Riding mower issues......

Good news! Compression readings look good, it sounds like you are on the right track.

Dan

 

Premium shmemium ..... premium gas won't help your mower, but non-ethanol gas will in the long run.

 

Yeah if I have to do non ethanol gas I will go electric and call it a day. I have already gone all electric for my weed eater, blower, and push mower. If I could find a reasonably electric rider with a bagger I would get it in a heartbeat

 

It depends entirely on what the owners manual specifies for fuel. Both my John Deere tractor mower and Honda weed whaker state clearly that regular pump gas with up to 10% ethanol is perfectly fine. I have had zero issues using this for many years and sometimes these sit for 6+ months without being used with a full tank of gas. Both start right up at the start of the season. Also, non-ethanol gas is about $22 per gallon can here in NorCal.

Dan

 

I had to go gas because I have 3 acres to mow (no lawns, just field grasses and weeds). Electric would work for my other yard tools but I already have ICE versions for this (I do have electric hedge trimmers though and they are fantastic).

Dan

 

Yeah 3 acres is a bit impossible with electric unless you have $10k worth of batteries!!!! Really the only reason I have the rider is for the leaves……I have had three back surgeries and many epidurals. I can’t risk being laid up all weekend tweaking my back from raking dozens of bags of leaves a weekend for 2 months. Some would call it lazy I suppose - I call it “work smarter, not harder”. Lol

 

A few years ago I started using premium gas in my power equipment. It fixed the hard start issues I had with my push mower (when previously I had to give it a shot of ether) and surging with my generator when it didn't have a load on it. Totally worth a few extra bucks.

 

I have a premium non-ethanol station right over the state line about 15 minutes from me, I just fill up 3 tanks every week and my truck at the same time. I am all electric weed/chainsaw and blower, but I can't with a mower yet.

Main reason is 30k vs 15k new
2nd reason is that electric machines don't have the torque to do what gas can yet. It just can't handle super heavy, thick grass. The majority of what I mow is irrigated, and fertilized all year. Same way my blower will never reach speeds or CMF that the gas blowers do and my saw will never push through the hard stuff as fast as a gas. They do a "good enough" job where I will never go back to gas though.
3rd- no "big name" mower brands have one that I would have local dealer support for. I know greenworks etc.. make some, but home depot isn't my idea of a service center.

My mower now has only 450ish hours on it and could easily go 1-2k, which for me will be another 4-5 years. At that point, I will really look at an electric mower, because I do think it will be able to do what I need at some point, and at the price I feel okay about, just not yet. I do about 6 acres a week, but double cut them all, so really 12. It is never all the same day, but I don't want to mess with running out of batteries just yet and there are no local dealers moving commercial grade electric mowers where if something goes wrong I can fix it.

 

I went in reverse: replaced everything electric with gas-powered. Last thing I need is electric chainsaw in zombie apocalypse when the grid is down.

 

Didn't say it wouldn't work, nor imply that the manufacturers don't say it's okay to use. But usually it sits around for long periods, either in the can, or the machine's gas tank. The OP is having problems. I only offered that his switching to "premiun fuel" will not help. Ethanol tainted fuel is a whole lot more susceptable to gumming things up. Much more likely to cause one trouble than gas that is not tainted with corn juice. And I stand by my comment that premium fuel (with 10% ethanol) will not do anything to mitigate whatever the OP's problem is. So you haven't had any problems, and that's good. Lucky you. What are you gonne do when California mandates 15% ethanol at the pump? Of course, if I had to spend anywhere near $22/gal for real petroleum gasoline, I'd go electric, too.

 

I run everything on 10% ethanol fuel. I don't have access to non-ethanol fuel in MA. Don't even know where to buy it.

Also don't purge tanks and dry up carburetors for winter. The only unhappy equipment is a smaller Echo chainsaw, but it was a pile of crap even right off the shelf.

 

I have to go to VT, there are a handful of stations in MA that sell it but not many. Most of these look like shops that probably sell the stuff in big cans, not at a pump.

 

A lot of these high octane fuels will most likely have tetraethyl lead in them, not good for any engine (and especially one with cats). And I'll bet they are expensive.

Dan