Well first off, rusty coils do not prevent them from working as long as the rust is not so thick that the flywheel drags on it. Rust does not affect magnetic flux.

Don't know your problem, I have been a LB user for 40+ years and while they do need a little more "understnding" than 4 stokes, they are worth it.

Walt Conner

Darn, I thought there would be pics...

The Lawnboy 22271 has a Honda GSV-190 four-stroke engine. I sure would like to have one.

When you have to mess with the sideways rope pulley and spring, I'd like to smash them myself.

These days you have to use stabilizer in the fuel all the time. The Honda is somewhat sensitive to varnish build-up in the carb. I also have a 22271 - congratulations! Only a few of these were built under the LB banner, but now Toro has it in red. The 22271 also has a magnetic switch that is activated by the bag or mulch plug steel wire frame. It must be in the proper position and you have to keep the RH channel clean. Mine fooled me the other day and wouldn't start after changing from bag to plug. After pulling it a few times, it dawned on me what was wrong. I'm guessing your 2-cycle is a 10550 Duraforce? The coils go bad on these frequently. Otherwise, it needs a wet cylinder to start, so put it on 'choke' and use the primer too.

correction...22261 (LB commercial duraforce). And I replace the carbs several times. The vanes would bind up and loosening the bolts would only work temporarily. Torn them down and rebuilt. The only real correction was an outright replacement. And the replacements, give me a break, just a bag of parts you had to put together yourself. Now the gold pro 10550 shut off bail system does not work (release the bail it keeps running) and the 22261 does not start at all. It is just that they are a continual nuisance. My prior run of the mill mowers I never had these issues, never a carb replacement. Geesh.

Plenty of guys on here would be glad to take those two LBs off your hands! The 22261 was the last 2-cycle commercial and the 10550 was the last Gold Pro. I have to admit I know exactly where you're coming from - I got rid of my 2-cycles too. I have got too many things sucking up my time now to spend hours messing around with Lawn-Boy 2-cycles. They are great mowers, but it's something every other day. Then, when you really need it to start, the coil is gone again.
The engine/blade control bail switch and brake do require maintenance. Lots of mowers have trouble in this area. It could just be a little stick jammed in the switch.

+1 on the comment about fuel stabilizer. Leaving unstabilized gas in a mower is really asking for trouble. Part of the difference today vs. years ago is that gas now contains more ethanol, which I understand attracts water when it sits for an extended period.

Alcohol is water soluble, which is good and bad. With 10% Ethanol in our gas, there will never be any water in the bottom of the tank. That's good. But, the water, including any ground or surface water that made it's way into the gas station storage tank, is in solution with the gasoline. This is what can cause corrosion in the fuel system, along with alcohol's own corrosive nature. So, it stands to reason that humidity in the air along with any condensation occurring in the gas can or fuel tank on the equipment will become moisture also in solution in the fuel. This is why I am excited about the new 'Marine' STA-BIL which is designed to prevent corrosion from Ethanol fuels. It also contains several times more cleaners than the red STA-BIL. Burning water in an engine is not necessarily a bad thing - it has been used to 'quench' over-hot combustion to prevent 'pinging', for example. The problem lies in everything from the tank, the in-tank fuel pump, the steel fuel lines, the fuel logs and the injectors in automotive equipment. The watery fuel does it's damage mainly when the vehicle (or equipment) is not running, so this 'Marine' STA-BIL seems to be a good thing to use. I use it in everything I have, including cars. Tailpipes get 'clean' and catalytic converters stay 'sweet' with it. Plus, since retiring, my truck and SUV do not get used every day. I only fill up my truck every 60 days or so, so I need this stabilizer.