Hi all,
Some of you appear to have touched on some of what I'm going to say, but some may be missing.
My thoughts, and they're just my thoughts, are that if you turn off the fuel tap while the mower is still running, the fuel in the carby may be sucked through still, however, it's possible you can get a small vacuum between the tap and the inlet in the float chamber cover. This would be more prominent with the viton tipped needles, they would form a better seal.
Further to all of this, when 2-stroke mix is left to sit idle, the fuel and oil separate. I believe this would be much worse if the fuel tap is left on, but even if it's off, as the 2-stroke oil separates either in the tank and then into the hose, or just the small amount in the hose, that thicker oil could cause the seat or tip of the needle to gum up and stick.
I believe that the solution is to simply turn off the fuel tap, possibly just a few seconds before turning off the mower, not leaving the mower with much fuel in the tank, and before using the mower again, topping the tank up with some fresh 2-stroke mix, and giving the mower a shake/roll back and forth (Front to back), a little passionately but not too harsh, to re-mix the fuel/2-stroke mix which has separated, mix the new 2-stroke mix and old fuel, and to also knock loose the needle if it's become stuck.
Finally, when starting the mower again (On top of adding fuel and shaking/rolling the mower as above), turn on the tap, prime up to 5-7 time (Depending on how long it's been idle, and make sure you do it slowly), shift the throttle between cold to run and back 2-3 times, then pull the starter nice and gently (You don't need to pull it violently, if you do, something's wrong).
Thoughts?
Cheers,
pau13z
