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when tuning your 2 stroke string timmer

slag

slag

Lifer
A good starting place is low speed screw 3/4 turns out, and high speed screw 1 to 1-1/4 turns out. This is true on husqavarna, stihl, weedeater/poulan, and shindaiwa (all that I had to test on), and probably most others.

Found this juicy tidbit on the 5th page of a google search and so far, its been true on all the trimmers I own.
 
right now.. 5.. My father in law buys a new one every year or two once his old one stops working. He stores them in his barn and instead of throwing them away, gave them to me. I'm going to fix them all up and sell them for $20.00 or so apiece on a local message board.

Incidentally, I thought it was just a walbro carb thing, but the stilh and husqy dont use walbro carbs.

 
Originally posted by: slag
right now.. 5.. My father in law buys a new one every year or two once his old one stops working. He stores them in his barn and instead of throwing them away, gave them to me. I'm going to fix them all up and sell them for $20.00 or so apiece on a local message board.

Incidentally, I thought it was just a walbro carb thing, but the stilh and husqy dont use walbro carbs.
Click to expand...
My Stihl chainsaw sure uses a Walbro carb. I hope they stopped, because they aren't available anymore.
 
too bad you cant make good money..

new low end ones at sears/walmart are $59.99. Factory efurbed decent ones can be bought for $70.00.

Hence the reason I'm at the $20.00 price point.
 
Originally posted by: slag
too bad you cant make good money..

new low end ones at sears/walmart are $59.99. Factory efurbed decent ones can be bought for $70.00.

Hence the reason I'm at the $20.00 price point.
Click to expand...

I am a landscaper at this point in my life.

My trimmer costs a little more than that. 😉
 
Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie
Originally posted by: slag
too bad you cant make good money..

new low end ones at sears/walmart are $59.99. Factory efurbed decent ones can be bought for $70.00.

Hence the reason I'm at the $20.00 price point.
Click to expand...

I am a landscaper at this point in my life.

My trimmer costs a little more than that. 😉
Click to expand...


ah, yep.

This stilh I'm working on now is a straight shaft, pretty nice trimmer. Its heavy though and has a strap with it, yet its just a weed trimmer. Fingertip on/off, etc.

The primer is broken though, plastic got brittle, so i have to order a rebuild kit and new primer assy. I use yellow tygon tubing for all the fuel line and its expensive.
 
Originally posted by: slag
Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie
Originally posted by: slag
too bad you cant make good money..

new low end ones at sears/walmart are $59.99. Factory efurbed decent ones can be bought for $70.00.

Hence the reason I'm at the $20.00 price point.
Click to expand...

I am a landscaper at this point in my life.

My trimmer costs a little more than that. 😉
Click to expand...


ah, yep.

This stilh I'm working on now is a straight shaft, pretty nice trimmer. Its heavy though and has a strap with it, yet its just a weed trimmer. Fingertip on/off, etc.

The primer is broken though, plastic got brittle, so i have to order a rebuild kit and new primer assy. I use yellow tygon tubing for all the fuel line and its expensive.
Click to expand...
We use straight-shaft kawasakis. They're much lighter than the other commercial units and decently powerful, but basically disposable - a year and a half is an excellent lifespan with the amount of abuse they get.

BTW is that an FS80 or similar? If so, and if you need a brush cutter/sidewalk edger, etc, they're great units, but much too heavy, IMO for regular use as a trimmer.
 
Now would actually be a good time for a 'how to get that engine running again after 4 months in the garage' thread.

Step 1: If it's not 10C / 40F yet, don't bother.

Step 2: If you left gas in it with no stabilizer, shame on you, throw it out, put in new gas, and be prepared for a little bit of hassle getting the thing going.
 
Just bought an Echo trimmer on Ebay after my crappy Ryobi bit the dust (cracked head).

What a difference! I am tired of the 2-3 year cycle of buying a new trimmer, hopefully I can avoid it with a "commercial" brand.
 
I have an FS-85. I bought it to trim the fence rows on my parents' farm but occasionally use it around the house. It's in an odd position...perhaps a little underpowered for farm work and a little too powerful (and loud!) for routine use around the house. It's well-built, that's for sure.

 
Originally posted by: arcas
I have an FS-85. I bought it to trim the fence rows on my parents' farm but occasionally use it around the house. It's in an odd position...perhaps a little underpowered for farm work and a little too powerful (and loud!) for routine use around the house. It's well-built, that's for sure.
Click to expand...

They're heavy, reliable, and powerful. In that order. Definitely a good machine, but I don't think I could use one for a whole day without a strap.
 
Step 2: If you left gas in it with no stabilizer, shame on you, throw it out, put in new gas, and be prepared for a little bit of hassle getting the thing going.
Click to expand...
amen brutha!

I mix up some stabilized gas and then mix up the mix every fall. All the tools get it.
 
Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie
Originally posted by: slag
Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie
Originally posted by: slag
too bad you cant make good money..

new low end ones at sears/walmart are $59.99. Factory efurbed decent ones can be bought for $70.00.

Hence the reason I'm at the $20.00 price point.
Click to expand...

I am a landscaper at this point in my life.

My trimmer costs a little more than that. 😉
Click to expand...


ah, yep.

This stilh I'm working on now is a straight shaft, pretty nice trimmer. Its heavy though and has a strap with it, yet its just a weed trimmer. Fingertip on/off, etc.

The primer is broken though, plastic got brittle, so i have to order a rebuild kit and new primer assy. I use yellow tygon tubing for all the fuel line and its expensive.
Click to expand...
We use straight-shaft kawasakis. They're much lighter than the other commercial units and decently powerful, but basically disposable - a year and a half is an excellent lifespan with the amount of abuse they get.

BTW is that an FS80 or similar? If so, and if you need a brush cutter/sidewalk edger, etc, they're great units, but much too heavy, IMO for regular use as a trimmer.
Click to expand...


it is an fs80.. an older one though, not like any of the ones on ebay. It has the flex shaft also, i think the fs85 came with a solid shaft and I could get that solid shaft for this unit, but, like you said, its heavy. Great compression though, cylinder and piston look great.
 
Originally posted by: skyking
Step 2: If you left gas in it with no stabilizer, shame on you, throw it out, put in new gas, and be prepared for a little bit of hassle getting the thing going.
Click to expand...
amen brutha!

I mix up some stabilized gas and then mix up the mix every fall. All the tools get it.
Click to expand...

I actually just pulled out my Troy-bilt trimmer this morning to blow off the roof. Dumped the old gas and put in new stuff and it started on the third pull.... no big deal 😵
 
Something happened to our Yardman trimmer, and it doesn't start anymore, and is VERY hard to pull. It seems that the piston moves half a stroke for a full pull. My mom and I got tired of trying to start it and she bought an electric 😛
 
Originally posted by: Raduque
Something happened to our Yardman trimmer, and it doesn't start anymore, and is VERY hard to pull. It seems that the piston moves half a stroke for a full pull. My mom and I got tired of trying to start it and she bought an electric 😛
Click to expand...

We went cordless electric. The gas powered ones are just too cumbersome, heavy, and a hassle to operate, plus they are overkill for the very few weedy areas we have to maintain.
 
For homeowner use, unless you have a large or oddly-shaped yard, there's almost no reason to use a gas trimmer. There's a lot to be said about being able to plug it in and go without having to worry about mixing gas or cleaning the carb. The electric models with the motor mounted up near the trigger work really well. In fact, that's the one I grab most often for work around the house. These days, I don't grab the FS-85 unless I'm heading to the farm to do some real brush cutting...I do wish I had an FS-120 for that task though...

 
Originally posted by: arcas
For homeowner use, unless you have a large or oddly-shaped yard, there's almost no reason to use a gas trimmer. There's a lot to be said about being able to plug it in and go without having to worry about mixing gas or cleaning the carb. The electric models with the motor mounted up near the trigger work really well. In fact, that's the one I grab most often for work around the house. These days, I don't grab the FS-85 unless I'm heading to the farm to do some real brush cutting...I do wish I had an FS-120 for that task though...
Click to expand...


Its no hassle to me. I already mix gas for my jetskis, lawnboy, leaf blower, and since the weed eater sips so little gas, I don't even notice it. There's a lot to be said for not having to string cord out around the yard, pulling it through dog poop, weaving it around trees, etc.. My garden shed does not have power so a rechargeable one would take up valuable space in my garage.

With the gas weed eater, just prime it a couple times, switch it to full choke, pull and boom, it starts on 1-3 pull starts.
 
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