Well my two mowers have been sitting all through winter, a John Deere ride on and a push mower. I went out to start them and the John Deere clicks but isn't turning over..hoping it's the battery. I'm gonna pick one up and throw it in and see if it starts. The push mower is a pull start, tried cleaning the spark plug and putting in fresh gas, still nothing. It doesn't want to turn over either.

 

I usually bring them to a neighbor's friends for the spring to get them in shape for the mowing season, but he takes foreverrrrr so I was seeing if anyone in the Hunterdon County or area thereof knows small engine repairs and would be willing to work on them. I doubt it should be much work, and of course we can work out payment.

 

Not sure where to put this so if it needs to be moved, feel free.

I'd bet on a bad battery on the ride-on. Even though it hasn't been a terribly cold winter, those batteries don't last long, especially if kept in a non-heated area all winter. I seem to have to replace mine on my Craftsman ride-on every other year.

Did you leave gas in the push mower over the winter? And did you put any ethanol treatment with the gas?

Did you leave gas in the push mower over the winter? And did you put any ethanol treatment with the gas?

 

 

That's another thing I've heard for years, but have never been bitten by the bad that's supposed to happen. Every one of my gas-powered lawn devices stay in the shed with whatever gas they had in them at the end of the summer season. When it's time to use them again, they fire right up. This includes my edger, lawn tracker, lawn mower, leaf blower, Yamaha generator and hedger. Never, ever had an issue with the gas turning to lacquer or wine or anything else.

That's another thing I've heard for years, but have never been bitten by the bad that's supposed to happen. Every one of my gas-powered lawn devices stay in the shed with whatever gas they had in them at the end of the summer season. When it's time to use them again, they fire right up. This includes my edger, lawn tracker, lawn mower, leaf blower, Yamaha generator and hedger. Never, ever had an issue with the gas turning to lacquer or wine or anything else.

 

I run the Lawn and garden centers at lowes and you would not believe the amount of mowers we send out for repairs for gummed up carburetors and engines run with no oil.

 

Since he can pull the cord to try to start it, oil shouldn't be the problem.

 

 

I'll be in Hampton Monday. If you're still stuck give me a PM.

 

Frank

Tis the season for carburetor rebuild kits...

 

Best thing to get in the habit of doing is whatever container you use to get gas and store it for all your small engines is to put Stabil in the gas when you get home. Nothing wrong with running it all year round and then you don't have to think about winterizing the gas in lawn care equipment, works well for the summer storage of you snow blower also..

That's another thing I've heard for years, but have never been bitten by the bad that's supposed to happen. Every one of my gas-powered lawn devices stay in the shed with whatever gas they had in them at the end of the summer season. When it's time to use them again, they fire right up. This includes my edger, lawn tracker, lawn mower, leaf blower, Yamaha generator and hedger. Never, ever had an issue with the gas turning to lacquer or wine or anything else.

 

I had a Stihl trimmer refuse to start because I accidentally left gas/oil mix in over the winter. I use Stihl brand oil, which is supposed to have fuel stabilizer in it. Fortunately, I was able to get a new carb on ebay and all is well.

That sucks. Like I said, never an issue with me and I've been doing it for 30+ years that way.

You can try jump starting the ride on as I think they are mostly 12 volt systems. I jumped my Deere half of last season with one of those portable battery packs

BTW...if you need a jumper you can borrow mine. I'm close by...as you know.

Tis the season for carburetor rebuild kits...

 

Best thing to get in the habit of doing is whatever container you use to get gas and store it for all your small engines is to put Stabil in the gas when you get home. Nothing wrong with running it all year round and then you don't have to think about winterizing the gas in lawn care equipment, works well for the summer storage of you snow blower also..

 

Definitely agree with adding a fuel stabilizer. However when I purchased my snow blower a year ago at a local store (very good rep) they were adamant about NOT using the red Stabil. Something about the ethanol content in the gas not working real well with the red stabil. They reccomended either the green marine stabil or Seafoam addative.

I've been using the red sta-bil for years for my genny, motorcycles, power washer, snow blower, etc. I try to start them up every other month and let them warm up to operating temp. I also re-add sta-bil every 5-6 mos regardless if I'm using them or not.

 

Typically after a year or two, I'll dump whatever is left in my gas cans into the cars to burn it off, and refresh the storage cans with fresh petrol + sta-bil.

use a straw from Mcdonalds or somewhere, dip it into a gas can with fresh gas about 2 inches, hold your thumb over the end, so when you pick it up it has a small amount of fresh gas in it. remove the spark plug, put the straw into the hole where the spark plug fits, let your thumb off so the fresh gas gets into the hole. replace the spark plug and pull the cord- it should fire right up.

Well my two mowers have been sitting all through winter, a John Deere ride on and a push mower. I went out to start them and the John Deere clicks but isn't turning over..hoping it's the battery. I'm gonna pick one up and throw it in and see if it starts. The push mower is a pull start, tried cleaning the spark plug and putting in fresh gas, still nothing. It doesn't want to turn over either.

 

I usually bring them to a neighbor's friends for the spring to get them in shape for the mowing season, but he takes foreverrrrr so I was seeing if anyone in the Hunterdon County or area thereof knows small engine repairs and would be willing to work on them. I doubt it should be much work, and of course we can work out payment.

 

Not sure where to put this so if it needs to be moved, feel free.

 

I would try jump starting or charging the battery on the rider before spending any money on a new battery, it might just be dead from sitting. If it will not hold a charge, then buy a new one.

 

What engine is on the push mower? You might want to carefully take the carb off and carefully spray all the components down with Gumout, good chance it's gummed up from sitting - It's always a good idea to use Stabil or Seafoam, they will prevent these problems.

You could buy some starting fluid in a can spray some where the air intake is and try to turn over my dad went to com years ago for small.engine repair and fixes neighbors and friends small.engines and I have learned a ton of info by helping him

Here is another good thing to do if you can. I was in Costco a few years ago and they had small solar panels that you can plug into your cigarette lighter in your car to keep the battery charged. They really won't power anything but will maintain a battery. The have 2 different ends, like I said one that plugs into a cigarette lighter, and another one with clips that you can attach to the battery directly. I mounted one on my shed in the back yard and put the clamps on a riding mower that I only use in the winter that has a plow to clear the driveway and street in front of my house. While I do start it from time to time, that small trickle charge keeps the battery charged.

 

Wasn't to bad, I think it was 2 units in the box for something like 20 bucks, nice cheap insurance to keep and maintain the battery and also prolong it's life.