Not talking about dope smokers....yard tools..(yawn)...

Are these things made to be throw away items? ??? cant I keep one runnning for more than a few years....every year I can add another dozen pulls on the rope before the thing starts....I'm ticked...I hate those things...I have an easier time keeping my vehicles running than I do those things.....they dont make them so you can adjust them anymore...all I can do is keep the gas clean and keep the plug clean....then it's "pull-n-pray"


Surely I am not the only one....this sucks. I am finished with the whole yard except weed eating...er...whacking....whatever...:sad:

Kevin,
My McCulloch is about ten years old. Found it in the dumpster one day at the shop. Put a new plug in it and it has always started on the first couple of pulls ever since :) One key to all of these small engines, especially two strokes, is to make sure to run them out of fuel every time, especially if they will sit for a while. I have a small Mantis tiller, and it is the same way. It is probably 25 years old, and only gets used once a year, but it always starts right up.

The problem is 2 stroke engines. Mixing the oil into the gas causes all kinds of problems. The spark plugs gum up. The fuel system gums up. The exhaust gums up. Burning oil is a dirty process, and that hurts reliability.
I trenched in underground power at various spots around my yard so I have AC available everywhere. I use an electric weed eater, and it starts every time you pull the trigger.

I had a Stihle 2 stroke weekthrasher that wore my fingers raw trying to start the @#%%^#$%^@$% thing! Threw it away this year and bought a Sears 4 stroke weekeater. Pump the bulb 5x and pull 2x and it runs...every time!

I had my McCulloch for 10 years, prime/choke/pull/start every time. Then the gas trigger assembly broke, couldn't find a replacement, and it was cheaper to buy another than to drop at a shop. So I bought an Echo. Same deal going on 5 years now. prime/choke/pull/start. I grew up working for my dad's landscape business. We used McCulloch and Echo until they just wouldn't go anymore, or the old man would hammer throw it after running it like a beat horse and it quit.

I have an Echo and I don't do anything special with it in the winter, empty the gas etc. Hit the choke and it starts every time. I have been very pleased. The only thing about it is it takes a 50:1 mix, and everything else I have is 40:1. So I need an extra gas can just for it.

One key to all of these small engines, especially two strokes, is to make sure to run them out of fuel every time, especially if they will sit for a while.

I borrowed my In-laws' weedeater about a month ago, tried to start it for a thousand naughty words or so, no go. So I took a few things apart, checking for spark, then fuel. Turned out, the fuel pickup line inside the gas tank is made not of fuel line, but thin, non-fuel-resistant rubber hose. The fuel line inside the gas tank was nothing but a ball of goo! A new fuel line and filter, and it started on the third pull and ran like a champ!

Go to Sears, buy one on sale & pay the $30 for the 3 year service contract. Take it back each spring when it won't start & get a new one.
BillL

I think the RYOBI (?) one I got took a * the first summer I got it. The carb started leaking, started to smoke more then normal for a 2 stroke. I feel my right arm getting bigger every summer I pull that chord. I think there is a trick to it? I fully choke it and pull chord 15 times (no more, no less) then half choke it and pull again (5 more times), then open it up and pull 10 more times while standing on my head.....works everytime:D I'm usually on my 3rd beer by then:beers:

Echo. pump ball three times, choke, yank, waahahhhhhh...starts everytime. Same deal with the Honda mower I bought, minus the primer pump deal. Still running two year old gas in these things. Damn fuel miser's I tell ya. The guy at the local mom and pop lawn equipment place I bought the Echo and Honda said, Echo was the best trimmer on the market. Price was far less than other leading brands and it's Made In USA :thumbsup:

The culprit on a lot of 2 cycle equipment is the exhaust spark arrestor screen. Pull the muffler off and it should be sandwiched in there somewhere. I used to throw them away. Just be careful if you do have a lot of dry brush and/or leaves around. They clog up real easy with the homeowner models, due to the need for 25:1-40:1 fuel/oil mixtures.

I picked up a Ryobi over a year ago, I musta picked a good one cause its a Tank. Its been left out in the rain, sleet and snow. I Prime, flip to choke and pull, it starts on the first pull everytime.

My redmax has been going strong for over 10 yrs.
When Im done using it for thesummer it gets locked in the shed over winter, dont empty the gas, never had a new plug, hell , sometimes Ive had to run it on straight gas to finish trimming the yard and it has never failed me once. Prime it three times in the spring and it fires up.

My echo chain saw wasnt used for two years once and it fired on the first pull.

You get what you pay for. i personnally would by professional grade equipment if you can afford it, but most people arent willing to lay down $400-$500 for a new trimmer.

Check out the equipment at a local small engine shop, redmax, shindaiwa, echo, stihl etc.

I picked up a Ryobi over a year ago, I musta picked a good one cause its a Tank. Its been left out in the rain, sleet and snow. I Prime, flip to choke and pull, it starts on the first pull everytime.
You can get lucky, my Ryobi is over 10 years old and still going strong.

The culprit on a lot of 2 cycle equipment is the exhaust spark arrestor screen. Pull the muffler off and it should be sandwiched in there somewhere. I used to throw them away. Just be careful if you do have a lot of dry brush and/or leaves around. They clog up real easy with the homeowner models, due to the need for 25:1-40:1 fuel/oil mixtures.
Exactly. When my Stihl was about 6 years old it would barely run. Someone suggested removing or cleaning the exhaust screen, I did and it's ran good since.

I've got an Echo that's about 19 years old and a sears that's 20. Clean fuel and new plugs along with proper maintance and they last forever!

I bought a cheap Bolens from Lowes about 6 years ago, I only use it a couple times a year.
After 3 years it quit running,,it still looked like new. So I pulled the carb apart and the diaphragm was hard as a rock.
I could have bought a new Bolens for about $90, instead I went to the local mower parts shop with the carb and got a new diaphragm for $17.
Been running good ever since.

well I have had a chance to sleep on it. I put the weed whacker in the shed last night and not the trash (as I wanted to). I will pull it apart tomorrow.

Two questions...what causes a prime ball to stay in or release real slow? (you push it in the first time and it stays there) Clogged tank filter? I think it's got one of those stone filters. This happened on the last one I had too...if someone could explain the three fuel lines to me that would help...

Second, the filter seems to get oil soaked. What would cause that?

Thanks..

ECHO

:thumbsup:

I had a weedeater which was a complete POS and barely lasted 1 season, and thats wtih 1 trip to the repair shot

Replaced with with a Stihl which has worked perfectly for 2 years

Stop buying the junk Wal-Mart and Lowe’s sells get a professional piece of equipment.
I have a straight shaft McCulloch grass / brush trimmer with the shoulder support belt and plastic pad pants protector that is about 20 years old. It still has the original spark plug. I run it till the gas tank is empty, then put it away. When time to use, fill it up, choke it till it fires the first time. Take the choke off. First or second pull fires and runs till the gas runs out. Best about $300 I have ever spent on lawn equipment. I did remove the little spark screen from the muffler when it was about 2 years old. I do also clean the air filter ever year.
Oh yea no primer pump bulb so yea it’s pull, pull, pull, pull until the fuel line fills up but hey is still runs great.

This subject pisses me off, makes me think of my Yard-man gas weed wacker. I bought it at Home depot about 2 years ago. The first thing to go after 1 year was the rubber gas primer you push to prime the carb. Little rubber thing about 1/2" by 3/4". Easy to take off and replace, BUT you have to buy the whole carb :mad:
My murray gas mower I bought from Home depot in 1991 has that rubber primer and still works perfect. Engine is still a one pull starter... :yes: One oil change and one spark plug change since 91

I have a Stihl straight shaft for 8 years now and starts every time on the 2nd pull. I run mine every week. I also have more weed eating than the average home owner:sad: I have around 5 miles of it.

i spent a few summers in the lawn maintenance business. the best commercial trimmer is shindaiwa. i've used redmax, echo, shindaiwa, poulan, etc. the shindaiwa revs better, is lighter, and more durable. they are a little louder, but when my plugs are in i cant tell.

get a straight shaft if you can, much easier to handle, and it can be flipped over to do edging as well.

after my trimmer was stolen, my uncle gave me his old weedeater brand featherlite because it wouldnt start and he just bought a cordless electric. i changed the plug and have been running the piss out of it since. 50:1, prime, choke and warm, she'll go all day long. my old retired neighbor remarked about the edges of his driveway and sidewalk after i cleaned them up for him. he said it looked like i edged his yard with a laser.

I went electric. Dope heads dont steal it cause they done gathered up all their power cords and such and took em in for copper.

Tweakers dont like electric unless its police scanners.

I dont have a huge yard but my little electric deal gets the job done.

Course, not an option for many here whos properties I have seen. Would be like mowing a golf course with a manual push mower im guessing.

Im cool with the electric that I have. I can still throw revs, just sounds like a prius now instead of an integra.

I bought a Sears two stroke five years ago and it starts everytime; all I've done to it is add 40:1 and its happy. Starts on the first pull everytime! Now I'm wondering if I just cursed myself by saying that, and it's Friday the 13th to boot.....

Do I hear an ECHO? :D

Mike

Do I hear an ECHO? :D

Mike
Echo,echo.... Now pitching for Manny Mota.... Sorry I just had to do an "Airplane thing"...:D

I went electric, well technically my wife bought one this spring after I told her it would cost about double that to make our older one work again. No prob now.

I have an Echo. It needs to be maintained and they start all the time.

You can get even the biggest POS on the market to last for years with a little careful maint. Run all gas mix out if its gonna sit for longer than 2 months. Run only fresh mixed fuel, don't leave it out in the hot shed for 6 months and then expect the machine to run on the laquer thinner that is in the gas can. Remove the screen in the exhaust Asap, just saves you the trouble. All newer models are CARB certified (certified to be junk!) look at the side of the carb and you will see 2 mixture adj screws marked h and l. The L controls low speed mixture ie idle, and the H controls high speed. If the screws come with limiters to limit the adjustment, use needle nose pliers and remove both screw limiters. You can start adjusting the low side, turn the screw out 2 - 2 1/2 turns to start. A real lean mix at idle will cause heck to start. Then rev the motor and adjust high side of carb. Don't get greedy and tune it to the highest pitch you can hear the motor running at, tune to that point and then richen just slightly. If you follow these steps, no matter what brand, it will last forever.

About the primer bulb, if it stays stuck in, you have a clogged fuel filter. Remove the "stone" filter in the tank and try to blow threw it.(doesn't taste to good!) If you turn purple trying, replace it.:D When you start it prime the bulb until fuel fills the bulb, no more or you'll flood it and be there all day.

I bought a stihl combi tool 3 years ago, had to have the ignition module replaced this year but was warranted. I have the weedeater attachment, pole saw, saw blade, edger, and the hedge trimmer attachment. I got tired of the old weed wacker not starting and decided to go with the stihl and add the attachments slowly that way then I had only one power head to maintain. I love it, the power on that thing is awesome. I know it is a little more expensive, but I like it.

Believe it or not my $70 10 year old Homelite starts perfectly every time. I never drain the gas and it has been several years since I changed the plug.

Now my Homelight chainsaw is another story....

I was fighting with my Weed Eater today. Hard to start and won't keep running with the choke off. Probably an air leak preventing gas flow.

In the last month I have bought a new Echo chain saw and an Echo blower. So far I love them.....and, they have a five year warranty.:)

I went electric. Dope heads dont steal it cause they done gathered up all their power cords and such and took em in for copper.

Tweakers dont like electric unless its police scanners.

I dont have a huge yard but my little electric deal gets the job done.

Course, not an option for many here whos properties I have seen. Would be like mowing a golf course with a manual push mower im guessing.

Im cool with the electric that I have. I can still throw revs, just sounds like a prius now instead of an integra.

Or you could choose to ignore it altogether.

Echo...... weedeater & bushtrimmer & blower & chainsaw
Honda ...... mower & edger

all over 10 years old ....... running great :D

Echo,echo.... Now pitching for Manny Mota.... Sorry I just had to do an "Airplane thing"...:D

"Surely you can't be serious?"

"I am serious and stop calling me Shirley" :D

Now I gotta go out and change the plug on my $#@%$! weed whacker and see if the stupid thing will actually run good.

...don't leave it out in the hot shed for 6 months and then expect the machine to run on the laquer thinner that is in the gas can...
uh...I've never done that...who would do that????...that's ridiculous....

.....look at the side of the carb and you will see 2 mixture adj screws marked h and l. .....
This is what ticks me off...the adjustment screws are there but you need some special tool to get down into the recess area and get ahold of them (they are not screw...more like stubs)

...About the primer bulb, if it stays stuck in, you have a clogged fuel filter. ....

I'll check that...

Took my ailing Weedeater apart just a few minutes ago.......and the cylinder head bolts were lose......tightened them and it's fine.

I think this is a common problem.

I used to buy McCulloch because they were cheaper - but they were basically throw-aways. They weren't worth repairing.
I now have an Echo that's been running for 7 years without a problem. It was worth the extra bucks.

UPDATE:

I pulled the whacker apart...removed spark arrester mesh...in the process, my fuel line broke at the tank (brittle I guess, plus it is that crappy self sealing design, no nipples on the tank, hose goes through a hole), no problem, I'll buy more hose.

Then the other one breaks off...hmmm...good opportunity to spray a little B12 in the carb (primer bulb still sticking, even with fuel lines disconnected, so it wasnt the filter in the tank)....spray spray...pump pump...the primer bulb then frees up...Cool!...wait, no, it actually disintegrated....great.

Off to the store for a new primer bulb and new fuel line. I love driving from store to store when gas is $20 a gallon only to NOT find what I need. No primer bulbs, and the only fuel line I found was this clear plastic crap that has a slightly larger inside diameter, and a slightly smaller outside diameter, than the original fuel line. So it will not "self seal" at the tank or at the carb....my fingers are doing the walking now. PMO :yes:

I have went through 3 2-stroke weed eaters in the past 10 seasons. So this year after having the stupid thing not start again this year, I went to Home Depot and spent $40 bucks on a cheap TORO cordless electric model. I figure this thing will always start, and if it quits working in 2-3 seasons I am only out 40 bucks instead of the $140 I am out now.

I have an Echo and I don't do anything special with it in the winter, empty the gas etc. Hit the choke and it starts every time. I have been very pleased. The only thing about it is it takes a 50:1 mix, and everything else I have is 40:1. So I need an extra gas can just for it.


Try using "John Deere" all purpose mix. It's good for any 2-cycle engine regardless of the specified gas to oil, ratio mix. I found it at Lowe's.

I had no problem starting my first weed whacker, a TORO, but if I shut it down, I was unable to start it again. Then I bought a SEARS and the same problem exists. All of my other two and four cycle machines do not have that problem. and I never drain the fuel out....I add STA-BIL in my fuel and it works fine in everything.


Respectfully,
John R.

Got a problem with a small engine you can't fix? Go here (http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/forumdisplay.php?f=107). These guys just helped me get a free leaf blower running with a minimal investment of time and $$$.

One thing I've always done with my lawn equipment is to use Stabil in everything whether it's going to sit for a week, a month or a year. This way I don't have to worry about draining my toys or running them dry. Never had a problem with hard starts due to fuel issues.

The culprit on a lot of 2 cycle equipment is the exhaust spark arrestor screen. Pull the muffler off and it should be sandwiched in there somewhere. I used to throw them away. Just be careful if you do have a lot of dry brush and/or leaves around. They clog up real easy with the homeowner models, due to the need for 25:1-40:1 fuel/oil mixtures.

Man, I owe you one.:beers: - My Ryobi has been giving me fits for at least a year (maybe more) I kept trying to adjust the carb and it seemed really sluggish compared to new. I took the mufler off & the screen was really plugged up. I threw that in the trash (5 minute job) and it's like a brand new trimmer. Lots of power & reves up instantly. It's like I put a race cam in it, I love it.

Thanks again,:thumbsup: Never knew they had such a thing in there.

LK

Only electric for me.

The best thing I did with my last gas one (Ryobi) was to leave it on the front porch till some crackhead stole it. Serves him right.:thumbsup:

When I'm doing my acreage, I have my racecar generator mounted on my golf cart and carry a 100' cord. Plus, there's room on the golfcart for a beer cooler, it has a radio, and it has a canopy for shade.:D

Randy

I use Round-Up :thumbsup:

Why just trim the offending weeds when you can kill the sumbitches? :D

I agree..I HATE weed whackers..Has to be the most frustrating tool I've ever had and I've had several. Many name brands too, Homelite. Craftsman, John Deere, Toro. My buddy tells me Stihl is the only way to go and I have had "pretty" good luck with my Stihl chain saw. It always seems on whackers.."if" the engine runs..the string thing is always acting up. Of course the job of weed whacking in itself just sux as well. One that I hate, I'd rather mow for hours than do the whackin!!

I"ve had a 4 stroke Craftsman for 5 or 6 years. Starts on 1st or 2nd pull every time. It has a Briggs and Stratton engine.