Started my lawnmower this past weekend....

[SpeedyG75VW]

Got a chance to start my Honda HRX217K5HZA lawn mower this past weekend after sitting in the garage since 11/15/15. I had stored it filled about 95% with gas and overdosed with StarTron stabilizer. I did also run the carburetor dry by shutting off the fuel supply. I had also put a squirt of MMO down the spark plug hole and pulled the cord to lubricate the cylinder. Lastly, I changed the oil before putting it away for good.

So after sitting this past winter, I had to pull the cord three times to start. It did run pretty good during the mowing but I did notice it surging just a tiny amount during idle.

Do you guys think it would be worthwhile to run some "cleaner" type additives to clear up any junk left over in the carburetor / fuel lines since it sat for about 4 months? I've got some leftover Seafoam, Gumout All-in-one, Techron, and Start your Engines fuel systems revitalizer.

 

[Rickey]

Greetings.

No problem with running a little cleaner through the fuel system.
I prefer Berrymans B12 for dissolving leftover fuel deposits.

However I might speculate that the fuel after sitting for a few months has lost its lighter fractions due to evaporation.
The lighter fractions among other things help with getting the fuel to begin the initial combustion process.
Loss of the lighter fractions in the fuel "could" be a factor in the "surging" at idle.

My

discounted to free.

Good day.

Rickey.

 

[t44e6]

I have had good luck with StarTron, and I think that in time the overdosed fuel would clean any deposits. Maybe not as fast as a solvent. You are certainly not going to hurt anything by putting some of whatever you have on hand through it. My Troy Built / Honda is the type without a throttle, you just set the choke and pull the rope. I assume yours would have a similar carburetor. I have occasionally noticed it surging a bit when not under a load but not enough to be a concern. I use fresh fuel and light doses of StarTron. Does yours have a throttle? Some do. It has been my experience with small engines that as long as they are running well under load and the mixture is not off for some reason you are better off waiting until it is running poorly before doing anything beyond prudent maintenance.

 

[Johnny2Bad]

Personally I would run it until the tank of fuel you now have in it is used up, refill and then evaluate how it's running. A little surging on that storage fuel mix with all the stuff going on (time, non-gasoline additives, perhaps some compounds coming out of suspension, possible moisture contamination) would in my opinion be expected and normal.

 

[Brybo86]

Run the current tank of fuel through it before throwing any money at it.

 

[SpeedyG75VW]

Originally Posted By: t44e6
I have had good luck with StarTron, and I think that in time the overdosed fuel would clean any deposits. Maybe not as fast as a solvent. You are certainly not going to hurt anything by putting some of whatever you have on hand through it. My Troy Built / Honda is the type without a throttle, you just set the choke and pull the rope. I assume yours would have a similar carburetor. I have occasionally noticed it surging a bit when not under a load but not enough to be a concern. I use fresh fuel and light doses of StarTron. Does yours have a throttle? Some do. It has been my experience with small engines that as long as they are running well under load and the mixture is not off for some reason you are better off waiting until it is running poorly before doing anything beyond prudent maintenance.


Yes, my has a throttle and it also has the auto-choke function. The HRX217HZA is suppose to be Honda's top of the line residential mower and I was fortunate enough to get a brand new one in the $600s (most places I see sell this model around $850ish) so I want to make sure I take really good care of it. I know its way overkill, but I even plan on doing an oil change every 2 months (I got too much 30 weight oil from the Autozone clearances the past couple Decembers)

 

[Dominic]

Gumout Multi-System Tune Up - Run it with the PEA cleaner through it, it helps a ton.

Cheers

 

[Lubener]

If it runs good, leave it alone. No cleaners necessary. Fuel with stabilizers added will easily last 4 months and not gunk up everything.Some of those cleaners do more harm than good.

 

[jeepman3071]

Originally Posted By: Lubener
If it runs good, leave it alone. No cleaners necessary. Fuel with stabilizers added will easily last 4 months and not gunk up everything.Some of those cleaners do more harm than good.


+1

If it runs good, leave it be.

 

[Duffyjr]

How old was the gas before you filled it up and added the star tron? If it was a month or two old before you added any stabilizers and you're using gas with alcohol more than likely its the gas. It doesn't take much with these new small engine carbs to make them run bad due to how lean there set and not being adjustable to compensate. I would run the tank out fill it up with fresh gas, new plug, new filter and a cap or two of star tron with each fill up and see what happens. If it wasn't surging at idle before you stored it that would bother me.

In the 20 years I've had my blower the only year it wouldn't start was the time I stored it by draining all the fuel and dumping oil down the cylinder. I ended up having to pull the carb and clean it, coincidence, maybe. All the other years I just top off the tank and park it. I'm lucky enough I can still get gas without alcohol at a reasonable price. I have always used red Sta-bil year round. If the day ever comes I can't get alcohol free gas I will start using Marine Stab-bil.