Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

I'm cruising along with this baby and all of a sudden it sputters and dies.  There is plenty of fresh gas.

I discovered that if I unscrew the gas cap before it stops completely, it will come back to life and continue to run for a while until it does it again.  What the ???

Is there some adjustment I need to make?  Is there an air something-or-other that's clogged or needs to be opened?

Thanks in advance...

Dave

Sounds like ice and slush may have clogged your fuel cap's vent holes. Does it run OK, say, in the garage? With the engine revving under load, it's sucking down the petrol pretty fast. A vacuum can develop between the top of the gas and the top of your tank if no air is allowed into the tank.

You found a workaround, but if the vents are plugged with something other than ice (like varnish), your best bet is to just replace the cap. You could try soaking it, but how expensive is a gas cap anyway?

Thank you - I looked at the gas cap and didn't see any vents to clog, so I called Ariens and spent over an hour on hold... finally got a guy who told me that the tank vents through the threads on the cap, so I just had it on to tight.

We got a foot of snow today and I went out there with the gas cap snug but not tight... had no problem!!

I appreciate your quick response.

Dave

Fantastic. That's the kind of fix we all like to hear about. Fast (except for the hold time), and cheap.