On 3 Sep 2006 12:46:15 -0700, Ether Jones wrote:
Back to the gas leak: In my case, I had run the mower out of gas and
it sat that way for a week before I filled the tank with fresh gas. A
couple of hours later I noticed the leak. I NEVER run the carb dry
on this engine; this was a one-time aberration. I'm convinced there
is a direct correlation between running the carb dry, and the leak. I

Given your described cleanliness, I suspect running the carb dry did
cause the float to stick. The little bit of gasoline left in the system
after the engine quit evaporated, leaving behind a bit of sticky gum or
varnish. The float was all the way down (opening the valve) and there
it stuck when you filled the tank.

I highly recommend stabil. It prevents (or nearly so) that sticky
residue from evaporating fuel.

In equipment I use frequently I typically do not use stabil. But in my
chipper, the generator and every 2-cycle engine I always use stabil. In
the lawn mower I start using stabil in the fall as I never know which
cutting will be the last. And I try to keep the fuel tanks full (and if
there is a shutoff valve, I close it, just in case).

I'm going to try Pri-G this winter... It is a lot cheaper than stabil.

sdb

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