Snapper mower is electric start only. grrr!

[tomcat27]

I have a Snapper walk behind mower that has a briggs 875 series engine that is electric start only. the battery they supply with the unit is not powerful enough to reliably start the engine. who would sell a mower without a pull start as a backup? (I know, who would be stupid enough to buy one...)

I see two options: mount a larger battery on the deck; add a pull start.

In trying to add a pull start, I presume that I need the recoil mechanism (which I found) and perhaps some type of "starter cup". I have not figured out which one I need yet. I also have discovered that the briggs engine family information (on the label that is plainly visable) is worthless and that I need the model number - which is difficult to find - especially with all of the plastic shrouding added by snapper.

 

[HerrStig]

Did you know that when you bought it?

 

[Warstud]

My 84 year old mother wants an electric start mower. She just doesn't have the strength for a pull start anymore.

 

[jhellwig]

Are you sure it is electric start only? You might just need a new battery.

Some of those engines don't have an alternator and you have to recharge the battery.

 

[Panzerman]

I remember seeing some electric start push mowers that you plugged in when you weren't using it to keep the battery charged. Harbor Freight sells these. They mount to the battery, keep it plugged in when not on use.

 

[tomcat27]

I did not purchase it - it was given to me. I have tried a new battery. it's a marginal solution. the original battery is undersized. I am either mounting an ATV battery to the deck or adding a pull start.

 

[901Memphis]

Might be a perfect use for one of the lithium ion booster packs, they put out at least 200 amps with the smaller ones like the original genius boost.

 

[DemoFly]

I can't see a scenario where an electric start wouldn't be enough to start any mower.

Have you charged the battery?

Our toro can crank our GCV160 for hours on a charge and the battery is small. Much longer than any human can pull on a rope.

 

[RooflessVW]

OMG it's too convenient! I wish I had to exert manual labor to start a lawnmower!

Replace the battery, keep it on a charge.

 

[eljefino]

You might not have the right hookups on top of your flywheel. Then again, you might. Don't interfere with the fan/ airflow.

When I've had really stubborn OPE that I'm restoring, I'll put a 7/8" 12 pt socket on my drill and stuff that on the flywheel nut and crank away. Kickbacks kill drills.

 

[JHZR2]

Can you jumpstart with a bigger battery or a charger off the deck?

 

[Vikas]

I finally made an adapter for my lithium jump starter to hook in to the mower. Best of luck to me when I first start my lawnmower. Season's first start needs lots of cranks. In the past I used to jury rig it with the jump starter. The iPhone size pack easily starts the lawn mower.

 

[IndyIan]

Tip it up on its side and start it WW1 airplane style?

 

[spackard]

I had an e-start lawnmower years ago. It used a rubber washer as part of the clutch, which got weak after about 2 years. Other thing was it needed to be kept in very good tune, which I got lazy on because as long as it started I had other work for it to do.
Really more of a pain, after a few clutch changes and battery replacements the support dried up for it, and I bought a commercial Snapper with the Kawasaki manual pull start engine. That was 20 years ago.

It makes one appreciate a Bendix starter.

When I looked into converting it to a pull start I found it was built to be an e-start. Would require different crankshaft & flywheel, IIRC. Also, the design of the deck wouldn't accommodate a pull-start engine, so I couldn't do an engine swap.

 

[jhellwig]

Originally Posted By: tomcat27
I did not purchase it - it was given to me. I have tried a new battery. it's a marginal solution. the original battery is undersized. I am either mounting an ATV battery to the deck or adding a pull start.


If it is overhead valve try adjusting the valves. Maybe the compression release is not working properly. If it is a flat head it might need to have the head taken off and decarbonized. You could also use a synthetic 5w30 to give it all the help it needs.

 

[tomcat27]

I believe that the Toro battery is 3.2 Amp hours; this silly thing is only 1.3 Amp Hour and only cranks at marginal speed for about 15 seconds before it is toast. I have bought 3 replacement battery packs - I wont do that again. I was using an ATV battery, but until I rig up the proper connector, it takes two people to hold everything. I tried using a 6 amp battery charger to spin the starter, and its not enough. I am actually trying to make this work correctly so that my son can use it. it appears that I need the proper recoil mechanism (which I found) and a starter cup to bolt on the flywheel

 

[JR]

I have a comercial lawnboy that electric only. That is why it will be for sale soon.
My toro rcycler is both electric and recoil. I love this old machine.

If it was mine I would rider/atv battery on deck with trickle charger.



Harvey

 

[Islandvic]

I concur with what jhellwig suggested.

My friend Craftsman w/ B&S Intek needed valves adjusted. Building up to much compression and causing hard starts

 

[tomcat27]

I resolved the problem (mostly): the mower sat for two years so the fuel in the carburetor was nasty; although it would not even start on starting fluid so I installed a new plug. the battery still wont start it so I added a briggs recoil start (like it should have had from the factory! $30) and now it starts very easily now on one pull. maybe I will spend the coin for a new battery but I know from experience that they are undersized. (this will be the 4th battery I have bought for it) the mower has maybe 50 hours on it. I actually really like the engine - OHV are really nice compared to the flat heads!

now.. I need to fix the mower height mechanism - it does not hold its position and will change height while mowing. since it's a single lever adjuster, there is alot of weight on the mechanism - which is factory stamped from the wrong direction so there is already a slight natural curve where it holds.

 

[old1]

did I understand you right that it has a single lever to adjust all 4 wheels at once?? If that is the case, you have a Murray mower that has Snapper decals on it. Not that that is all bad, just don't blame Snapper when stuff goes wrong with the mower parts (not the engine) In regard to the electric starter problem, I have found MANY that just won't turn fast enough, even with a car battery hooked to them, to start, where one good pull with a rope and they start.