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Why do mowers have primer bulbs?
I may be in the market for a new lawn mower.
But, I have notice that evey mower (except for Hondas) have this bulb that has to press at lease 3 times before starting the engine. Why? And why not Hondas? Is this an anti-pollution device? Has lawn mower engine design change that much? I remember when all you had to do is fill the tank with gas, make sure that the oil was full, and pull the cord. It reminds me of the days before fuel injection in cars. |
Why do mowers have primer bulbs?
"Mainframe" wrote in message ... I may be in the market for a new lawn mower. But, I have notice that evey mower (except for Hondas) have this bulb that has to press at lease 3 times before starting the engine. Why? You'll also notice they do not have a 'choke' (that can inadvertently left on). Emission controls, thanks to the EPA. (¯`·._.· £ãrrÿ ·._.·´¯) |
Why do mowers have primer bulbs?
"Larry" wrote in message ... "Mainframe" wrote in message ... I may be in the market for a new lawn mower. But, I have notice that evey mower (except for Hondas) have this bulb that has to press at lease 3 times before starting the engine. Why? You'll also notice they do not have a 'choke' (that can inadvertently left on). My mower, chain saw & string trimmer all have "bulbs" & chokes. |
Why do mowers have primer bulbs?
OK the primer bulb is there for emission control
But, what does it excatly do to curb emissions? Im the case of my 85 Sears it's only purpose seems to be to make my finger sore from pumping it! And yes, it does take more then 3 pushes to get it going And again. Why does Honda's have no primer bulb. but, do have a choke? |
Why do mowers have primer bulbs?
Mainframe wrote: OK the primer bulb is there for emission control But, what does it excatly do to curb emissions? Im the case of my 85 Sears it's only purpose seems to be to make my finger sore from pumping it! And yes, it does take more then 3 pushes to get it going And again. Why does Honda's have no primer bulb. but, do have a choke? My primer on my Craftsman I bought at Sears last year CHEAP--$160 for 6 hp works in three pushes. Haven't tried less. Works like a dream. LOVE MY MOWER. Last year it tackled 3 acres by hand -- this year it's wiping out 1/2 acre at my new house without breaking a sweat. Ok, I'M not breaking a sweat. :) amy in Alabama |
Why do mowers have primer bulbs?
"Amy D" wrote in message ... Mainframe wrote: OK the primer bulb is there for emission control But, what does it excatly do to curb emissions? Im the case of my 85 Sears it's only purpose seems to be to make my finger sore from pumping it! And yes, it does take more then 3 pushes to get it going And again. Why does Honda's have no primer bulb. but, do have a choke? My primer on my Craftsman I bought at Sears last year CHEAP--$160 for 6 hp works in three pushes. Haven't tried less. Works like a dream. LOVE MY MOWER. Last year it tackled 3 acres by hand -- this year it's wiping out 1/2 acre at my new house without breaking a sweat. Ok, I'M not breaking a sweat. :) I don't understand the question. Prop-driven airplanes have a primer, throttle and mixture (choke) control on each engine. |
Why do mowers have primer bulbs?
"Patch" wrote in message news:kE1xc.13646$W01.8700@okepread01... "Larry" wrote in message ... "Mainframe" wrote in message ... I may be in the market for a new lawn mower. But, I have notice that evey mower (except for Hondas) have this bulb that has to press at lease 3 times before starting the engine. Why? You'll also notice they do not have a 'choke' (that can inadvertently left on). My mower, chain saw & string trimmer all have "bulbs" & chokes. Okay, I've not seen that. I thought the 'bulb' replaced the choke. (¯`·._.· £ãrrÿ ·._.·´¯) |
Why do mowers have primer bulbs?
"Mainframe" wrote in message
... I may be in the market for a new lawn mower. But, I have notice that evey mower (except for Hondas) have this bulb that has to press at lease 3 times before starting the engine. Why? And why not Hondas? Is this an anti-pollution device? Has lawn mower engine design change that much? I remember when all you had to do is fill the tank with gas, make sure that the oil was full, and pull the cord. It reminds me of the days before fuel injection in cars. I've given the subject a bit of thought myself and here is what I've come up with. Keep in mind this is all pure speculation and shouldn't be regarded as factual. I believe the bulb allows for a different type of carburetor design which allows small engine manufacturers to comply with emissions standards. If the carburetor were continuously primed as are non-bulb type carburetors, then this might lead to greater harmful emissions for some reason I haven't been able to figure out yet. Honda has probably figured out a way to make their product inherently low in harmful emissions (which Honda is good at), so they didn't have to use the bulb design to meet the requirements (if indeed there are actual requirements). I have an older B&S engine on my push mower. There is no bulb and the engine starts on the first pull. Every other small engine that I have that has a bulb requires 2-4 pulls to get started. |
Why do mowers have primer bulbs?
I have a Snapper mulcher with BS Intek 6.5. It has a fixed throttle and no
choke but has a bulb. It starts first pull every time. Best mower I've ever owned. Cut my St Augustine like a hot knife through butter. Bubba |
Why do mowers have primer bulbs?
"Bubba" wrote in message
... I have a Snapper mulcher with BS Intek 6.5. It has a fixed throttle and no choke but has a bulb. It starts first pull every time. Best mower I've ever owned. Cut my St Augustine like a hot knife through butter. Mine is a Snapper also. It is about 15 years old. The engine doesn't have quite as much power as it once did, but the thing is still running well other than that. |
Why do mowers have primer bulbs?
don't understand the question. Prop-driven airplanes have a primer,
throttle and mixture (choke) control on each engine. Ok, I try to make it VERY simple! In 1971 my dad bought a store brand mower. to start it all you had to do was set the choke to "start" and pull the starter cord. in 1986 he replaced that with a Sears mower. It had a primer bulb that had to be (as the manual said) "pushed until firm." I just want to know why if a 1971 mower did not have a primer bulb, why should a 1986 - today mower have/need one? And why does Honda mowers don't have/need a primer bulb (by they do have a choke). P.S. Of course I could make life simple, and pull the 1966 reel mower out of the basement :-) |
Why do mowers have primer bulbs?
"Mainframe" wrote in message ...
I may be in the market for a new lawn mower. But, I have notice that evey mower (except for Hondas) have this bulb that has to press at lease 3 times before starting the engine. Why? I have not looked at new lawnmowers, although I did just buy a new Tecumseh engine. No primer bulb on it. The only primer bulbs I have on equipment are on a few 2-cycle engines. |
Why do mowers have primer bulbs?
Mainframe wrote: don't understand the question. Prop-driven airplanes have a primer, throttle and mixture (choke) control on each engine. Ok, I try to make it VERY simple! In 1971 my dad bought a store brand mower. to start it all you had to do was set the choke to "start" and pull the starter cord. in 1986 he replaced that with a Sears mower. It had a primer bulb that had to be (as the manual said) "pushed until firm." I just want to know why if a 1971 mower did not have a primer bulb, why should a 1986 - today mower have/need one? And why does Honda mowers don't have/need a primer bulb (by they do have a choke). P.S. Of course I could make life simple, and pull the 1966 reel mower out of the basement :-) I've been wanting to take a small engine course and rebuild mowers but my husband insists that a woman in the south wouldn't make any money. :) But...did the OLD mowers have to mix oil and gas? Just curious..... Anyway, nonetheless, I love my mower from Sears, primer and all. :) I mowed 2 1/2 acres last year 10 days after a c-section with an ANCIENT rebuilt 3.5 hp........ amy |
Why do mowers have primer bulbs?
I mowed 2 1/2 acres last year 10 days after a c-section with an
ANCIENT rebuilt 3.5 hp........ Wow. Were you hit from behind by a Harley? That must have been a painful birth. |
Why do mowers have primer bulbs?
John Harlow wrote: I mowed 2 1/2 acres last year 10 days after a c-section with an ANCIENT rebuilt 3.5 hp........ Wow. Were you hit from behind by a Harley? That must have been a painful birth. LMAO..that was a pretty stupid way of wording that, huh....LMAO! amy |
Why do mowers have primer bulbs?
seems simple enough.
a bulb is cheaper. bulb requires fewer parts in the carb. fewer parts mean less cost. craftsman have bulb. cheap Honda does not have bulb. not cheap Frank |
Why do mowers have primer bulbs?
I mowed 2 1/2 acres last year 10 days after a c-section with an ANCIENT rebuilt 3.5 hp........ Wow. Were you hit from behind by a Harley? That must have been a painful birth. LMAO..that was a pretty stupid way of wording that, huh....LMAO! hehe - you're a good sport! I hope you and the twins (briggs & stratton) have a great life ;) |
Why do mowers have primer bulbs?
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Why do mowers have primer bulbs?
"John Harlow" wrote in message ... I mowed 2 1/2 acres last year 10 days after a c-section with an ANCIENT rebuilt 3.5 hp........ Wow. Were you hit from behind by a Harley? That must have been a painful birth. LMAO..that was a pretty stupid way of wording that, huh....LMAO! hehe - you're a good sport! I hope you and the twins (briggs & stratton) have a great life ;) Sounds like the names of a pair of Brittish butlers. |
Why do mowers have primer bulbs?
Amy D wrote in message ...
[...] But...did the OLD mowers have to mix oil and gas? Just curious..... Mixing gas and oil implies a 2-cycle engine. The only old 2-cycle mower that I'm aware of were the old Lawnboys (usually lime green in color). Other than that 2-cycles are mostly seen on trimmers and chainsaws. |
Why do mowers have primer bulbs?
"Larry" wrote in message ... "Mainframe" wrote in message ... I may be in the market for a new lawn mower. But, I have notice that evey mower (except for Hondas) have this bulb that has to press at lease 3 times before starting the engine. Why? You'll also notice they do not have a 'choke' (that can inadvertently left on). Emission controls, thanks to the EPA. (¯`·._.· £ãrrÿ ·._.·´¯) Maybe for the same reason that outboard engines on boats have bulbs... Different type of carburator.. Just a thought. Gr, I |
Why do mowers have primer bulbs?
[posted and mailed]
"Mainframe" wrote in : I may be in the market for a new lawn mower. But, I have notice that evey mower (except for Hondas) have this bulb that has to press at lease 3 times before starting the engine. Why? And why not Hondas? Is this an anti-pollution device? Has lawn mower engine design change that much? I remember when all you had to do is fill the tank with gas, make sure that the oil was full, and pull the cord. It reminds me of the days before fuel injection in cars. The primer bulb is there for many reasons. As someone else indicated, a primer is CHEAP, and generally very reliable. For many years, Briggs and Stratton had an automatic choke on most of their walk behind mower engines. This automatic choke had many problems over the years, and was not always reliable. Further, it often OVER choked, or flooded a hot engine. Tecumseh had a different idea, they designed a "self-priming" carburetor. It, too, didn't always work as planned, and was often retrofitted with a rubber primer bulb on the BOTTOM of the carburetor bowl. Tecumseh eventually moved the primer bulb to the side of the carburetor and eliminated the "self priming" feature of their carburetor. Briggs and Stratton replaced their own auto-choke carburetor with one licensed from Walbro that had a manual choke, which worked well except for the fact that many people left the choke on after starting. This created "excess" air pollution. That Walbro carburetor is the basis for the newer version with the primer as well. Despite the fact that over 90% of the air pollution from lawn and garden equipment comes from spilled or evaporated fuel, the government has imposed "tailpipe" emission standards on all outdoor power equipment engines. So many of the manual chokes have disappeared. Honda still uses a manual choke because their engine runs very lean and their choke is partially self relieving. This means the choke opens itself partially once the engine is running. Both Briggs and Stratton and Tecumseh still offer the mower manufacturer the option, for an additional charge, of a choke on a very small number of engine models, but the equipment manufacturers generally don't spend the extra money. Rider mower engines are different. They all still have chokes, either as a part of the throttle control, or as a separate control. Since you have to be in the seat to start and run a rider, it would be difficult to use a primer on these (not impossible, but nearly). Kohler has actually begun offering electronic fuel injection (Honda does NOT as yet) on rider mower engines. I believe that eventually all riders will have EFI just like all cars have had since the mid-80's. The EPA rules are also why you are beginning to see 4 cycle line trimmers on the market. 2 cycle engines, where you mix the oil into the gas, are too dirty to meet the rules for most application. And California, as always, is leading the way to even stricter rules. I believe that eventually the hand held equipment will be almost entirely rechargeable electric in a few years, with the only forseeable exception being chain saws. It could well pass that even the walk behind consumer mower market could end up all rechargeable as well. After all, GE sold rechargeable GARDEN TRACTORS from around 1969 to 1974. They sold the entire product line to Wheel Horse, who conitnued to sell them until 1981 or '82. They are highly collectable today. Matt |
Why do mowers have primer bulbs?
"Matt" wrote in message ... [posted and mailed] "Mainframe" wrote in : I may be in the market for a new lawn mower. But, I have notice that evey mower (except for Hondas) have this bulb that has to press at lease 3 times before starting the engine. Why? And why not Hondas? Is this an anti-pollution device? Has lawn mower engine design change that much? I remember when all you had to do is fill the tank with gas, make sure that the oil was full, and pull the cord. It reminds me of the days before fuel injection in cars. The primer bulb is there for many reasons. As someone else indicated, a primer is CHEAP, and generally very reliable. For many years, Briggs and Stratton had an automatic choke on most of their walk behind mower engines. This automatic choke had many problems over the years, and was not always reliable. Further, it often OVER choked, or flooded a hot engine. Tecumseh had a different idea, they designed a "self-priming" carburetor. It, too, didn't always work as planned, and was often retrofitted with a rubber primer bulb on the BOTTOM of the carburetor bowl. Tecumseh eventually moved the primer bulb to the side of the carburetor and eliminated the "self priming" feature of their carburetor. Briggs and Stratton replaced their own auto-choke carburetor with one licensed from Walbro that had a manual choke, which worked well except for the fact that many people left the choke on after starting. This created "excess" air pollution. That Walbro carburetor is the basis for the newer version with the primer as well. Despite the fact that over 90% of the air pollution from lawn and garden equipment comes from spilled or evaporated fuel, the government has imposed "tailpipe" emission standards on all outdoor power equipment engines. So many of the manual chokes have disappeared. Honda still uses a manual choke because their engine runs very lean and their choke is partially self relieving. This means the choke opens itself partially once the engine is running. Both Briggs and Stratton and Tecumseh still offer the mower manufacturer the option, for an additional charge, of a choke on a very small number of engine models, but the equipment manufacturers generally don't spend the extra money. Rider mower engines are different. They all still have chokes, either as a part of the throttle control, or as a separate control. Since you have to be in the seat to start and run a rider, it would be difficult to use a primer on these (not impossible, but nearly). Kohler has actually begun offering electronic fuel injection (Honda does NOT as yet) on rider mower engines. I believe that eventually all riders will have EFI just like all cars have had since the mid-80's. The EPA rules are also why you are beginning to see 4 cycle line trimmers on the market. 2 cycle engines, where you mix the oil into the gas, are too dirty to meet the rules for most application. And California, as always, is leading the way to even stricter rules. I believe that eventually the hand held equipment will be almost entirely rechargeable electric in a few years, with the only forseeable exception being chain saws. It could well pass that even the walk behind consumer mower market could end up all rechargeable as well. After all, GE sold rechargeable GARDEN TRACTORS from around 1969 to 1974. They sold the entire product line to Wheel Horse, who conitnued to sell them until 1981 or '82. They are highly collectable today. Matt Thanks for the info. |
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