Briggs & Stratton Mower engines-Resiliant little buggers!!

[Strika]

I have been paying my step kids to do the lawns while I've been away. As usual, they have the money and I have six foot high grass in the backyard, making it look like a houso house!! (No offence to anyone living in one)
So, I decided to drag my mower out and do it myself this arvo, since Mmamster never replied to the ride post response.

The mower has been in the shed for about 12 weeks unused. I pulled it out a couple of weeks ago and realised that the roof of the shed had been leaking. I could tell by the hydraulic lock which nearly ripped my shoulder apart when I went to start the mower!! It had run straight into the carby and filled the whole motor up!!!! So, I pulled the plug out and pulled the cord till I had most of the water out. It took a while, pumping gobs of water out on each pull. I then fixed the leaking roof, ran out of time and stuck the mower back in the shed without cutting the grass. Hence, today, rideless and being dry, I decided to see if I could coax some life back out of the mower, having given it a couple of weeks to dry out....!

I popped the plug back in, primed it up and got it started with about 100 pulls of the starter cord! It wouldn't run by itself at first, so I had to keep pumping fuel into it. Eventually as it got hot, it swallowed and evaporated all the water and ...budda bing!! mower works zachary as it did previously!! Of course I didn;t worry about changing the oil, as I figured the heat would burn it off!!!

I just finished cutting the lawns and the mower really doesn't seem to have suffered any for the large ingestion of water which it managed!

So, at the end of the day, antiquated they may be......but fark are they hardy!!!!!

[photomike666]

My mover is similar - gets used about once every 3 months, starts easy, runs and cuts great. So far from new has done 5 years between service intervals

[philbo]

I popped the plug back in, primed it up and got it started with about 100 pulls of the starter cord! It wouldn't run by itself at first, so I had to keep pumping fuel into it.

I keep a can of start ya bastard handy for this situation no man should have to pull over 5 times to get a mower started

[Gosling1]

hahaha funny you should mention these old B&S motors......I dragged one out of Dad's shed last year, to use in a kids go-cart for the 3 young'uns.....

well this old B&S motor used to be fitted to one of those 'edger' machines, it actually was bought new by my granddad.....back in 1968 .... - well after a quick fill with old fuel......it started after 3 or 4 attempts, and sat there idling like it had been started every weekend for the last 20 years...... . It does need a new gasket under the carbie though, weeped a bit of fuel out of there.....

That was the first time it had been started since about 1982 ?? Great little motors.....

[MickLC]

I bought a mower with a B&S motor around 13 years ago when we moved into this house and recently gave it to my brother when we'd gotten rid of the last of our grass.

For that whole 13 years I never changed the oil, never cleaned the filter and never did anything to look after it over winter. It still starts first time every time and runs like a dream.

[seiko1]

Yep had mine 11 yr's and same thing.
Oil changed once and it still starts first pop every time