Briggs & Stratton gas tank hole

[Bobcat1]

The gas tank in my briggs & stratton engine seemed to have a hole in it. I couldn't get the mower to run unless i dumped a little fuel in the carb. it would run for a short time and die. it seemed there was no fuel getting into the carb. so i took the carb off and found there is a fuel bowl within the gas tank. it seems the carb sucks fuel up from the tank and shoots it into this smaller bowl within the tank. then from there it sucks it back up into the tank. but the problem is, there was this rusted hole in the fuel bowl. so i thought that couldnt be good. i plugged it up with some plastic quick steel. now it seems i can get the mower running for longer periods of time but only with the choke fully on. i think there is a linkage problem now with the carb and the governor. Has anyone ever had this problem? did i do the right thing by plugging up this hole in the bowl?

Attached Images

	gastank-hole.jpg (124.4 KB, 3 views)
	gastank-hole-plugged.jpg (121.0 KB, 3 views)

[monoshock]

Lawn care business tips

Looks like a lot of rust in the tank. Have you cleaned the carb? I would buy another tank,don't think that epoxy will hold up for very long. You may want to invest in a carb repair kit also.

[Bobcat1]

i may ultimately have to buy another one. i did want to see if that fixed at least that problem and it seems to have. but i dont know if the original design had a small hole there to prime it.

the way the gas tank is designed it seems you have to tilt the mower back to get gas in the bowl before you initially start it.

here is a picture. you can see the yellow arrow show where there is a gap to allow gas to enter from the tank, into the front of the bowl.

i hope this is right. i just cant figure any other way it would be primed otherwise. there is no fuel primer bulb.

[Steve]

now it seems i can get the mower running for longer periods of time but only with the choke fully on. i think there is a linkage problem now with the carb and the governor.

Check to see if you have an air leak where the carb connects to the engine. If it is sucking in air there, it will be bypassing the carb and therefor not get enough fuel.