Bought a Victa mower last year, 145cc ohv Briggs and Stratton engine. Instructions say full throttle, 3-4 prime pumps and should start with a few pulls. Did that and started ok, but surged badly unless I kept the throttle partly closed until it had warmed up.
Mentioned the fault to shop staff, they said see local B&S agent. Did that, they said would probably need a modification, take it back to shop. I didn't get around to having it seen to and put up with the embarrassing surging.
A year on and went to start it after the winter break. Gave it full throttle and 6 pumps of the primer: started easily on first gentle pull, and no surging! Same on following starts - no problems. I suspect it just was not getting enough fuel with only a few pumps of the primer.
Next task is to change its oil, but it is CLEAN! B&S engines have certainly improved since their old side valve designs!
tweake,
Feb 4, 4:56pm
had similar. tho this one has no primer. simply gave the engine a hard run. i suspect it had a bit of old fuel dried out in the carb. once it got a good flush with fuel its good as.
oil is a lot cleaner, mine is "no oil changes required simply top up oil if needed".
gpg58,
Feb 4, 5:21pm
Had a b+s powered lawnmower from bunnings, was junk. Electric start would never fire it up, as battery was too small, so only turned over slowly, but would fire with a couple of pulls. Then i bent the crankshaft when blade hit a rock, butl being Chinese crap (made under licence), i was was able to smack it straight enough to use, with a club hammer. (real steel would never have bent).
Ps- it surged from the day i bought it, until the day i left outside my gate with a free sign on it (4 years).
elect70,
Feb 4, 5:59pm
Dirty air cleaner ? The B&S take a lot of abuse , the mower bodys usually rot before the motor dies .
dublo,
Feb 4, 9:02pm
tweake and elect70: my lawnmower was bought NEW, last year, and was under warranty. Consequently, there was no stale fuel in the tank, nor did it have a dirty filter.
sprinter51,
Feb 4, 9:09pm
Bet it has one of those new plastic carbys
A known issue with B & S engines today
tweake,
Feb 4, 9:39pm
engines are generally test run at factory. hence why they have a little bit of oil in them when new. quite possible to have a bit of dried up fuel left in the carb from when they test run it.
ceebee2,
Feb 6, 10:38am
dublo, I would still do and oil change / air filter clean every 12 months irrespective if you intend to keep it for a long time as acids can build up in the oil and make it appear "clean": just like some car engines. NB = Ensure you use the correct grade of oil which is SAE 30. Do not put semi-synthetic oil in it. e.g https://www.bunnings.co.nz/briggs-stratton-sae30-engine-oil-1l_p00311594
mrcat1,
Feb 6, 11:38am
The OP has said its a OHV engine, need to use Briggs 10w-30 oil in it, you could possibly get away with SAE 30 but if its under warranty and there's a problem, then no warranty. Op, if its the same as most of the old engines it should take 590ml of oil. So you only need a 1 litre bottle.
dublo,
Feb 6, 3:17pm
Thanks, ceebee2 and mrcat1. Yes, about to change the oil and clean the filter (again). The operator's manual says SAE30 for 8 to >40 degrees C, 10W-30 for -20 to +35 degrees, SF or higher grade, so 30 should continue to be ok for our climate. I long ago took the advice of Jaguar racing driver Sybill Lupp: she told me that if you do all the lubrication jobs on a car twice as often as it says in the handbook the car will look after you! What is writ in the book is just the absolute minimum service interval.
dublo,
Feb 6, 3:20pm
I note that some B&S engines have notices saying you never need to change their oil, just top up as required. Maybe they don't expect them to have long lives?
d.snell,
Feb 6, 3:36pm
We have a Cobra (Mitre10) with a B&S 450 (148cc) Motor on it. Bought it in 2012 so 5 years old. Ever since new, we found the 3 pumps on the primer was never enough and 10 to 15 is what is required, so after priming and pumping the throttle a few times and leaving it in the full noise position, one pull and she bursts into life every time. Topped the oil up 2 or 3 times with Castrol GTX Modern Engine 15W-40, which was what we put in it originally. Looks and sounds as new after 5 years.
elect70,
Feb 6, 4:19pm
^^ yep same here needs 10 at least & fires first pull . The only other problem could be the throttle spring , it works by a paddle by the flywheel& that pushes air on it ,against spring pressure , could be weak or stretched & soon as it starts to rev it pulls the spring to shut throttle . But usually only get it on old engines& many hours use
uppie270,
Dec 29, 5:56am
I have a Victa Mustang mower with B & S engine I purchased 22 years ago. Probably changed the 3x! Always kept oil topped up. Still goes great, starts first pull every time. As elect70 said body failing before engine does!
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