Posted on 04/16/2018 7:50:15 AM PDT by dennisw
I want to keep this new Troy Bilt lawnmower running great. It is the TB230 with 163cc* Briggs & Stratton® 725EXi Series engine http://www.troybilt.com/equipment/troybilt/troy-bilt-tb320-walk-behind-mower-12avb2a3711
My questions are:
All nonsense.
Just use it.
In 3-5 years it will start acting up.
Won’t matter what type of oil or gas you use.
It will always be the carburetor.
When it happens, go online and buy a new carburetor.
It will cost $25-$35.
It just swaps in with a few bolts.
Everything runs fine for the next 3-5 years.
As far as I know their carbs CANNOT HANDLE PUMP GAS. They will fail quickly and rebuilding will not work any longer than the original carb.
All I do with my mower is put in gas. No premium gas. Check the oil. It's always OK. Never put in Stabil over the winter. They start right up. If there's a problem, a little shot of starter fluid does the job. Never had major trouble with any of my dozen gas engine toys. Never drain any of the dozen tanks. Most of them were purchased in 2008 when we moved to a large lot. Oh, I tore down the carb on an Echo chainsaw to clean it up.
Start em, use em, put them away.
I just remembered. About 5 years ago, I bought a "rebuilt" TroyBilt edger with a B&S engine cheap at Lowes. Wouldn't start when I got it home. The grill on the rope starter housing was crushed and I couldn't pull the rope. Fixed it. Tore down the cheapo plastic carb and cleaned and blew it out. Started right up. The next time, two weeks later, no start. Use some starter fluid and it started. I don't think the carb and primer are well designed. Often gas starved when starting. Dies. TroyBilt blames B&S and B&S blames TroyBilt and alcohol in the gas. After two weeks? The design of the belt drive on the edger is terrible. Too twisty It broke after three uses.
The TroyBilt is not the same company as it was in the 70s-80s. Owned by a cheap mower company. Wouldn't buy one today.
Be religious about using fuel stabilizer in the gas. For newer equipment non-ethanol is not necessary. No matter what the manual says, use premium gas. Alcohol is actually a small advantage — ethanol in gas makes it tolerant of a small amount of water contamination.
I use a triple dose of ordinary Sta-bil, I put it in the can before I take it to the station to get it filled. Filling the can mixes the additive. I live in the country and have lots of small gas engines: mower, 3 generators, 2 chainsaws, 3 blowers, and 2 string trimmers. I have never lost a small engine due to gas gumming up in the carb. My friends and neighbors all lose one or two every year.
With 4-stroke engines, I always change the oil about twice as often as the manual says. With 2-stroke engines always use Stihl synthetic to add to the gas.
I have decades of experience and my equipment lasts longer than anyone I know.
RTFM.
Anybody who tells you not to RTFM, or suggests that RTFM is "nonsense", is full of crap and should be ignored.
read it but want more input
Lawnmowers take oil?
Who knew?
does that “thing” really mow grass with any effectiveness?
I think fresh clean oil is as important as centistokes.
I didn’t say any manual is nonsense, I said what you thought the manual said was nonsense.
.
.
I think the troy is nopw owned by MTD, who also own Husquavarna, Sears, etc.
The older stuff is less affected by storage problems, but tend to be more work to start the first time in the spring.
The newer stuff with the total plastic carbs absoluterly have to be run dry before storage, or you’re going to be in the market for a $125 carburetor.
Honestly just use regular gasoline and oil, drain the gas in autumn and run it dry and don’t worry the small stuff. These small engines are so cheap and consumable that they are not worth worry. Troy Built ain’t what it used to be, now bought out by the big boys. I keep thinking of replacing the B&S on my splitter and have considered it for the past ten years but never get around to it, now 30 years old and going strong except for occasional carb ($24) because I let it sit with gas. About ten years ago I did put in a new spark plug.
RTFM.
RTFM.
RTFM.
And, when in doubt, RTFM.
Pseudonymous Internet Dude doesn't have your particular piece of equipment. PID doesn't know how your particular piece of equipment should be operated. Become an educated owner/operator. RTFM.
Go to Ethanol Shield’s site. They have some interesting test papers and info on their products done by independent labs.
For now I’ll stick with what works for me.
Read the ownwer’s manuals. Both the tb230 manual as well as the b&s manual for the engine. Do exactly as they say. No problems.
That is what is shipped with every mower.
My son found a way to blow up my 27 year old lawnmower that was in basically perfect condition so I purchased a new mower with a Honda engine. I was shocked to see that I had to use 10W-30 automotive oil.
I clerked in a small engine shop for a time. Second generation small engine mechanics.
Use premium gas.
30 weight oil.
Change oil and filters when funky.
There was a huge difference in the equipment that was used daily or weekly vs. the equipment used seasonal or once per month or less. If used more often, the engine lasts longer (fuel system does not sweat or get gummed up). I crank my mower once per week, year round and run it enough to at least get the engine hot. If you cannot run the engine weekly for some reason, as others have posted, draining the fuel system is the second best solution. And I do use a couple of drops of fuel additive year round. My mower is about 15 years old and rope start so it needs to start on the first pull. LOL
It's amazing what happens when you RTFM.
Google-”Where to find non-ethanol gasoline in ???” (your area). Saves hassles down the road. Should start easier/quicker. Oil? Main thing is to change often. Clean/replace filters. Happy motoring.
Perhaps a better question is, why the kickstand?
I stole it off the interwebs so.., yeah.
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