I might be the world's worst small engine mechanic. I can get them running (more or less), but getting them to run well has always been a challenge for me.
The last time I mowed, my weed whacker was running horribly. After I was done and draining the fuel, the fuel filter and bits of fuel line fell out of the tank. So I decided that it was well past time to give my weed whacker some love that it desperately needed. This morning I went through and replaced basically everything that tends to wear out or get crappy with repeated use/abuse.
I took the gas tank off and cleaned it out completely with mineral spirits. Then let the mineral spirits evaporate completely and wiped it down again. It got new fuel lines and a new filter. It got a new carburetor, new air filter and a new spark plug. I even took a very fine diamond file and cleaned up the magneto as best I could.
I honestly did not expect much when I reassembled it. I figured if I could even get it to start again I would consider that a victory. At first, my fears about starting it were well founded. After pulling the cord probably 50 times, it would not start at all. After a bit of digging into the problem, I noticed I had a kink in one of the fuel lines (the input line no less). So I trimmed the lines up a bit and got everything back together minus the kinks and the damn thing started on the second pull!
Where I have always struggled when I am messing around with the carburetor is adjusting the air/fuel mixture screws. That seems to be more of an art than a science. But this time, once the engine was warmed up, it only took me about 5-10 minutes to get it running better than it did when I first bought the unit!
It is a professional grade Husqvarna brand trimmer. But even when it was brand new it sometimes struggled a bit on some of the really heavy weeds we get here. But once I was done with my little tune-up, I tested it on the heaviest weeds we have and it blew right through them without any issues at all!
Needless to say, I am feeling pretty damn cool right now! 😎
The last time I mowed, my weed whacker was running horribly. After I was done and draining the fuel, the fuel filter and bits of fuel line fell out of the tank. So I decided that it was well past time to give my weed whacker some love that it desperately needed. This morning I went through and replaced basically everything that tends to wear out or get crappy with repeated use/abuse.
I took the gas tank off and cleaned it out completely with mineral spirits. Then let the mineral spirits evaporate completely and wiped it down again. It got new fuel lines and a new filter. It got a new carburetor, new air filter and a new spark plug. I even took a very fine diamond file and cleaned up the magneto as best I could.
I honestly did not expect much when I reassembled it. I figured if I could even get it to start again I would consider that a victory. At first, my fears about starting it were well founded. After pulling the cord probably 50 times, it would not start at all. After a bit of digging into the problem, I noticed I had a kink in one of the fuel lines (the input line no less). So I trimmed the lines up a bit and got everything back together minus the kinks and the damn thing started on the second pull!
Where I have always struggled when I am messing around with the carburetor is adjusting the air/fuel mixture screws. That seems to be more of an art than a science. But this time, once the engine was warmed up, it only took me about 5-10 minutes to get it running better than it did when I first bought the unit!
It is a professional grade Husqvarna brand trimmer. But even when it was brand new it sometimes struggled a bit on some of the really heavy weeds we get here. But once I was done with my little tune-up, I tested it on the heaviest weeds we have and it blew right through them without any issues at all!
Needless to say, I am feeling pretty damn cool right now! 😎
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