Small Engines (Lawn Mowers, etc.): water in fuel ?, briggs and straton, briggs and straton engines

Question
My son left my mower (Briggs and Stratton Craftsman walk behind) out over a weekend of heavy rain.  I waited a while and tried to start the mower.  I primed the bulb and the mower started right away but only ran for a second or two like it was just running on the fuel that I had manually primed.  

Does it sound like there's water in the fuel or is it something else?

Answer
Yes you most likely have a little water in the tank and carb. Here is a quick fix that might work. remove the plug and clean it. Remove the fuel line from the carb or tank whatever is easiest and drain the tank and fuel line into a pan. Loosen the nut on the bottom of the carburetor bowl do not remove it, if you can get to it, its a 1/2 inch nut, and drain watever fuel is in the bowl. You dont need to completely remove the bowl or even break the seal between the bowl and bottom of the carburetor body. Tighten the nut back up and replace the hose and fill it with fresh gas. Remove the air filter so you can see the opening of the carb where the air is sucking in. On the briggs and straton engines that have the black filter cover on the side of the engine there is a metal tab that partly covers the opening, you can bend this back out of the way. Prime the carb real good. have your son pull start the mower for you. When it starts to run and gets to almost normal operating speed but before it starts to shut down, place your thumb over the intake hole. By doing this you will force the engine to suck the water out of the carburetor. If you can, before the mower completely shuts off remove your thumb and let it rev back up and do it again. repeat this process a few times. (please be carfull and aware of where your feet and hands are when working around a running lawnmower). Hope this does the trick. It usually works with mowers that are in good condition. let me know how it goes.