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

My Ariens 7524 was working perfectly last year (last year was its first year). Couldn't start it today. It has gas, feul shut off valve was left open since last year, Key switch is in run position, and the start works fine. I kept it in the gaurage for the whole time. Any help would be highly appreciated. What is the likelihood f the carburetor being dirty? The snow blower was used for about 3 hours last year. If you think it is the carburetor how should I clean it. I am not sure if I got the engine manual.

Thank you for both replies. Both of you guessed right. Aged gas was the problem. I was lucky and using fresh gas took care of the problem. No need for taking the engine apart and doing card cleaning.

Thanks

Put a little carb cleaner in your gas, such as "Sea Foam"!!

                                                               Fred

I have a similar problem also with my Ariens 7524. This would be its second season. At the end of the first season I added Stabil, ran it for 10 minutes and then shut off the fuel valve. When I tried to start this season (electric start), it started for about 15-20 seconds, then stopped. It did this about 2 or 3 times, and now I can't get it to do even that. That is with full choke, fuel valve open, primed 3 or 4 times, throttle on low. I added some fresh fuel to the tank, but it didn't seem to help at all (I didn't drain the old fuel out though). What should I do next? If it is to drain the fuel tank, what is the best way to do that (I know that sounds like a dumb question)? Should I drain the fuel out of the carb? If so, how do I do that? Thanks for the expert advice!

tds1 wrote:

My guess is the fuel in the tank and the carb. should be dumped.  Possible ways to empty the tank would be to turn the shut-off to the off position. Remove the fuel line hose clamp nearest the carb. Pull the hose off and empty the contents of the fuel tank into a container and dispose of the old gas. Drop the fuel bowl from the carb. by unscrewing the high speed fuel adjustment screw located at the under side of the fuel bowl. Clean the bowl and carefully reattached it to the carb. body. Re-attach the fuel line to the carb. tighten the hose clamp. Fill with gas, open the fuel shut-off and try starting. It should fire right up. This is also a good time to clean and adjust the spark plug to .030" gap.

Jake..

Thanks Jake for the helpful advice. I was planning on following your advice over the weekend when I had more time - but I just figured out the problem. The Ariens manual shows the fuel shut off valve as horizontal when open, vertical when closed. The engine manual shows the exact opposite (which I only looked at tonight). So, based on the Ariens manual I put the fuel switch to horizontal. That is why it started for 20 seconds, then stopped and never started again. Obviously, I had it backwards (just took me a few days to figure out), but isn't it strange the Ariens manual and the engine manual shows the exact opposite settings for the fuel switch. Oh well - problem solved. Thanks all!