Santa brought a new string trimmer !!

[Papa Bear]

There was a brand new Homelite TrimLite under the tree yesterday

I've got a 16yr old L.B. mower which still runs great and this new trimmer says 50:1 mix. Can I get away with 1 gas can ?? I was running the old L.B. at about 40:1, would that 40:1 foul the new trimmer ?? Would the old mower run on 50:1 ?? What do you guys recommend ?
Syn., conventional or synthetic blend ??
P.B.

 

[80caprice]

i'd just keep one can, and use 40:1 , would go syn though

 

[04SpecV]

Yeah you can use 40:1 in it.
I'd also use a good synthetic.

 

[Dark Jedi]

so ralphie did you run ouside in your PJ's and fired it up trimming the snow lol. I say you be ok I cant see a major difference of 10:1 doing any harm.

 

[Papa Bear]

D.J. ...Yes, I felt like Tim Allen on Tool Time

Maybe a glass pack muffler and a K&N air filter is in order !!
Thank all you guys for your input, 40:1 it will be. 1 gas can...yipee !!
P.B.

 

[Shannow]

I run 33 to 1 in mine, and have zero fouling issues (same plug for 5 years).

My personal belief (not recommendation, but a friend who races g0karts tried it and liked it) is that the oil should not be fully consumed in combustion.

I like to have a slightly wet exhaust. At least to me it indicates that there's lub on the cylinder wall near the exhaust port, all the way into the port.

 

[Dark Jedi]

dont forget the supercharger. just dont do like i did with my weed eater. i mixed my gas and used too much oil. couldnt figure out why it ran like crap. thought it was worn out. bought a new one and the same thing. I dumped all the gas out and bought a new bottle of mix that you could measure out and noticed I was putting way too much lol. now it runs much better and I got my old weed eater still working.

 

[burnout]

Get one of those coke can sized turbos to slap on there!

(Actually, how hard would that really be?)

 

[Shannow]

If you know my mate "Scuzzy", he'd make up the manifolds.

Not sure how lubricant supply would work 'though

 

[mtgrs737]

Get yourself some "Mobil 1 Racing 2T" and mix it up with a 1/2 oz. of Stabil per gallon to keep it burning good. The Mobil is hard to find anywhere else but at a Motorcycle shop since Autozone quit selling it. You might find some old stock at your AZ but the bike shops are sure to have it. Nothing better in this world than Mobil 1, I use it in everything at 32 to 1 with no problems so far.

 

[Papa Bear]

I should leave well enough alone

I was talking to my brother and he said that the spark arrestor plugged up in his new trimmer and I should remove the one in my spanking new Homelite that Santa brought me. He said it was easy and just remove the fine screen on the outlet of the muffler.
So I take my new trimmer to the basement to remove the screen in the muffler. To get to the muffler, you have to remove the rear cover/shroud on the machine and that rear cover is also the crankcase cover. When I gently pryed the cover loose, the crankcase gasket was stuck to the cover and the block and it came apart, half stuck to the block and half to the cover !!
So, my brand new trimmer is sitting in the basement in pieces while I try to source a new gasket !! Anyway, I got the screen out of the muffler and I removed the 2 plastic caps on the carb jets so I will be able to fine tune her when the Summer trimming season comes. I should have it back together by Summer

HAPPY NEW YEAR.....P.B.

 

[04SpecV]

What kind of oil is he using?

 

[Papa Bear]

I'm not sure

I'll have to email him and ask. Why do you ask, 04 ??

 

[Dick in Falls Church]

Use AMSOIL synthetic 100:1 premix for both, and don't worry about it.

 

[Mike_dup1]

Papabear,

Let hope you don't burn down the neighborhood with the spark arrester gone. LOL

I 2nd the Amsoil 100-1 Sabra Professional, used the 100-1 stuff for many years with excellent results. Been running it in my Stihl leaf eater and my Huskavarna weed wacker for year. Neve had to change a plug or have a problem starting them ever. The sit all winter and start very easy in the spring.

 

[oilyriser]

I'm tuning up a couple of trimmers. The first one, when I took out the plug and looked inside, was spotless like it was brand new. The other was full of carbon buildup. I had mixed gas and oil for the first one at about 15:1, which was what it said on the label. It said to use 250mL oil per gallon of gas. After finishing with the first one, I poured its gas into the second one, and ran that one for 5 mins. I pulled the spark plug again, and now all the carbon was gone from the plug, and I could see bare metal showing on parts of the piston. The rich gas/oil mix had really cleaned it out.

How is the cleanliness with the synthetic at 100:1 in these things, for those who do that?

 

[Papa Bear]

I'm going to use Olympic scoring on this thread, throwing out the high and low numbers and averaging the remainder

Oily, your 15:1 has to go......**** & Mike, out with your 100:1 !! And that brings us to the 33:1, 40:1 and 50:1.
To keep my sanity, I'm staying in the middle of the pack at 40:1 (Canadians really don't want to offend anyone, so by staying "average". I will be accepted by everyone.)
Thank you for all your input

P.B.

 

[andyd]

MY fuel mix has always been 32:1. I have used that spec for nearly 30 yrs in my Stihl Farmboss saw. specced at 40:1. No fouling troubles ever. I also use the mix in a Husky string trimmer and a 2 stroke mower specced at 50;1, no problemo. It only smokes in the latest dump find 2 stroke mower specced at 32:1. I use what ever the hardware store has on sale for mix. IMHO, I would rather deal with smoke and fouling than burning out a 2 stroke run on too lean a mix.

 

[80caprice]

i've always stuck with 40:1 myself, even though both of mine spec it, i just go a little over 40:1, maybe 38:1 or so in it. ones a little 18cc weeder, runs full rpm's most of the time, gone 30 minutes straight quite a few times, bore still looks great. removed the spark arrestor, opened the muffler, and have it running a little richer then what it was set to. still has the same spark plug after 5 years.....no starting problems, second pull starts, plugs still dry and tan, piston has just minor carbon buildup, exhaust port the same.... not bad for a 25 buck used once by relative weedeater......

 

[Papa Bear]

Jan 04, 2006 ..12:30 pm STILL SMOKE FREE !!
Went to a local farm implement dealer this morning and picked up the John Deere version of my broken crankcase gasket. Looks like a direct replacement

I'll put it back together tonight when I get home from the store, probably won't "fire'er up" til Spring......who am I kidding, I'll probably get some mix blended just to hear the new puppy run !!
Obsessive-compulsive in Ontario

P.B.