Weed wacker blues

[Paddy]

Ok, I'm betting I'm not the only one who has bought a weed wacker only have a non fuctioning unit in short order. At our local recycle center, there is both a dumpster for metal stuff and the "give away" stuff. Weed wackers seem to be a big part of this system. How can such a simple little engine give so many such grief!

The carb looks very simaler to the one on a chain saw engine. I have chain saws 15 years old and have never had issues starting them. I took the carb off my wacker and cleaned all the ports/holes. It looked clean though. Next I'll try cleaning the in-tank fuel pick uo. A friend said for mud daubers in the exhaust.

Lastly, why don't they make these with the ability the ele start with a 3/8 drill.

I know you can buy these cheep but I like to solve problems.

Patrick T.

 

[3RRL]

Hey Patrick,
I'm glad mine is broke.
I always hated weed-whacking anyway. Now Loretta wants me to fix it so she can use it.
I said "I'm OK with that", but don't expect me to use that thing.
Actually it runs good and only needs more line put in. But she doesn't know that.

 

[Paddy]

Rob

Well that fits my story as well. I bet this thing has less than 6 hours on it. All painfully listening to the whine...

Patrick T

 

[RonMar]

I never seem to have too many problems with mine, but I have been wrenching on 2 strokes since I was a kid I have fixed quite a few for neighbors and friends though. It is usually poor maintenance and storage practices(and occasionally improper oil pre-mix procedure). The small carb orifices are more prone to problems from bad fuel and dirt intrusion. It also dosn't take much of a leak in the fuel lines or carb gaskets to let in air instead of drawing fuel from the tank.

 

[kenmac]

Throw the cheap ones away & buy a good commerical grade machine & your problems will go away. I use to buy the cheap ones from W.M. Got tired of replacing parts ,etc , etc,working on the things every season Wasn't / ain't worth the time trying to keep those cheap machines running.

 

[johnk]

I've had my Ryobi straight shaft Trimmer 32:1 mix for ten yrs. Probably used 5 gallons of fuel through it maybe more. Have the pruning saw, edger, line trimmer, and blade and never gave me one problem since I owned it. I don't know about the 4 cycle newer ones but mine is like am Everready Battery. The pruner w/ extension is the cats meow to cut branches 3 to 4 inches 10 foot up.

 

[MossRoad]

What kind is it, how old it it, how is it stored, etc...

I had a McColugh(sp?) that went about 10 years until I mixed the oil incorrectly. It still starts fine, but siezes up after it gets hot. Totally my fault. It was a fine machine.

I have a $69 Ryobi that runs fine after 8 years. However, the line feed jams often and it is a bit under sized for my needs. But the motor is fine.

I just picked up a Poulan Pro weed eater with the pole saw attachment a few weeks ago. Very easy to start and has plenty of power. The only thing I do not like about it is the throttle trigger is a bit touchy. Seems to be idel or full out, but not much in between. But it zips through 4" branches with ease and the string trimmer will the dirt out from under the grass if you are not carefull!

 

[jinman]

I've had my Ryobi straight shaft Trimmer 32:1 mix for ten yrs. Probably used 5 gallons of fuel through it maybe more. Have the pruning saw, edger, line trimmer, and blade and never gave me one problem since I owned it. I don't know about the 4 cycle newer ones but mine is like am Everready Battery. The pruner w/ extension is the cats meow to cut branches 3 to 4 inches 10 foot up.

I have the same trimmer (780R I believe) and they are brutally strong and take a beating with a "smile." The problem is that they are too heavy for my wife to operate. I bought her a light weight Weed Eater straight shaft and that thing starts on the first pull everytime. It's great for her.

Because it was so nice, I bought another curved shaft Weed Eater for my FIL and you can't keep the thing running when it gets hot. The carb adjustments take a special tool, so I can't adjust the low-to-high adjustment. I'm ready to throw the second Weed Eater in the trash.

I think you just sometimes get very lucky. But in my opinion, every Ryobi power tool I ever had came with a lot of luck built in.

 

[kenmac]

I think you just sometimes get very lucky. But in my opinion, every Ryobi power tool I ever had came with a lot of luck built in.




Amen to that. The best Ryobi tool I've ever owned & still own is a Roybi chop saw. The only one (Ryobi ) I still own as it won't break !

 

[jimg]

I had a red one I got from HD which I had for years and years that I roundly abused. That thing was AWESOME, never failed to start and ran like a top always. OTOH I had one from Sears which was brutally hard to start and needed to be pampered to keep it running. In fact I had 2 of those...the first I took back b/c it was so bad and the replacement wasnt any better. When I moved form NH my little son and I decided it was just too bad to even be part of the yard sale...so we took it down to the range and shot it full of holes. A fitting end to the thing...

 

[KentT]

I've had terrible luck with the Weedeater brand machines. Tried two different ones, differt price points, and neither lasted over two years -- trying my very best to store them correctly, etc. Once they won't start, if you can't fix it yourself, it's cheaper to replace it than have a shop fix it...

Then I bought a Craftsman straight-shaft that has been quite reliable and easy to start. Since it's a Poulan (by another name), I then bought the Poulan Pro convertible with pole saw attachment and the brush-cutting head. It's a powerful machine but harder to start than the Craftsman...

Overall, I hate the beasts (and most other 2-strokes) but they're a necessary evil...

 

[jinman]

I've had terrible luck with the Weedeater brand machines. Tried two different ones, differt price points, and neither lasted over two years -- trying my very best to store them correctly, etc. Once they won't start, if you can't fix it yourself, it's cheaper to replace it than have a shop fix it...

Then I bought a Craftsman straight-shaft that has been quite reliable and easy to start. Since it's a Poulan (by another name), I then bought the Poulan Pro convertible with pole saw attachment and the brush-cutting head. It's a powerful machine but harder to start than the Craftsman...

Overall, I hate the beasts (and most other 2-strokes) but they're a necessary evil...

Okay, I've waited all day to hear somebody say that we just don't have a nick nack for paddy's wackers.

..sorry, I couldn't resist.

 

[lug nut]

I have a Troy Built wacker that has been very good to me for about 3 years now. It starts very easily and has power to spare.

However, now that I have moved out to the country, I usually use Round Up to edge with.

 

[Billfrommich]

I bought a new homelite wacker 2 weeks ago and it started and ran fine for maybe 5 minutes. I had fresh gas/oil mix and it just wouldn't run. Had good spark and compression.
Called homelite and was told to take it to an authorized repair center (30 miles away) and if they determined that it was a manufacturing defent they would fix it under the warranty. ^%$^&*
Darn! They made me mad since the service center is a place that also sells tractors and I won't deal with them since their service department's only tools consist of hammers from 1/2 to 5 pounds.
I wondered why the primer wasn't filling with gas so I pulled the gas line and found it was literally dry rotted and cracked! Well....50 cents worth of gas line and I'm back in business. So much for homelites quality control.

 

[duber34]

Another endorsement for Ryobi. Mine is the straight shaft, quick link, 2 stroke. (775r I think) I have the blower, hedge trimmer and flowerbed tiller. 10 years old and not a single problem. About 3 years ago the local Lowes had the Ryobi's marked down to $70.00 for clearance. Well, I was so pleased with the one that I already owned that I couldn't pass one up for $70.00. I bought it and put it in storage above my garage. If/when my 10 year old machine dies, I have another one waiting in the wings.


Regards,
Duber

 

[czechsonofagun]

I have JD from HD for 5 years. All I do is put fuel and line in it - not even winterize it and it still runs like a charm. Last spring I had to replace the head assembly and I dont use metal blades on it anymore since I think it is too much for the shaft to wack small trees down with it.

Before that I had Ryobi, that locked up on me after an hour of work - returned the day I bought it and got the JD instead.

I think the trick is to get a quality unit to start with and not abuse it.

I still hate weed wacking and typically that's were my yearly poison ivy itch comes from.

 

[gsganzer]

Buy a Stihl or a Husqvarna and you'll avoid the headaches. Next, remove the spark arrester screen in the muffler (they always plug up when the engine runs rich). Buy quality 2-cycle (stihl or husqvara) in the little pre-measured bottle that you mix with a gallon of gas. Lastly, only use super unleaded in all small engines.

I have a 20 year old stihl saw that I only use about 3- 4 times a year and it still starts with only 3 pulls after sitting around for months on end. And I have a Husqvarna weed wacker that I've used every spring, summer and fall for the past 10 years, since I've owned it.

Neither one has ever needed a repair.

 

[milkman]

I have the same trimmer (780R I believe) and they are brutally strong and take a beating with a "smile." The problem is that they are too heavy for my wife to operate. I bought her a light weight Weed Eater straight shaft and that thing starts on the first pull everytime. It's great for her.

Because it was so nice, I bought another curved shaft Weed Eater for my FIL and you can't keep the thing running when it gets hot. The carb adjustments take a special tool, so I can't adjust the low-to-high adjustment. I'm ready to throw the second Weed Eater in the trash.

I think you just sometimes get very lucky. But in my opinion, every Ryobi power tool I ever had came with a lot of luck built in.

I've got an old 780 and the fuel lines cracked so I bought a new CC because it was lighter and had the quick connect shaft. I got the pole saw attachment and the hedge trimmer, the edger, and the tiller, all work good especially the pole saw, it is a lot weaker with the string trimmer than the old Ryobi was so I put new gas lines on the Ryobi and haven't been able to get it to run right since. It's been a while so I guess I'll take another shot at getting it to run, it sure has been tough, I miss it in the grass.

 

[RobertN]

Would definitely agree; I have had good luck with Husky and Stihl too. I would have to add the Honda though; I have a Honda 4-stroke weedeater/brusher that has been great in the three years I have used it. It is quieter, doesn't need mix, and runs like a top. Sounds like an old Honda Trail-50 minibike

Buy a Stihl or a Husqvarna and you'll avoid the headaches. Next, remove the spark arrester screen in the muffler (they always plug up when the engine runs rich). Buy quality 2-cycle (stihl or husqvara) in the little pre-measured bottle that you mix with a gallon of gas. Lastly, only use super unleaded in all small engines.

I have a 20 year old stihl saw that I only use about 3- 4 times a year and it still starts with only 3 pulls after sitting around for months on end. And I have a Husqvarna weed wacker that I've used every spring, summer and fall for the past 10 years, since I've owned it.

Neither one has ever needed a repair.

 

[Grrrr]

Buy a Stihl or a Husqvarna and you'll avoid the headaches. Next, remove the spark arrester screen in the muffler (they always plug up when the engine runs rich). Buy quality 2-cycle (stihl or husqvara) in the little pre-measured bottle that you mix with a gallon of gas. Lastly, only use super unleaded in all small engines.

I have a 20 year old stihl saw that I only use about 3- 4 times a year and it still starts with only 3 pulls after sitting around for months on end. And I have a Husqvarna weed wacker that I've used every spring, summer and fall for the past 10 years, since I've owned it.

Neither one has ever needed a repair.

I have to agree with gsganzer aswell. We have a heavy duty Husqvarna and it is a mean machine. Nothing it won't cut (Trees)