"Charlie Pridham" wrote ...

I have a cheap Champion mower which has been excellent for the last 8
years, it has suddenly started to be very difficult to start.

Symptoms
It wont start at all on choke
on slow it fires but peters out before getting going
after about 15 pulls it finally goes and runs fine until I stop to empty
the grass box, then it will be reluctant to restart (although not as bad
as when cold)
On opening the throttle it revs up and down and is reluctant to settle and
it does similar if it suddenly has longer grass.

It seems to be worse if the fuel tank is not more than half full.

What I know its not
Spark plug, changed that it made no difference,
Air filter, took that off and it made no difference
Safety brake not clearing, checked that and it comes on and off as it
should.

Seems like a fuel problem but I have no manual, so is there a fuel filter
somewhere that could be partially blocked?, or could a partial blockage in
the carb produce these symptoms?

Any other low tech suggestions welcome


Revving up and down is called "hunting" and is usually down to dirt in the
carburettor which you can usually take apart to clean if you are careful,
some (Honda) have a drain plug on the bottom of the carb too. (well
ventilated area, no naked flames etc.). If there is dirt in the carb it is
also probably in the tank so an in-line petrol filter may be the answer
(from any car spares place) unless you want to drain out the tank and remove
the dirt from the petrol (it will sink to the bottom). (an empty tank that
contained petrol is a bomb so be careful)
Alternatively has it got one of those plastic/rubber petrol primer bulbs, it
may have a small hole in it so it's sucking in air. Had the one on my old
Husqvarna strimmer break up a few weeks ago and had to get a non-original
replacement on e-bay as the dealer couldn't help me.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK