Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

Just tried to mow the lawn for the first time. I could get the mower to start after a lot of pulling. Once I stopped it to empty the grass catcher it wouldn't start until it had been sitting for about 15 minutes. It has fresh gas with Pri-G in it, and a fresh spark plug. The only data on it is 9.02 CU IN, 3.5 HP @ 3600 and a "Briggs and Stratton" on the crank cover plate. Its not enough for me to find anything on the B&S web site.

The old plug had a lot of carbon and what looked like grit on it, this could be due to my putting a squirt of oil in the cylinder last fall, I might have dropped the plug before putting it in, I'm not sure. The new one dosen't seem to get fouled but it doesn't run too long either. When I use the primer while trying to start it it cuts out any sort of partial firing until I let it "dry" for a few minutes. The last time I got it going it turned over steadily for a while but with very little power, even when the throttle was fully open. There are no funny sounds.

If anyone has any ideas I'd appreciate it.

This just in

It turns out  a previous owner must have spray painted the engine cowling. I  found the mmodel information after scraping paint for a while.

Model: 92502
Type 3192
Code 01 89121652.

Ive found the owner's manual and illustrated parts list on the B&S web site.

Just for the heck of it, next time it does it remove the gas cap, put it back on and start it. You gas cap could not be venting properly.

As soon as I read this I smacked my head since there have been several discussions about gas caps not venting properly. I'll give it a try, thanks.

Hopefully, that's it., cheap fix if so. Let us know.

Nib,
What brand of mower is this on?
You said it had a primer on it? For that year...they didnt come with primers. (If the tank has a plastic carb mounted on it, then it is a replacement carb.)
Are you trying too start run it without the air filter screw in the carb?.....That will make it run rich and erratic.
The engine serial number says its a 1989 model...so its 16 years old....how far do you want too look into fixing it?
We will all be glad too help, but is it worth it?

buttlint wrote:
The mower is a Noma Brute. Its a metal gas tank but the carburetor does have plastic parts. Is it worth the effort to fix? Depends on what a new engine costs compared to the cost of repair. The deck is in good shape.

As it  turns out I downloaded the user manual  from the B&S web site and checked the specs on the spark plug. Turns out I had the wrong type of plug and it was improperly gapped. I checked the gas cap ( its in good shape), bought a new plug, gapped it per the specs. We now have a working mower, I think. I have to mow  a lawn to test it out.

Thanks to everyone, I'll update the thread once I have at least 15 minutes on the machine.