Two-stroke pump: Worn out?

rmorgan · Jul 23, 2002

I have a little Homelite AP125 2-cycle water pump, which is now two years old. It's been a great machine, especially for the $185 it cost at TSC. It's probably seen 150-200 hours' use (sems like a lot, thinking about chainsaw and trimmer usage), as we've done a lot of grass and garden watering out of the pond, cistern pumping, etc. Over the past few months, the engine's been slowing down; it starts, but won't run well, and now seems to run only at about half speed and occasionally just runs down and stalls. It now lacks the umph even to power up a pulsing sprinkler head. I've put in a new plug, run carb cleaner through it, experimented with the mix, cleaned the filter element, all to no avail. Is it probably just worn out, or are there other things to try?

Thanks for your thoughts.

Anonymous Poster · Jul 23, 2002

Clean out the spark arrestor in the muffler, they plug up and prevent proper running.

rmorgan · Jul 23, 2002

Thanks a lot, Franz, but I just checked it and it's surprisingly clean. I did notice what I forgot to report earlier, that it seems like the bulb primer drains empty faster than it used to. Some kind of seal in the carb?

Anonymous Poster · Jul 24, 2002

This is gonna sound real dumb, but are you sure the choke is operating properly? Reason I ask is the cheap plastic handle from mine is in my pocket, so I can find a knob to replace it. The hubs on those dang choke levers split, and it's possible you're running on half choke.
Initial settings on both Hi and Lo should be 1 1/4 turns open, and tweek from there.

fishman · Jul 24, 2002

rmorgan,

If you do find that it's worn out (that's a lot of hours on a 2-stroke pump!), you might check out the 4-stroke offerings from Honda. They have a comparable unit, the WX-10. With that much use, you would enjoy the improvements they offer. I've used both extensively, and can offer the following comments:

The Homelite is great, but has these problems:

-Must mix gas and oil, which doubles the cost of fuel.
-Throttle adjustment is really just an ornament.
-Fuel tank is good for only about 40 minutes.
-It's quite loud.

The Honda does not require you mix the oil. As a matter of fact, it requires only 3.6 oz of 5w30 in the crankcase, and after the 5-hour change, you can go 50 hours between changes. The throttle works perfectly, and you can drop it to an idle if need be. At full speed, it's almost as loud as the Homelite, but throws a heck of a lot more water. At 2/3 throttle it's much quieter, and pumps just as much water. Oh, and the fuel tank is good for about an hour at full throttle, much more at half throttle. One last thing, the pump casing on the Honda is made of aluminum instead of plastic. Overall, it's very nice.

I've purchased a couple of these units (brand new in the box) on Ebay. The most recent I got for $193, shipping included. This was an excellent buy . . . most are going for about $225. This is much less than the MSRP of $450, though. Do a search on "honda pump" without the quotes and you'll find them.

I also have a larger 4hp Honda powered unit, and it's even quieter than the smaller engine. Wow does it pump the water! Downside is that they cost about $50 more, and you have to buy a hose kit from TSC or other farm store for about $90. You'll see those units too on Ebay.

rmorgan · Jul 24, 2002

Thanks, Fishman. I tracked down a Honda today even before your post, although at $325. Funny you should respond, as you are the cause of my needing a pump right now -- I'm distributing alum on my pond to flocculate [I love that word, and it gets past the censors /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif) suspended clay. I did the gallon-jar tests, and based on the results, I'm hopeful for some water clarity. I found alum at a supplier in Indiana for about $50/bucket, half what the local lake-supply place was, and now I need a distribution system. I was going to come home and see if I could find you online to ask--have you used one of the Honda pumps for this purpose, and did it seem to do any damage? Thanks!!

fishman · Jul 25, 2002

Well, there aren't any of those small Honda pumps on Ebay right now, I just checked.

No, I haven't used one of the smaller Honda pumps for alum distribution, but I doubt that it would hurt them at all. There is quite a bit of water volume needed to dissolve the alum enough to apply it. You'll need a stock tank (preferably one of those Rubbermaid jobbies) and that will take care of about a 50 lb bag at a time.

One option you might consider. On small jobs, a 12 volt bilge pump would work just fine for filling the tank and pumping out the solution. I extend a hose from the bilge pump through a length of pvc so that I have a rigid extension out behind the boat into the propwash. Very easy. You could just as well pump it over the side of the boat, however.

I would get at least a 1000 gph model, and Rule makes the best in my opinion (about $25). That way, if you break it, (I have yet to ruin a Rule) you aren't out too much. I think they even sell them at Wal-mart, but you can get them from Bass Pro or any marine store.

rmorgan · Jul 25, 2002

Thanks again, John. I found a little Honda here in town for $275 ($50 less than at the Honda dealer), but will keep the bilge-pump point in mind for future reference.