Small Engines (Lawn Mowers, etc.): Tecumseh snowblower hard start, fuel needle, carb settings

Question
I have a John Deere TRS22 two statge snowblower with a Tecumseh 4.5 snow king motor. It had sat inside for several years and not ran. Needless to say the carb was all gummed up. I took it off and took it apart and cleaned it. The thing starts very hard, about 10 pulls to get running and dies under heavy load. It also backfires when I shut it off. It has very little use and looks like new so I doubt ring wear. I need carb settings and suggestions to keep running and make run better. Thanks for any help.

Answer
Most likely the problem is still the carb.  Tecumseh carbs either work perfect or not at all.  We recently had one carb that we had to soak in a very strong carb cleaner for several days before we got all the gum deposits out of it.

It sounds like the carb is running lean which is a good indicator that something is still plugged up.  You can purchase some Berryman carb cleaner in a one gallon container and soak the carb over night and try blowing it out with compressed air.  Some carbs have a check valve that is prone to sticking if they have sat for a while.  If you shake the carb you should be able to hear the check vavle rattle.

As for settings, if you have a high speed jet in the carb bowl you should GENTLY seat the needle by screwing it in by hand and then backing it out 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 turns.  The same goes for the air/fuel mix needle on the side of the carb.  This should get it running.

Once the engine is warm, adjust the idle to around 1800 rpm and adjust the air/fuel needle by turning it in until the rpm starts to drop, then out until it starts to drop again and then place the needle in between these two points.  Next, place the engine to full throttle and adjust the high speed needle the same way; in until the engine runs run, out until it runs rough then set the needle in between these points.

If worse comes to worse you can always purchase a new carb.  We recently had a customer just by a new carb for his blower...expensive but he didn't have to pay shop labor so he didn't really waste any money.  He said the carb worked perfect and the blower runs great now.
To prevent fuel gumming I would recommend using fuel stabilizer in your fuel.
Let me know if you get it running.
Eric