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Noisy Mower
Meomye
Posts: 949
My Mountfield petrol mower, is always making a strange 'popping' sound and never seems to run smoothly. It has been like this since I bought it. I have heard that it could be to do with the 'mixture' but have no idea what this means 
I have replaced plugs and filters in the past but it still does it! Any advice appreciated thanks.
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Posts
If it's been like that from new you should have raised it with (a) the place you bought it or (b) with Mountfield, at the time. The Mountfield I had, had a sticker on it with contact details and it also said on the box not to return to the shop. Mine was running far too slow and an e-mail to Mountfield resulted in instructions being sent through on how to make it run faster. That did help but never really fixed the problem, as the cut quality was bad too.. I ended up getting rid of it and buying a Honda Izy instead.
However, we are where we are, so all you can really do it put it in to get it serviced.
Thanks for replies everyone. I think I do have a booklet somewhere. I never contacted the manufacturer originally because I believed it was something I may have done wrong when setting it up
I just wondered if there was anything I could do to sort it but I will consult the booklet.
How sexist can you be???!!!!!!!
My missus never reads instruction manuals. She chucks them at me and says "How do I....."
Bit late in the day, but I would just say that most probably your mower needs the carburettor setting up correctly.
As a favour, I often do the job for friends & neighbours, but I suppose there is a certain amount of skill required to get it running smoothly and therefore better carried out by a lawnmower service shop if you don't feel competent to do it yourself.
The snag is with these tiny engines is that because of vibration, they soon need adjusting again.
Thank you David, that is most helpful, at least now, I know where to start looking!
You're welcome, Meomye.
I've just reread your original message and would confirm that the 'mixture' you refer to is the amount of petrol/air being delivered to the carburettor......the symptoms you refer to would indicate that this 'mixture' is too rich.
There will be two adjusting screws on the carburettor, one being for adjusting the petrol 'mixture', the other for adjusting the engine's tick-over.....*these screws can be identified by a small spring beneath the screw head.
*The purpose of these springs is to prevent movement caused by vibration.
Finally, I would say that although this is only a five minute job for a mechanic, if you don't feel comfortable with it, take it to a lawnmower service shop....or bring it to me.
Good luck.
Go on line and see if you can find the manual or a solution and if you can't or it's beyond your ability then take it to a lawnmower service place. Going forward make sure you have it serviced from time to time. We have ours done annually.
This might help get you underway:
http://www.servicelink.org.uk/uploads/sl_manuals/file/a10887bb.pdf