Those import carburators - couple problems with them

[pacer 3,177]

Most of us have seen the inexpensive import carbs on ebay - quite a bargain compared to the "real" thing. And, many have found that the choke hook up point is different requiring modifying. So I have just found another difference!

Had put one ($46) on a K241 a few months back after modifying the choke and it ran well, but as the grass started growing and good weather came along I was using it more and suddenly the float would stick. This happened 2-3 times and I would find a a little trash in the bowl, clean/blow out the carb and it would be OK for a bit. So after about the 4th time it happened I decided to go ahead and replace the needle/seat. It came in yesterday and -- Uhoh, the threads are different, being metric, and the replacement is SAE! After a bit of head scratching I determined the new seat thread was 5/16-24, so do I try and get those in the body of the carb or try and find a metric needle/seat? Well you can imagine trying to do that? Hah! So, I had a bottoming tap in that thread size and It went right in and made some pretty nice threads! allowing use of the replacement needle ... whew!

Its in the shop behind a torn down 18 automatic at the moment so I havent run it but I think the problem will be solved.

[wallfish 18,190]

Recently installed one of those cheapies on a M8. The old carb was a fixed jet carb and wouldn't work correctly no matter how many times I cleaned it. It works perfect so far but doesn't have much run time either. I'll keep an eye on the float valve.
If you are finding "a little trash" in the bowl each time you open it, that could be your issue with the needle valve sticking. All the fuel with that stuff in it has to pass through that valve. You may want to check the filter and fuel lines or add a better filter to stop that stuff before it gets to your carb.
I've had some carbs that will mess up with the slightest amount of dirt and others that could handle quite a bit before it became a problem. Seems like you might have a finicky carb!

[rmaynard 16,344]

I was going to expound upon the virtures of the cheap import carburetors until I had the same problem. The float stuck and caused gasoline to run out of the air filter and onto the muffler. Scary. I took it apart and cleaned the float valve and it has been okay since. I may go ahead and replace the valve just to be on the safe side.

This K241 carburetor I bought on eBay. The description stated specifically that it was made to U.S. specs, and had all SAE sized parts. That's something that you should look for if you plan to do any furture work on it. The only issue that was a  problem other than the sticky valve, was that the holes for the air cleaner plate were spaced slightly larger than the original, meaning that I had to enlarge the holes in the plate to get it to fit.

I guess you get what you pay for.