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I've got seven of them right outside my shop right now that are about ready to head for the scrap yard. I've spent way too much time changing gas lines, filters, cleaning the gunk off them and tearing down and cleaning the carbs and they just won't run.

Is there something with the diaprahms in the float pin and seat area that's making them susceptible to leaking from the ethanol fuel being left in them for a while or am I missing something else obvious?

I know a lot of shops that will just point to the dumpster out back but, I'm not a shop yet, just learning the while repair side of things and people actually donate these things to me instead of just tossing them in the dumpster. I try my damndest to get them in working order and sell them to make a little cash.

It's come to the point where I won't take them or definitely won't pay more than $10 for one that looks to be in really decent shape. The whole "It ran last year.." story is like a death sentence for those things.

Any ideas?

The best thing is to just replace the carb.
They also have crap coils but if you write them about the coil they will send you a few.
I had 2 last year burn out the coil. They sent me 2 coils.

Carb is only about $15 in eBay

Carscw said:

Carb is only about $15 in eBay

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That's not bad considering a rebuild kit at Jacks is around $29.00. I can't see putting that much into these weed eaters.. Doesn't leave any meat on the bone as they say..

I need to jump onto EBay and grab a couple more Arnold Multi-Tools before they dissappear. Thanks for the reminder..

Yes one good, one bad. My latest one has made me hate the company. They would not stand behind the warranty because I tried to use a trimmer with a defective carb. I thought it was my problem and tried to keep it running. When it dies I am going to get a Sthil as I have two good dealers close. Good luck with your business. I hope it works well.

I have had luck with the older Ryobi 700 series trimmers. I bought a 790r in 2001 and it worked great. I used it until 2009, and when I was moving in 2013, I found it, and it actually started on the first pull. I still use it today as a front line weed eater for my business. I love the older Ryobi's, they run like a champ if you take care of them. I heard that these newer Ryobi's are having never ending issues and they aren't dependable. Oh yeah, I think mine is illegal in CA, not 100% sure though. Has anyone else had luck/problems with their Ryobi's?

My luck has been all bad and customer service was worse. When it dies it will be replaced with a Sthil!

bckskin2 said:

My luck has been all bad and customer service was worse. When it dies it will be replaced with a Sthil!

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I commented on a ryobi Facebook post about 3 coils going bad. A rep sent me a email and a few coils.

They told me it was my fault for trying to use a defective carb that was on the new trimmer when I bought and would not replace the defective carb. Also the choke easily gets knocked to 1/2 shutting off the engine. The Customer rep was rude and condescending.

bckskin2 said:

My luck has been all bad and customer service was worse. When it dies it will be replaced with a Sthil!

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I have 4 Sthil weed eaters and they are by far the best I've ever owned. 2nd best is Echo. I have two of them.

LazerZLandscaping said:

I have 4 Sthil weed eaters and they are by far the best I've ever owned. 2nd best is Echo. I have two of them.

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My John Deere dealers sells and services Sthil so that is a big plus and I love my Sthil chain saw.

I think they did at one time, but sold that division?

Junk Deere trimmer.
Kinda looks like a cheap weedeater brand

Carscw said:

Junk Deere trimmer.
Kinda looks like a cheap weedeater brand

View attachment 22466

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Looks like it isn't taken care of.

I have never heard of a John Deere trimmer.

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/1/2/9/3/4/1/4/webimg/514103224_tp.jpg

That one kinda looks like a Yard-Man trimmer.

I've had one or two electric ones and they've been ok for light work around the house. As long as you know what you understand that the price of the weed eater and your expectations of it's performance and durability should be on par. I wouldn't bother with any gas options from them. If you're going to go gas it's always worth spending a little more upfront and saving yourself maintenance and repair issues down the line. If I bought another Ryobi I'd probably get one of their battery powered units. There are some nice reviews here: http://www.knowitalllearning.com/best-cordless-trimmer-battery-powered-weed-eater-reviews/

I have mentioned several times here how good my 790R was. Bought with the clickit brush blade it served like a demon for 10 years. Then coil vs flywheel and cost of repair prohibitive. But it lives on as an organ donor. The generic 2 stroke motor appeared in a Sears weed whacker ($125) so now the clickit shaft is used on the Sears unit. The Sears unit had a lousy (IMO) string head so I used the old Ryobi bump head with its metal eyelets completely worn through. Then in Goodwill a " junk" Ryobi for $15 with as- new bump head now in use. Good stuff.

Here are some other good commercial weed eater options.

The best machinery for this work is battery operated. Some most valuable battery operated weed eater lithium streamer, Worx.

My experience with Ryobi trimmers has not been good. I have replaced at least 6 carburetors in the last 3 months. The problem seems to be the fuel inlet side will not pass the pressure test of 10 psi. The check valves are not replaceable--or I should say not worth the effort to replace them. Each one has had the same exact problem. I am not a big fan of the "ruiing" carberators but they seem to be taking over the aftermarket business. I have had better luck with Zama and Walbro carbs on most of the units I repair.