Snowblower Engine And No-Choke Position Question

Hello,

Have an Ariens snowblower with a Tecumseh engine.

Put it on Full-Choke, prime the rubber bulb a few times, and it starts pretty well.

Let it warm up for a while, and then put the Choke to "No-Choke" position.

Very unhappy engine in this position. Runs barely, rough, or not at all.

But if I put it in the middle Choke position (there seem to be 3 detent positions), all is happy. Engine runs very well in this position.

Surprised that it does not run well,or at all, with No-Choke.

Why might this be ?

Indicative of something ?

Thanks, Bob

Reply to
Bob
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Sounds like it's starving for gas. Choking - full or partial - provides just enough vacuum to draw sufficient gasoline for smooth combustion.

Assuming that there has not been some sort of physical damage to the carburetor...

First thing I would try would be to drain most of the gas from the tank, add some "Start Your Engines" additive/cleaner from Gold Seal (Walmart, most auto parts places) and run that through the system according to the directions. Heard about it several years ago on the local radio and it works well.

If that works, then in the future rather than adding Sta-Bil to the gas, get some "Sea Foam" additive (seems to work much better and cleans system as well - was recommended by my local repair service over Sta-Bil). Again, Walmart, Menard's and Farm & Fleet carry it.

Reply to
Unquestionably Confused

Bob,

Not enough informtion. New snowblower? New problem in old snowblower? What have you tried so far? They sell fuel additives that may clean minor crud from carb. You may wish to look for leaky gaskets. It sounds as if you are not getting enough gas.

Dave M.

Reply to
David L. Martel

It may be indicative of thinking the choke lever works the opposite of how it actually does, ie you may be choking it when you think it's wide open. I have a Craftsman and it just has a symbol that doesn't make much sense to me either. Given the fact that the country is going down hill with education and we're being overrun with illegal aliens who don't know English, apparently they won't put on/off or open/closed on there. You could pull the cover off and take a look at the choke visually to confirm.

Reply to
trader_4

Possibly there is some air leakage after the carb. Such as a bad gasket between the carb and the engine body.

The other reason for this in small engines is the air filter is missing. But, snow blowers seldom or never have air filters.

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Reply to
Stormin Mormon

The carb is too lean. Likely half plugged jets. If the carb is adjustable, open the jet 1/4 turn and try again. Get some SeaFoam and put it in the gas - run for a while and see if it gets better. BG 44K is a stronger solution. Use as directed.

Reply to
clare

trader_4 wrote: "It may be indicative of thinking the choke lever works the opposite of how it actually does, ie you may be choking it when you think it's wide open. I have a Craftsman and it just has a symbol that doesn't make much sense to me either. Given the fact that the country "

My year-old Ariens Path Pro has a very well marked, intuitive choke knob, so obvious even #43 could figger out how ta set it. And I know for a fact it mine does not have a Tecumseh engine, as did have my....

Yardman 21", by MTD. the choke lever on that was not labeled at all, nor was its operation documented in the owners manual.

Reply to
thekmanrocks

But it was very intuitive, with an arrow head on the end of the lever like virtually every SnowKing engine. Clockwize to choke.

Reply to
clare

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