Anyone with a stuck float needle........

[nicholas]

Hi y'all
I recently had a suck carb float needle. Fuel was getting dumped into the carb and oil.

This is on a Briggs no choke lawnmower.

8 or 9 years old

I was ready to disassemble and clean when I thought I would try something.

I used a mix of fresh fuel and gumout multi.
I put in about 1/4 of the gumout to fuel ratio.

Ran for 30 mins.

All is gold again.
Been 2 weeks.

Just thought I would share. Tiss the season. Pulling out the lawn mowers.

 

[Elkins45]

This is the reason I installed fuel shut off valves on all my small engines.

 

[nicholas]

This is the reason I installed fuel shut off valves on all my small engines.

I will be doing that also

 

[Jhemiway23]

It’s good stuff. Used on one of our generators nobody could get to stay running. Boy were the boomers mad when the millennial fixed it. They just didn’t know my secret sauce

 

[jhellwig]

More likely the fresh gas was the solution than the additive. Additives will not remove large amounts of gunk. More likely it loosened it up and the vibration did the rest. Tapping on the carb most likely would have fixed it also.

Currently working on a tractor that likes to stick the needle either open or closed. Couple of taps and it works again. Trying to work lots of gunk out of the fuel system.

 

[nomas]

This boomer did the same thing with SeaFoam .

 

[supton]

I just watched a Pole Barn Garage episode where he “rebuilt” a carb by hitting it with a stick—there’s that trick too.

 

[nicholas]

More likely the fresh gas was the solution than the additive. Additives will not remove large amounts of gunk. More likely it loosened it up and the vibration did the rest. Tapping on the carb most likely would have fixed it also.

Currently working on a tractor that likes to stick the needle either open or closed. Couple of taps and it works again. Trying to work lots of gunk out of the fuel system.

I ran fresh gas for 3 weeks. The needle was still stuck and gas was in my oil within the next week.

Good theory though.

 

[nicholas]

I just watched a Pole Barn Garage episode where he “rebuilt” a carb by hitting it with a stick—there’s that trick too.

Ya I tried the tapping also.
3 different run sessions for 30 mins each over 3 weeks did not unstick it.

I was getting ready to open er up. And rememberd I had some multi left over.

250mls to 1 liter of gas and 30mins later. All good.

It does and did clean varnish off my float needle.
It's not sticking anymore.

I plan to run a small amount from here on in.

 

[samven]

You really need to remove the bowl. It is a very simple procedure normally 1 nut or bolt. There is a very good chance that the inside is covered in varnish and there is trash in the bottom. If you dont get that out it is just a matter of time before some will flake off and stick the needle again or worse it will plug a jet. You might need to get a new gasket if the old one is stuck and tears so have 1 on hand. Mine flooded the oil and filled a cylinder because the auto fuel shut off failed and the float stuck so I installed a shut off.

 

[someonesomewhere]

You really need to remove the bowl. It is a very simple procedure normally 1 nut or bolt. There is a very good chance that the inside is covered in varnish and there is trash in the bottom. If you dont get that out it is just a matter of time before some will flake off and stick the needle again or worse it will plug a jet. You might need to get a new gasket if the old one is stuck and tears so have 1 on hand. Mine flooded the oil and filled a cylinder because the auto fuel shut off failed and the float stuck so I installed a shut off.

I do this every year. Takes 10 minutes, and my mower always starts on the first pull. There's always scuzz around the bottom of the bowl, even running E0 gas. Brake cleaner and a paper towel, wipe it out, spray out the orifices, a little silicone grease on the o-ring, back together. Good for another year. Just part of my yearly maintenance routine in the spring, along with the oil change, air filter check, plug check. Would it 1-pull without doing the extra? Maybe. Did I buy this mower because I got tired of fighting mowers every year and want to keep it working like new? Definitely. So I'll keep investing the extra time, and it'll keep running like a brand new mower all year, every year.

Wife uses the push mower so it is in my best interest to invest the extra minutes to keep it firing on 1 pull, every time. Lol

 

[Lawnman23]

Wife uses the push mower so it is in my best interest to invest the extra minutes to keep it firing on 1 pull, every time. Lol

Happy wife, happy life.

 

[Nessism1]

Marine Stabil in the garage gas can, and the motorcycle, which sits around a lot these days. Never a problem since adopting this methodology. Previous, the motorcycle would clog the pilot jets after 4 months or so.

 

[nicholas]

Marine Stabil in the garage gas can, and the motorcycle, which sits around a lot these days. Never a problem since adopting this methodology. Previous, the motorcycle would clog the pilot jets after 4 months or so.

I just started using the marine version this year in our small engines.
So far so good.