Homelite weed whacker question

[odd_duck99]

So my property is only .42 of an acre, but nature likes to try and reclaim it constantly...

I was cheap when I bought our first weed whacker. I went with a gas Homelite. Now it seems that at least once a year when I move it from half choke to wide open, it stalls. When it was still under warranty, I took it in and the guy said that happens all the time with Homelite. Great. Now it's the next year, and sure enough, its happened again. I am a cheapskate, and am having a hard time finding someone nearby that can fix it. The first time it literally took the guy 2 seconds, which has me wondering if all I have to do is twist the right screw or something. Does anyone know engines?

 

[THEFAN]

The first problem is you bought a homelite.

 

[Joel_BC]

So my property is only .42 of an acre, but nature likes to try and reclaim it constantly...

I was cheap when I bought our first weed whacker. I went with a gas Homelite. Now it seems that at least once a year when I move it from half choke to wide open, it stalls. When it was still under warranty, I took it in and the guy said that happens all the time with Homelite. Great. Now it's the next year, and sure enough, its happened again. I am a cheapskate, and am having a hard time finding someone nearby that can fix it. The first time it literally took the guy 2 seconds, which has me wondering if all I have to do is twist the right screw or something. Does anyone know engines?

Of course, make sure your mixed gasoline (in the spring) is fresh, and make sure your engine's air cleaner (a simple device on the carburetor) is clean. After that, three suggestions:

1. Of course, always let the engine warm up (on choke) before you try to use it or adjust it. With some machines, after you've run the engine a little bit, you can sort of find a 'half-choke' position of the choke lever on the carburetor and run it that way for a while. After the engine is really better warmed, you can then move the lever to full open. Possibly it will run nicely after this.

2. The problem you describe (engine stalling when you un-choke the carb) is sometimes remedied simply by spraying some carburetor cleaner into the throat of the carb, then running the engine. This dissolves a lot of gummy or varnish-type matter that can form in the fuel passageways of the carburetor. This spray is available at auto supply stores - but you'll use so little of it, you may want to see if a friend or neighbor can let you use their spray can for one or two seconds.

3. What the choke does (as you probably know) is to temporarily reduce the ratio of air to fuel flowing from the carburetor to the intake port of the engine - which is also called 'richening the fuel mixture'. If you've tried #2, above, and you still have a problem, you can richen the fuel mixture by adjusting the low-speed jet of the carburetor. The aim will be to let in a little more fuel - slight counter-clockwise turn of the screw. Do you have your owner's manual? Usually the manuals tell you how to adjust this jet.

 

[odd_duck99]

Thank you Joel! I will look into these things! I think I may have to do #3, as I always let it warm up. It runs just fine on half choke, but I will refresh the gas just in case, and see if I need the spray. Couldn't hurt. I'll let you know what happens... hopefully the rain will ease up and I can start on some of these outside things that are driving me nuts this weekend!

 

[odd_duck99]

Alright! I finally got a chance to horse around with the trimmer, and THANK YOU JOEL!

I took what you said and poked the internet a little more. Turns out Homelites are famous for having the fuel ratio/carburetor issue. It took a bit of ingenuity, but I was able to adjust them myself! As of right now the trimmer is working! This is the first time I have fixed any kind of engine myself!

 

[Joel_BC]

Alright! I finally got a chance to horse around with the trimmer, and THANK YOU JOEL!

I took what you said and poked the internet a little more. Turns out Homelites are famous for having the fuel ratio/carburetor issue. It took a bit of ingenuity, but I was able to adjust them myself! As of right now the trimmer is working! This is the first time I have fixed any kind of engine myself!

Congratulations on first-time success. Glad it worked out for you, duck.

Just curious... did you use a spray cleaner in the carburetor before adjusting the L-S jet? (Not that you had to, just wondering.)

 

[odd_duck99]

I didn't. I didn't trust myself to know where the hell to spray it! That, plus the overwhelming internet buzz about homelites having the exact problem I was having, made me replace the gas mixture, then adjust the ratio into the carb. I would like to see if my neighbor has the spray, and perhaps knows the right place to spray it, but he always looks so darn busy!

This has gotten me mildly interested in engines. Seems there are a decent amount of things I could fix myself once I know what the problem is. Tinkering with the 2 strokes is less intimidating then the car... less money if I break it! lol!

 

[Nifty]

3 years ago I got the cheapest weed eater / weed whacker I could find. A $70 Homelite. It lasted one season. The next season I guess I pulled too hard on the engine start cord because it stopped retracting. It was of course out of warranty and a 1 hour diagnosis would have cost twice as much as the whole tool.

I guess I was just optimistic that it would have lasted at least 3-5 years.

Now I have a Ryobi, which seems to do ok. I think a ton of the brands are owned by the same parent company, but different "lines" of quality.

 

[Joel_BC]

I figure I give my weed whacker 40-50 hours of use each year. Between it and a low-horsepower walk-behind yard lawnmower - very common type - I work at keeping several acres of our property reasonably trim. And the cuttings provide greens for our compost piles.

Since I depend on the weed whacker to serve me well, I need a good machine. I looked into which brands the local parks-maintenance people (in our big town, 50-minute's drive from here) rely on. It came down to two brands: Stihl and Shindaiwa. Turns out there is a Shindaiwa dealer in my valley, about a 25-minute drive from our place. So I bought a model that's considered professional quality. Anything less than this, quality-wise, has proved to be just throwing money down the drain, for me.

 

[Nifty]

40 - 50 hours a YEAR!?!?!?

I don't know that I'll have done that much weed whacking in my entire life!

Joel, what kind of head do you have on your trimmer? Have you used string and blades in your trimmer? I have 3 - 4 types of attachments I can use and I've found I really like the durability of the blades for brush, but have to use string for going around trees, rocks, poles, etc.