[Jay H 237]

Sanddrag,

I agree with what others said about the carb problems. Get actual carb cleaner since it's designed to loosen up and remove any varnish or build up in the carb. If this has sat for some time then it's very possible that the carb is gummed up inside. Becareful of spraying other stuff in there as it may "eat" the gaskets. You have to have both the idle and choke adjusted properly for it to run. Even though you don't have any manuals for the mower try Googling the mower's make and model, and also the Briggs and Stratton's and see if you can find any info on them. Since you removed the air cleaner you know that lack of air isn't an issue, but if the choke is out of adjustment you may have too much air coming in and this can cause starting and idling problems by messing up the fuel/air mixture. At worst case if you can't find any info on adjusting the idle and choke then set everything in the center and work from there so you atleast have a point of reference.

Taking out and looking at the sparkplug may reveal flooding if it's wet after trying to start the mower. A good clean sparkplug will definitely help it start quicker and run better. If you can find any info on the motor then also see if it has the correct sparkplug installed and that it's gapped correctly as both can also cause problems. Since it has older gas in it putting in fresh gas and checking the fuel filter (if equipped) is also something you want to do before trying to start again.