The clear hose at Clark Rubber is described as vinyl & food grade and lot of people don't recommend clear hose for fuel but I've never had a problem with using it on a lawn mower it does harden over time ,been using clear hose on mowers for decades ,I wouldn't use it on a car or boat but have used some just temporary on the fuel suction side on a car when I put a 4 litre container in the engine bay just to start an engine.
Haven't had the clear hose crack unless it's decades old.
Even if they ask me at the shop what I want the clear hose for and I say mower fuel line they don't say not to use it.
I think it just depends on the quality of the clear hose if it's made too cheaply it's going to melt when you add fuel to the hose.
The clear line does make it easier to see that the fuel tap and needle and seat are working.
The clear line is usually fine on a barbed fuel line connectors but can leak when on straight fuel line connectors so I usually use little zip ties to hold the line on tight.
Thanks Max, the connector from the tank seems a better set up than the little stub on the carbie.
I was surprised how quickly the fuel got into the carbie when the tap was turned on. I read somewhere that the rubber bulb is not a primer as such but has something to do with air?
Can someone explain that one to me? I didn't see any air bubbles in the fuel line. Different mowers which seem to have the same carbie & tap seem to have different ideas on how many times to press the bulb.
Hi Danny, Yes they a crap idea but we are stuck with the design. If you look at the primer bulb it has a hole in it. When you press your finger on it, it traps air inside the primer cap and this increase in pressure is designed to push a squirt/dribble of fuel into the inlet manifold. The problem with this primitive design is the reason people have different ideas on how many times to pump the bulb, because they vary so much.. It is something you have to work out what works best on your mower. As I said an absolute crap of a carby design but it is what we have to work with
Works as Norm said A couple pics to show the fuel flow when you push the primer, the fuel goes up the lower hole at the bottom of the primer cap and into the centre brass main jet.
I never had much of a problem with the original primer caps and plastic needles but the plastic needles would stick sometimes and I'd have to push the primer about 20 times then it would start ,that was mainly when the mower hadn't been started for a long time probably the fuel had evaporated and left the oil behind marking the needle stick, the needle with the Viton tip is heavier and I only need to prime 3 times.
Hi Max, I wanted to start a 24 yesterday, hadn't been started for over a month and what a bastard it was. Fought it on and off for nearly an hour before I got it to fire up. They are an absolute dog of a thing these carbs and it all comes down to these stinking float needles and primer caps, they are the cause of all the problems with these motors
Try a Tecumseh rubber seat and Tecumseh shortened alloy needle with a small hole drilled through the bottom of the needle so you can tie fuse wire from the needle to the float.
One problem I see with this Victa carby is the float doesn't push the needle straight up it pushes on an angle so needles could have a tendency to leak and as long as you stop the needle sticking closed you shouldn't have a problem.
All the problems with the caps you've had ,I think if I was getting those problems I would have gone back to using the G3 carby.
I think the 24 inch mowers are a little harder to start after sitting for a while ,the indirect crank blade plate weight seems to make them spin over slower when starting.
Hi Max, I have just tried another 4 new primer caps and needles, 3 pissed fuel out and the fourth seats but is obviously sticking. At this rate I can see the 24's I have here going to the scrapper
All these problems with the needle and seats ,I'd be sanding a little off the side of the float to make sure it's not the float sticking on the side of the carby housing, you can test the seat and needle before fitting the primer cap by holding the needle down and blowing on a hose connected to the primer cap fuel line spigot, you've probably done that a million times before.
That's what I also do to check the needle and seat are sealing and the needle isn't sticking but if it's slightly leaking you may not notice without using a pressure gauge.
I just had a look at a primer cap with the float Norm and the float doesn't slide too well up and down,the float rubs a little on the inside edge of the primer cap so there's always room for improvement,might sand down the side of the cap on the inside so the float isn't anywhere near the side of the cap (so it has clearance)
All you can do is try and make improvements in the Victa carby so it works ,hopefully trouble free.
Hi Max, What drives me insane with these is yesterday I ended up getting a cap and needle that were happy together. Works perfectly, no issues whatsoever. I recon a working float needle and primer cap has to be worth $100 because of all the wasted time and agro they cause
I know what you mean with all the time spent repairing mowers ,2 strokes can't be selling well these days as I see good running mowers for $20. ,makes them not worth picking up for free to sell for $20. If I sell a mower when it's not summer I would have to halve the price otherwise it would take months to sell.
Yes Max, this time of the year you couldn't give a mower away. Once September hits and people see that it is going to cost them $60/80 to get their lawn cut they quickly see the value in an $80 mower, one cut of their lawns and they are in front.
