I Got The Tool . . .

I got the tool, a special screw driver used to adjust modern 2 cycle carburetors used in weed eaters, blowers, etc.  The typical carb has two adjustments, one for the high speed jet and one for idle.  I do not mean the idle setting which is a throttle adjustment, I mean the jet on the carb itself.

The carbs come factory set at as lean a position as they can get the engine to run.  They put the unusual screw heads on to keep the layman from adjusting the needles and the over all performance of the engine.  It is an EPA thing and a scheme to sell ever increasing numbers of weed eater power heads.

The new, normal engine runs fast okay but does not accelerate and sometimes will not idle very well.  The high speed is most noticeable in that the engine tends to stall when accelerated from the idle position to full throttle.  That kills the engine and results in a cranking situation.  This is hard on the starting mechanism, the pull cord and wears it our prematurely.  And it is very frustrating when you  keep trying to keep the engine running.

So I broke down and ordered the screwdrivers on Amazon.  There were maybe four or five ads for them in various prices ranging from about $4.5 to as much as $12 for a set of four.  I got the set of  four for about $6 and since I had some credits on Amazon, I actually got them free.  The set of four are for four different end caps on the adjustment needles.

I received them in just a couple of days and promptly began adjusting the high speed needle on the carb.  It took about three days of adjusting but now it runs like a top.  Yes, it does consume more fuel but runs dead reliable now.  No stalling on acceleration, none of that crap at all.

I also took the time to properly set the spark plug gap and that also made a difference too in starting operation.  So now the weed eater starts much easier and runs better.

I am sure the special end caps were designed to prevent the novice from screwing around with the carb settings and to make the user go to a shop to get the engine properly adjusted.  Both are set up to make us either discard the weed eaters prematurely or to result in paying a mechanic to do a good engine set up for you.

Was a time when you could readily get parts, have a user's manuals that really said something on how to take care of the weed eater, etc.  It is all designed now to make you, the user, go to another level to get things repaired and fixed.  They even make it hard to find parts breakdown illustrations to be able to order parts.  The dealers at the local level delight in the additional business but the smart etail guy provides the information and the "how to" to get parts.

Anyway the weed eater is running much better now that it is properly adjusted.  We use it to edge, to blow as well as a string trimmer.  I even have a tiller head that I can use.  There used to be a tree saw but I never got that tool.  Over the years I have gone through perhaps six power heads.  I have noticed that they have gotten cheaper in construction and more common amongst all the different brand names.  Gotten to the point it is no longer feasible to repair an old one, just go buy a new one, it is cheaper than getting a repair shop to fix the old one.  And the manufacturers do not seem to care, especially since they are making more and more of them as replacements.