Well, my 10 year old 28cc Home Depot Homelite (made by John Deere) finally bit the dust. I don't think its anything catastophic. Yesterday it would only stay running with the choke engaged, and then finally got to where it wouldn't even start at all. Probably a carb issue. Its been utterly reliable and relatively maintenace free. Other than a replacing a broken plastic t-handle nut on the collar that clamps the head to the attachment, I never had to do anything other than change the plug and clean or replace the air filter. This was a power head with both weedeater and edger attachments. It was a good weedeater, but was a little under powered to be used as an edger. I may try to get parts to fix it, just to tinker with it. I've never torn into a small engine before, but in the meantime I'm thinking of getting either separate units this time or a more powerful power head that I can buy attachments for, or maybe I'd get lucky enough that my current attachments would fit the new head. Can anyone recommend a combination unit like what I have that has plenty of power for edging? If not, how about a dedicated edger that's got plenty of oomph? I'd like to get one of those walk behind edgers, but I think that would be a little overkill for just our driveway, walkways to the front door and deck and a 60 ft. curb. Well, maybe not, now that I think about it. We've got 2 sides of a 65 foot driveway, 60 ft of curb, one side of a walkway to the front door that's probably 50 feet and one side of a wallkway around the side of the house and along the back to the deck that's probably another 75 feet. That's 315 feet of edging to do. Maybe a walk behind isn't too much. As is usually the case, money is the issue. I really would like to keep the cost uner $200. We're trying to cut spending.
Need a new edger/weed whacker - suggestions?
- Thread starter Oddball
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jakesmurray
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I would get a Stihl FS45. Great for residential use. I have used mine for two seasons now, and it still runs like new.
Check into Tanaka for one under 200 bucks. They have a very long warranty provided a dealer is nearby. I would either go with that or another cheapo green Poulan. I have used one of those less than a hundred bucks Poulans for 3 or 4 years and do alot of edgeing in my yards. I bought it as a throw away but it keeps on running.
RobertBrown
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I'll bet you could get that one going for a lot les than 2 bills. Have a look at the fuel lines, tank, primer and the exhaust port. See if there aren't some problems apparent there. Usually the fuel lines will crack and allow air into the system. There is also a filter in the tank that could be shot.
All of these items are inexpensive and relatively easy to replace, although can require some time to hunt down.
Frequently the exhaust port has a screen on it that is there to prevent hot gases and cinders from getting into the users eyes. Your face can get unusually close to this port when the engine is running
. See if you can get this screen off and clean it.
Inspecting these items should only take about 30 minutes. Is this thing worth 30 minutes or do you have your heart set on a new machine? Either way if you can get it going it will make a good backup, loaner or sellable machine......or just a learning tool.
All of these items are inexpensive and relatively easy to replace, although can require some time to hunt down.
Frequently the exhaust port has a screen on it that is there to prevent hot gases and cinders from getting into the users eyes. Your face can get unusually close to this port when the engine is running
. See if you can get this screen off and clean it.Inspecting these items should only take about 30 minutes. Is this thing worth 30 minutes or do you have your heart set on a new machine? Either way if you can get it going it will make a good backup, loaner or sellable machine......or just a learning tool.
Thanks for the input guys. A little too late, but appreciated anyway. Glad to know I wasn't being ignored, just overlooked. I decided the vast majority of my trimming can actually be done with the push mower I use as a trim mower, so I bought a dedicated edger. I bought a Stihl FC90 edger. I decided to blow the budget and I'm glad I did. This thing is awesome. I can edge our entire property and the curb in front of my neighbor in less time than the old one took to do one side of the driveway. I can walk at a normal walking pace and the FC90 would keep up if I went faster. As I said the old one was a decent trimmer, but was underpowered for edging and constantly bogged down.
RB, if its the spark arrestor you're refering to, its clean. No blockage at all. All the fuel lines look good. The primer bulb apparently has a crack in it. I can't find it, but when I prime, my finger gets gas on it. I bought a new primer bulb, fuel lines and filter along with some other parts, gaskets and whatnot, for around $30 including shipping. That should get me going again. I also discovered the bolts that join the cylinder and the crankcase were very loose. Not about to fall out, but they're supposed to be torqued to around 5 ft/lbs and they were easily turned with a torx screwdriver. I'm surprised it had enough compression to fire. The crankcase cover bolts were loose also. I never did any kind of preventative maintenance to this thing, yet it just kept running. I may donate it to someone in need once I get it up and running again, or keep it as a spare as you suggested.
RB, if its the spark arrestor you're refering to, its clean. No blockage at all. All the fuel lines look good. The primer bulb apparently has a crack in it. I can't find it, but when I prime, my finger gets gas on it. I bought a new primer bulb, fuel lines and filter along with some other parts, gaskets and whatnot, for around $30 including shipping. That should get me going again. I also discovered the bolts that join the cylinder and the crankcase were very loose. Not about to fall out, but they're supposed to be torqued to around 5 ft/lbs and they were easily turned with a torx screwdriver. I'm surprised it had enough compression to fire. The crankcase cover bolts were loose also. I never did any kind of preventative maintenance to this thing, yet it just kept running. I may donate it to someone in need once I get it up and running again, or keep it as a spare as you suggested.