pressure washer problems

[Donald]

I am at my wits end with this stupid thing. Its only 3 1/2 HP so maybe its not really worth much more effort. So its a no name (actually a worn off name label) from Sams Club with a Tecumseh horizontal shaft engine maybe 6 - 8 years old. The problem is in the carb I am sure. Runs for a little bit on starter fluid. But help me understand how this cheap engine works when I do not see any choke, only a primer bulb. I look in the intake and do not see any automatic choke valve closed. The throttle is FAST to STOP. No choke at the top, above FAST. A secondary question, as long as the primer bulb is not leaking is it working? There is nothing behind the primer bulb that could fail and I cannot see?

 

[ac_tc]

On the smaller briggs theres a membrane that fails sometimes. You should hear and see fuel squirting into the carb when priming. Unmount and clean the carb, be careful with the springs and their tabs when removing carb.

 

[Donald]

So my main question is what "chokes" the engine when its cold? Surely the squirt from the primer bulb cannot handle everything to do with cold starting.

 

[Quest]

primer bulb serves to squirt some raw fuel into the carb as to richen the fuel/air mixture during engine initial(cold)starts...subsequent starting when the engine sufficiently warms up should not need the primer bulb. as for the carb: small engines tend to be severely neglected as most users aren't capable/aware of how to maintain them.1st thing to do is to see if you can drain the fuel tank on your small engine (to rid of any crud/debris inside). 2nd thing to do is to add some over the counter carb cleaner into the gas mix (follow the ratio)before you fuel up the tank. 3rd is to take out the spark plug and clean/re-gap/inspect the gap for erosion, corrosion, carboning and so on. replace/regap/clean the plug when necessary. Now, put everything back together, hit the primer bulb 2 to 3 times (engine cold) and then pull the cord to start...let it warm up and see how it goes (after it's warm). Good luck. Q.

 

[cronk]

Many of the small tecumseh engines had no choke, only a primer. If the primer bulb is cracked or torn, it will cause a vacuum leak and the engine will run poorly if at all. You should fully depress the primer bulb 3-4 times to get the engine to start cold. If it starts and runs a few seconds and dies, there is likely dirt in one of the carburetor passages. If that is the case, take it apart and clean everything ,reassemble. The Tecumseh's were a decent engine, but some of the carburetors were finicky.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: cronk

Many of the small tecumseh engines had no choke, only a primer. If the primer bulb is cracked or torn, it will cause a vacuum leak and the engine will run poorly if at all. You should fully depress the primer bulb 3-4 times to get the engine to start cold. If it starts and runs a few seconds and dies, there is likely dirt in one of the carburetor passages. If that is the case, take it apart and clean everything ,reassemble. The Tecumseh's were a decent engine, but some of the carburetors were finicky.

If the primer bulb is cracked or torn will it leak gas?

 

[Donald]

If I compare a small engine to an old car with carb, when you pressed all the way on the gas pedal before starting, the accelerator pump would squirt some gas in like the primer bulb, but that would also allow the choke linkage to engage, thus making the mixture very rich. So it seems this engine only has one of the two.

 

[cronk]

Yes, they only have the primer. The newer Briggs engines have the same setup, I have a Briggs pressure washer, about 3 years old that only has the primer. There are millions of them out there, so obviously it works ok. The primer may not leak gas, as it is half way up the carb or better. Usually it will cause a vacuum leak and general rough running. If the primer bulb is cracked, replace it and clean the carb out. It will probably run fine after that.

 

[Rick65]

Check the screw that attaches the float bowl to carb, as it gets clogged with build up. It has two to four side holes on the sides and a center hole. It is the fuel feed source to the main jet, and the lowest point in fuel system, making it suceptible to fuel debris. Clean with a piece of wire. The screw often gets set aside during a carb cleaning, making for expensive carb replacements.

 

[Donald]

Due to trying to hurry things I really did not take the time to look over the carb. I assumed the screw on the bottom of the fuel bowl was a drain screw to open when you wanted to drain the fuel bowl. But its really the mixture screw. I also had a carb kit but had only put in a few parts. I replaced the entire center screw and what it screws into and adjusted it a bit and it now runs like a champ. The spring around the thread of the screw should have clued me in. The fuel bowl on my generator does have a drain screw, but its not in the center.

 

[Rick65]

Great fix Donald. Configuration different than my B&S, but still so many problems caused by that point on the fuel bowl

 

[Donald]

I just picked up a Sears vertical shaft pressure washer for $25. The engine runs fine, but the owner said there was a problem with the pump. A brand new pump is only $80 on EBAY. But maybe this pump is fixable. Got hose and trigger wand. The hose and wand are worth at least $25. So thats two gas and one electric pressure washers. Can one have too many?