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Mum had her petrol lawnmower serviced, a balmoral 14s, last year after it was left standing over winter with fuel in....new carb etc, £180. I cut her lawn half a dozen times after service and left it with fuel in over winter with an added preservative in it that was sold to me by the servicing company who told me that it would be fine over winter with the additive in......mixed it in with the unleaded fuel in petrol container to ensure all fuel used would be 'preserved'.
Forward to this spring, mower started first time after an idle winter with fuel and additive in but cut out after 10mins, would start again but cut out again after approx 5 mins. Went to start it a fortnight ago and it just wouldn't start....and then the starting rope(?) frayed and snapped, swearing began. I was off on holiday the following day so mum had lawnmower co collect mower and has since received bill for £92 , told preservative added to fuel was not supposed to be left in over winter months and was then told special lawnmower fuel should be used, not unleaded from the petrol station but she couldn't remember the name of it - I'm assuming its called, IIRC, Aspen, that was £30 for 5 litres from the lawnmower shop, the same shop that told me the fuel preservative was OK for storing in mower over winter.
I'm going to give them a call in the morning but admit I know nothing about petrol lawnmowers so a bit concerned they might be ripping her off and telling her she NEEDS the £6/litre fuel (I'm pretty sure that her now deceased partner just used petrol pump unleaded during the 5 odd years he used it from new, never seen any Aspen(?) in the shed, just petrol canisters), and that she shouldn't have stored it over winter with any fuel in it (as i said, I am a novice with petrol lawnmowers!)
Any advice appreciated......and anyone want to buy a lawnmower??
Yes there is such a thing - Aspen fuel.
I've never used it in an engine but I have used something similar in Sweden in a primus pressure stove on an expedition. It is very clean so won't clog the stove jet with ash.
Anyway I leave our cement mixers over winter (November to march) every year and they always start in the spring - probably we put in fresh petrol though. Same goes for our compressor - in fact I have just started that exactly 12 months after the last time i used it, and on 12 month old petrol. They are both 150cc Honda engines, make of that what you will.
Briggs and Stratton sell an additive saying exactly what you said. Personally I wouldn't bother and I would drain the tank at season end. I imagine your run/stall/run problems are carb gumming or blocking. I'd suggest getting to know how to clean it, easy enough with a haynes manual and the carb section. It's been covered on here before quite well in fact.
The aspen petrol is unnecessary however you may prefer its eco credentials to regular jungle.
I use aspen two stroke mix in garden kit (chainsaws, strimmers, hedge irimmers etc) and it is left in and they start fine after lay off. Domestic use so they ca be unused for weeks at a time plus winter. It is supposed to stop the rubber pipes and primer bulbs degrading and my experience supports this.
Not sure if the Aspen four stroke is as good but my experience of the two stroke mix suggests it would be, albeit expensive as you are likely to use more in a mower..
For my Petrol mowers i use unleaded pump fuel with Briggs and Stratton stabiliser in it. But; i always run dry before winter lay up. Then use fresh fuel with stabiliser for the spring start up. I also don't keep the fuel for "months" and recycle it through the car if i think its been around a while.
For ease of use and less fat you may be better off trying the Aspen 4T for your Mums machine.
HTH
We always empty the tank, then run the machine out of fuel before laying up.
It's just simpler to put fresh fuel in at the beginning of the season.
We always empty the tank, then run the machine out of fuel before laying up.It's just simpler to put fresh fuel in at the beginning of the season.
This
Run it dry as said above. Shell Ultimate is good for a first fuel because of its cleaning agents.
That said, I don't empty my mower over the winter as I still use it every 2 to 4 weeks to pick up leaves or tidy up the lawn.
It's definitely a 4 stroke?
Aspen is fancy pants stuff, but regular pump fuel is fine. Got a variety of kit and abusers at work, worst we've had is the one who put 2-stroke mixed fuel in a mower. I managed to dilute it down, but smoked like crazy for 10 minutes. Leaving fuel in isn't ideal, but that isn't what has broken our machines.
mine has had fuel left in over a few years winter lay offs, but i've only had issues starting it in spring, that's all. ( honda ). these days i run it dry when i think i'm going to leave it, and with fresh fuel i've had no issue starting it beyond pulling the new stuff through. note that petrol does 'go off' after 6 months or so.
its a big problem for small engines, sitting around with fuel in them. Aspen is big in the chain saw circles, after reading about it I did some research
Standard pump fuel does several things that make life tough for occasional use engines. first the volatile components which aid starting evaporate, making it hard to start a saw/mower on older fuel. combat by using aspen (alkalyte fuel) or using fresh fuel or ensure fuel is stored in an air tight and metal canister, as the volatiles are small enough to diffuse through plastic cans. Next problem is the aromatic compounds in regular fuel which slowly degrade (oxidise) to form gums and varnishes which clog carbs etc. so e of these are petrol soluble and can be cleaned out but some aren't, combat by using aspen or store your saw/mower empty. fuel stabilizers also help here, they slow the rate of aromatic breakdown. finally ethanol in fuel can be a problem in 2 ways, attacking some rubbers and plastics destroying fuel lines etc and by absorbing water. if enough water is absorbed the ethanol settles out of the fuel as a jelly, striping octane as it goes and clogging fuel lines with the jelly. combat by using aspen or by avoiding ethanol containing fuels. 95 ron contains ethanol (IIRC ir 10%) by law. The law doesn't apply to premium fuels and although the exact amount varies by brand and location, they generally contain none, or a lot less, so although it may seem excessive, Shell v-power nitro 99 ron and ethanol free is a lot cheaper than Aspen, and easier to get. Plus of course, store the saw/mower empty. Finally Aspen may also deliver other benefits such as health benefits. However Aspen costs 3 times or more what pump fuel costs and isn't as freely available. Think that covers it.
I buy Shell v-power and add stabiliser, my mower isn't run empty often and never complains but i store the fuel in a metal can, only add enough to the mower to do the lawns and put any left at the end of the summer into the car. When I mix 2-stroke mix for the saw i only do enough for a year of cutting, or less, and on top of the stabiliser i also add stihl green (premium) 2 stroke oil which contains another stabiliser. again stored in a metal can. the saw is ALWAYS run empty.
Nah. Just bung it away covered in grass with half a tank, just in case you do one more cut. Come the spring, top it up and start. It'll cough a bit then run.
All these fancy fuels will work but easier to drain the tank and run it til it stops.
I have a petrol mower thats 10 years old. I have never emptied the fuel for winter. Its started after a few pulls in the spring as long as i can remember. Check the oil now and then and thats it.
My briggs and stratton flymo is 14 years old, I've never drained or run it out of fuel before laying it up for winter. It starts 1st or 2nd pull every spring. I've replaced the carb gasket once, glued a broken inlet manifold back together when it started running badly and sharpened the blade a few times. It's neverbeen cleaned or serviced either. Never drain the two stoke mix from my strimmers, hedge trimmer or chainsaw either and not had problems
Same as Iola.
Bought my current lawnmower in 2004. I think I've topped the oil up once but apart from that it gets parked in the garage at the end of every summer. I've got a jerry can with fuel in it that must be two years old now and it still starts first time every time.
I wouldn't mind but it's a B&Q/Mountfield shitty Italian engine special. As a time served plant mechanic (who should know better), I lusted after a Honda Izy but couldn't justify it at the time.
I've been treating it like shit for roughly 3 hours a week but it just keeps on going.
Hmmm took over my Dad's Honda hr194 12 years ago, didn't use it for the 2 I lived in London but have since then. Never knew I should look after it but it starts each Spring after a few pulls having left fuel in over winter. I topped up the oil for the 1st time last year, great machine really.
Not a lawn mower but my Rotovator has a Honda engine. I bought it off a guy who refurbishes garden tools and sells them. He told me to use the premium higher octane petrol from shell or bp. He said he finds it avoids a lot of problems with poor starting and running. I have had it about 3 years and haven't maintained it other than changing the oil and I have never had a bit of trouble.
Iola +1
It's conked out on us once and had £50 of servicing to get it right.
It gets BP regular fuel (closest forecourt to us).
Mower is a smaller Mountfield.
I think the OP's mother needs to find a better service place from the sound of it, inconsistent advice and a bit of salesmanship going on from reading what he's written.
Familiar wth the hassle, my classic BMW bike won't start if pump fuel has been left in over winter and I inevitably need to change carb seals etc...
We have race bikes and they will not start if the fuel has been left in the tank for a few weeks! Avgas is good, does not break down and minimal additives, will start after months but hard to get.
Just drain the mower here and run it empty.
Honda here. Can be a bit tricky in spring until the fuel left in over winter has been diluted with fresh, but other than one home service and an occasional blade sharpen with a file it's pretty neglected. The deck is pretty corroded now, I reckon that's going to rust through in the next couple of seasons, so looking forward to replacing that. 👿
No need for 'special fuel', and petrol won't go off in a sealed container - it will slowly deteriorate in a petrol tank, because that's vented, so draining it if it's going to be stood sounds sensible to me.
Avgas is leaded and only of benefit if you're running high compression ratios - probably not much use for a lawn mower! 🙂
I always give mine a good clean and empty all the fuel out... no wait, I always say to myself I will. Mine gets stuck in the shed, usually covered in wet grass and half a tank of fuel, never had any issues, this spring there was even half a bag of grass still in it!
Thanks for all the replies, I told my mum that there's knowledge about anything on here! Will be able to have a "well it should't have done that after your last service and preservative in fuel over winter" discussion now, will take it from there. In future will be draining tank and using until it stops then using fresh fuel in the spring with the preservative added - IIRC it was called fuel life.
I forget to mention before that its a cylinder mower, described as a specialist mower on a few sites - totally unnecessary but he liked his lawn, and have noticed that a lot of the replies relate to what I assume are the more throw-about-able robust 4 wheel honda type mowers.........am I right in assuming a mower engine is similar on all styles of petrol mower and the above replies still apply?
......the manual says just use unleaded and mums late partner only ever used forecourt unleaded so I'm assuming so..? As I said earlier I don't know much about engines, the shame!!It's definitely a 4 stroke?
New service co needed, thanks again
My briggs and stratton flymo is 14 years old, I've never drained or run it out of fuel before laying it up for winter. It starts 1st or 2nd pull every spring
Older Briggs and Stratton engines are designed to run on 89RON fuel (can't confirm but it was a low number in my manual). As befits 'robust' American engineering of that time.
The Echo strimmer by comparison is a prima donna and I'll be switching to Nitro pre-mix once the litre of aspen runs out. Cheers NeilNevill
Nitrous..
yeah empty the tank before winter
Most b&s mowers have this over winter problem. The fuel makes the carb diaphragm go stiff and inflexible. New carb diaphragm for a few quid on eBay sorts it.
Bloke I bought my mower off basically goes to the skips, buys all the dead b&s engined mowers that people chuck out as they "don't"start, puts a new diaphragm in the carb and there we go, sold to me for £40 and 5 yrs later still going after no love and living outside under a tree!
Mine just runs on Super Unleaded and generally gets ignored from last cut to spring. Helps with MPG and making progress around the lawn
The lawnmower place near me sells Aspen fuel - £15/5litres. I always just left ordinary fuel in over winters but had issues for 2 winters before being advised about the issues discussed above. Can't think of a Shell station anywhere near me or it would be theirs used instead! The Aspen sorted the over wintering issue though.
I have a petrol mower thats 10 years old. I have never emptied the fuel for winter. Its started after a few pulls in the spring as long as i can remember. Check the oil now and then and thats it.
That's about where I am at - I do always use fresh fuel at the start of a season but have never drained it nor added any fancy additives to it. Mine is a B&S engined thing from B&Q and had it four years. It pretty much starts first time every time, even at first cut of the year.