How long should one reasonably expect a float valve to hold back fuel? Both my lawn tractor and snowblower (2-stroke) have the same problem; if I let them go more than a week or two, the valves seep several ounces of fuel and the engines are flooded. I'd replace the float valve, but they aren't too easy to come by as the tractor is nearly 30 years old and the snowblower is 15 years old. The tractor at least has a shutoff valve to prevent that, but the snowblower doesn't.
Unfortunate since I've cleaned up the carbs with Gumout when they were given to me after sitting for several years, but they run fine if I can get them started. Actually, the tractor starts immediately if I remembered to turn off the fuel last time and turned it on before cranking. The snowblower is especially frustrating since I ran it dry last spring, I gassed it up last week, and it started on the first pull. I tried starting it again last night, and it took over a dozen pulls as it was puking raw gas out of the exhaust until it ran.
Short of trying to find new float valves or replacement carbs, what can I do?
Unfortunate since I've cleaned up the carbs with Gumout when they were given to me after sitting for several years, but they run fine if I can get them started. Actually, the tractor starts immediately if I remembered to turn off the fuel last time and turned it on before cranking. The snowblower is especially frustrating since I ran it dry last spring, I gassed it up last week, and it started on the first pull. I tried starting it again last night, and it took over a dozen pulls as it was puking raw gas out of the exhaust until it ran.
Short of trying to find new float valves or replacement carbs, what can I do?