Thread: Petrol mower conversion

Rigged one up to run on the OXY bottles, need to start it with the spark from the chain saw, same as the Gas canon, but that is a whole heap of pics.

argeng, PM answered.

Ken

I'm in the UK at present. We have a Huskvarna 230V mower here. It's 34cm and 1.5kW.
It seems to be the standard type of mower, petrol being in the minority.
They seem to work fine on the soft green lawns, dunno if they'd be as good on the tough dry Aussie grass.

Jordan

Ken, you say it is a Rover and you say it is a 2 stroke, I'm thinking that it likely has a Suzuki engine ?
If so, put the throttle into the choke position, then pull the air cleaner off and stick one of your digits in the hole and
check to see if the choke valve is closed completely, I'm betting this will be your problem, you will need to adjust the throttle
cable to get the choke to close fully, also lube the cable with wd40 or similar.
The problem is that the throttle cable has quite a sharp bend in it where it attaches to the engine and if they are not lubricated frequently the cable stretches a bit and goes out of adjustment so the choke won't close fully.
aaaand...... clean fresh fuel, unleaded only has a shelf life of 1 month before it starts to go off...

thats my punt anyway.... shed

Originally Posted by neksmerj

"Start you bastard" into the spark plug hole.

I pull the plug and dip it in shellite and refit and start...works for me

Do I recall seeing ads for key start mowers now

yeah I did...

http://www.bunnings.com.au/victa-18-190cc-key-start-mulch-or-catch-lawn-mower_p3380773



http://www.masport.com.au/about/masport-lawnmowers

Don't have to spray Start You Bastard in to the spark plug hole, a good squirt in to the air filter does the trick nicely.

Good stuff.

Hi Ken,
Checked with my Dad, Flymo is still there so it's yours, not sure when I can call past to pick it up but I will let you know.
cheers Bruce

shedhappens,

I didn't get a chance to thank you last night for your detailed prognosis of my likely problem.

In the daylight tomorrow, I'll check out your suggestion, and see if I can get the bloody thing started, with fresh fuel and a clean plug.

Sounds like you've experienced this problem yourself.

Ken

Ken.It was mentioned you may have the Suzuki engine. I have just retired mine due to a bent crank. Be aware spare parts are getting hard to get.

Seems that my better half would buy the higher octane fuel thinking it was better. It would start well from a new plug and die after 10 mins of running.I found the plug was shorted across the gap by the little bits of crud forming from the use of high octane.

I also used the "Start you bastard" and applied it through a grometted hole in the plastic filter case.

Don't give up on it as the Suzuki, a fine engine and will start well when adjusted properly.
Having said that as a product designer, you may have noticed that the pull start tangent is so positioned that it conveniently emerges between the handles.

The replacement mower a $500 B &S powered Victa starts on the first pull.We put a handle mounted filter on it as having the engine mounted filter is not suitable to the environment this mower will work in.

Grahame

Originally Posted by Grahame Collins

Ken.It was mentioned you may have the Suzuki engine. I have just retired mine due to a bent crank. Be aware spare parts are getting hard to get.

Seems that my better half would buy the higher octane fuel thinking it was better. It would start well from a new plug and die after 10 mins of running.I found the plug was shorted across the gap by the little bits of crud forming from the use of high octane.

I also used the "Start you bastard" and applied it through a grometted hole in the plastic filter case.

Don't give up on it as the Suzuki, a fine engine and will start well when adjusted properly.
Having said that as a product designer, you may have noticed that the pull start tangent is so positioned that it conveniently emerges between the handles.

The replacement mower a $500 B &S powered Victa starts on the first pull.We put a handle mounted filter on it as having the engine mounted filter is not suitable to the environment this mower will work in.

Grahame

Graham mower engines are only low compression and run better with 91 octane, the higher octane fuels also seem to go off quicker.

The crud that you get between the earth strap and the electrode would be little balls of carbon, I think they are attracted by the high voltage magnetic field, they are formed because the fuel mixture is too lean.
To fix this problem you need to ensure there are no air leaks in the gaskets between the carb and the engine, I use the soft setting No3 loctite gasket sealant, it used to be called permatex No3 before loctite took it over.
Secondly the bottom crankshaft seal could be the culprit, especially if you have had hay bail twine or palm leaves wrap up around the crankshaft.
Those engines are very good and reliable but they do seem to run best with a 40:1 fuel oil ratio, most people seem to run them on 25:1 and the spark plug does oil up.

shed

Originally Posted by neksmerj

shedhappens,

Sounds like you've experienced this problem yourself.

Ken

Once or twice, maybe one hundred times ? my trade was small engine mechanic

shed

Originally Posted by shedhappens

Graham mower engines are only low compression and run better with 91 octane, the higher octane fuels also seem to go off quicker.

The crud that you get between the earth strap and the electrode would be little balls of carbon, I think they are attracted by the high voltage magnetic field, they are formed because the fuel mixture is too lean.
To fix this problem you need to ensure there are no air leaks in the gaskets between the carb and the engine, I use the soft setting No3 loctite gasket sealant, it used to be called permatex No3 before loctite took it over.
Secondly the bottom crankshaft seal could be the culprit, especially if you have had hay bail twine or palm leaves wrap up around the crankshaft.
Those engines are very good and reliable but they do seem to run best with a 40:1 fuel oil ratio, most people seem to run them on 25:1 and the spark plug does oil up.

shed

Thanks Shedhappens for the feedback,

Its wasted on the person who badly needs this information ,but hopefully is useful to other 2 stroke owners

The person you need to talk to is not me, its her. Not that would make a much of a difference. She is a good woman but has no empathy with machinery.

I now buy the fuel for the mowers as my dear wife can't make this subtle distinction that a certain grade is better for an engine than another.

I would have loved to keep my old Suzi as I had it from new. The trouble is that my wife has no feel for machinery and treated concrete edging in the same manner as grass. As a result, the Suzi crank was bent so badly that the front of the mower was pivoting around when running.

Offending concrete now removed ,so new mower is safe for a while.I did have a look at the Suzuki repair manual diagrams and decided it looked like an absolute plik to take apart,so a new B&S Victa was a logical move.Rather than have the shaft shear off and an terrible accident ensue I acquired another mower.

The problem I believe (apart from the crook fuel) stemmed from trouble the auto choke. I took to laying it on its side and giving it a squirt of petrol down the carb in its later years and it would still start every time.The bent shaft would have not done the lower seal much good so I realised it was not cost or time effective to keep it. I gifted it to a local mower repair man for parts.

I have had other small engine fellows tell me the Suzuki was the one to buy.I had 19 years from it so I should not complain.

Originally Posted by Gavin Newman

Visit your local karting shop and have a look at the Rotax Max engine, water cooled, electric start and 30 bhp - just the thing for a lawn-mower (or a gopher in old-age).
It shouldn't be too hard to adapt it and nothing would stop it.

I have one going cheap at the moment!! Small world Gavin.

Back in 1979 we had just gotten married and I was working two jobs 6 days a week to get some money for house repairs and payments. Mrs P complained that the mower was hard to start and she couldn't mow the lawns and that situation could not be allowed to develop as I might have to do it. The next day I bought a Victa electric mower and she still mows the lawn with it. It is the single best thing I ever paid money for and has never failed to start.

Back in 1979 we had just gotten married and I was working two jobs 6 days a week to get some money for house repairs and payments. Mrs P complained that the mower was hard to start and she couldn't mow the lawns and that situation could not be allowed to develop as I might have to do it. The next day I bought a Victa electric mower and she still mows the lawn with it. It is the single best thing I ever paid money for and has never failed to start.[/QUOTE]


I bought one of these from a garage sale for $30 in 1990 and its still going strong but the catcher plastic has started to disintegrate.
My Dad made an electric rotary in 1950.
He used a half hp motor with a front and rear steel rollers and the sides had 4 or 5 small rubber tyred steel wheels to keep the rocks in.
He also had a pipe front fence with brass sprinkler nozzles every few yards to water the front lawn.
He was a fitter and turner at Buzzacots prewar he'd go up country fitting up the line shafting and stationary engines for the shearing sheds.
H