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

I struggled to get my Ariens 8524 through the 10" of snow on my driveway yesterday here in south Jersey.  The engine would start right up either with the electric start or pull start on full throttle and full choke.  But if I tried to take it off choke at all it would stall.  This was after letting it warm up a little too.  Initially it was very hard to start and keep running.  This is a 1 year old snowblower that I used 3 times last year and this is my first time this year.  I kept stabilized fuel in the machine and had test fired it back in Novemeber and the snowblower started fine and I was able to get it to run off choke then.  I was only able to run the blower on full choke and only short distances before it would repeatedly stall out.  I drained the gas and put in fresh gas.  No improvement.  I am very frustrated and aggrevated over this Ariens.  Now I bought this machine last year new and had a belt problem that required dealer repair.  Then the blow by problem with the chute and baffle kit!  Now I have this engine stalling problem.  This Ariens has been the worst piece of power equipment I have ever owned!  Any other Ariens owners with similar problems?

***I just got my snowblower back from the shop.  They said the problem was a "sunken float" in the carburetor, and they replaced the float under warranty.  So it's repaired,  for now.  I just finished reading the 37 replies to my post and I am now wondering who to blame?  Ariens, Tecumseh, or the carburetor float manufacturer??  The Ariens website says that they use Tecumseh Snow King engines built to Ariens specifications.  So does Ariens specify the carburetor float?  Who knows.  What I do know is that I have a 1 year old snowblower (used 4 times) that's been in the shop twice in a year for repairs.  NOT a very good track record.  My snowblower for me is not a toy.  I need it to clear my driveway to get to work.  So far this Ariens has not performed to my expectations and I regret my purchase.  If I could get my money back I'd sell this Ariens in a second and buy another manufacturers machine.  Anyway, that's the update.  Looking forward to warmer weather.

Hi folks,

A really silly question regarding fuel if I may; is there anything on the market you can pour your fuel through and into your power equipment's fuel tank to remove suspended water? Also, I usually keep my PRI-G stabilized fuel in a plastic 6 gallon container.  Do these fuel containers attract more water sitting on a concrete garage floor or should the containers sit on a shelf off the floor?  Thanks.

  Richie,

           Yes there is, it's called Mr Funnel, also West Marine stores sells it.

Go to the West Marine web site, look under Fuel Filter Funnel.

They run about $20.00, but well worth it.

                                                                Fred      

Fred,

That's great thank you. I'll pick one up today.

Hi Guys!

I agree with Jubol concerning the funnel with the water seperator.However,I believe that we forget about the moisture laden air that enters the carb through the  intake when the engine is running or just sitting.  This moisture contaminates the fuel in the bowl and is I feel the cause of the icing conditions and or corrosion some of us experience. The solution is to turn off the fuel valve,run the engine till it uses up the fuel in the line below the valve and then drain the bowl by pushing up on the spring loaded pin on the bowl bottom. This pin appears on most Tecumseh engines. Not sure about Briggs and Stratton. The one Honda I worked on has a neat litle drain screw to drain the bowl.

 In addition I have been adding fuel stabilizer to my gas when I fill the can and have also been adding Sea Foam to ward off corrosion in the carb.Been doing this for a while now in all my ope including 2cycle and four cycle. Carbs seem to be much smoother in transition from low to high and everything starts REAL easy!  

Marc

Hi Tiko:

After reading your problem, I think that your problem is related to a poor carburator adjustment.  I leave stabilized fuel in all of my offseason equipment and have yet to have a problem with bad gas the following season (knock on wood).  Because your machine is still under warranty, call an authorized Ariens dealer and have them go through the machine and fine tune it.  I believe that with some slight screw turning of the carb, you will be just fine.  If need be, you could make the carb adjustment yourself....

bbwb

bbwb wrote:

Could be either adjustment or water, somehow you're not getting enough gas.  Water can freeze the pin up in the gas inlet, or just take up too much space in the bowl.  At the beginning and end of every season I pull the bowl off and clean it out (just don't let the plunger/pin fall out).

I would also pull the plug and clean it or swap it, as if there is water in the gas it will foul up the spark plug too.

-Dave

This isn't an Ariens issue, it a Tecumseh issue.  Please don't blame Ariens. 

Whitedog,

When you say blowby are you talking about what comes out of the rubber breather tube? If so, I noticed that on my Tecumseh engine the other day while it was running, not to mention some of that white goo dripping from it that I heard someone else mention.  Then I noticed the same goo on the upper part of the dipstick.  I only have about 30 minutes use on the Mobil One oil I recently switched over to. But it looks like condensation contamination to me.  I just keep wiping it off. 

Hi Tico..

your problem is with out a doubt a gummy carb.

this would be possible to Adjust out on an older carb.

however on your unit (1 year old) you have an emissions carb.

there are no adjustments.

it will need to be cleaned to be able to do its job.

i know you mentioned that you use stabilizer but many kinda of that just arent ment for small engines.

there are so many different kinds of metal in those carbs and the fuel that we now have has up to 10%alcohol in it.

the alcohol is very agressive and it also absorbes moisture right out of the air(hydroscopic i think is the word).

anyway it needs a good cleaning.

if you feel thst this is somthing you can do with a bit of help then lets get at it,you may have snow coming.

i can help you with it here if you like.and so can some others here.

let us know.

later chris

SnowRemover wrote:
Who else are they going to pick for a snow engine besides Briggs?