Snowblower engine needs choke to run smoothly

[LSMFT]

Find the fuel adjustment screw. Open it just a touch.

[clare]

- which is part of the etc............ but usually the carb is low enough that the raw gas runs out, rather than into the carb, so it only gets wet if you try too hard to start it.

[clare]

Real good idea, except that particular carb/engine doesn't have one.

[LSMFT]

Same on a motorcycle. You have to drill out some metal to get at the adjustment screw.

[Ed Pawlowski]

? "LSMFT" wrote

The Tecumseh service book points out they now use a different jet instead of adjusting screw. Nothing to drill. I suspect Briggs and others use the same system.

[LSMFT]

Thank the EPA for taking away our adjusting screws. Everything is built for morons these days.

[notbob]

It's the larger market share.

Worse than "morons" are the "I'm right" morons, those morons who are positive they have the problem figured and nothing will dissuade them. When I was a motorcycle mechanic, use to get those types coming in all the time.

"It's the carburetor!" "Well, in the case of a 2-stroke...." "It's the carburetor!" "It's been my experience it could also be...." "It's the carburetor!" ....etc ;)

nb

[clare]

No, unlike the motorcycle, and early emission carbs on cars, there IS NO SCREW. Get that through your head. NO ADJUSTABLE JET.

[clare]

The jet can still be drilled. But it is not a simple job.

[clare]

Well, since it is a 4 stroke, it's not a leaky crankshaft seal, at least.

[clare]

They call them "electric snow shovels"- and larger "electric blowers" (single stage) have been around since the late sixties.

[notbob]

Looks like B&S has excellent online product support. I'd start here:

Note the "Carburetion Troubleshooting Quick Reference Guide (PDF)." in

2nd paragraph down.

nb

[Ed Pawlowski]

If you go too far, just undrill it

[jw]

I had a farm tractor do the same thing. It would not keep running unless it was fully choked. I swapped the carb with another one known to be good. Changed fuel filter and checked all fuel lines for a blockage. I finally found out the valve where the fuel line connects to the gas tank was filled with crud. I had to drain the gas, remove the valve and dismantle it. Put it all back together and all is fine....

You are NOT getting enough gas, you need to find out why. Start at the gas tank and work all the way into the engine. I could have saved a lot of time had I known it was just that valve. Your gas tank may have a screen in it at the place the line is connected.

[Dan B]

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[Briggs Engine]

To set this all straight the carburetor that is on your engine does not have any type of adjustment on it, it has a fixed main jet with no adjustment screws. If you engine is still surging slightly when idling that will be normal. The only thing you will want to worry about is if it surging under load. If it is surging while under load there is an issue at hand. I would check like the said the intake gaskets. The engine that you have since it is a snow engine will not have an air filter on it, it may however have a screen over the throat of the carburetor. The engines are not set lean from the factory, this type of a running condition could cause serious damage to the inside of the engine. I hope that this was able to assist you with the questions that you have.

If you have any further questions call our engine Answer Center at

800-444-7774, M-F 8-5PM CST.

For Briggs & Stratton Branded Power Products questions call our Answer Center at 800-743-4115, M-F 8-5PM CST.

[Andrew Spearns]

This guy has some good videos on small engines...=20

My Craftsman with a Tecumseh engine was running as the OP stated, it needed= the choke on to run smoothly. Mine had to be on the 1st click, where 0 cl= icks is off, and 3 clicks is full choke. If I turned the choke off, the ma= chine would stall out.

I have one of these non-adjustable carbs, and followed that video. Turn of= f the gas line, run the machine dry, then unscrew that bolt and clean the h= oles with a piece of wire. Should help a little, it did for me. The jet w= as a little dirty for whatever reason (stagnant fuel, dirt in jerry can, et= c...)

I may be completely out to lunch, but please, no torching.

[jw]

If you want a reply, fix your newsgroup software so people dont have to scroll left to right.

[Andrew Spearns]

Posted that from Google Groups... no fixing possible that I can tell.

[pwerwath]

I just bought a Craftsman snowblower model 247.889720 with the 208 cc "quie t" motor. I had a similar problem--uneven running with the choke supposedl y open. I found that the dial for the choke has confusing markings. Straigh t up and down is usually a full open choke. In this case, a full right tur n is a closed choke, up and down is half choke, and all the way to the left is the open-choke, running position. Very unusual. At first, from the mar kings, I thought left and right turns closed the choke. It was functioning but not running smoothly in the up and down position, could smell lots of u nburned gas and the fuel consumption seemed very high. On this model there appears to be no air filter and it would take a lot of disassembly to actu ally see the choke blade in the carburetor. I decided to experiment with t he full left position and that cured the problem--smooth running and no sme ll of unburned gas from an over-rich mix due to the choke being half closed .