Not a chainsaw, but a weedeater question.

LeeB · August 16, 2009, 05:55:40 PM

They're about the same as far as motor goes aren't they? Less than 4 month old weed eater won't run. It was starting and would die when throttling up. At first it woulf run about 5 minutes before it died, then would die as soon as you throttled up and now won't start. I changed out the gas and cleaned the carb. Any ideas?

beenthere · August 16, 2009, 06:21:18 PM

Have you removed the muffler, and cleaned out the carbon? I find it clogged sometimes.

Clean plug too, or put in new one. Might help.

LeeB · August 16, 2009, 06:31:18 PM

Cleaned the spark arrestor but not the muffler. I'll try that. Cleaned the plug too even though it looked ok. There is really no telling what actually happened to the thing. Lindy bought it while I was put time before last nad Paul has used it a couple of times since. I suspect he's abused it somehow. He sure is tuff on my stuff.

Rocky_J · August 16, 2009, 07:15:10 PM

Make and model? Is it a premium brand pro model with a good carb, or is it a $99 POS from Home Depot with plastic crankcase, plastic carb and no adjustment capability?

You said that one of the users is "tough on your stuff"? Does that mean that he may have used straight gas instead of mix gas? Do you use a premium brand of mix oil or just the cheapest stuff you can find on sale at the hardware store, and maybe it has been sitting on the shelf for a couple years?

I'm not trying to accuse you of anything, just lots of unanswered questions that immediately pop into my head when somebody posts a "It just quit working" thread. Without any information it's just guesswork, and most of the time it is something the operator did and not a manufacturer defect.

Al_Smith · August 16, 2009, 09:06:13 PM

:D Ah,most of the time it's a fuel delivery problem but could be caused by a number of things . More times than not it's nothing more than a cracked fuel line,4 months old or not . It's just the nature of a weed wacker.Why I haven't a clue .

You would not believe the amount of them I fix come early spring .20 bucks to Al or a 12 pack of Bud depending on how much I like you . 8)

LeeB · August 16, 2009, 11:17:54 PM

Cub Cadet. CC2090. Not a $90 model but not far from it. No he didn't run straight gas. I have about as much info as you do so all these questions pop into my head too. All I know is that it was working and before I got back home from work this go round it quit. Thanks so much for your help.

Al. I suspect you are most likely correct. When I pump the primer bulb there is a lot of air in the fuel line. That doesn't seem right to me. I didn't notice ant obvious cracks, but will check closer tomorrow.

SwampDonkey · August 17, 2009, 04:55:50 AM

Yeah, could be cracked line or just pulled away from the primer button. The Stihl brush saw I use, FS550, has a primer button that is made as a replaceable item, the housing and the nibbles and the bulb all as one unit. So, what happens all the time is brush will catch that darn contraption and pull it right out of the case. Sometimes I have to stop 3 times, unscrew the air filter and push the primer button back into the case and attach the fuel line. Aggravating! They should have built a housing on the case that surrounds the primer so you can't pull it free from outside the case. Maybe they will get it right some day. The housing on the saw has no cracks or weak points around the primer button cutout that I can see. PITA And that's a $1500 saw by-the-way.

Al_Smith · August 17, 2009, 09:23:14 AM

I was not blowing smoke when I said running time has little to do with it .

I bought a dandy Echo pro model wacker that likely had less than an hour on it .Guy bought it one fall,used it a tad and it would not start come spring time .Took it back to the dealer,it fired up,took it home,no go .He had it at a garage sale,I bought it for 25 bucks had it running in about 5 minutes before I even left his sale . I was a nice guy and wacked some weeds for him before I left . ;)

Stihl likely is the best but no joke they have problems too from time to time .It's just something about weed wackers,don't know why,can't explain it .

sablatnic · August 17, 2009, 02:04:25 PM

My guess is, that most weed wackers are intended to be sold, not be used. ;-)

beenthere · August 17, 2009, 03:31:12 PM

I've had a Stihl for over 10 years now. Has been problem free. Runs both saw blade for brush and line for trimming and weeds.

But have had others (both my own and friends') that did not like running long periods at part throttle. That is when they would start running rough and need the muffler ports cleaned of carbon build-up.

ARKANSAWYER · August 17, 2009, 04:43:30 PM

Put it in the truck and stop by the mill. Seems like I have to work on mine every time a hand uses it.

LeeB · August 17, 2009, 08:50:57 PM

Ok Arky. I'll do that just as soon as I get the new clutch in the truck. I think it would have been cheaper for me to have not gone to work this time. >:(

Piston · August 23, 2009, 09:45:03 AM

I have a Stihl FS 55 and a FS 90. I took the 55 out a couple weeks ago after not using it for 2 months, tried to start it, started right up, reved, then stalled and wouldn't start again. I thought maybe I flooded it or something, cleaned the plug, tried again, nothing. I also noticed the primer bulb wasn't really filling with fuel.

I took the carb off the unit and sprayed it down real good with carb cleaner, then put it all back together, still nothing. Finally I took the carb off again, completly disassembled it, sprayed it down more, and noticed little gummed up rings of fuel around the holes in the carb. I carefully got that all out, put the carb back together and it fired RIGHT up, ran perfect the rest of the day. I forgot to drain the fuel out of it when I knew it would be sitting.

If you cleaned the carb by just spraying with carb cleaner really good, like I did, I would suggest taking it apart and REALLY cleaning it (but this may be what you already did) then go from there. It's obviously a good idea to put new gaskets and O-rings in but I didn't have any, still works fine with no leaks. I drained the fuel completely last time I used it!

Rocky_J · August 23, 2009, 10:25:52 AM

The ethanol fuel we are forced to use today is about the worst fuel ever sold to the public. I could save hundreds of dollars per year in repair costs if I could find a source of non ethanol fuel.

John Mc · August 23, 2009, 11:08:55 AM

Quote from: Rocky_J on August 23, 2009, 10:25:52 AM
The ethanol fuel we are forced to use today is about the worst fuel ever sold to the public. I could save hundreds of dollars per year in repair costs if I could find a source of non ethanol fuel.

Are there any marinas in your area? They sometimes have ethanol free gas (at least some of the ones up here in New England do). It seems the ethanol can eat some of the fiberglass fuel tanks in some powerboats - it doesn't help that the fuel in a typical powerboat may sit their quite a while, giving the ethanol a chance to pick up moisture from the air and separate out of the fuel.

Another possible source is a small airport. Some smaller aircraft can run on auto-fuel, but only if it's alcohol free (ethanol in a small aircraft is a definite no-no). Some small airports will stock ethanol-free gas for this use. It's a LOT cheaper than the alternative: 110 LL ("100 Low Lead" or "Avgas). You could burn 100LL. It's usually around 110 octane, and about three or more times the lead content of the old leaded auto gas. You may have a problem with lead fouling -- especially if the saw idles much. Personally, I don't mess with 100LL in my saws. Tertra-ethyl Lead is some NASTY stuff, and I;ve got a few sources of ethanol-free autogas in my area.

If you want, let me know what part of Florida you are in, and I can find some small airports in your area in my airport directory.

John Mc

celliott · September 04, 2009, 06:35:45 PM

I know of a few ethanol free gas stations around Vermont. There is one in Greensboro, Hardwick, and Lyndonville. But, i believe VT may be the only state left recieving shipments of ethanol free gas. If you are in VT, you just gotta look around.

John Mc · September 04, 2009, 08:28:52 PM

Quote from: celliott on September 04, 2009, 06:35:45 PM
I know of a few ethanol free gas stations around Vermont. There is one in Greensboro, Hardwick, and Lyndonville. But, i believe VT may be the only state left recieving shipments of ethanol free gas. If you are in VT, you just gotta look around.

Two in Middlebury, and one in Vergennes, VT as well (Vergennes has only 87 octane). In my part of Vermont, the ethanol-free stuff is getting delivered out of Canada.

I have seen marinas in several states which have it, but it's been a year or more since I looked.

SwampDonkey · September 05, 2009, 05:05:30 AM

Irving out of St John, NB. In the Boston area, 60 % of their gas comes from the Irvings. We don't have ethanol in our gas. Are there any Mainway stations down there?

Al_Smith · September 05, 2009, 08:44:05 AM

With this gas thing causing problems with carbs .I'll have to say I've almost became an expert in rebuilding them .

I've tried about everything,run them dry,leave fuel in them .I can't see much difference . The only thing I can say is I have two saws I've owned over 30 years and have never rebuilt the carbs they run the same fuel as the others .Go figure .

I will interject a thought on the matter though .The last several lots of carb rebuild kits I have purchased have slightly different materials being used for the fuel pump check valves and metering diaphragms .Evidently more robust to stand up to ethanol fuels or so I assume .

LeeB · September 16, 2009, 04:08:11 AM

Just an update on the weedeater. Lynde took it back to TSC where she bought it to see about where ot get it waranteed. The bent over backwards to make her feel better about ti and replaced the thing all the while apologising profusly for the hassle. I'll spend another dollar or two there in the future.