Briggs and Stratton

[Bob Purton]

Its all very quite on the forum these days. Maybe a good time to ask for some lawn mower advice. I gave myself a groin strain yesterday trying to start my lawn mower. Its an MTD with a pretty useless American Briggs and Stratton motor on it, its been a pig to start almost from new. The booklet says give the rubber starter button three squirts to start from cold, mine has always taken at least six! Now for no apparent reason it refuses to start at all. There is a spark at the plug and the plug gets wet when trying to start it so fuel is getting through but it will not fire up. Anyone had similar experiences?

[NickPoll]

Hello Bob, I have a similar B&S engine on a mower. It also needs 5 or 6 pushes on the primer. Sometimes if it doesn't start, I take the lid off the air filter box ( normally one large slotted screw ), then try starting it. Sometimes it does the trick. Good luck.   Nick.

[Bob Purton]

Morning Nick. Tried that also. No luck. Maybe its time for a new Honda powered one.

[Mark Green]

Same problem over here I bought a Honda

[Bob Purton]

Oh dear. Sounds like a common problem what ever the make. I could probably fiddle and get mine started but as I've done myself a mischief its out of the question until I'm mended. A lawn mower with a siba dynastart  would be an answer!

[super-se7en (Malc Dudley)]

I had the same problem and i had a spark at the plug . I put a new plug in that i had from a brand new strimmer that was in the garage and away it went. Might be worth a try.

[Jim Janecek]

...its been a pig to start almost from new.

since new eh?
is it possible that you have been starting it wrong since new?   
I ask because I have an MTD snow blower with a Briggs & Stratton engine and it has started on the first pull since new.
It is now almost 14 years old.

I also prime it until fuel starts dripping out of the carb, never mind what the book says.

You may simply have a bad spark plug.  Try changing it if you have not already.
And if you have one of those "spark plug cleaners" that blasts the plug clean, don't use it.  Get a new plug instead.

[Bob Purton]

Yes Jim, very funny! Mine wouldn't start with no squirts, I,2,3,4, or five, it had to be six what ever the temperature. Mine is 13 years old. New plug on order along with surgical truss!

[Bob Purton]

Just decided to try the old 5mls of petrol shot directly into the spark plug hole using a syringe trick.
Problem was how to pull the cord without turning my groin strain into a double hernia!  I then came up with the idea of attaching a strap to the pull cord handle and attaching the other end to  something fixed or heavy, I decided on the Bobette chassis, then all I had to do was push the mower forward sharply. It still brought tears to my eyes but the mower coughed into life on the first push. Where there's a will there's a way!

[Barry]

I always find it easier to get my wife to start the mower.