Lawnmower oil/petrol mix-up - HELP!!

IM

Hi there.

I've bought a petrol lawnmower today (to replace the electric one which was left out in the rain, and which has gone to the garden centre in the sky...), but in my Night Nurse-ravaged state, I put the oil where the petrol should go.

I'm in the process of syphoning as much out as I can back out, but what should I do? Am I OK if a wee bit stays in and hope it gets diluted when I put the petrol in?

Cheers in advance.

IM

scbk

Tip it up, upside down if needed and shake it about (above a container) to get the last few drops out.
Then rinse it out - stick in a bit of petrol, put the cap on then shake the lawnmower about again, tipping it in all directions, remove the cap and tip out into the tray again.
Most of it will be gone by now, so give it a big full tank of petrol to dilute any tiny amount left. It might run a little smokey but should be fine

Also check it actually has oil in it!

libra10

My OH (a lawn mower service mechanic of almost 50 years) disagrees with tipping the machine upside down. If you tell me the make and type of mower I'll get back to you. He says that the carburettor needs to be taken off and cleaned. If you tip up the machine, oil could get into the top of the cylinder or carburettor, causing further damage.

Good luck

rob1984p

is it 2 stroke or 4 stroke? if its 2 stroke i wouldnt worry much at all about cleaning it, just get out as much as you can, the oil and petrol will be mixed anyway and only have seperate tanks to make it cleaner and less hassled for the user.
if its 4 stroke im not sure but i wouldnt of thought 'rinsing out' would be a good idea, nor turning it upside down. i would imagine that if you remove as much oil as you can and then fill the petrol right up that the petrol would thin the oil adequately. it may be a sod to start and may not run that sweetly for a little while but i expect it will sort itself out.

scbk

If it's a new machine and there aint any oil in the oil tank/sump then it'll be fine tipping it any way you want. Also, assuming the fuel tap hasn't been turned on, then the oil aint gonna be in the carb. Infact you could just disconnect the fuel pipe at the tap and drain it out there and rinse through with petrol.

But, if the fuel tap has been turned on and any attempt to start it has been made....then thats a whole different case.

If you don't know what you're doing then get a garden macheniery mechanic to look at it. Try to avoid an overpriced dealer's, a local guy advertising in the corner shop window should charge £20-£25 p/h max

ormus

assuming its a 2 stroke engine, then itll be fine. although it may not start easily and run rough for a while.
in most 2 strokes, the oil/petrol mix can vary by a fair margin and itll still run.

same with other engines. my SIL put some petrol in his diesel peugeot the other week! told him to fill it up to max, with normal fuel and it ran ok. as soon as possible he filled it up again etc... so as to weaken the petrol mix.
best bit, he said it had never run so good!

IM

scbk wrote: »

But, if the fuel tap has been turned on and any attempt to start it has been made....then thats a whole different case.

Hmmm...

Yeah....

I'm afraid I was so dosed up on cold remedy that I tried starting it...

Without any petrol...

Just oil...

In the petrol tank....

Anyone know any lawnmower repairers in the Manchester area...?

PS If it's any consolation to those reading this, thinking "what a pillock!" you can rest assured that I've been ridiculed to within an inch of sanity all weekend...

ormus

weve all been there mate. dont worry.
i once removed the u-bend from a sink. then poured the waste water from me bucket into the sink!!!