Well, There's Your Problem!
As I mentioned earlier, another client has a large tow-behind mower in my shop for repairs. All he could really tell me was that it simply would not start. Ok, sounds like it's most likely a fuel-issue (just like the roto-tiller.) Check for spark, and it's got a good one, so it's definitely a fuel issue. My first concern is how old the fuel in the tank is, and it's definitely stale, and starting to turn rancid. I decide to remove the tank to drain the fuel. This one is easy! There are four screws holding the large plastic tank onto the frame of the mower-deck, and it has a long (12") fuel-line with a filter in it connecting it to the carburetor.
As soon as I remove the tank, I discover what the problem is. The fuel has actually melted the rubber fuel-line!!! The line is all soft and mushy, and it's just like tar inside! Unfortunately, this goop has managed to ooze its way past the filter and has gummed up the carburetor as well. I replaced the line, but still wasn't getting any fuel; taking the carbureto's float-bowl off revealed the forementioned gunking-up of the carburetor. The float-bowl needle-valve was stuck closed with the crud, and I needed to use a pair of pliers to carefully pull the needle out! Once I got it cleaned up, it was able to move freely again and now we had a flow of fuel to the carburetor.
Unfortunately, that's not where the story ends. The carburetor is still gunked-up inside, and the engine will only run under full choke. I dumped my jerry-can of regular gasoline into the Explorer this evening after work, and replaced it with Premium gas. I'm hoping that this new (and higher-grade) fuel might help ungunk the carburetor. Worst case, I'll have to take the carburetor apart as much as I can, and see if I can't get the gunk out. This one isn't exactly designed for quick-and-easy work, so I'll have to see what happens.
I'm a little annoyed with my Briggs rep though; He sold me a box of replacement fuel-line (four boxes actually, in various sizes) so I had the proper line to replace the melted one with, but he neglected to include the clamps needed to secure the line! When you open the box, there's a label saying which clamp to use, and I know I didn't get any of those. I'll order a whole pack of them, but it just irks me that shipping will probably cost twice as much as the parts do! Ah well, with any luck I'll have this machine running by the end of the weekend, so I can get another happy customer!
Work today was just nuts. Last Friday was pretty good; we got one or two customers every five to ten minutes, and it just created a nice easy-to-handle flow. Tonight was one of those nights where it would be dead for a few minutes, then you'd get a wave of customers, and then it would go quiet again. It was during one of those insane wave (more like a Tsunami!) moments when the problem happened:
A customer had purchased $24.00 worth of gas in a jerry-can on Pump #4. While he was inside paying, another customer pulled up to Pump #4 to get gas for his car. Once a pump has been shut off, it cannot be restarted until it is cleared (or Authorized) by the control-panel inside the store (next to the till.) Since the first customer was still in line waiting to pay for his $24 purchase, the pump hadn't been cleared yet. The problem occured when the second customer asked Kevin to give him $20 worth of gas. Kevin pre-set the pump for $20, stuck the nozzle in the tank, and left to take care of other customers. In the meantime, the first customer has now reached the till, and is paying for his $24 purchase. Now that the payment has been made, I clear the pump, and this over-rides the preset as it essentially resets the pump!
Completely oblivious to what has just happened, Kevin assumes that the pump will stop at $20 like he told it to, and continues to wait on other customers. What winds up happening is that the pump runs until the autofill feature kicks off the nozzle-lock, and there is now close to $50 worth of gas in the tank! Now the question is, does the store just eat the loss, or will Kevin have to pay for it? The policy is that employees are responsible for over-pumps, but these are somewhat unusual circumstances. Blaine (the manager) is already pretty ticked with Kevin due to his attitude, so I've got a feeling he's not going to be overly forgiving in this situation, even though one could certainly understand how the accident would have occured.
The rule of Thumb is: If you do a preset, and the pump doesn't immediately start, STOP!!! Go back and make sure that the pump has been cleared first, or you'll lose your preset and possibly a good chunk of cash! I learned this the hard way myself, but I had the good fortune that it only went over by a dollar or so (because I was nearby and watching it) and the customer was OK with it. I left a note for Blaine explaining the situation (as well as a "call me if there are any questions" ending) but I suspect it won't help much. I just don't see him being overly charitable given Kevin's history. I sort of feel sorry for him (Kevin) as this really was an accident (and an understandable one at that!) but he's sort of had this coming for a while now. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.