Lawn Mower Carburetor Types

I’m a mechanic for over twenty years and I see the same symptoms again and again. If any of these sound familiar, it’s likely you’ve got a fueling issue.

• Mower won’t start after winter
• Engine hesitates
• Mower losses power
• Engine surging
• Mower starts and then dies
• Engine stalls when cutting grass
• Mower cuts out on a hill 

What’s The Problem With My Carburetor?

A carburetor is tasked with the job of mixing gas and air to a ratio of 14.7 to 1, known as AFR (Air Fuel Ratio). This ratio is the optimum mix of gas and air. Your mower carburetor may look simple, in fact, it’s a finely tuned instrument.

Your carburetor has a brass fuel jet with tiny precise fuel feed holes. If any of these holes get blocked, your engine will hesitate, it does so because it’s not getting enough gas – engine running lean.

This condition apart from being irritating is bad for your engine. An engine that runs lean, runs hot. Dirt in the carburetor is primarily caused by debris entering through the gas tank and stale gas.

Cleaning around the gas tank before opening it will help keep the crap out. But what most people don’t know is that gas now starts to go stale after one month of storage. That means your mower carburetor may well have gum and varnish deposits blocking up the tiny portholes and passageways.

Cleaning the fueling system in most cases fixes the problem. Check this post out, “Carburetor cleaning”, but sometimes you’ll need to bite the bullet and fit a new carburetor. Check out the “Carburetor cleaning video” here.

Using a gas stabilizer in your fuel over the winter months will prevent this from happening again. Check out “Adding stabilizer video” here.

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Briggs & Stratton

This is a popular Hooai Carburetor fitted to walk behind mowers with Quantum engines, but check the engine codes listed. This is an Auto choke carburetor. This carburetor has a fuel feed bolt in the base of the bowl, dirt in the bolt feed hole is a common issue. Picture links to Amazon.com.

Briggs & Stratton

This is an after-market replacement carburetor for the Briggs 4-7hp engines. This is the primer bulb-style carburetor. This carburetor has a fuel feed bolt in the base of the bowl, dirt in the bolt feed hole is a common issue. It comes with a replacement air filter/primer bulb housing gasket. Without this gasket, your primer bulb won’t work. Picture links to Amazon.com.

Briggs & Stratton

This is an original Briggs carburetor fitted to walk behind mowers. Part # 593261, these guys are made from plastic and I see lots of issues with them. The jet holes are particularly tiny and block so easily. There are a few different types and all look alike, so use part numbers to check before ordering. Picture links to Amazon.com.

Briggs & Stratton

This carburetor is fitted to ride-on lawnmowers, it’s a Hooai carburetor fitted to Briggs Intek 14, 17.5, and 18 hp engines. Comes complete with a filter, gas tap, and spare gasket. You feel the love! Picture links to Amazon.com.

Briggs & Stratton

This is a popular carburetor fitted to the classic range of Briggs and Stratton engines. This engine is fitted to many different walk-behind lawn mower models like MTD, TORO, Murray, Poulan, Craftsman, and many more. Picture links to Amazon.com.

Honda GCV 160

This is a Hooai carburetor fitted to the Honda GCV160 engine only, not the GVC190. It comes with gaskets, plugs, filter, and a fuel line. Fitting isn’t difficult, just a little tedious, take your time and some pictures of where the old gaskets are positioned and their orientation. Picture links to Amazon.com.

Honda GCV 190

This is a Hipa GCV 190 carburetor fitted to the Honda GCV190 engine only, not the GVC160. It comes with gaskets, plugs, filter, and a fuel line. Fitting isn’t difficult, just a little tedious, take your time and some pictures of where the old gaskets are positioned and their orientation. Picture links to Amazon.com.

Kohler Carburetor

This is a popular carburetor fitted to ride-on mowers with the 15,17,18 and 19HP Kohler engines. This kit includes a complete carburetor, fuel filter, plug, oil filter, and air filter. Check your engine codes before ordering. Picture links to Amazon.com.

Carburetor Cleaning Video