Fixing A PowerSmart Mower That Won't Start 

Wow Thank you for your time, professional job , I guess I'm lucky I have mine for 3 yrs with no issue, only thing I do I put winter storage in the gas tank

You're a good man do a good job people like to have you take a look at things and you make a good channel thank you

Great Video! I think I would sell it for scrap metal than have to deal with the problems.

Bought one a couple years ago and love it. Yes, it has some cheaper made parts and that's why I'm sure they're lesser expensive than the others. I like it cause it's light and starts usually with one pull.

I bought a 196 cc powersmart in 2019. Used it for 2 years regularly with no issues. Then I stopped using it in 2022 because I had heart surgery and had somebody else do my lawn. When I stored it, I didn't put a stabilizer so when I started using it, it won't start. I cleaned the carburetor and replaced the spark plug and it started. Also changed the oil.

Wow, the tools came out for this one, but it’s going... I remember run in time is usually 5 hours on the engine for first change. Though surprised to see that much garbage in the oil. Now you didn’t do your spin the wheel time trial. Great job😉🇦🇺

I got one of these free (self propelled) when I bought a Husqvarna HU700 self propelled with the Honda engine for $10 from a local guy. He said it ran too fast - I fixed that by straightening out the governor linkage and getting the RPMs down to around 2900 The Husqvarna was hard to start and the belt kept jumping off. The kill switch needed some adjustment (would not always reset) and the belt problem was just a cable adjustment. So for $10, 2 air cleaners, an inline filter and oil changes I have two usable self propelled mowers. I really like your videos. Nice style

I have a Power Start, model db2322s, EN 22" 196cc, so-called 3in1. After sitting through a winter with an empty fuel tank, it didn't start in early spring. The problem is found to be air bubbles getting in the fuel line by following this step (12:30) as seen in this video. This is verified by running it till the fuel tank empty which prevents it from starting agin. By loosing this bolt to release some fuel then tightening it back to normal, it starts easily. It has no primer bulb nor a choke. But in the troubleshoot section the user manual says "pump the primer" if won't start. It's a joke. Made without care.

Hey, great video, I love your channel! I have a '99 Honda mower, that takes about 10 pulls to start when cold, however when its warm, it takes just one. I have already replaced the carb, flushed the fuel system, adjusted valve clearance, replaced the spark plug etc, its still not fixed. However, the previous owner didn't change the oil in like a couple of seasons. Could that just be compression loss/ a worn engine? Thanks for the vids

You do enjoy a CHALLENGE!!! My hat is off to you!!!

Those wheels are atrocious.

Bro, you are 100% correct about every single thing you said. I have this exact Mower. Got it in 2020 and last year it didn't work for me. This exact issue is what's happening with mine. I just put it away last year. Now it's time to mow again, it's Spring and I came here to try to find out if I can fix it. After watching this you confirmed that it's not even worth it. They just stole my money on this mower. I used it for 2 seasons and I live in Philly so it's only warm here about 2 months a year. I used it a total of maybe 7 times in those 2 years, definitely not 10 times. i am so upset that I have to buy another one. Growing up, my grandpop and other old heads around used to have mowers forever. These plastic things dont last. Your presentation is on point as well. Great job bro. It's just crazy that my problem is EXACTLY the same as this one. I've only used Sunoco number 93 gas and fresh oil. It didn't even last long enough for me to need any new oil so...I dont know. 1 more thing about these if you didn't know, mine smoked out after minutes of my first use. I thought it was defective until I figured out that it has to only be used downhill or on a flat surface. If you go uphill, it's going to smoke out so maybe I messed it up from the first use but they need to tell me that I cant go uphill with it... and it's not a big hill. It's just on the side of my steps leading up to my house. It isn't a mountain sized hill. I know nothing about mowers so I made sure to follow the directions. I do know about cars so I know for sure I didnt put too much oil in it. I rather run it with low oil than too much. Have no clue what's goin on with this thing. They need to stop selling these, this is a rip off. Maybe that can be your next video on how this company needs to stop selling these.

U are the man great video and thanks for sharing with us this appreciations 🇩🇰👍

AS always, good video. You are a good man, I would be hard pressed to pull the cord the first time to try and start that one, much break out the tools.

this video was very informative for me my friend. thank you for your videos, because it helps us with whish mower should buy. again my friend- thank you for your service and thank you for helping us whish mowers are best for us.i think the Black Max is better in every thing. thank you my friend and god bless you mi amigo.

So slightly off-topic, but something I think you will approve of. I've seen the little rounded scraper you use to clean out the grass from under the mower deck. Checked online and saw that Amazon wanted about $20 for them (IN the US). For some reason, they want around $80 for them on Amazon in Canada. (Don't ask me why. Probaly cause there's no Canadian distributor, so it has to be sent from the US manufacturer, but I digress.) Anyway, I thought that was ridiculous. I dug out a straight scraper about 2 2 1/2 inches wide and used my grinder to round over the corners. I think I got 3 scrapers of differing widths for about $8 for all three. LOL If you can't be handsome, you better be handy! LOL

It has a great dipstick!

I totally agree with you mine only last for one cut of my lawn it's junk

Really like your style. Very helpful info. Sub'd!

this year's (2023) powersmart mowers are kinda interesting. they have a horizontal shaft engine going to a 90* driveshaft, down to the deck. the blade is then belt driven. they are a pain in the butt to start because of the rubber banding of the belt and the drive shaft, but once running, they mow through anything. I bought them at a deep discount at Menards, and I bought both of them that were on offer. They were able to mow through 3 foot high grass. The front axle assembly is cheap, and the black one has already broken. it has been repaired by no less than 20 zip ties, but is available as a replacement part for $35 plus shipping from Powersmart themselves. I'm just curious how long they will actually last. General consensus is the engines are the same ones from their snow blowers.

My neighbor bought a PowerSmart 200cc based mower last year, and after storage for the winter, I was worried it wouldn't start. I'm helping her maintain the yard this year, (as she's nearing 80,) and have a suspicion that the oil not only was not changed after six hours of use, it likely has not been changed at all. It did start, and after a few minutes (and cleaning the air filter) it seemed to run pretty well, compared to how it sounded last year. I've been using a battery mower for several years, so am relearning a lot about gas mowers so as to use hers. I think it does have higher compression than my Neuton, so there's that. I guess I'm taking that challenge, to see if it makes it through the season, cutting three lawns a week. :)

Good day I think u would be a good neighbour,, possibly can't say no. Good video. Thanks

I'm not crazy about the lawn mower but I did have the snow blower and that did work fine.

On the plus side, those wheels spin really well after being lubed 😂😂😂

I’ve got this exact engine and it’s a Honda cloned. Very good engine if taken cared of. I ran 2 yrs w/o changing oil w.o any issues.

Many thanks. Just bought a PowerSmart mower. After running it the first hour, I removed all the oil. Now I will look for metal filings.... So thanks!! They say that these Chinese engines are not built to such tight tolerances as Honda and Briggs. So get those initial metal filings out. Then you are OK

Good video, try and push the primer on some engines that start hard even if it is warm. Thanks

My mom bought one of these things a few years back. Ised it a few times and then stored it. Wouldnt start the next year so we let it sit. Another year passed, same thing and I didnt want to deal with it. This year I went after it. The carb was basically a crap show from habing the ethanol...yes ethanol fuel being left in it for a few uears. I got the thing running eventually and started using it for the day. It soumded lile crap and I wasnt halfway done before it consumed its own belt. I told my mom to sell the thing because I wasnt going to use it again....total garbage.

That mower is awesome I would baby it.

I would definitely like to take a yes challenge to that I know it’s a Chinese engine but I think it was lack of maintenance that of oil changes as what did it come I have one of those engines on mine and I know I’ve only had it for one season I’ll keep you posted on it but it’s working fine

Hey bro what's up? Cool video. I was wondering if you did a compression test after the mower started and if so was the reading higher?🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

I have one which seems to blow oil from the exhaust fairly heavily. Do you think this is rings? It seemed to get weaker and weaker and finally stopped starting after cleaning out the carb. I thought it was the carburetor and cleaned it out after sitting all winter so the gas in the carb jelled up evidently. After cleaning it out, the engine ran for couple of months of summer and then began being weaker and weaker, finally it blows heavy smoke and I see oil on the deck after the exhaust mufflet outlet. could the valves leak oil into the cylindar?

some manuals dont say anything about breaking in and changing oil what is unfortunate. SOme dont even give you instructions how to change the oil... I know my ryobi portable gen says nothing about it . just how to check the oil. but thankfully im smart when it comes to engines i have to be . being an auto mechanic lol... . when i used it for like 3 hours i drained the oil afterwards and it was glittery. ill end up changing the oil after 4-5 hours again just incase,.oil is cheaper than an engine. good video!

Your chanel is growing on me, hate to tell you but my oldest son uses you to fall asleep.

I have a motor from the same Chinese manufacturer (Rato) that so far has lasted 4 seasons without a single problem. The difference is that my motor is from their commercial line, and thus much heavier (by 11 lbs) for the same 170cc displacement. It's bolted to a 22" Toro deck and performs just as well if not better than the 190cc Briggs L-head it replaced, though I have to admit the weight is a bit of an issue for me.

Great video I’m a kid to we have a 2000 victa vantage it starts but it has quite a few problems 1: it starts and runs but has backwards throttle so start is stop and stop is start 2: you have to take the air filter off it and get to the carb’s throat put your finger over the hole at the bottom then prime it 3:you can’t rev it to full throttle because it will be reving to much and it might try to stay idling 4: you have to tip it down so no fuel can get to the carb but anyways great video buddy keep it up oh and also here’s a joke how does the ocean say hello? it waves get it the ocean waves to you but great video keep it up buddy and also won’t start get a bigger hammer great video keep it up buddy

I mow three lawns a week and my most recent Honda broke. It is a HRR 217 with blade break. The wheels won’t spin back. Replaced oil. That didn’t do anything. Also the front bar that protects a person from getting hurt by flying rocks or debris bent down in. I called Honda and they won’t do anything. Do you have any mower recommendations/ fixes. I want a HRC 216 but I don’t know if that is overkill.

I've got one and need the valve clearance specs. Since you don't remember them, is there any chance you could tell me where you found them. My exhaust rocker arm "ticks" once at the start of the stroke, but when I loosen the exhaust valve clearance it does not do it. The mower actually starts and runs decent with the increased exhaust clearance, but I'd still like to know the factory setting.

Thats a power nomore mower garbage I agree with you, have a great evening.

What kind of lubrication do you use on push mower wheels? Also if I may ask what product to use to flush the engine

Just worked on the 144 cc 2020 model yesterday. Metal in oil, engine locked up on third pull start attempt. Pulled plug, engine still locked up with bale lever clamp to handle, no brake applied to engine. 3 flush’s cleared the crankcase, bounced the mower a few times and engine now turns over. Adjusted valves, exhaust was set a zero lash. Carb was clean but slight varnish smell so I added Berrymans B-12 to gas. Add oil and 7 cranks later mower is running. No idea what inside mower is locking up but with the amount of metal in oil I sure cam bushing is involved.wont know until someone pays me to strip engine . This turd makes my 1995 Snapper Hi Vac look like the best mower ever made. Which in my opinion it is!

I agree that brand of mower is not my first choice, but excellent fix.

Thats all very well but how long did the wheel spin for? I godda know!😆

I’m taking the challenge! Just picked up a powersmart horizontal shaft 209cc push mower brand new at Walmart for $177 😂 Yes HORIZONTAL shaft. I am highly doubtful it will last more than one season. That’s all I need it for. I’m gonna use quality oil and change it out every 5 or 6 cuts. As for the horizontal part.. well time will tell 😂😂😂😂

I just bought a new push mower and put fresh oil in to break in the new engine, should i change the oil after my first cut

If I were offered this mower for free, I would definitely take it! I have an old Briggs Quantum on my bench that needs a home!

@INSIDE HOUSE GARAGE- does Amazon sell replacement carbs for these mowers? Thank You.

What did you pour in the crankcase to wash the oil

IF I needed one I'd say yes, knowing what stunts it already pulled BUT I'd reduce the r.p.m. and refill it with Delo. I've babied a bunch along like that and almost never run them wide open at 3600. BUT that's just M E too, nobody else. And we usually learn more from the bad ones than the good. Thanks and Blessings!.

I would love to learn what method and tool you used to drain fuel from the tank.

I have a 200cc power smart mower on its 3rd season of mowing my 1/2 ace lot. Followed all maintenance recommendations and have had no problems with the mower. I can do the whole lot on one tank of gas and it does not bog down in heavy grass areas. The only complaint is the choke. Even when its warmed up you have to pump it in order to get an easy start. But all in all it takes my punishment on tree branches, tennis balls, and short brush. It is a cheap brand that takes my abuse.

Hi I have pawer smart lawn mower . every thing looks ok but does not fire up at all. I put some gas in the carburetor no fire up. have spark timing is ok compression when puling the rope it looks it has compression. lawn mower does not fire up .

yes for sure etc.

Hay wondering if you now what is wrong with my stihl ts350 stone saw it starts and runs but stops if you release the trigger but if you keep the trigger in it keeps running thanks

I handle a lot of power smart push mowers at my job at fedex they seem to be popular the one that seems to be the better one is the 209cc one I saw reviews on the 209cc one and it seems to be pretty powerful and does pretty good we are fixing to do an oil change on my huskqvarna push trimmer it has a Briggs 190cc flathead it’s a really good trimmer for the price the only thing about it I don’t like the strings if you run them against a fence they shear off instantly the strings don’t last long and a box of them are quite expensive but if you use it right you can make them last other than that my trimmer is great quality and the Briggs engine is very powerful the good thing about push trimmers you can use them as a push mower and still do trimming with it meaning buy a push trimmer you won’t need a weed eater and it’s pretty easy to push and after it’s been running the Briggs starts no problem one pull I would like to see a review on push trimmers they are very good there are some affordable but reliable push trimmers out there like my huskqvarna the best one is absolutely amazing but extremely expensive I can’t remember the brand name of the best push trimmer it has electric start and you never have to change the strings but you’ll pay over 1,000 dollars for it I only paid the lower hundred dollars for my huskqvarna and it does work well I would love to see what your thoughts on push trimmers is

My ex roommates son had a girlfriend that pretty much had one of those types of mowers that they were going to throw away. I hadn't seen it yet, but they set it in front of my shop and that's when I realized it was $100 Walmart push mower 🤢 but I was up to the challenge so I went through it fuel, spark, and so on.. now the first thing I noticed was the gravel rock that was inside of the gas tank LOL and of course the carburetor and filter were super nasty, the pull rope was overstretched.. except for the rocks in the gas tank all of these things were just maintenance issues that happened over time. The problem was this mower was allegedly only a year old and I believe them because the paint was still shiny! Well after cleaning it up and pitching the rocks, I rewound the pull rope and on the second Pull it fired and started running! But as things go while I was mowing a side yard with it it suddenly went to revving very high and before I knew it it launched the Piston out of the side of the engine 😳 that's right! Once it was fixed to where it was working the damn thing decided to commit suicide LOL thankfully enough nobody got hurt. The moral to the story is if they're giving them away at a hundred bucks a piece brand new it's probably a reason for that..

Appears lack of oil change and not maker is culprit? I thought it was all malarkey when I read about the break in oil change. I guess it isn’t. Thanks for video.

if and when the deck is in good shape, but the engine is bad, i just swap it out with a good Briggs and Stratton or Tecumseh. i have a bunch laying around in need of decks. then i disassemble the bad engine, try to fix it or salvage it for good parts. most failures are because of that cheap crappy plastic camshaft and sometimes the compression reducer breaks.

using gas down the air filter box to start engine can wash the oil off the rings and cylinder that can cause a metal to metal contact and dig out the cylinder wall and lockup motor - when freed would cause bad compression - using chainsaw gas for test start it will not cause the digging in the cylinder walls like straight gas can

good vid there, power smart the only thing smart about it is it would be smart to avoid. this is one I will pass on even if its free to me. Even the deck is bad quality

Check those torch brand spark plugs and replace them with Equivalent NGK brand mine runs like a champ now after getting 3 DOA plugs

Like the body, I will swap the engine though

I absolutely not want to try that kind of mower. Briggs and strain Lawnmower Thank you for video

It's NOT a power more it's a POWERS NOT! As Traryl would "JUNK JUNK JUNK"!

I read the following "Power Smart lawn mowers are new mowers manufactured by Illinois-based company, Amerisun, which only produces and sells this brand." So are they made in Illinois or China?

I've done all that except for he valves and it's hard to pull too. I can't get mine to start and I used it 2 weeks ago.

its not actually a bad mower in my opinion its a "fair" in its class but the owner should had read the manual very closely and took better care of it by changing the oil regularly to make the engine last longer and not end up like that

instead of powersmart, they should call it powerjunk lol

I heard something pecking when you pulled the rope & again when you turned it off. I thought at first the blade was loose.

If you've got to remove a Tecumseh flywheel, I would recommend a 3 hooked puller. I used one like what you have, and accidentally cracked mine. Although it's still running perfectly fine 2 years later, despite the crack. I never ended up removing the flywheel! Turns out the issue was a loose blade making it backfire. I learned a valuable lesson, Always remember the mechanic's rule! Easiest thing first.

My lawn mower have been sitting for a year I drained the oil out before I put it away for the season but forgot to drain the oil when I went to drain the oil it was black I replaced it with fresh oil but it still won’t start

Would you say hat the modern engines on todays mowers are much more fuel effient as than those that were made in the say early 2,00s

120 PSI is a good compression reading for a lawnmower engine !

Like the joker said on Batman where did he get these wonderful toys

decompression is to aggressive loosen the exhaust valve. i have dealt with these in my shop. and thats what i do

I would use this mower

I have never heard of that brand of mower before

Maybe the brother company to that mower is WeedEater. Two companies that will drive you nuts.

Haha. It must be really bad. I'm pretty new to your channel but I haven't heard you really being very harsh on any equipment brands yet. I gotta say while the MTD brands are some of my least favorite, I was pleasantly surprised with the little Chinese Powermore engine. I wonder how this one would compare if opened up... Cast Chinesium is the metal of the future!

I wonder if the muffler was clogged or something

The engine is almost exactly the same as victas V170 that we have here in Australia

yes it falls apart and very difficult to start.

I currently have 3 powermore engines here that have less than 1 season one them and they refuse to start. I strip them for bolts. lol. thats about it

Rolling boat anchor

"Boat anchor on wheels." ROFLMAO. I'm wondering if the auto choke is working, as difficult as the engine is to cold or half-cold start. Really weird it locked up like that. No valve/piston interference on an L-shape cylinder head.

done.

I know the perfect fix for this engine. A sledgehammer lol!

I have one. It's a piece of crap. The plastic has cracked where the bottom of the handle touches the deck. (all plastic) the protector for the drive has cracked into bits. I live in Florida so I mow regularly. I am done with it.

As cheaply as this thing appears to be made, I wouldn't be surprised if the jam-up problem was in the starter recoil assembly rather than the engine itself.

That looked like alot of metal in that oil they definitely broke it in lol

man it seems like ever video you get these things from co-workers, how many do you have🤣

People tend to abuse inexpensive things and take great care with expensive things. Ergo, they should make the lawnmower more expensive so only careful people buy them. Marketing 101.

Low on compression good luck

That engine flush kind of reminds me of gastric lavages...

If it is given to me for free I'll take up the power smart challenge but I wouldn't buy it with my own money. Finding replacement parts seems like it would be terrible.

Friends don't let friends buy any Powersmart equipment... tell him to buy a used traditional Snapper with a Quantum after you checked it out!

My neighbor had one, the shut off lever wouldn't engage properly.

Power hard to start!! Not for me!! I wouldn't put that engine in a kid's go-kart!! I wonder how easy it would be to blow it up?

Meanwhile I'm still using a toro super recycler from 2005.

These are cheaply made mowers. I have bought & resold a couple.