Gas Powered String Trimmer

Well there's your problem, you bought a 2 stroke...take it back and get a 4 stroke....better yet clean the carburetor on the old one....

I had no idea a carb is so cheap. I'll look into it and I'm thinking it's best to fix the old string trimmer. I'll leave the new one at my rental house for my tenants!

I should've cleaned the carb. The old Homelite is a much better string trimmer and the straight shaft is a little longer and feels more responsive to throttle input.

You read the manual??????

Every 2 stroke motor has a personality. I just try the basics first, push primer, set choke and pull. If it fires, I run full open choke.

I bought an Echo.

I'm kinda funny and I read manuals on things like this. In fact, I've read the manual on many of my cars from front to back. Though on things like electronics, I rarely read the manual. Go figure!!!

I've heard good things about Echo. I just wanted a cheap unit to trim the grass/weeds at one of my rentals. For $79, I guess I got what I paid for.

I have a husqvarna curved shaft trimmer ( weed wacker ) that starts the exact same way. I've never found a weed trimmer that was as easiest to start as this one.

Not only does it start easy, it always starts right up, it will run as long as I need it to start and finish the job on about a pint or so of pre mix.

It is well designed and is very easy to service and maintain.

I saw the Husqvarna, but I wanted to pay less money. And I sure got what I paid for. I think I'm going to fix the Homelite unit and keep it for my own use. It's a much better machine.

The old string trimmer was a Homelite - Green plastic motor cover. Sometimes I'd run 87 octane + cheap 2 stroke oil. Worked great, but when I ran 91 octane it worked even better.

My take on the two string trimmers.

Homelite feels more substantial. Bump string release works much better. Tangles less often and it's easier to remove the reel. Feels better built and the motor feels like a better quality. The Bolens is lighter and easier to maneuver. The Bolens is shorter and I have to bend over a little to use it. The throttle response of the Bolens is slower than the Homelite. The Bolens needs more rpm to do the same amount of work. And it uses a lot more gas. The Bolens used a tank of gas to cut my small front yard and 1/2 of the backyard. The Homelite would cut 3/4 of the back yard, my neighbors yard (empty lot), his hillside, my hillside and the small stuff near the walkway or steps - all on a tank of gas.

All of my newer two-stroke engines use that starting procedure. I have grown to like it, as it seems to work with less pulls of the starting rope than I needed with older engines that just had a choke and no priming bulb. I don't think you can flood it with the priming bulb, but you can if you leave the choke on full too long.

To keep your engine working longer without service feed it gas without ethanol. I buy ethanol-free premium gas for my small engines even though my cars get the cheapest gas. And treat the gas with Stabil before you use it the last time for the season. Those things will help prevent getting varnish in the carburetor.

Steve

Unfortunately, we don't get ethanol free gas here in So Cal. I plan to use the stuff you buy at Home Depot for a while. Though I don't think I'll be using this machine much longer.

I usually use the string trimmer for the big house. My neighbor got me upset earlier this year, so I'm no longer going to trim his empty field - I did it from 2011 to 2019, but no more.

So, with only my yard being trimmed, it may be a couple hours per year. 25 hours = 12.5 years.

Also, this is now a rental house, so the tenants can use the new string trimmer. I'll keep the Homelite straight shaft for the other properties.

I've got an Echo 266T, one of their most powerful, because I have a large property.

The starting proceedure for mine is exactly as you have described.

It seems like you guys like the new starting procedure.

What I thought was funny was the restart. When I had to shut it off to untangle the string, I had to go back to step one of the starting procedure. With my old unit, I'd leave the choke in the middle and with one or two pulls, she was running.

Your original trimmer had a fuel problem.It has now escalated to a worse condition.I used to rebuild the carburetors,but now it is usually cheaper and easier to replace it with one from an online supplier.Usually very easy to replace;2 Screws,and some simple linkage.

I say your original has a fuel(carburetor problem) because you had to run it half-choked.That means it was starving for fuel and the carburetor was needing servicing.

Most new 2 cycle engines have a more complicated starting procedure than the older ones due to smog control demands,and they run very lean compared to yesterdays models.I have an old(40+ years old) ECHO curved shaft trimmer that still works good.Very light and efficient.I bought a new Echo and it is much heavier,and does not cut as well,and uses much more fuel to get the job done.

I was disappointed with the new model.

I let my grandson have it.

So much for progress on weed trimmers.

All of the old good engineers have retired.

If you decide to fix your old one,change the spark plug,and clean the spark arrestor.

2 cycle engine are famous for fouling the spark plug and clogging the spark arrestor.The spark arrsetor is located behind the heat shield on the exhaust.

Thanks for the tip.

I was in the garage at my old house and I found another string trimmer. It seems like an even better one than the Homelite. I tried to start it and the bulb cracked. The hoses have cracks in them too. I'm going to replace the carb, bulb, plug and hoses + clean the spark arrestor and see if I can get her to work. If I can't, maybe I can swap motors???

When I was checking around for my first weed eater,I talked with lots of people.This was 1973,before Internet...WOW! 47 years! Has it been that long?!!

(Time flies like an arrow...fruit flies like a banana. (Groucho Marks).

The 2 major brands at the time were Echo and Weedeater.

A friend of mine was into ultralites and he said everyone into ultralites used Echo trimmer motors on their flying machines.

I figured if they trusted it with their lives,it must be pretty reliable.

I bought a Echo and have never regretted it.

I have cleaned the spark arrestor a couple of times..I simply put it in the vise and used a propane torch to burn all the carbon off.

Afterwards,the soot wiped off-- slick as a whistle.

Rebuilt carb a couple of times,not much to it,basically a gasket and reed valve.

Fresh plug every year.And fuel preservative.

The new ethanol fuel is causing me grief on all of my small engines.The alcohol is very corrosive,and is hydroscopic( attracts and holds water). Even fuel preservative does not help.If there is one drop of gas left in the carb over the winter,it will rust or corrode the carb.

I run the engine till it runs out of fuel,then add a little ( a teaspoon full) of fresh fuel to get it started again,then I spray WD40 into the intake when it starts to run out again.

This coats the inside of the carb and cylinders and helps prevent corrosion.

Works for me,anyway.

Could probably use 2cycle oil in a spray bottle as well.

I love old movies and the Groucho quote is great! I got a really good laugh from it.

I had no idea the ultralights used such a small motor! I'll make a note of that in my biological computer (brain).

I've heard good things about Echo tools. The string trimmer I bought was suppose to be for light duty use and it was a "patch" until I either fixed the old one or bought a good straight shaft trimmer.

I've also given some thought to a cordless model - one that uses a higher voltage battery, like the Milwaukee tool. I have more Milwaukee cordless tools and batteries vs Bosch, Makita, Dewalt and Ryobi, so it would make sense to go with the Milwaukee tool.