver bit, unscrew the screw that holds the jet in place. The jet should drop out. There is a tiny gap the fuel goes through. Sometimes you can blow it out. If not try a bit of fuse wire.
Our Honda suffered with rust in the carb bowl which choked the jet.
Get some sheep they keep going
We've got 8. They're not as even as a mower and they can't be trusted to leave the flower beds alone 😀