Zt1 54 starving for fuel

[Mlong21]

Hello, I'm new to the site and have ultima zt1 54 zero turn that of course just ran out of warranty 4 months ago. I believe I'm have an issue with the fuel. It acts like it is starving for fuel at times and if I put on the choke while it is running for a few seconds and take it back off, it fixes it for a while. Sometimes 5 mins and sometimes 30 mins. I have drained fuel tank and replace fuel filter and fuel pump. Also took off carb and cleaned it as well. Still no luck fixing it. Just weird that if I choke it for a few seconds it will fix it for a little. What are your thoughts? Thanks.

[Winter]

My zt1 50 with kawasaki engine fr691v is doing same thing.

All new gas today, as I did let it run out. So may be a priming the gas line problem.

[spndncash]

if choke is fixing your issue then I would believe you are experiencing an air leak between the carb and the engine- basically your are correcting a lean condition by restricting the air passing through the carb.
if you are actually starving for fuel (assuming your filter pump are all working properly) you may want to check your float level and if there are contaminants in the bottom of the bowl and ensure your jets and porting is all clear.

[spndncash]

are you at full throttle when this is happening? all the lawn care equipment I own is designed to run at wide open throttle. check your manuals this is the case with virtually every piece of lawn equipment. If I were to try to run my JD z820a/Kaw 25hp engine with a 54" deck at 3/4 throttle it will struggle and slow the engine with basic tasks- accelerating with the blades running from a dead stop. engaging the blades without full throttle will cause it to stall or heavy stumbling.

[Winter]

Basicly at full throttle and blades spinning, so under load, it all goes away.
If I stop the blades, it some times backfires.

All new 93 fuel today, and it's better, but still some random power losses and random backfires. Had none eth gas before.

I notice when full with Gas up the neck to top, the gas is now higher than the fuel pump, so it may be getting air out of fuel line still.

This all started when I ran the gas dry.

[Winter]

Purchased in January 2025
Has 4.4 hrs on it.
If it backfires 1 more time, it dealer time.

[Road_Clam]

I never store my engines "dry". I always winter store with a full tank of fuel, i use Startron fuel stabilizer, and some Drygas. Been doing this for the past 25 years and zero ethanol fuel issues. When you store dry , ethanol leaves behind a corrossive fungus that sticks to brass and aluminum. This fungus can cause the fuel inlet float needles to stick closed. Try tapping the float bowl with a hammer handle . You may need to remove the carb bowl for an inspection.

[Winter]

Originally Posted by Winter

Purchased in January 2025
Has 4.4 hrs on it.
If it backfires 1 more time, it dealer time.

Update 1 week later
Filled full of gas, it sat a week.
Now runs normal. So lessons learned

Do not run out of gas