lawn mower wont start

I bought a brand new Honda rotary last year, it has been in the back shed over winter. I brought it out today to check it over. I put some old petrol in the tank and cranked the engine but it did not start. Is the engine flooded ? or the fuel dodgy? I need to drain the carburetter and get a box spanner to remove the plug and dry of the cylinder according to the user manual.

 

If you used old petrol that had been left to stand for a long time, it may well have clogged the jets in the carb. If the engine is flooded just leaving it to stand for a while should save you the trouble of taking it apart, but if you've blocked the jets in the carb then that's a bit of a job (not much, half an hour or so max) to take it apart and clean it.

The first place I'd start is at the HT connection that goes to the spark plug. I'd take it off, touch it against the metal work where you can see it, keep your hands off it and get someone to crank it over to see if it gives a spark (most likely will, which is good). Also you'll know if fuel is getting through the system, because you'll smell it after a few turns of the engine.

 

I cant add anything to the above.

Only thing id sudgest is before you put it away for the season each November drain the tank and run the engne dry so no fuel is left in the lines as it degrades.

You can also get sachets of fuel additive that you add to the petrol in order to prevent this, a lawn mower dealer will have these.

 

Hi there,

I find this really funny, because we have a Honda mower, and every Spring, we have issues starting it, ours is 5 years this spring, and my husband changes the spark plugs every spring now, and adds new fuel to whats in there.
Good luck with it.

 

Thank you for the kind advice, i eventually got the spark plug out and found it was carboned up so have cleaned it and put some fresh ruel in, it spluttered into life affter a couple or so pulls .

 

Good news, glad it worked out for you.