Oil and gas mixture question? What Dunn-it?

[GhostFlame]

I have a dilemma or do I? My leaf blower won't start... Colonel Mustard in the dinning room with the wrong mixture? OR The Butler in the Kitchen with stale gas from last year? What's your choice after reading the clues that were left behind. My Craftsman leaf blower specs 40:1 mixture. My Echo 225 gas trimmer specs 50:1. My homelite Chainsaw wants 50:1. Here's what I have been doing. I buy a good quality 6 pack of 2 cycle oil at any lawn service center I happen to be in. Then I take said little tiny jug and dump in the gas can and meter in 1 gallon of gas at the pump. then one day I actually read the directions and the label is giving me mixing directions for 32/1, 40/1, and 50/1. That seemed weird. So I pulled out my manuals and I did the unthinkable... I read the spec... who knew? Anyway I have been using the 50:1 mixture in my new craftsman leaf blower... after 4 tank-fulls it won't start. I didn't know there were different mixtures... to me oil gas mixture just meant a universal 2 cycle mix... oil and gas. When I was a kid ,40 years ago on the farm, we took used motor oil and used it for the oiler and the gas in the chain saw... have these things become so fussy that we need to serve a special diet to each one? One more clue the gas I used in the leaf blower is left over from mixing in September of last year, 10 months (Stabil was added when I mixed it). Please hurry the dead bodies are beginning to stink!

 

[Hokiefyd]

If the engine turns over when you pull the rope, and it's not seized, then the fuel mixture is very likely not the culprit. A 40:1 machine should run fine on 50:1 with a quality oil. What likely IS to blame is the fact that the Craftsman leaf blower uses inexpensive parts and is a consumer-grade product, and something with the fuel system has likely failed. I certainly don't say that to insult you (I own one myself)...it just IS. There's typically a little fuel pump on the carburetor that likely has a small diaphram in it and that may have failed (so it's not pulling fuel). Also check for spark at the plug when you pull the rope. Also check that any safety switches are working as intended (may have to get a multimeter and check continuity here). The most likely cause is a fuel system problem, but there are a few other possibilities as well. My Craftsman leaf blower, coincidentally, doesn't run either. I've just had too many other projects going on to devote time to look at it.

 

[HerrStig]

If you like to live dangerously pour a little gas into the intake and see if it runs for a few seconds. If so, fuel delivery is the general problem.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Had the same thing with a Homelite weedwacker a few years ago. It slowly died while I was using it and never ran again. Had spark, had fuel ... wouldn't run on starting fluid or anything.

 

[GhostFlame]

thanks for the replies. It's brand new and for once I got the extra warranty. I took it to sears and they told me they were sending it out to be fixed if it can't be fixed I'll get a new one. However if they determine it was stale fuel then the warranty becomes voidable. I put Fresh gas mix in that day from the gas station. The guy at sears says that doesn't matter if they determine the gas is stale. He said my plastic gas can which is 10 years old may be deteriorated from the ethanol and even fresh gas can be spoiled almost immediately. All my plastic cans are being replaced with steel. What [censored] this ethanol fuel is. It costs more to make and ruins plastic and rubber that goes through your fuel system and ruins your engine...

 

[Nick R]

Some of those blowers have issues with piston rings that are practically made of butter, and lose all compression. Fortunately I've been very lucky with mine (knock on wood) but I know a lot of those poulan engines have that issue.

 

[asand1]

A carb kit is only $12.50 at the stihl shop. I look online for the kit number for my particular carburetor and order it. ZAMA or Walbro, you get the carburetor numbers and look up the kit number regardless of machine make or model. Fuel line is cheap. For any piece of equipment, I would repair myself regardless of age or warranty.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: GhostFlame

He said my plastic gas can which is 10 years old may be deteriorated from the ethanol and even fresh gas can be spoiled almost immediately.

I'm not sure what he means here, but I'm not sure how a plastic gas can can be "deteriorated" by ethanol, and then proceed to attack new gas and spoil it immediately. Automotive fuel tanks have been made from plastic for decades now. Sears has a warranty to protect, and in my opinion, they're already setting you up for a denial. It sounds like you have no recourse...if "they" determine stale gas, that's it and you're back to square one. The attitude correlates well with the "excuse" they're giving you already. I have plastic cans that are over a decade old and I use E10 in everything and never have any issues. Your owners manual likely says that you can use gas that contains up to 10% ethanol. E10 has been the standard for many years now, good, bad, or indifferent. If Sears' suppliers can't build a piece of equipment that will last using the prevailing fuel standard, then that *should* be their problem, not yours. It sounds like they're already planning to pass the buck to you, which is unfortunate. I'd press them on it.