Lawnmower

FX Meister

I'll keep it brief. Got a new lawnmower last year, mountfield with briggs and Stratton engine. Kept in the shed all winter. Now it won't start, petrol levels are fine, as is the oil and the spark plug looks good even though I didn't take it out. Any ideas? It's covererd under a 2 year warranty but I have lost the receipt/documentation. It's only been used about 6 times in total.

smashey

Try taking the spark plug out and cleaning it or replacing it.

crosstownk

Do what smashey says - there may be condensation or oil on the plug. You may also need to put fresh petrol in as petrol goes dead if it's left lying.

My mower has a B&S engine and it starts perfectly every time. but when I start for the first time after the winter I always press the primer (round ball thingy) a lot more than normal, then I pull the rip cord slowly two or three times before starting.

I've B&S 2 stroke engines on a strimmer and hedge trimmer and man they are an absolute b1tch to start after the winter.

Mr Magnolia

Sorry to point out the obvious but: don't forget to hold the safety lever in when trying to start it, it happened me once. Let me know if it was the safety lever yoke, I hope I'm not the only one that got caught out with this, though it was a neighbours mower not mine..

The B&S engine is nearly bullet proof. Take it to a mechanic if it's still giving you jip.

Dummy

This happened with my dad's mower - just changed petrol with fresh petrol and worked ok.

ednwireland

my old lawnmower gets a build up of cut grass where the throttle vane connects back to the body theres a long metal bar. it eventually starts and cuts out cos the throttle cant regulate itself on my mountfield its underneath the fuel tank and its a bit of a job to get to it o might blast it with compressed air but my mower used to this every couple of years and i used to pay for servicing until i worked out this. before i got to this i was always told it was dirty/old fuel by the service guys but i stripped all the carb etc before i found this. never seen this mentioned anywhere.
briggs and stratton manuals
http://www.briggsandstratton.com/display/router.asp?DocID=78498

FX Meister

Cheers for the info dudes, I'll change the petrol and sparkplug to be sure.

feorais

FX Meister wrote:

I'll keep it brief. Got a new lawnmower last year, mountfield with briggs and Stratton engine. Kept in the shed all winter. Now it won't start, petrol levels are fine, as is the oil and the spark plug looks good even though I didn't take it out. Any ideas? It's covererd under a 2 year warranty but I have lost the receipt/documentation. It's only been used about 6 times in total.

Petrol deteriorates over time, should be drained from machine each Autumn and used in the car. If you intend to leave petrol to overwinter, add a special petrol stabiliser made for this situation. One is called Stabil, and Briggs & Stratton have one as well. Now, to start, drain all old petrol and replace with fresh stuff. If it still will not start, buy a can of Quick Start or equivalent and use as directed.May help to add a drop or three to the plug area, remove plug first, pull starter, then replace the plug and it should start easily enough now.