Funny String Trimmer Story

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Nyquist

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So I just purchased a new Homelite string trimmer on Thursday of last week. I mixed the gas/oil and filled it up. I went to start it, and like a typical 2-cycle trimmer it was a pain. Finally got it started and had at the yard. About 15 minutes into it I thought that it felt a bit warm. Shortly after that the engine died. I tried to restart it, but it wouldn't even turn over. . . the engine had seized up.

I called Homelite, and I explained the situation. The tech knew the issue right away was that the carb had been set too lean from the factory. This caused overheating and scoring. They said they would replace it at no cost to me.

This could have been aggrevating, but after I got off the phone I think I laughed on-and-off for about 30 minutes about the whole ordeal.

Has something like this happened to anyone else here?
 
I've been lucky even with $60 Weedeater brand stuff and not so precise mixing.

Joel
 
Is the Homelite the one from Home Depot? I just purchased the $65 model and have the problem where it doesn't want to stay running at higher RPM's when warm unless the choke is set to the mild/mid setting.
 
Yeah it's from Home Depot. Sounds like you may have one with a lean carb as well. How long have you had it?
 
Homelite is now the ultra low-end 2-stroke equipment brand. I never got more than a couple of years out of one of their string trimmers, and my leaf blower is barely hanging on. I literally picked an Echo string trimmer out of someone's garbage pile, replaced a fuel pickup tube on it, and have been using it for nearly 10 years now. There's NO comparison to the Homelite junk. Yes, Echo is stupid-expensive to buy new but when (if?) this one finally kicks off I'll gladly spend that much so that I don't spend half my workday screwing around with the tool trying to get it to work before I use it. The other big difference with Echo (and I'm sure also with Stihl and other top brands) is that you can actually buy service parts for them.
 
I had a similar story. I purchased a new Craftsman leaf blower in late '09 to replace a 9 year old Craftsman.

I bought a craftsman since I got 9 years out of a $100 blower, hard to beat that. I got the new one on a good sale for ~$80. Got it home, added fuel (M1 Racing 2T) and noticed the carb was not adjust properly. This machine needed the tamper resistant tool to adjust the carb. I ordered the tool and the following week adjusted the mixture and it ran great. One month last it shut off on me and wouldn't restart, hmm. I turned out the machine wasn't getting spark, annoyed and back to sears it went.

The "tech" then asked if I put the oil in that came with the machine, I explained I use synthetic oil in all my equipment and he started rambling on how the oil needs to be added. I then told him that I've been doing what I've been doing and my last Craftsman lasted over 9 years, well beyond it's life span. I then asked how the oil had any effect on the machine not getting spark, which was followed by a couple of well spaced "blinks". He then gets me another blower I get it home and the mixture on this one is even worst, good thing I have the tool and in a couple of minutes everthing was running good. Time will tell how long it will last.
 
Mine is about 3 weeks old. Yeah, I know it ain't great. Contrasting my experience with a $180 Troy-Bilt weed whacker that refused to start after when i went to use it (first start of the season), then they wanted $51 to fix it.... no thanks. back to the cheap junk for me.
 
after numerous sears, weed eater blowers and trimmers in the family, I finally sprung for an Echo blower and a commercial quality japanese brand trimmer (cant recall the name right now). well built. start easily. had them 8 great years so far....
 
oh sorry - your original topic - it appears that they no longer know how to set the mixture at the factory. must be a cost-saving measure. nice.
 
Originally Posted By: ToyotaNSaturn
Mine is about 3 weeks old. Yeah, I know it ain't great. Contrasting my experience with a $180 Troy-Bilt weed whacker that refused to start after when i went to use it (first start of the season), then they wanted $51 to fix it.... no thanks. back to the cheap junk for me.

Isn't troy-bilt cheap junk these days?
I got a used Stihl FS85 from a widow for $75, its got a carb I can adjust and I expect to use it for the next 30 years or so at maybe 20-30 hours a year. Echo's should have a similar life span with normal homeowner use.
 
Originally Posted By: Nyquist
So I just purchased a new Homelite string trimmer on Thursday of last week.


1st mistake :) Did you read reviews for HL trimmers b4 buying?

My Stihl is around 20 years old, and still works/runs like new. Exchange that Homelite for an Echo.
 
Take it back for a refund. Go to your local Stihl dealer who will sell you a trimmer( FS 45 ) for $149. He will gas it and run it and answer any questions you may have. Problem solved for the next ten years or so.

Hardware store Homelite stuff has always been junk. Years ago they did make a good line of trimmers that were sold through dealers only, the HK series, actually made by Kawasaki. But the rest of their trimmers were always junk.
 
Solve your problems with the newer two stroke (lower end) machines. Buy the tool at Ebay (http://cgi.ebay.com/HOMELITE-CARB-ADJUST...=item1e58d6d6e8) and tweak that screw out 1/4 turn. Stuff runs great after that. I used to cut through the metal "barrier" around the screws with a dremel cutting disk. I would score the tops of the screw(s) with it at the same time. Then would turn the screw out 1/4 turn with a flat screw driver. It's the EPA's fault. They tie the hands of the manufacturer. The tools, which you couldn't get before unless you were an authorized service provider, are all over the internet for $10 or less. I use mine several times a week. Can usually send folks away with a smile on their face (and for free).
 
Originally Posted By: yeehaw1960
Solve your problems with the newer two stroke (lower end) machines. Buy the tool at Ebay (http://cgi.ebay.com/HOMELITE-CARB-ADJUST...=item1e58d6d6e8) and tweak that screw out 1/4 turn. Stuff runs great after that. I used to cut through the metal "barrier" around the screws with a dremel cutting disk. I would score the tops of the screw(s) with it at the same time. Then would turn the screw out 1/4 turn with a flat screw driver. It's the EPA's fault. They tie the hands of the manufacturer. The tools, which you couldn't get before unless you were an authorized service provider, are all over the internet for $10 or less. I use mine several times a week. Can usually send folks away with a smile on their face (and for free).


I bought one of them about 2 hours after purchasing my blower. It came a few days later (~$7) and the following weekend it was actually running right.
 
Originally Posted By: IndyIan
Originally Posted By: ToyotaNSaturn
Mine is about 3 weeks old. Yeah, I know it ain't great. Contrasting my experience with a $180 Troy-Bilt weed whacker that refused to start after when i went to use it (first start of the season), then they wanted $51 to fix it.... no thanks. back to the cheap junk for me.

Isn't troy-bilt cheap junk these days?
I got a used Stihl FS85 from a widow for $75, its got a carb I can adjust and I expect to use it for the next 30 years or so at maybe 20-30 hours a year. Echo's should have a similar life span with normal homeowner use.


Yes it is! We bought an 06 Troy-Bilt Super Bronco slightly used 2 years ago to mow the yard at my wife's old home place and we have replaced 4 deck belts, until I rebuilt the deck, and just recently, it quit 'pulling'.....no go!

The problem was two bearings on the variable pulley drive that cost me 8 bucks to replace. Troy-Bilt wants to sell you the whole pulley assembly for around 100 bucks!

My string trimmer is a Stihl and other than the stuff they pass off as gasoline these days, it has performed pretty well.
I am able to buy non-ethanol gasoline and have been using it in the fuel mix for the past few years and it has run great and starts easily, even after sitting all winter!
 
Yesterday I finally had enough with my $80 Homelite trimmer. I bent the shaft in a "U" and put it in the garbage. Looking for an Echo or a Stihl today. Life is too short to put up with garbage power equipment.
 
Originally Posted By: Brett Miller
Yesterday I finally had enough with my $80 Homelite trimmer. I bent the shaft in a "U" and put it in the garbage. Looking for an Echo or a Stihl today. Life is too short to put up with garbage power equipment.


After years of buying low end garbage I did the same thing. Echo blower and string trimmer were purchased and have been a Godsend.I only wish I had spent the money on them a decade earlier. Echo Semi Synthetic 2 stroke oil is used along with FP60 in the fuel........no smoke, easy start, and they get used 12 months a year.
 
Have to agree. I'm an Echo convert.

I've got an Echo two stroke lawn mower that's twenty years old and still running strong. In the last five years, I've purchased an Echo Shred N' Vac leaf blower/vac, string trimmer and chain saw. Every piece has been excellent.

It's just as good as any Stihl, Husqvarna and Jonsereds equipment I own and nowhere near as expensive.
 
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