check the gas cap take it off see if it runs then
check the float next

 

Took the brand new carb apart. Float working, clean as a whistle, getting gas, getting air. Put it back together and she started right up. I head downhill, made three passes, and then it stalled again... at the very bottom up the driveway at the roadway. Spent 10 minutes trying to start it again. There she sits. I'm too old and weak to drag it up..

 

does it have low oil shutdown?

 

Could be as simple as putting more gas in the tank. Tecumseh tanks usually have the pick up toward the rear (operator side). As you tilt forward fuel runs away from that hole.

 

This is not the problem.

 

Possibly not related to the steep driveway, what was the length of time before the machine stalled each time?

Could be an ignition issue with a bad coil. Try to start it, if it doesn't start, remove the plug and test for spark. If it does start, test for spark immediately after it stalls next time.

 

Got spark after stalling and when it would not start. I ran it on fairly flat ground for 30 minutes before it stalled the first time. The second time I ran it up and down the driveway for about 15 minutes before it stalled again. I let it sit for 20 minutes, it started and I ran it for about 30 minutes and finished without it stalling.

 

is it loosing spark when it dies?

 

Spark is good. I checked multiple times. I was able to start it after it sat for 20 minutes. I was able to run it for the next 30 minutes straight and finish. I have no clue.

 

Thanks for the help. I didn't solve the problem and I'm sure it will rear it's ugly head during the next snowstorm, but at least I was able to finish up this time.

 

perfect location, just needs a free sign on it!

 

frankie the reason to remove the gas cap is it has vent if its blocked after a short while it stalls because it cant get fuel
so your comment is wrong about the cap
carry on

 

frankie has left the building
he would never admit it was the gas cap
95% it was

 

Maybe.....but many good responses with other possibilities. I always work from simple on up.

Had this pesky problem with a neighbor's Honda 724 until duh......it was the coil. it worked fine when cold. when it warmed up it would stall..no spark. Frank said he had spark right after it stalled so that probably eliminated the coil .

Hopefully it was the cap. easy peasy....

too many people overthink a problem. you wouldnt believe all the private messages and emails I get locally when we have snow.

most are NO START issues.

I always ask in order.....


key on?
gas in tank?
fuel on?


90% is one of these 3.......after that we work on up ladder.

 

Some water in the tank will kill an engine also. As the blob gets moved around with the differing engine angles.

 

I'm leaning tiward a coil heat issue but the fuel cap vent was and is my first choice

 

I believe, maybe its time for some of us arm chair fixer uppers, to remember, we have folks on the forum from many different parts of the world, different time zones, different walks of life, different work schds., different skills, etc etc, we need to give the OP, time to respond, time to try some things, maybe a little patience when we waiting for his/her responses......just my 1 cent s worth. Sorry for the rant......

 

I have same problem - Ariens with Snowking engine, 3-4 years old. Runs great level, uphill, plenty of power. Start blowing down hill - after 1-2 mins stalls due to lack of gas. Takes many pulls with choke to restart. Very frustrating. Has to be fuel problem - if I tilt the machine back when it starts to stall, it recovers. Would gas cap only be a problem going downhill?

 

Agree with @BeerGhost it is probably a carb float issue. Could also be a weird electrical issue where downhill grade causes something to ground out.

 

float level setting might be to low. sometimes the seat swells and it lowers the fuel level in the bowl.

 

does it have a low oil sensor?

 

As cheap as carbs are, I would just be replacing it.

Just about every blower I see for sale says .... " won't stay running or won't start, just needs a carb cleaning" .... lol, seriously ...

 

Just about every blower I see for sale says .... " won't stay running or won't start, just needs a carb cleaning"

You're making a good case for EFI on snow blowers...

 

Yeah, lol, seems everyone selling one states that

 

I would check the float level to see if bowl is getting enough fuel.

 

Thanks all for ideas posters - just to rule out a few simple things like water in bowl/tank or cap vent I drained the tank and bowl, ran lines dry, checked for frayed wires, dried everything and bought canned tru fuel. Ran the blower on level ground and it ran great, then chocked up the wheels to mimic downgrade. 30 seconds and it began to stall. It recovered as soon as I removed the chocks. Next step try float level adjustment some have recommended.

 

Today, the day after a blizzard and the first significant snow of the year, I started snow blowing with my Arien's 28 SHO AX306. up the steep, long driveway, no problem in 18" of heavy snow. Downhill, sputter and stall. Then it would start and stall when the choke was shut off (still on the decline). Messed around start, stall, multiple times. Brought it down to the level area, started working fine on the large level area, worked well throwing the snow a mile. Hit the steep incline again, no problem. Made the turn at the top, started heading downhill, sputtered and died again. I brought it back down, started it, and made an uphill pass. This time, rather than turning around, I backed down the driveway. No stall. I continued this until completion. I'm only glad I didn't give up too soon and shovel the entire driveway, it would have taken us two days. In any event, I hope I can figure this out before the next storm, that was highly aggravating. Callahan535, I look forward to hearing about your results.

 

Downhill, sputter and stall.

Or water in the fuel... Drain tank and carb bowl and refill with fresh fuel to check...

 

Float level . . .

 

Thanks. How would I go about doing that?

 

learned something new today
water in the tank only effects blowers going downhill
interesting interesting
sargent schultz i hear nothinggg i seee nothing i knowww nothinggg colonel hogannn please dont tell me

 

learned something new today
water in the tank only effects blowers going downhill

It all depends on where the tank pickup is. Happens sometimes with gravity fed fuel systems. Glad you learned something.

 

If the water is covering the bottom of the fuel bowl... or the tank/lines.
Lets check the bowl and float too. All at once. Clear the lines, tank, bowl, and set the float.
First make sure the float actually floats. It may be damaged and. Flooding or so....

 

I had a stall today. First time with this unit. Was routing out some heavy dense wet snow while clearing the sidewalk on level ground. It was 3 " over the top! By far the deepest windrow I've had to break through yet (on the neighbors plowed side where it meets the sidewalk). Anyways it was 3" over the top and the snow was grey and saturated, leftover from the snowstorm 2 weeks ago plus a fresh 10 inches of dense topping. Anyways, I think what happened is ice or snow got sucked into the carb from below the heater box.
It wasn't 3" over the top of the bucket, nope that's child's play for the 520, It wasn't 3" over the chute deflector, and this is the tall chute version, Nope none of that, it was 3" over the top of the handlebars. This is the curved handlebar version auger driven 932500 Ariens, the top of the handlebars stand at 38" so the windrow was 41". That's 41 inches without power to the rear wheels and it still busted through, It was slow, it made a tunnel (completely over the top of the chute deflector) most of the way(it was over ten feet of windrow and denser than the fresh EOD), but nothing stops this little tiny machine, It would literally take a solid wall of ice to stop it. That or it sucked some snow. Which is what happened because I was able to restart with 120V, but I had to throttle it to idle immediately in order to keep it running. So I took a break, let it idle for 20 minutes and only then was able to full throttle again, so It either sucked snow through carb, or it got into the float-bowl somehow, I hit the bowl drain for good measure, but it ran strong as ever after the idle down period. It was a good day.

 

What if you roll it back downhill off. Then restart at the bottom. What would happen.

 

Original problem - stalling going downhill. I have the same problem on Ariens Snow King. In my case i believe it’s just a weakness of the design of the fuel line in the back of tank. I tried all of the recommendations above to rule out carb float adjustment, water in gas, electrical, fuel cap. I can recreate the problem every time by tilting machine forward or going downhill. Filling the tank to the brim helps, and when snow blowing as soon as the motor starts to die tilting the machine back for 10 seconds recovers the stall. Nothing I have found solves the problem of going downhill starving the motor of gas after about 30 seconds. Unhappy with this model, was not a problem on my old simplicity.