The carburetor is the heart of any small engine — and in Florida, it's almost always the first thing to fail. If your lawn mower, riding tractor, generator, or pressure washer won't start or won't stay running, there's a good chance the carburetor is clogged with varnish from old ethanol gas.
Regular pump gas contains up to 10% ethanol. Ethanol absorbs moisture from the air — and Florida has plenty of that. When gas sits in a small engine for more than 30 days, it starts to break down. The ethanol evaporates and leaves behind a sticky varnish that coats the inside of the carburetor, clogging the tiny jets and passages that meter fuel into the engine.
The result? Your engine cranks but won't fire. Or it starts and immediately dies. Or it runs rough and surges at idle.
We disassemble the carburetor completely — float bowl, needle, jets, emulsion tube — and clean each component with carburetor cleaner and compressed air. We inspect the float and needle for wear. In most cases a full clean is enough. If the jets are too damaged, we install a rebuild kit or replacement carb.
"On a recent lawn tractor job we cleaned the carb thoroughly, along with the throttle body and pistons. The engine looked great inside. We added fresh ethanol-free gas — still wouldn't start. Turned out the fuel filter was so clogged it wouldn't let fuel reach the carb at all. Changed the filter, started right up. Sometimes the carb is fine — the problem is upstream."
The best thing you can do for any small engine in Florida is run it on ethanol-free gas. It costs a little more at the pump but it doesn't degrade, doesn't absorb moisture, and won't gum up your carburetor. We recommend it on every service call.
We come to you anywhere in Clermont, Minneola, Winter Garden, Ocoee, Windermere, or Horizon West. Call or text (321) 430-5999.
We come to your home, office, or anywhere you are — cars, trucks, lawn mowers, generators and more.
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