Stihl Trimmer Hard Start

[Inked]

My grandfather has an older GT-200, if yours doesn't have the SpeedFeed 400 trimmer head, it is a direct bolt-on swap. It made refilling the line much easier for him.

I have the rapid loader head which is foolproof for this fool.

 

[350Rocket]

I just got a new Stihl ms180c chainsaw and it seems much pickier than my 7-8 year old fs40 trimmer. I took it back because it failed to start cold one day (never fired off at all - apparently it flooded badly by the time I gave up). After 3 pulls with full choke I realized that wasn't going to work and tried half choke but it must have already been flooded. No primer bulb on that model. When starting normally it will start 2nd pull. The trimmer has a primer and starts on 4th pull when cold unless you used it the previous day then it will start on 2nd or third pull. But it's never once given me trouble over the years despite original plug and starting to feel a bit rougher. The ms180 runs great when running but starting seems sub par so far.
I also got a new echo blower which starts first pull and stays running if you get it to half choke quickly enough.

No, the hard starting is likely do to poor fuel quality or bad starting technique. If he is running 2 stroke dino oil, advise him to go with a name brand full synthetic 2-stroke oil. I prefer the VP Racing or ECHO Red Armor oil. The orange bottle Stihl oil is garbage in my experience, but the silver bottle Stihl Ultra full synthetic is OK, but not as good as VP or ECHO full synthetic.

For all Stihl 2-cycle OPE, their factory recommended starting technique is extremely critical. If the engine is cold, push the gas primer bulb 5 times, set full choke and pull it 2-3 times until you hear it "pop". Then, you must open up the choke and pull again until it starts. Continuing to pull with the choke set on will flood the engine. Don't set the choke if restarting a warm engine.

 

[jrmason]

I didn't see mention of age or model but much of stihls trimmers are now 4mix engines, a 4 cycle engine that runs on premix fuel. They recomend valve adjustment every 50 hrs (I think)

Also RE fresh fuel. Everyone has their own interpretation of what is fresh. Small engines are alot less tolerant of old fuel than larger ones. If using ethanol using what you mix within 1-2 months is good practice. Stihl says E10 or less and 89 octane. A lot of people miss this.