Acetone safe to use in Honda mower?

[440Magnum]

The ethanol has nothing to do with this, you know. Mowers set up with float-type carbs and gravity-feed are the most susceptible to this problem. When you store them, the fuel in the carb bowl evaporates and deteriorates, but it is constantly replenished from the fuel tank so that over the storage months, the carb bowl winds up acting as a distillation chamber and all the additives in the fuel precipitate out in the bowl and then clog the jet when you try to start the engine.

The best solution to prevent this is to put an in-line fuel cut-off in the mower's fuel line. When storing, turn off the cut-off and then run the engine until it stalls, this will suck all the fuel out of the carb bowl and prevent the varnish from forming. The bulk gas in the tank will *probably* last 6 months, but if it doesn't at least it hasn't wrecked the carb and you can just drain and refill the tank come spring.

 

[flanso]

I had carb trouble on my GX160 powered pressure washer but was pleasantly surprised that a replacement carb from Honda cost around 15 bucks. The same may be true for your GC.

 

[Ducked]

Originally Posted By: wag123
And, hot boiling anything in Berryman's (or anything else flammable) is a VERY bad idea!


No kidding?

I boil in water with a bit of washing powder or washing-up liquid in it. Former has a slight etching effect so shouldn't be overdone. That Pine-Sol may well be better but you can't get it here, nor Berryman's AFAIK.

An advantage of brake fluid is its non-volatile so you don't have to worry about ventilation, fire, explosion, lost brain cells, etc so much, though there's still residual petrol to be aware of.

 

[Ducked]

Small parts like jets and needles I soak in carb cleaner and/or brake fluid in small glass-with-alumimium-cap bottles (whisky miniature, mysterious Chinese tonics etc).

Much safer and more economical use of carb cleaner, and if you rub the bottle on another one, I've been told glass-on-glass friction generates ultrasonics, though I dunno how much.

 

[exranger06]

A brand new carburetor for a GCV160 costs $25. Stop wasting your time with all these chemicals and just replace the darn carb. I have a GCV160 on my mower and I have not had any success with cleaning out the carb. No matter how much I took it apart and cleaned it out, it wouldn't run right. The only way to fix it was a new carb. I had the same experience with a pressure washer with the GCV160 engine: no success with cleaning carb, new carb fixed it right up. Like I said, it's only $25. Just replace it.

 

[wag123]

Originally Posted By: exranger06
A brand new carburetor for a GCV160 costs $25. Stop wasting your time with all these chemicals and just replace the darn carb. I have a GCV160 on my mower and I have not had any success with cleaning out the carb. No matter how much I took it apart and cleaned it out, it wouldn't run right. The only way to fix it was a new carb. I had the same experience with a pressure washer with the GCV160 engine: no success with cleaning carb, new carb fixed it right up. Like I said, it's only $25. Just replace it.

Very early in my career, an old-timer offered me this advice...
"In order to figure out why something isn't working, you have to understand how it works."
This, for me, has been the "golden rule" when attempting to do ANY kind of repair on ANYTHING. Once you know how this (or any other) carb functions, it is easy to restore it to proper function for a small fraction of it's replacement cost. I can fix this carb for about $0.25 in 15 minutes (if it isn't corroded). Anyone else who has done this for a living for any length of time can also do this, it is not rocket science if you understand how these things work. If you don't understand how they work and don't want to learn, then replacing the carb is probably the most economical alternative if you can find an aftermarket carb that cheap (genuine Honda carbs are not that cheap).
I framed the above statement and hung it in my shop.

 

[exranger06]

Originally Posted By: wag123
Originally Posted By: exranger06
A brand new carburetor for a GCV160 costs $25. Stop wasting your time with all these chemicals and just replace the darn carb. I have a GCV160 on my mower and I have not had any success with cleaning out the carb. No matter how much I took it apart and cleaned it out, it wouldn't run right. The only way to fix it was a new carb. I had the same experience with a pressure washer with the GCV160 engine: no success with cleaning carb, new carb fixed it right up. Like I said, it's only $25. Just replace it.

Very early in my career, an old-timer offered me this advice...
"In order to figure out why something isn't working, you have to understand how it works."
This, for me, has been the "golden rule" when attempting to do ANY kind of repair on ANYTHING. Once you know how this (or any other) carb functions, it is easy to restore it to proper function for a small fraction of it's replacement cost. I can fix this carb for about $0.25 in 15 minutes (if it isn't corroded). Anyone else who has done this for a living for any length of time can also do this, it is not rocket science if you understand how these things work. If you don't understand how they work and don't want to learn, then replacing the carb is probably the most economical alternative if you can find an aftermarket carb that cheap (genuine Honda carbs are not that cheap).
I framed the above statement and hung it in my shop.

I know how carbs work and I've successfully rebuilt several. The GCV160 carb isn't really rebuildable and there are hardly any parts you can take off. There is apparently some tiny passage in it that gets blocked up and is difficult to access. For $25, it isn't worth my time to try and fix it. And a genuine Honda carb IS that cheap and that is what I installed on my mower. In fact, it's even cheaper than $25. You wanna know how much a GENUINE HONDA carb is for a GCV160? It's $13. Proof: http://www.boats.net/parts/detail/honda/H-16100-Z0L-023.html
I had said $25 before, but now that I look at my invoice, the $25 was for the carb AND all of the gaskets that go between the air filter and carb, and between the carb and the engine (there's a total of 5 gaskets). That's why I had the $25 number stuck in my head. But it was actually $27.24 ($19.29 + 7.95 shipping) The gaskets were all also genuine Honda, by the way.

So if you wanna putz around with a carb for an hour to save $13, by all means. I have more valuable things to do with my time.

 

[Kestas]

Originally Posted By: wag123
Also, don't wash your gas tank out with water. This is a bad idea and it won't clean any of the old fuel varnish out of it. Use NEW fuel to clean out a fuel tank.

Washing the tank will remove any particulate debris that may have fallen in. This is the primary reason I wash them.

Most my tanks are plastic. I've never seen metal ones develop varnish. Varnish is more of an elevated temperature phenomenon.

 

[dwendt44]

One of the first things I did when I got my Lawn-Boy with the wonderful
Honda engine was put a fuel filter in it. Haven't had a problem since I
purchased it. 7 years.

 

[wag123]

Originally Posted By: exranger06
I know how carbs work and I've successfully rebuilt several. The GCV160 carb isn't really rebuildable and there are hardly any parts you can take off. There is apparently some tiny passage in it that gets blocked up and is difficult to access. For $25, it isn't worth my time to try and fix it. And a genuine Honda carb IS that cheap and that is what I installed on my mower. In fact, it's even cheaper than $25. You wanna know how much a GENUINE HONDA carb is for a GCV160? It's $13. Proof: http://www.boats.net/parts/detail/honda/H-16100-Z0L-023.html
I had said $25 before, but now that I look at my invoice, the $25 was for the carb AND all of the gaskets that go between the air filter and carb, and between the carb and the engine (there's a total of 5 gaskets). That's why I had the $25 number stuck in my head. But it was actually $27.24 ($19.29 + 7.95 shipping) The gaskets were all also genuine Honda, by the way.

So if you wanna putz around with a carb for an hour to save $13, by all means. I have more valuable things to do with my time.

I didn't say "rebuild" the carb, I said "fix" it.
I sold my OPE shop several years ago, so I'm not up on current OPE replacement parts costs. Back when I had my shop, genuine Honda carbs (made in Japan) were FAR more expensive than $14. They must have shifted all of their production to China.
Regardless, ordering a new carb means that you would be without the use of your equipment until you got the part, while fixing it can have you up and running in minutes. Yes, there are some tiny passageways inside all OPE carbs, but they CAN be successfully cleaned if you know what you are doing, I have done thousands of them. Speaking about time, when you are in business time is money so I never "putzed around" with carb repairs.

 

[wag123]

Originally Posted By: Kestas
Originally Posted By: wag123
Also, don't wash your gas tank out with water. This is a bad idea and it won't clean any of the old fuel varnish out of it. Use NEW fuel to clean out a fuel tank.

Washing the tank will remove any particulate debris that may have fallen in. This is the primary reason I wash them.

Most my tanks are plastic. I've never seen metal ones develop varnish. Varnish is more of an elevated temperature phenomenon.

Just don't use water to clean a fuel tank. Use fresh fuel.
Varnish is more of an AGE phenomenon, but elevated temperatures will accelerate the process. I have seen plenty of metal tanks that had varnish in them.

 

[Ducked]

Originally Posted By: wag123
Originally Posted By: Kestas
Originally Posted By: wag123
Also, don't wash your gas tank out with water. This is a bad idea and it won't clean any of the old fuel varnish out of it. Use NEW fuel to clean out a fuel tank.

Washing the tank will remove any particulate debris that may have fallen in. This is the primary reason I wash them.

Most my tanks are plastic. I've never seen metal ones develop varnish. Varnish is more of an elevated temperature phenomenon.

Just don't use water to clean a fuel tank. Use fresh fuel.
Varnish is more of an AGE phenomenon, but elevated temperatures will accelerate the process. I have seen plenty of metal tanks that had varnish in them.


I've dome that. Followed up with a couple of ethanol and and acetone rinses. Was OK.

 

[Linctex]

If it's brass parts... soaking in Hoppe's #9 gun cleaner will make them look like new.

 

[ironman_gq]

Originally Posted By: Linctex
If it's brass parts... soaking in Hoppe's #9 gun cleaner will make them look like new.


Vinegar cleans brass well too, just don't soak for too long.

 

[hyperscion]

Redline SL-1 works good, try Schaeffer nutra. it cleans well and is a fuel stabil. works great

 

[bubbatime]

Originally Posted By: wag123
Originally Posted By: exranger06
A brand new carburetor for a GCV160 costs $25. Stop wasting your time with all these chemicals and just replace the darn carb. I have a GCV160 on my mower and I have not had any success with cleaning out the carb. No matter how much I took it apart and cleaned it out, it wouldn't run right. The only way to fix it was a new carb. I had the same experience with a pressure washer with the GCV160 engine: no success with cleaning carb, new carb fixed it right up. Like I said, it's only $25. Just replace it.

Very early in my career, an old-timer offered me this advice...
"In order to figure out why something isn't working, you have to understand how it works."
This, for me, has been the "golden rule" when attempting to do ANY kind of repair on ANYTHING. Once you know how this (or any other) carb functions, it is easy to restore it to proper function for a small fraction of it's replacement cost. I can fix this carb for about $0.25 in 15 minutes (if it isn't corroded). Anyone else who has done this for a living for any length of time can also do this, it is not rocket science if you understand how these things work. If you don't understand how they work and don't want to learn, then replacing the carb is probably the most economical alternative if you can find an aftermarket carb that cheap (genuine Honda carbs are not that cheap).
I framed the above statement and hung it in my shop.


You do not, under any circumstances, attempt to clean/rebuild a GCV160 carburetor. They are freaking $13. They are throwaway carburetors, and were designed from the get-go to be cheap, throwaway items. The replacement carbs are made in China. They are cheap. You can argue til you are blue in the face, but spending several hours cleaning a $13 item is what we call a futile endeavor. Plus, you can spend several hours cleaning and soaking it, take it apart, put it back together, and it STILL doesn't work right.

If there is any shop technician in America that advocates the cleaning of GCV160 carburetors, they should be fired by their management.

With labor cost at a shop, it would actually be more expensive to rebuild this carb, then to replace it with a brand new one, for the customer.

To the op, stop wasting time and money on "cleaning chemicals". Buy the parts, watch a YouTube video, and swap the darn thing out.

I face palmed about 50 times just reading this thread. Unbelievable asinine responses.

The ONLY correct answer to the OP's question is to swap out the carb for a new one. Period.

And no you dont have to buy OEM Honda. Ive used hundreds of the aftermarket jobs, and they work just fine. Likely the same carbs, made in the same Chinese factory as well.

 

[Bgallagher]

Originally Posted By: 2cool
I have used Berryman B-12 fuel treatment with great success in such cases. It has acetone, among all the other industrial solvents known to western science.


Berryman is old school but for OPE does a real nice job. I have used it in the past with great success as well.

 

[DrRoughneck]

Here's an update - my mower issue is now fixed.
Thanks to all for the info.

Based on the info in this thread it seemed that ordering a chinese-made replacement carburetor off fleabay was likely to have the most favorable outcome - and it did. For $13 I got shipped from a US addresss a brand new carburetor, gaskets, fuel line, clamps and fuel filter.

Upon inspection the carburetor is nearly identical with the original Honda it replaces with a few differences. The venturi is mirror-polished and the idle adjustment screw is adjustable. On the Honda stock carburetor, the idle adjustment screw is covered by a temper-proof cover that breaks the screw if removed, preventing adjustment of idle. The GCV160 manual is very clear on the subject and discourages owners from adjusting idle.

No such thing on the chinese carb, the idle screw is readily adjustable. That makes it better in my book, all else being the same.

I took out the two brass jets off the chinese carb and they appear identical to the stock jets.

Once I installed the new carb, the mower started without fuss. It holds idle beautifully and purs like a kitten.

Thanks all for recommending these replacement carbs. $13 is a price point where cleaning an old corroded carb was a losing proposition in my case. YMMV.

 

[AMC]

Perhaps the days of aftermarket (especially Chinese) carburetors being junk and a complete waste of time are gone?

Honda has moved most of their motorcycle and small equipment manufacturing to china, maybe that says something too?