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.
You'll also notice they do not have a 'choke' (that can inadvertently left on).
Emission controls, thanks to the EPA.
(¯`·._.· £ãrrÿ ·._.·´¯)
My mower, chain saw & string trimmer all have "bulbs" & chokes.
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 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
Okay, I've not seen that. I thought the 'bulb' replaced the choke.
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I don't understand the question. Prop-driven airplanes have a primer, throttle and mixture (choke) control on each engine.
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 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.
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
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.
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.
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
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
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
hehe - you're a good sport!
I hope you and the twins (briggs & stratton) have a great life ;)
Poor mainframe can't get an answer to his question. Here ya' go. The old carburators allowed the heat of the day to push fuel through the engine when not running. This fuel evaporated into unnecessary pollution. It would also (sometimes) flood the engine and make it hard to start. The new carbs, in order to comply with emissions standards, do not allow this fuel to be pushed through. In exchange for that, you need to prime the engine with the bulb. HTH
Sounds like the names of a pair of Brittish butlers.
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.
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