The Great Big Lawnmower Thread

deezell

The bulb is replaceable in that model, here's a store that sells Sovereign parts. https://www.mowspares.co.uk/primer-bulb-sovereign-lawnmowers

Dohvolle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119117329#Comment_119117329

Tried that. Not the same.

I stuck it back in, it works, but it's struggling for fuel. Pump it 10-15 times and it starts on 2nd pull, but it is only barely running. As if the throttle was fully closed in a mower with a hand throttle.

deezell

Primer has no function once it starts. Its something else blocking fuel. Take off the bowl and clean out.

The Continental Op

And also the obvious change the plug. Its probably fine but its easy and rules it out. Was looking at a neighbors mower this week. Won't start and when I looked at the plug it will spark but the ceramic was cracked down two sides. Replaced plug and its fine.

deezell

Also check that the crankcase vent hose hasn't detached.

The Continental Op

We really should do a basic troubleshooting list for small engines as the same stuff comes up over and over.

Dohvolle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119118210#Comment_119118210

Plug was checked and is fine, gap checked 0.5mm. HT leads OK, making strong connection to plug. Not perfect, but connecting. It does have a tiny petrol tank, less than a litre. What I took out of it had mostly evaporated before I put it back in.

Why do people decide to remove the butterfly nuts on the handle and replace them with whatever nuts happen to be lying around the house? I have a 14 on one side and an 11 on the other.. The ring/clip that should hold the starting cord to the handle is also missing. Why?

deezell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119120064#Comment_119120064

Without curveballs like this, you'd have no reason for expletives when doing a repair, which is very refreshing to the soul. It's especially enjoyable to listen to a disembodied pair of legs poking out from under a car/tractor/agricultural machine bemoaning,'"the ef*** c who last put this together, if I find the B***x, I'll shove this Eff*** metric wrench up his 3/4"......" etc, etc. Happy memories from the very distant Imperial-to-Metric past. I discovered that the same heavy repair motivational technique could be applied to almost any challenging situation as a personal aid, no matter the task.

Dohvolle

Of course roofing bolts are usually the DIY fastener of choice.

The Continental Op

I think thats only out in the county where they keep buckets full of old rusty nuts and bolts just in case.

One job I was on they kept and straightened out old used fencing staples.

willietherock

Hi, looking for advice on taking an oil level on a Husqvarna CTH 151 ride on lawnmower. The type of dipstick is as shown, has a double o ring and needs to be pushed down into the hole to fully secure. If taking a oil level do I need to push it down into the hole or just rest it on top of the lip? I done an oil change and 1 litre will get upto the full mark if I fully press the dipstip down which seems way too little oil to me.

IMG_20220527_202829.jpg

The Continental Op

Oil capacity on that (from the manual) is 3 pints. Now is that US pints or UK pints either way its a lot more than one liter more like 1.4 liters if US pints or 1.7 liters UK if UK pints so put in another half liter and I bet its much nearer the top mark when the dipsick is resting on that lip.

However the manual states

Use gauge on oil fill cap/dipstick for checking level. For accurate reading, insert dipstick into the tube and push down firmly into place before removing. Keep oil up to, but not over, the “FULL” line on dipstick. Push dipstick down fi rmly into the tube when finished.

You can get the manual from manualslib.com

Edit> Do you have the standard CTH 151 or the XP version? XP version has a fuel filter and takes a little more oil 3.8 pints if you change the oil filter.

willietherock

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119124309#Comment_119124309

From reading the manual the dip stick should be pushed down fully which leaves 1 litre oil to reach the fill mark. Leaving dipstick on the lip drops oil level halfway between the low and full mark. Every vid Ive seen on youtube says this engine requires ~ 1.5 litres of oil but they have different type of dipstick. I'll end up massively over filling or under filling the oil level. 😥

The Continental Op

Personally I'd go by the actual volume of oil they say you need for the engine. See where that is on the dipstick then use that as your mark. tbh you can't 100% rely on the manual, can't remember what it was now but I know my Honda manual has at least one major error in it.

However that engine comes with that silly easy oil change feature and the question is did you completely drain the oil? Any chance there was still half a liter left in the engine after you drained the oil? I keep an eye on how much comes out on an oil change, not because of your dipstick issue but because its quicker to know that you had enough old oil and that you drained out say a liter because then you can bang a liter of fresh oil in without having to keep checking the dipstick.

Its not like you have to worry about burning out a catalytic converter with too much oil, too little on the other hand won't do you any good.

What I think I'd do here is check what engine that is exactly it may be branded Husquvarna but I think its a Kohler. Dig around and find out exactly which one then find the manual for that engine and see what that says about the quantity of oil required.

Edit> So its a Kohler Model SV470 which according to this http://www.kohlerengines.com/engines/onlinecatalog/pdf/sm_20_690_01.pdf only takes 1.04 to 1.3l of oil so you seem to be in the right area with one liter.

And again from the Kohler engine manual

Ensure engine is cool.

Clean oil fi ll/dipstick areas of any debris.

1. Remove dipstick; wipe oil off.

2. Reinsert dipstick into tube; press completely down.

3. Remove dipstick; check oil level. Level should be at top of indicator on dipstick.

4. If oil is low on indicator, add oil up to top of indicator mark.

5. Reinstall and secure dipstick.

deezell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119125218#Comment_119125218

Does it have an oil filter? Did you turn engine over to fill it and other cavities, then stop and recheck level. Maybe you didn't get a full drain of the old if you were on a slope. Equally, don't check oil level on a slope. Lots of things will throw the amount filled (some cars' auto transmissions only drain about 60% of its oil by design, I had a CVT Audi like that). If the oil is up to the full marker after running for a few minutes then you're grand. If the oil is slightly discoloured from fresh, it means you had reasonable residual from the drain

Its also worth checking that you have the correct stick, if you bought it used it could have the wrong one. Look for a part number on the stick.

Skill

So wiht special thanks to @deezell for all the advice, we bought a brand new Mountfield 827H. It was delivered during the week, and we took it out today.

It looks amazing, but blows a lot of white smoke when started and more when moving, so we've had to stop.

The internet says it's mostly likely oil, and i could see how oil might havebeen spilled in the course of delivery. dipping the oil suggests it's a little too full.

Any advice? We can't use it as is, as it's polluting u the neighbourhood. the people we bought it from are closed on Saturdays

The Continental Op

Do an "oil change" drain all the oil and leave a little longer than normal so you drain as much as possible. If you can measure how much oil was in the engine so you know how big the excess was. Then refil to the correct dipstick level and see how much you have left.

Skill

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119125513#Comment_119125513

Brilliant - thank you

The Continental Op

If its not massively over then post back as we can look into what it could be.

Skill

So we rang the seller, who advised running it for a while to burn off the oil that was causing the white smoke. that seemed to work, to be fair. We figured out how we needed to clear the grass output, as it had stopped collecting. We're probably making all kinds of rookie errors since this is our first ride-on lawnmower

But now the thing won't start at all. It's not dead when you turn the key - it makes a rattley noise - but the engine doesn't kick in

It's brand new, so surely it can't be the battery? The spark plug and all those things seem to be connected pretty well. We've topped it up with petrol (and yes, petrol was the right choice)

the seller, of course, closed at lunchtime :(

What are we missing?

deezell

Battery terminals probably need to be tightened. Pre sale prep seems to have been botched. These are often delivered sans oil, battery not installed.

The Continental Op

If it won't start are you sure none of the safety mechanisms are engaged? Out of gear in neutral (or no pressure on the pedal) blades off, grass box on, sometimes brake on, someone sat on the seat?

Skill

@the

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119126449#Comment_119126449

Thanks and yes, we've checked all those.

Will try the battery terminals, as @deezell suggested

Skill

The battery connectors (on the bottom left of the photo above) seem fine. there's this other thing (bottom centre) that looks designed to take two wires, but there's nothing there.

is that normal?

and apologies for what are certainly stupid questions ...

deezell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119126740#Comment_119126740

That's a charger port or an accessory port. If you don't have a meter, see if the instrument lights, If any, go off when you're keying. Clicking on starting is usually a poor connection, or a nearly flat battery, which loses continuity under the starter load, which releases the solenoid, then voltage rises again and solenoid closes again and so on. Check push on connectors in the battery, pull off and clean, they should be really tight. They really should be screw down for starter current. Does that mower come with a charger? Some smaller mowers don't have an alternator, so you have to keep it charged. If you've been starting it a lot then it might need a charge.

Skill

thanks soooo much, @deezell

We probably need to pick up a charger

The Continental Op

There is no mention of needing to charge the battery between uses in the manual and the parts list for the engine indicates there is a "charge coil assembly" so while it could be a flat battery in regular use you should not need to charge the battery.

The Continental Op

Don't pay the rediculus money for the genuine charger. Any half decent car battery charger will do the job. You know the one I recommend if you go back a few posts.

Skill

i think it is a flat battery. Turns out my other half left the key in the on position when it was in the shed for a day or two.

will pick up a charger, and start anew. Thanks all

fryup

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119027788#Comment_119027788

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119027829#Comment_119027829

don't mean to flog a dead horse - but if the board is faulty then would the lights on the dash light up? cause all of them do