Re: [AMC-list] Can't start the lawnmower, the leaf blower, the leaf mulcher, ...

[Matt Haas <mhaas@xxxxxxx>]

Bruce,

How old are these things? Besides bad gas, the diaphragm in the carb can 
harden with age and cause this sort of problem.

My leaf blower needs a new one just about every other year. On the other 
hand, my gas trimmer (both almost 11 year old Homelite's) has never had 
a problem (it still has the original spark plug, I pulled it this year 
just to look and it still looks like new so I just put it back in). My 
parent's also have a Toro snow blower (also 2 stroke) that has the same 
problem as my leaf blower.

Back when I was cutting grass in my youth, I ran into this problem every 
now and then and a carburetor kit took care of it. Also, if your lawn 
mower has a plastic carburetor, it may be warped and need to be 
replaced. One of the mowers I had with stuck with one of those and the 
mixture screw assembly popped out if it frequently and it rarely ran 
good. On that one, I was able to replace it with a metal carb I picked 
up used and I never had a problem with it again.

Besides using Sta-Bil (or similar) additives, some 2 stroke oils contain 
a fuel stabilizer. I use those types in my chain saw and I haven't had a 
problem with it since I started using them.

Matt

On 11/25/2009 5:20 PM, Bruce Griffis spouted this sage advice:
> Must be the gas. I finally got the leaf blower running, but it would
> not go full out, just an irritating slow idle. It would have been
> quicker to use a rake. The lawn mower would go for about a second,
> then just stall. The mulcher just sat there. I pulled and cleaned
> plugs.
>
> So - time to drain and use fresh gas. Or have a Black and Tan. They're
> pretty good!
> _______________________________________________
> AMC-list mailing list
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--
mhaas@xxxxxxx
Cincinnati, OH
http://www.mattsoldcars.com
1967 Rambler American wagon
1968 Rambler American sedan
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