Tiller stops every two minutes

[radios1]

some briggs engines use a plastic needle valve, the stupidest thing they ever did, since it swells up and stops the needle valve from opening!!..

 

[Jstpssng]

My Troybilt did the same thing last year. It has a nearly new Predator engine, had just gotten out of the shop after getting serviced and I didnt feel like dealing with it so I parked it in the shed.
Sunday I drained the fuel, dropped the bowl, put it back together and it runs fine.

 

[HarryVanderpool]

These carbs need cleaning every year with the **** ethanol additives. Guarantee that the ethanol is gumming up the needle passage. I bet it's got a carb where the needle is attached to the float and it's gummed up. I have to clean or rebuild nearly every small engine carb I have every year. It really doesn't matter if you use fuel stabilizer or not. Running empty before storage is your best bet.

I'm not arguing with or flaming you, MechanicalGuy, BUT:
We have 7 chainsaws, 3 generators, 2 line trimmers, 2 lawn mowers, 2 Ford Gas tractors, and a rototiller.
Many of these are many decades old.
All we use is gas with ethanol.
We have has NO fuel problems that were out of the ordinary.
We did have to replace the diaphragm in our 1966 briggs generator and one fuel line in our Craftsman weed whacker a couple of years back.
But that is normal wear / maintenance in my opinion.
When I hear all of these ethanol horror stories it makes me wonder if the recipe differs in different states.

 

[Egon]

Refined gasoline may vary slightly in composition depending on feed stock and refinery design. In colder areas Composition will differ from hot to cold seasons.

 

[radios1]

I'm not arguing with or flaming you, MechanicalGuy, BUT:
We have 7 chainsaws, 3 generators, 2 line trimmers, 2 lawn mowers, 2 Ford Gas tractors, and a rototiller.
Many of these are many decades old.
All we use is gas with ethanol.
We have has NO fuel problems that were out of the ordinary.
We did have to replace the diaphragm in our 1966 briggs generator and one fuel line in our Craftsman weed whacker a couple of years back.
But that is normal wear / maintenance in my opinion.
When I hear all of these ethanol horror stories it makes me wonder if the recipe differs in different states.

ethanol has very bad effects on parts not designed to withstand it, if manufacturers try to save money, they may use parts that will not withstand ethanol!.. plastics and rubber need to be chosen carefully for use with ethanol!.. many years ago, ethanol was not added to gasoline, it was used as a racing fuel, and the engine had to be designed to run that!..

 

[bigtiller]

ethanol has very bad effects on parts not designed to withstand it, if manufacturers try to save money, they may use parts that will not withstand ethanol!.. plastics and rubber need to be chosen carefully for use with ethanol!

That was true 40 some years ago before ethanol was commercialized.