Craftsman edger not running well
 

Ok engine dudes, I have a question.

I have a small 2 cycle Craftsman Edger that my mom gave to me some 15 years ago. It has always worked well until this season.

What is happening is I can get it to start pretty easily on choke, it will idle although roughly. When I pull the choke back to the middle position I can start it with a couple pulls and it runs for about 3 seconds and then idles down and dies. Then when you try to pull it again, the pull is very easy, almost as if there is no gas?

I replaced the spark plug thinking maybe it needed it after 15 years but that didn't fix it. Any ideas? It sounds like a fuel issue to me...

Does the fuel get all frothy when agitated? Kind of like some soapy residue has been introduced? Some shampoo-like formula, perhaps? ;)

I'd try a couple bottles of NOS. The stuff in the blue bottle.

Sound like the carb is getting dirty, pull it off and give it a good cleaning.

Very funny!!!

Of note, I think the dog has actually attempted to chew on a gas can before...there were some odd teeth like marks on a can one day after her kennel got closed with only the top side closed. Luckily she survived that without any incident!

+1 after 15 years the carb is probably pretty gummed up. Had an old 5 HP outboard and had to clean the carb every spring after sitting over the winter else it would start but wouldn't idle.

Ok, I will see if I can figure out how to take the carb off...

( in best "Carl" voice from "Slingblade"):

"hhhmmmmmmnnn, mmmmnnnnnn.....needs gas"!;)

So, not so successful. I took the carb off and found the fuel lines were brittle and degraded, not surprising after 15 years. The carb itself looked pretty clean but I cleaned it out anyhow. I bought new fuel tubing and installed that, then reinstalled the carb.

It runs for longer...maybe 10 seconds now, but still leans out. I set the idle screw to fast idle but still no go.

I think the wife has decided it's time for a new edger anyhow, so we're off to Sears!

Today's gas formulation clogs the tiny jets sometimes in just 6 months time. If it runs ok on choke, but not off choke, it is obviously not getting enough fuel. Just spraying the carb guts with carb cleaner will not typically clean out the jets and they often require forcing a tiny wire thru them to dislodge the clog. I bet I have worked on 20 carbs in the last 2 years due to recent crap fuel that is on the market. Prior to that, I bet I only had a couple of carb issues in the previous 20 years.

You don't have gasahol there, do you? My logger friend says the new Oregon mandated 10% gasahol is ruinous to 2 stoke chainsaw engines. I suggested he look for some racing gas with no alcohol...

Why is it bad for two-stroke engines? Would it also be bad for two-stroke scooter motors? My old Vespa is 2T.

According to my logger friend, the alcohol ruins the lube quality of the 2 stroke oil, premature ring wear... Do I sense there will be a Vespa running unleaded racing gas soon? ;) Boaters also having problems with the stuff...the alcohol's propensity to attract moisure...

Gas containing ethanol requires a slightly richer mixture setting. Your carb needs to be removed and cleaned by a shop that has the correct equipment to do it right. A can of carb cleaner won't do much and running a wire through the jets can damage them.

Around here, we can still get ethanol-free gas at some stations. That's what I run in every engine we own. It still doesn't keep fresh very long.

JR

Kind of off-topic but this is a good write-up of the ethanol problem with some motors:

http://www.yamaha-motor.com/outboard/faq/faqanswer/14/19/1/answers.aspx

I could certainly use racing gas in the vespa. The cost isn't an issue A five gallon can lasts me months. But where can you get racing gas in Portland?

You can probably get racing gas at any decent motorcycle dealer or speed shops that cater to the muscle car/hot rod crowd.

JR

A fellow pilot friend of mine has started draining , then running a small amount of Avgas (100LL) thru his seasonal use equipment to avoid this crap gas/clogged carb issue. I maight start doing the same but I probably have at least 30 gasoline burning engines at the moment and having to go thru all these hassles just p!sses me off. I blame it all on ridiculous govt regulations brought on by the green movement.

Any Track day at P.I.R. There is a place there selling racing gas...you may need to buy one of their slick looking gas containers tho...

Change in plans. Turns out a replacement edger of similar power would run me at least $200. I'm not real excited about that. So I took it to my local small engine shop and they are going to do a carb rebuild on it and tune it up for $80. If I get another 10 years for $80 that'll be a deal.