Carberator - Made in China REVIEW - Lawn Mower

[MasterSolenoid]

I have the Toro Personal Pace 21" Mower with B&S engine. It's a great mower because of the personal pace feature / like a walk in the park. Bought it 8 years ago and it's getting tougher to start (12 pulls of rope). Do I spend $60 for a 'new' B&S carburetor OR $11 for Chinese knockoff ? I spent the $11 figuring I had nothing to loose. With 'new' carb, it took 3 pulls to start engine. I was impressed, but time will tell how good it really is. Carb I bought Comparing the two, there was no difference in appearance / except for the B&S logo. Old and new Carbs side-by-side. Is it time to start thinking about Winter yet ? That's not me, but is a local photo of Blizzard of '77 Buffalo N.Y.

 

[WyrTwister]

I have used ebay / Chi-Com carbs on B&S mowers in the past . Seemed like they were good enough .

 

[WhyMe]

i have basically the same engine on my super recycler. mine still start on the first or second pull after priming it cold. i do routinely take the bowl off and clean the jet and bowl to get rid of anything that might hamper function. on the carb, chinese stuff is so good these days its a crap shoot. i would not be surprised if they are made in the same factory but just relabeled

 

[loneryder]

The B&S is made in china, probably at the same factory. My gf had one of those mowers for 20 yrs and it worked well until metal fatigue caused the muffler assembly to fall off. She bought another one and it wouldn't run right for a couple of years and a couple of repairs. She bought another one last fall and the bag wouldn't go on. Took it back and had to order another one from Home Depot and something major was wrong with it out of the box. My point is the new ones aren't as good as the older ones were. She bought a Jonesred awd with a Honda engine and it's a gem. $400 @ Costco I have a Jonesred awd with a Kohler engine which starts right up if I don't use ethanol gas.

 

[Jimzz]

I did the same thing to a mower as well, used a cheap chinese carb. Starts right up on the first or 2nd pull and runs well again. My BiL was throwing it away and I have had it for 2 years working great now.

 

[racin4ds]

I'd bet a paycheck the B&S carb is made at the same factory... you only pay for that sticker or stamp...

 

[Snagglefoot]

Yep, I put one on a 5 HP wheeled brush cutter. Works fine. I've seen the photos of the factory. The men stand at a work center and knock them off on small CNC machines. There is no problem with them. By the way, the average wage of a factory worker in China is now above $ 4 per hour. The CNC guys probably make something more. The minimum wage in Michigan is $9.25 per hour. Getting closer. Perhaps at some point workers in America will run those same machines.

 

[Nickdfresh]

The engine on my father's Yard Machines snowblower is made in China. It's definitely under-powered for a two-stage blower, but the engine itself seems very rugged and reliable...

 

[Cujet]

I've had great success with those $11 Chinese carbs. In fact, I no longer bother with trying to fix old carbs. If a carb needs more than minor cleaning, I purchase a new one. Even the knockoff motorcycle carbs are really good!

 

[Rmay635703]

Originally Posted by Snagglefoot

Yep, I put one on a 5 HP wheeled brush cutter By the way, the average wage of a factory worker in China is now above $ 4 per hour. The CNC guys probably make something more. The minimum wage in Michigan is $9.25 per hour. Getting closer. Perhaps at some point workers in America will run those same machines.

China has been outsourcing a lot of tasks to Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and other areas to decrease labor back down to the $1 a day rate they prefer. Victims of their own success

 

[Whimsey]

Only because our junky ethanol fuel have I needed to replace carbs on my ope's. I've been buying the Chinese carbs off e-bay and they work great right out of the box for under $15. I try to purchase from US based vendors selling them. I may pay a few dollars more than if it's shipped directly from China but if you have an issue it can be resolved quickly. This past fall I purchased a replacement carb for my snowblower and it didn't run right. I called ROP, who I bought it from off e-bay, and they sent a replacement carb out right away which works great. Great customer service for a $13 carb . I'll definitely use them again. Whimsey

 

[demarpaint]

I've had good luck with the Chinese carburetors. I just sold a mower with one I recently installed. Nice easy starting and the engine ran strong. I've used them on line trimmers and chain saws I that fixed and sold. No complaints from the people who bought the equipment.

 

[Duffyjr]

OP did you take the old one apart yet and see if you can see why it was starting hard?

 

[Pelican]

I have the same mower only it's 10yrs old and starts up every spring on 1st or 2nd pull. Follow this and you'll never have problems. 1) Use premium gas w/o ethanol 2) Use a fuel conditioner My selling dealer told me this and he was absolutely right!

 

[MasterSolenoid]

Originally Posted by Duffyjr

OP did you take the old one apart yet and see if you can see why it was starting hard?

Not yet, but I will. They are very simple carbs, no adjustments at all / only a 'float'

 

[andyd]

"OP did you take the old one apart yet and see if you can see why it was starting hard? " Dunno about OP but I used to clean them out and met with mixed results for effort expended. The carbs for weedwackers have adjustable mixture screws. The last one for the Mantis was a result of having the carb bits in a cup of solvent. on the bench. A little ways away, I pulled the carbless Mantis over to clear a flooded cylinder. Darn thing lit , and took off down the bench scattering carb pieces everywhere.

 

[justalubetech]

I bought a sub - $15 carburator for one of our atv's, still working great a couple years later and I didn't even have to do any adjustments! New carb From dealer was over $100.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Originally Posted by Rmay635703

[quote=Snagglefoot]Yep, I put one on a 5 HP wheeled brush cutter China has been outsourcing a lot of tasks to Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and other areas to decrease labor back down to the $1 a day rate they prefer. Victims of their own success

The concept is correct but you might have been facetious with the dollar per day thing. In Vietnam you can find factory workers working for $1.00 per hr, and that would probably include dormitory accommodation. The one dollar per day thing does not exist any more. Yes, I know you were just exaggerating.

 

[eljefino]

I have a chinese 2-bbl carb on my dodge plow truck! It works great too! They are a wear part and people think just going in and tinkering will fix them. Sometimes, yes, but often, no!

 

[bubbatime]

I have used these carbs by the boatload, and they always work perfect. I don't bother buying Briggs and Stratton carbs if these Chinese jobs are available. Many of these cheap clone carbs are actually better as they fix the deficiencies and leave the adjustment screws open so you can adjust them on the engine while running.