My Ryobi trimmer/edger (2-cycle) worked fine last season, this year it doesn’t want to run. It will crank the first time I pull, but only run for 3-4 seconds, then dies. It’s actually running for a breif period, not putting out any white or black smoke, then it just stops & doesn’t even try on successive pulls. It will repeat the pattern only after days of rest. I changed the spark plug, emptied & refilled the fuel at the correct mixture & checked the fuel line connection, nothing seemed to help. The last time I took it in for service, it nearly cost me the price of the trimmer just for service & repair. It’s in good shape otherwise, so no need to replace it. Any ideas what could be causing this before I bite the bullet?
How old was the fuel that you most recently used in it? Gasoline has a very limited shelf life. Go beyond the life and you will clog your engine and it will need an expensive repair.
I left fuel in the tank from last fall (which I normally do - short winter season) but used new gasoline this summer. It hasn’t been used since last season, so that could be a problem.
Prognosis?
One tank full of old gas will cause the problem you describe.
I learned that one the hard way.
You most likely have some plugged jets as a result of the fuel turning to varnish over the winter. The carbs on these little motors are, of course, small as well. The jet orifaces take very little to plug up. This really isn’t a big deal to fix if you don’t mind getting your hands a little dirty. Take the carb off, remove the float bowl and then the jets (little brass screws). Soak them for a bit in carb cleaner, and then find a very small diameter piece of steel wire (a single bristle from a wire brush works well) and pass it through the jet to dislodge whatever is stuck inside. Reassemble the carb and you’ll be good to go. If this sounds at all confusing, post a pic or two of the carb and I’ll give you more specific help.
sphere,
The basics of small engine repair are this: fuel, spark, air. The rest is just fine tuning. It sounds to me that you have a fuel problem. I don’t know the Ryobi small engine that well, but a lot of weed whips have a small fuel filter. I would look to see if you have one and then see if the little screen in it needs to be leaned. You are getting some fuel to turn it over, but there is not a sustained fuel supply to keep it going. If this doesn’t work, it could be the carb, but I like the filter idea more. I just repaired a Shindaiwa with a clogged fuel filter.
Hope that helps.
Bernie
I’m thinking you’re right. I’ll dump the fuel, clean the filter & give it a go. Thanks.