|
Post by 1975 Super XL on Sept 15, 2018 14:22:39 GMT -5
If the trigger hangs up at different levels I think the problem is in the throttle speed control knob. If the spring for the knob is weak, broken, or binding, the knob could vibrate in and catch the trigger, and quickly dropping the trigger on it would push the knob back in.
|
|
|
Post by vankjeff on Sept 15, 2018 15:04:35 GMT -5
I looked into getting some ethanol-free gas and all of the places that I found on that Clean Gas site that were near me (24 in California) told me when I called that they all only sell 5 gallon cans of gas that is Ethanol Free Leaded Racing Gas and they sell those for $65-75. So, that's not for me. I found online that Exxon Mobil's gas at all stations is E-10 which is 10% ethanol. Their site says that all other brands in California sell E-15 i.e. 15% ethanol. So Exxon Mobil E-10 gas station gas is for me. My theory on that boat engine damage that someone mentioned was due to the boat sitting docked & unused for way too long. That would let the moisture be attracted into parts of the engine & damage it. Cars and lawn equipment don't typically sit in a moist environment anywhere near what a boat might, especially if life gets too busy to use the boat very often. That or just the lake & river environment's moisture in the air might hurt the engine even if it is used pretty often. Maybe? Also, I've seen no public warnings for people to avoid using pump gas in lawn equipment or in any other small engine items. So I'd find it hard to believe that there is any serious risk to equipment for the average user. Especially here in California, they like to warn us about everything and everywhere you go, you see signs that a business is required to put up, warning of something new that they've decided that the public needs to be told. It wears me out.
|
|
|
Post by vankjeff on Sept 15, 2018 23:36:53 GMT -5
Interesting. I've never seen any tc-w3 oil advertised as also for use in air cooled equipment. I'd be worried if the oil could handle the higher temperatures, but I am little overly cautious. It looks to me like the next line says "where nmma tc-w3 oils are specified", which would indicate to me the equipment calling for the oil was water cooled, I've never seen an air cooled two stroke specify tc-w3. I wouldn't run the oil personally but that's just my opinion. Thanks. I'll take it back to Walmart and compare it to what those little 2.8 oz bottles of that brand and the others say. Maybe I'll exchange it for something else. I only bought that one since it was a bigger bottle than all the others. I returned the big bottle of Outboard Marine 2-cycle oil today to Walmart and I picked up 2 of the same brand's little 2.6 oz bottles that are labeled as Universal. Thanks for pointing this OOPS out to me.
|
|
|
Post by rowdy235 on Sept 15, 2018 23:46:36 GMT -5
I looked into getting some ethanol-free gas and all of the places that I found on that Clean Gas site that were near me (24 in California) told me when I called that they all only sell 5 gallon cans of gas that is Ethanol Free Leaded Racing Gas and they sell those for $65-75. So, that's not for me. I found online that Exxon Mobil's gas at all stations is E-10 which is 10% ethanol. Their site says that all other brands in California sell E-15 i.e. 15% ethanol. So Exxon Mobil E-10 gas station gas is for me. My theory on that boat engine damage that someone mentioned was due to the boat sitting docked & unused for way too long. That would let the moisture be attracted into parts of the engine & damage it. Cars and lawn equipment don't typically sit in a moist environment anywhere near what a boat might, especially if life gets too busy to use the boat very often. That or just the lake & river environment's moisture in the air might hurt the engine even if it is used pretty often. Maybe? Also, I've seen no public warnings for people to avoid using pump gas in lawn equipment or in any other small engine items. So I'd find it hard to believe that there is any serious risk to equipment for the average user. Especially here in California, they like to warn us about everything and everywhere you go, you see signs that a business is required to put up, warning of something new that they've decided that the public needs to be told. It wears me out. I would still advise against running E10 fuel in your blower based on previous experience (I was the one that shared the boat story) the way it was explained to me is that the components used in many small engines cannot tolerate the ethanol and will degrade, causing issues. I can't see how the environment where an engine is operated in would have anything to do with the fuel system but I suppose it's possible, it seems the Marine industry has had more issues with ethanol than others . I would assume that equipment being manufactured nowadays is designed to handle the ethanol so potentially not an issue for new Power Equipment. Of course non ethanol is readily available for me so easy decision for me to make. Since it sounds like you're going to have no choice but to run the ethanol fuel I would recommend running the fuel out if you intend to store it for any period Of time without running it
|
|
|
Post by Clasec on Sept 16, 2018 0:26:08 GMT -5
Thanks. I'll take it back to Walmart and compare it to what those little 2.8 oz bottles of that brand and the others say. Maybe I'll exchange it for something else. I only bought that one since it was a bigger bottle than all the others. I returned the big bottle of Outboard Marine 2-cycle oil today to Walmart and I picked up 2 of the same brand's little 2.6 oz bottles that are labeled as Universal. Thanks for pointing this OOPS out to me. Here is the oil I use For my chainsaws and Lawn-Boy. Valvoline 2 stroke oil by CLASEC, on Flickr
|
|
|
Post by vankjeff on Sept 18, 2018 15:40:49 GMT -5
I bought some Shell V-Power Premium gas yesterday and added Sta-bil and a little 2.8 oz bottle of 2-stroke oil labeled 'Universal' before I filled my 1 gallon jug with gas. I don't if this is non-ethanol gas. I tried my best to research it. Here's their site: Shell V-Power NiTRO+ Premium Gasoline FAQs www.shell.us/motorist/shell-fuels/shell-v-power-nitro-plus-premium-gasoline/shell-v-power-nitro-plus-premium-gasoline-faqs.htmlI even found a site that tells you how you can test gas to see if it is ethanol-free without buying a tester. It said to just put a little water in a glass and mark the level somehow or measure it with a ruler. Then add 10x that amount of gas into it and wait a while. Now measure the water level again and if it's gone down, there's ethanol in the gas. That's easy. But honestly, does it really matter that much? If it did, wouldn't this DON'T USE NORMAL GAS IN LAWN EQUIPMENT thing be common knowledge and wouldn't non-ethanol gas be available in lots of gas stations everywhere? I've decided to quit worrying about finding & using any Ethanol Free gas in my mower & Homelite blower. I'd read that Shell V-Power gas is Ethanol Free gas & is sold as the Premium Gas at some Shell stations, so I filled up my gas cans. Then later I called to the station's manager and was told that their V-power gas has ethanol in it & that California requires all gas that's sold to have ethanol in it. He had me call some special contact at California Shell corporate and there I was told that for sure, no Shell station in California can sell ethanol free gas. He just referred me to that same ethanol gas: www.pure-gas.org site. I told him that I'd already been there and that the 24 places listed in the whole state of California sell Ethanol Free Gas at $65-$75/5 gallon can. Since nobody in California can buy ethanol-free gas at a gas station anywhere, I'm going to assume that buying gas station gas is OK. If you think about it, gas cans are stored being totally sealed so there's no way for any water from humidity can infiltrate and pollute the gas. Sure, the gas cap on the mower or blower is vented but only with a tiny little vent hole. Not to mention that we have such a low level of humidity all year long or the fact that the fuel in our mower or blower's gas tank is added to with fresh fuel every week or so. So people with docked boats or who live in swamp states in the SE like Florida or in the Midwest (I grew up in Indianapolis) might have way more to worry about. I don't think I do.
|
|
|
Post by vankjeff on Sept 20, 2018 13:38:04 GMT -5
𝐁𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍!! I just tried to start the blower to do my weekly yard work a week after it had finally started so nicely. Last week I was able to tune it to run at idle (something it hadn't been doing in a long time) and I'd used it to do my yard work. This time I pumped the primer bulb 10 times, put it on Full Choke, grabbed some throttle (2/3 or 3/4?) and I pulled the rip cord. It fired instantly but only fired for a second or 2 and then it died. Then I tried everything I could think of to try to get it running and I finally had to give up. It never once fired during this whole time. So once again, I pulled the sparkplug, pulled it over very slowly to unflood the lower crankcase & the combustion chamber. I'll try it again tomorrow morning when it's cooler here in southern California. I don't like to sweat this much. 😉 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞, 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧?
|
|
|
Post by sweepleader on Sept 20, 2018 14:15:42 GMT -5
Sounds like you flooded it. When it first pops and tries to run, instantly move the choke to 1/2 or off. If it runs, you are good. If it dies, my guess is it will run with one or two more pulls. You may have to fiddle with the choke and throttle to keep it going till it warms up for 20 or 30 seconds, then it should run and idle without the choke. You may have to discover and remember a starting routine for it. If the pump is primed, it should not need a lot of choke. I would only prime it till the primer bulb is full or you can feel that it is full. Maybe watch clear lines to see when you have mostly fuel moving and not air. While the primer is not shooting gas into the intake, its action might incline the carb to leak some in there resulting in a very rich situation with the choke on full.
If it starts and dies, take the choke off and pull a few times, no choke, no primer. It may start for a few and die again, add about 1/2 choke and try again. If there is no action in 10 pulls, you still have something wrong.
|
|
|
Post by vankjeff on Sept 20, 2018 14:47:03 GMT -5
Thanks SWEEPLEADER. I'll try in the future to pump the bulb fewer times & maybe even start it cold on only 1/2 Choke even though from my experience, 1/2 Choke won't do it when it's still cold. But what happened is that it just popped a few times and died. There wasn't enough time to do anything like move the choke to NO Choke or 1/2 Choke. It just popped & died. I'm confused about what you just said about the bulb pumping fuel in & flooding it. That had been my concern before so I'd always only pumped it 4-5 times. But you or someone here had said it doesn't work that way and that's only how 4-cycle primer bulbs work. It was then said that the blower's primer bulb only fills the carb with fuel & when it is full, any more primer bulb pumps will just send fuel back to the tank in that 2nd line that I'd mention my having wondered what it was for. I think that I need to understand this better. Can you help me?
|
|
|
Post by sweepleader on Sept 20, 2018 15:09:01 GMT -5
You have it correct in theory, the primer only moves fuel from the tank through the carb and back to the tank, purging air out of the lines and carb. The idea being that as soon as the engine starts pulsing the fuel pump, the engine can start. What can happen with an older carb or one that is not perfectly adjusted both regarding the needles and and the fuel controls inside the carb, is that the pulsing of the primer can cause fuel to be pushed into the carb air passage. It's not supposed to, but it can happen. If you push the primer beyond when the carb gets full of fuel, and things in there are just not perfect, the pulsing can push excess fuel in. Then you put on a full choke and the engine is flooded on the first pull. It will have dry air in the cylinder and crankcase so as the new charge is brought in, somewhere there will be the right mix to fire once or twice. Then the flood gets in there and she dies. There is a continuum of mix ratios that goes from lean to rich. If you keep pulling it gets more gas, bad. If you open the choke and throttle, you only get air and the mixture goes the other way from rich to lean as you continue to pull. The flooding clears as the gas evaporates and gets pushed out the exhaust and it fires again. The engine is still cold so it might need the choke again, a little, till it warms up. Its a happy dance at that point. You must learn your engine and what it wants, it takes a while, it is not automatic like cars. It is like cars used to be in the "good old days."
|
|
|
Post by vankjeff on Sept 20, 2018 16:53:34 GMT -5
Thanks for all this help. I really appreciate it. After pulling the sparkplug, I only let it sit for a couple hours. I put the plug back in & pumped the primer only 5 times and it started up easily. I used it for 10 minutes and it seemed like the High was too rich since it wouldn't run good at top speed. So I leaned the H until it ran good at full throttle. It ran perfect for another 5 minutes but then it just quit and it couldn't be restarted. I tried everything that I know & then I just had to give up. I did want to tell you that during the process of trying to restart it, I temporarily unscrewed the gas cap and, as it's done in the past months ago when it has died, I swear it blew pressure out of the tank as I unscrewed the cap and it didn't suck air in as I think you've said that it would do if the cap's vent were plugged. But I think I can tell the difference and I'd swear it blew air out. Is that even possible? So, once again, the blower got parked, not working.
I wanted to ask, is this a company site & would I be breaking the rules if I asked if you or anyone here would let me UPS this blower to them so that they could diagnose what's causing this to happen (hard starting and dying after running after 5 or 10 minutes & not being able to be restarted)? I'd pay for any parts, return shipping and something for time spent.
|
|
|
Post by sweepleader on Sept 20, 2018 20:07:42 GMT -5
You could ask Leon if he was interested in working on it. He is onlyhomelites he is the admin and sponsors this forum. PM onlyhomelites.
|
|
|
Post by rowdy235 on Sept 20, 2018 20:11:18 GMT -5
^ He's got it right. But I would bet your problem is with the carburetor. I'd try a rebuild before I resorted to shipping it off but that's just me.
|
|
|
Post by undee70ss on Sept 20, 2018 20:16:29 GMT -5
, I temporarily unscrewed the gas cap and, as it's done in the past months ago when it has died, I swear it blew pressure out of the tank as I unscrewed the cap and it didn't suck air in as I think you've said that it would do if the cap's vent were plugged. But I think I can tell the difference and I'd swear it blew air out. Is that even possible? So, once again, the blower got parked, not working. . Yes that’s possible and even sometimes normal. Carburetors should hold 6 psi and release around at 15 psi when testing. It’s possible if the needle spring is weak, it could flood out when gas tank is pressurized. Always be careful leaning the H screw, if leaned to much severe engine damage can result.
|
|
|
Post by undee70ss on Sept 20, 2018 20:17:32 GMT -5
You could ask Leon if he was interested in working on it. He is onlyhomelites he is the admin and sponsors this forum. PM onlyhomelites. Leon works on stuff for others. Ask him about prices.
|
|
|
Post by vankjeff on Sept 20, 2018 22:50:37 GMT -5
Cool. I think I just discovered something tonight that might be causing me these problems. I started the blower while seated on the floor in my dimly lit garage. Suddenly I saw a stream of arcs of sparks jumping down the white ceramic side of the sparkplug and then after a few minutes the engine quit and couldn't be restarted. So do I just need to go buy a new sparkplug? Should I just close the gap a little on the plug so it fires down there easier instead of sending it down the ceramic?
|
|
|
Post by undee70ss on Sept 21, 2018 0:39:34 GMT -5
Cool. I think I just discovered something tonight that might be causing me these problems. I started the blower while seated on the floor in my dimly lit garage. Suddenly I saw a stream of arcs of sparks jumping down the white ceramic side of the sparkplug and then after a few minutes the engine quit and couldn't be restarted. So do I just need to go buy a new sparkplug? YES!!!
|
|
|
Post by sweepleader on Sept 21, 2018 6:32:18 GMT -5
Don't change the gap to solve a different problem. That way leads to never never land.
Change the boot too!
|
|
|
Post by vankjeff on Sept 21, 2018 9:31:35 GMT -5
It looks like the plug’s gap is a little less than 1/16th or .062” and maybe even about .040". Do you like my Feeler Gauge? Pretty nice, huh? The plug's firing end and upper end parts all look to be in good shape too. So why would it be streaming the sparks down the outside of the plug sometimes but not always, which then makes it die? A bad cap? It looks good too.
|
|
|
Post by sweepleader on Sept 21, 2018 9:40:36 GMT -5
You are kidding right?
|
|