Outdoor Power Equipment and Small Engines - Mothballed mower runs on Alcohol but not gas

Picked up a Craftsman mower for free, prob 3-6 yrs old that had been mothballed for the last 3 yrs or so by previous owner.

Changed oil and plug. Won't start.
Sprayed carb & choke cleaner in carb and it runs for a few seconds, then cuts out. Consistantly runs like this when sprayed, so I think the magneto-electrical system is ok.

Fuel line is clear-- at least from tank to the side of carb-- inspected that and re-assembled. Don't know if it's worth cleaning out the carb.

Noticed that I had too much oil in it for a time in this debug process too-- drained the excess off-- same results. Noticed some oil in the muffler, thought it was result of excess oil in reservoir.

Any thoughts? Much appreciated. Would be a long day mowing lawn 1' at a time w/ aid of choke cleaner.

TIA

Hello R_Edgar!

You'll need to disassemble the carburetor and clean it out at the least, possibly needs rebuilding.

The carb is stopped up,BRIGGS is known for it

I was able to get the fuel bowl off w/o having to remove the entire carb (and thus deal with the gaskets).

Lots of gunk in the bowl and on the stem... I'm not sure that the float could even move. Cleaned all that up and seems to run on fuel now. Not perfect, but will play.

The pareto principle in action...

Thanks for all your help here!!!

Great!

You might have to soak the carb in a bath type carb cleaner to improve the running, or it may clear up on it's own (not likely, but possible) with some use. It may also just need adjusting.