Bolens BL100

pdowty68

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May 31, 2014
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I recently acquired a Bolens BL100 trimmer. It seems like an odd design for a trimmer so is there anything different about it compared to "normal" trimmers. Any quirks or specific faults with this model?
Thanks,
Paul
 

Wildcat

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Jun 2, 2014
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I own a BL100 and I don't see it as an odd design unless you're talking about the head spinning when the motor is running or the fuel tank being on top. Other than that, I just don't see it as an odd design. I would just be careful what you do with it. Since the head does spin when the motor is running, its easy to forget that and you might find it bumping into things and tearing it up or digging up the grass when you don't plan on it.

As for the trimmer itself, mine likes to run a bit on the lean side so make sure the mixture screw is correct. Mine also loves .08 pentagon string I found at walmart. I don't remember the brand name off hand but the string is purple. With that 31cc engine and this string, it does cut just about anything down.

Now for the problems. Currently mine is having an issue running full throttle after warm up. The only explanations I can come up with is that my mixture screw backed out or the part time help made a rich mix. I'm going with the latter because that gas/oil mix was a dark blue the other day. I also have a feed head issue. I bumped the head too hard the other day and the head itself spun under the screw that hold the spool in the head. Its more of a user error but its still possible even with a little tap. Should be an easy $20 fix. And more more thing, check the guard shield. Mine fell off at the beginning of the season when the nut/bolt backed out.

Good luck with the BL100 and may it provide you years of service like mine has thus far.
 

Wildcat

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UPDATE!!!

Well now, the tables have turned against me now. The other day my BL100 gave up the ghost....well sort of. It now has the common problem of starting and dieing out. I took the carb apart only to see that it is clean with no gunk or build up of anything. After putting it back together, I fired it up and it stayed running this time but give it some throttle and it dies. I did some research and found this picture:

Bolen Engine.jpg

The red line shows that something is missing. As with mine, I have the same spot with a hole there. Now, after further research, it turns out to be the high idle screw. I'm not sure how it 'disappeared' but I will be taking it down to the local repair shop to see if the issue can be fixed under $10 bucks.
 
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