Very small fuel leak on lawnmower - where to look?
Very small fuel leak on lawnmower - where to look?
Author
Discussion

Condi

Original Poster:

20,267 posts

200 months

Yesterday (14:12)
quotequote all
I'm finding that the mower is losing fuel while it's sat in the shed. Looked like the fuel tank had a crack so replaced that, but it's not solved the issue so need to look further. There are no obvious signs of fuel on the mower, so I can only assume it's evaporating rather than dripping out. Can anyone suggest any places to start, or is it just a case of taking the fuel lines and carb off, replacing any O-rings and checking for damage?

netherfield

3,168 posts

213 months

Yesterday (14:23)
quotequote all
You haven't mentioned a make.

I had an Honda engine on a machine, under the tank where the fuels comes out was leaking, unscrewed it new O ring, sorted, and that was the tiniest leak.

grumbas

1,146 posts

220 months

Yesterday (14:31)
quotequote all
I had this on an old mower, the o-ring on the filler cap was very perished.

Don't forget E10 fuel likes to eat hoses etc if they're not spec'd for it.

shtu

4,502 posts

175 months

Yesterday (14:40)
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They're simple machines, there's really only a few places to look.

Tank
Pipe
Carb

3din

46 posts

4 months

Yesterday (14:59)
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replace all fuel pipes. e10 eats through them unless they're specifically rated for it.

Alex_225

7,712 posts

230 months

Yesterday (15:17)
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I have a Webb petrol mower. I started to notice fuel down the side appearing more and more, initially I assumed I'd just been clumsy filling it up.

I realised the fuel line had split and was peeing fuel out, £5 part and a 10 min job to replace.

jimothyc

843 posts

113 months

Yesterday (15:36)
quotequote all
This is why I only use super unleaded in my mower. Supposed to be up to 5% ethanol, but normally has little or no ethanol compared to the standard E10.

Condi

Original Poster:

20,267 posts

200 months

Yesterday (16:01)
quotequote all
netherfield said:
You haven't mentioned a make.
It's a Briggs and Stratton engine.

Guess I'll just start taking things apart and see what I can find.

RicksAlfas

14,489 posts

273 months

It was the fuel pipe on mine. Looked ok but when you moved it you could see it was very worn and breaking up.
Loads on ebay or Amazon.

OutInTheShed

14,352 posts

55 months

Condi said:
I'm finding that the mower is losing fuel while it's sat in the shed. Looked like the fuel tank had a crack so replaced that, but it's not solved the issue so need to look further. There are no obvious signs of fuel on the mower, so I can only assume it's evaporating rather than dripping out. Can anyone suggest any places to start, or is it just a case of taking the fuel lines and carb off, replacing any O-rings and checking for damage?
Could just be evaporating from tank and carb in the hot weather we've had?

Is there a fuel tap?