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Old 09-28-2018, 11:29 AM   #1
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Be glad Troy-bilt did not make our trailers

Yesterday I was out back using the weedeater to knock down the grass in the rear. I had started this a few days ago but yellow jackets did not want me working around them. Had the bug guy come over and he took care of the nest.
So I'm moving along and all of a sudden silence. I pull on the starter rope and noticed very little resistance. OK I figure the crankshaft or connecting rod must have let go.
So I toss it in the trashcan and head over to Lowes to pick up a new one. I buy 2 cycle ones as I had real bad luck with the 2 4 cycles ones I tried. Guess what the local Lowes does not carry anymore? Residential use gas powered weed eaters, they do carry the battery style but the only gas powered units they had were the high end commercial style. ( which is what I had bad luck with before ) According to a guy there that decision was made by corporate and he also does not understand what they are supposed to do with all the attachments for the previous weed eaters. And most folks are leaving to buy a weed eater elsewhere.

Anyway since I could not find one I figured I'll tear mine down and see what failed.
Imagine my surprise as I remove the rear engine cover to find they had apparently cross threaded a screw. So they took it out threw a little epoxy in and used a wood screw to hold the cover on. The epoxy finally failed and the cover loosened and exposed the crankcase to outside air. Which explained why it was suddenly easy to try to pull start. Since it was in a sealed box this had to have been done at the factory.

I drilled the hole oversized to clean it up and threaded and reinstalled the cover. Weed eater started on the 2nd pull.
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Old 09-28-2018, 12:54 PM   #2
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Hi: wetzk... Your lucky cause Troy-bilt isn't Troy-bilt any more either. I have a Stihl 2 cycle string trimer and it runs just fine as long as you mix the oil in the gas. http://www.stihlusa.com Alf
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Old 09-28-2018, 01:37 PM   #3
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I buy all Stihl equipment in the grounds maintenance line. I buy from long time dealers with mechanics on staff. Troy Bilt tillers used to be the standard in the US and Canada. They are junk now compared to what they used to be. In my opinion.
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Old 09-28-2018, 01:47 PM   #4
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I still do my garden with an old 7 horse Kohler engine powered Troy Built. Still starts on the first pull, and all I need to do is buy a set of replacement tines ever 4-5 years. The new ones look pretty cheap...
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Old 09-28-2018, 01:57 PM   #5
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Hi: wetzk... Your lucky cause Troy-bilt isn't Troy-bilt any more either. I have a Stihl 2 cycle string trimer and it runs just fine as long as you mix the oil in the gas. http://www.stihlusa.com Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie



I have an old Stihl chainsaw that will not die. It's at least 30 years old and other than fuel lines and pull ropes nothing else has ever been replaced on the engine. I have a spare carburetor for it that I bought years ago when a repair place told me the carb was bad. When I pulled the carb to change it I discovered a small crack in the manifold. A little RTV applied and it's been holding ever since.
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Old 09-28-2018, 02:19 PM   #6
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I have a troybilt 'core' electric string trimmer cuz I got tired of having to dink with the stihl carbs every year, and i have to say, this electric double-string trimmer is a powerful unit. battery is good for about an hour of whacking, but thats all I'm good for anymore, so its a good time to take a break. it recharges pretty quickly.
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Old 09-28-2018, 02:24 PM   #7
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Another vote for Stihl. Great equipment.

When I bought my house I went out and got an Echo weed wacker from one of the big box stores. I was so frustrated with it right out of the box my neighbor noticed and brought over his Stihl trimmer. I returned the Echo and never looked back. My Stihl has only needed a new trimmer head piece (which wears from beating it to advance line) in about 8 years of use.
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Old 09-28-2018, 02:29 PM   #8
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I have a troybilt 'core' electric string trimmer cuz I got tired of having to dink with the stihl carbs every year, and i have to say, this electric double-string trimmer is a powerful unit. battery is good for about an hour of whacking, but thats all I'm good for anymore, so its a good time to take a break. it recharges pretty quickly.



If you can find alcohol free gasoline the carburetors seem to last. They sell it locally as recreational fuel. No knowledgeable boater is going to fill his tank with something that absorbs moisture from the air. And we quickly noticed lawn mowers and weed eaters and such held up better too when fueled with it. The tygon fuel tubing and primer bulbs still go bad but at least are easy to replace. I get 2-3 years max out of them and have a coil of each size of tubing and a few spare bulbs.
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Old 09-28-2018, 04:45 PM   #9
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Stihl

Love them Stihl saws. Can’t justify one this big but can borrow one any time. Green ash in the back yard had to come out.
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Old 09-28-2018, 04:51 PM   #10
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Hi: Iowa Dave... If n ya didn't cut it on it's side ya could a had a dug out canoe!!! LoL Alf
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Old 09-28-2018, 05:04 PM   #11
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If you can find alcohol free gasoline the carburetors seem to last. They sell it locally as recreational fuel. No knowledgeable boater is going to fill his tank with something that absorbs moisture from the air.
only place I know to get marine fuel is the fuel dock down at the harbor, its like $4.30/g and they'll only fill boats.
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Old 09-28-2018, 05:10 PM   #12
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As discussed a few times previously (but usually in the context of tow vehicles rather than string trimmers) alcohol-free fuel is available at ordinary gas stations... if you pick the right one. Typically the premium is alcohol-free while the regular contains alcohol. Mid-grade is usually just premium and regular mixed right at the pump, so that doesn't help.
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Old 09-28-2018, 05:53 PM   #13
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Stabil Marine additive

If you can’t find ethanol free gasoline I have used this additive from stabil, https://www.goldeagle.com/product/sta-bil-360-marine/
Ive used this for the last 10 years with all my small engines and has served me well.
Our back up generator which gets started twice a year starts on first pull every time. I’ve had no work required on any of our small engines over the last 10 years, as we use this additive with every gallon of gasoline used with these engines, also only use the highest octane Mobile gas available. YMMV
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Old 09-28-2018, 06:11 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by Brian B-P View Post
As discussed a few times previously (but usually in the context of tow vehicles rather than string trimmers) alcohol-free fuel is available at ordinary gas stations... if you pick the right one. Typically the premium is alcohol-free while the regular contains alcohol. Mid-grade is usually just premium and regular mixed right at the pump, so that doesn't help.
not here, its all 10% Ethanol

the premium tank at the gas station is filled from the same tanker truck, addings the octane booster as its filling the premium tank.
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Old 09-28-2018, 06:15 PM   #15
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I use Stabil also and have not had any problems with my boat, motorcycle or any of my yard equipment. Seems to be good stuff and my boat will sit sometimes for months.
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Old 09-28-2018, 06:33 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz View Post
not here, its all 10% Ethanol
Maybe... the mis-named pure-gas.org lists a couple dozen stations in California, of several brands. They may be incorrect, and it seems likely that they're all selling aviation, marine, or racing fuels.

The difficulty with finding ethanol-free gasoline specifically in California is related to CARB's regulations (as explained by the California Energy Commission):
Quote:
In California, ethanol has replaced methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) as a gasoline component. Since the California Air Resources Board (CARB) raised the limit of ethanol blended into gasoline from 5.7% to 10% in 2010, most gasoline supplied in the state contains the maximum of 10 percent ethanol by volume.
Regardless of whether or not you can get alcohol-free street gas in California...
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Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz View Post
the premium tank at the gas station is filled from the same tanker truck, addings the octane booster as its filling the premium tank.
Usually tanker trucks have multiple compartments, and so can deliver multiple products from the same truck; you can see the multiple outlets on the trailer below the tank. They need to do this, because what distinguishes "premium" from "regular" is a combination of additives and octane... and octane is not increased by just adding an octane booster additive. Substantially higher octane requires a different base fuel from the refinery. So seeing one truck doesn't mean the same base fuel is going into each of the station's storage tanks.

While additive packages are often added at delivery time, that's mostly to distinguish different brands of fuel (for differently branded stations) using the same base stock, and this additive package is mostly detergents (and that other stuff in the gasoline advertisements).
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Old 09-28-2018, 09:09 PM   #17
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Glad you found the problem and fixed it.


I've been happy with my B&D string trimmer, which runs on a "20V Max" lithium battery. It shares batteries with my cordless drill and dustbuster.
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Old 09-28-2018, 09:29 PM   #18
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Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz View Post
only place I know to get marine fuel is the fuel dock down at the harbor, its like $4.30/g and they'll only fill boats.
Here in Ohio several gas stations sell recreational fuel at a $1 premium. Gasahol ruined the carb on my generator even with Stabil.
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Old 09-29-2018, 07:40 AM   #19
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FYI There is more than one Stabil product.
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Old 10-07-2018, 10:54 PM   #20
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Might be worth trying the electric one next time. In the past they've been pretty terrible compared to a gas-powered, but modern lithium-based batteries mean electric tools like that have improved drastically. Fewer moving parts to break, too, as long as you take care of the battery.
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