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...