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Wed, Jun 2, 10 at 12:36
| I recently purchased a DuraForce Gold Series Lawn Boy Model 10550. I paid $150 for it and it is the best mower i've ever had, hands down. this thing rips through tall grass, wet grass, whatever. Anyway, the tank was full when i got it and it's run great. But i just had to refuel it and it's not running as good now. I put two gallons of 89 grade unleaded fuel into a brand new gas can. Then i added two containers of 2 cycle oil that was sold in the lawn mower area. it said to add one bottle per gallon of gas so i used two of them. I also added two ounces of Sea Foam. Incidentally, i had already added about 1/2 oz sea foam to the old fuel that was already in the tank when i bought it and it ran fine. I made a few passes up and down the lawn and it started running badly, the carb started smoking, not as much like white puffy smoke but more like a burning smoke. I turned it off, let it cool, and started it again. It seems to be doing better now but still doesnt have the power it did before but isn't really smoking this time. Just wondered if anyone has any input for me on this. this is my first 2 cycle engine and lawn boy. Thanks. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Are you sure burning black smoke is coming out the carburetor and not the exhaust? |
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| Okay, let's see; 89 octane fuel is okay. We need to know exactly what oil you put in and how many ounces. Seafoam is okay and 1 oz/gal is not excessive. A 2-cycle will smoke from the exhaust if there's too much oil in the gas. The 10550 has the 'Duraforce' engine that requires a 32:1 mix of Lawn-Boy oil. That's one 8 oz can to two gallons of fuel. Re-reading your post it sounds like you picked up two small bottles of 2-cycle oil, probably a synthetic or synthetic blend, possibly designed for a 50:1 mix. This actually should have been okay IF the mix was properly agitated before putting in the mower. The procedure on these hard-to-mix oils is to add the first bottle to about half a gallon of gas and try to mix it the best you can without slinging gas around. Then add about another half gallon, pour in the second bottle and mix again. Finish filling the can, cap it and shake vigorously. Shake the can before fueling the mower, every time. If I had to guess, I'd say you possibly did not have the oil well-mixed, and the gas you put in the mower was too light on oil. This caused the engine to overheat, usually causing permanent damage. At least it didn't seize, which is a hopeful sign. All Lawn-Boy two-cycles have iron cylinder sleeves, so perhaps it's not too bad. Check the air filter - remove it, wash it, dry it and oil it with 2-cycle oil or special filter oil. I'm trying to figure how smoke could come out of the carb. If you did scratch up the piston and bore, the compression would be low, possibly explaining the poor performance after the incident. This one thing probably explains the constantly-dwindling sales of the 2-cycle mowers leading up to Toro finally pulling the plug - all it takes is one time 'straight-gassing' a 2-cycle and it's junk. If they had been a hot seller, they would have found a way to make them compliant with emmissions laws. As it was, they decided to just get out of that game since the LB share of the market was so small. People today will not pay attention to details like this - they expect everything they use to be a 'refrigerator' - you plug it in and forget it. 4-cycle mowers are easy to maintain and have similar maintenance requirements as cars vis a vis oil changes and air filters. |
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