Garden

Experienced gardeners share their insights in answering this question :
Check the Air Filter, maybe taking in too much air

How to Identify and Fix Common Gardening Problems ?

We provide a variety of viewpoints on how to identify and fix common gardening problems. Our sources include academic articles, blog posts, and personal essays from experienced gardeners :

A clogged carburetor is most commonly caused by leaving fuel in the string trimmer for a long period of time. Over time, some of the ingredients in the fuel may evaporate, leaving behind a thicker, stickier substance. This sticky fuel can clog up the carburetor and cause the engine to stall.
When the spark arrestor is clogged, the engine can`t get rid of its exhaust gases, and it won`t keep running. The spark arrestor is a screen located just behind the muffler. Pull it out and clean or replace it.
If your trimmer engine idles, but stalls on throttle, check the following parts: the gasket, primer bulb, fuel filter, air filter, fuel vent, fuel line, and carburetor. The repair and symptom guide will help you better identify the part needed to be replaced and how.
So, an air filter might clog over time. Once blocked with dust and debris, it cannot supply the required amount of oxygen to your trimmer` engine resulting in power loss. Find the air filter, take out this component, clean and reassemble it. Replace the part if you cannot reuse it.
Sometimes the spark arrestor screen can become clogged up itself. Common symptoms include lack of power, especially under load; poor acceleration; engine won`t come up to full RPM; and higher than normal “spit back” through the carburetor.
When your trimmer starts and runs on choke, it could be because the check valve in the gas cap is clogged. Start the trimmer and gently unscrew the gas cap halfway off. Turn the choke off and assess. If the engine is still running, that means the gas cap may be the culprit.
The most likely culprit is a dirty or clogged air filter. Issues with your fuel pump or fuel filter can also cause your engine to idle then die with any throttle. If you have an older car, it could also be a bad carburetor.
An engine stalls when it`s getting too much or not enough fuel from the carburetor. Stihl chainsaw carburetors usually have three adjustment screws: one each for idle, low speed and high speed. If the saw stalls while it`s idling, adjusting the idle screw, which usually is marked LA, should help.

Discover Relevant Questions and Answers for Your Specific Issue

the most relevant questions and answers related to your specific issue

I have a husqvarna 323L string trimmer. I stored it after running the tank & carb dry for about two years. I fueled it, then started it, & it ran for a minute then died like I turned the switch off. Since it would not restart, I found the fuel filter had broken off the hardened fuel line & it sucked gummy crap out of the tank & into the carb. Failing at cleaning the carb, I finally put a new carb on it & replaced the pump, hoses & filter. It has ran good till this year. I winterized it with stabilizer & left it with a full tank over the winter. The gas in the tank was gone when I got ready to use it this year. I filled the tank with premix, checked for leaks, then started it. It would run fine for about half a tank, start idling poorly (lean) then cutoff & refuse to restart till I refilled the tank. I finally found the tank had cracks & was letting pressure out of the tank & apparently this was causing the carb to lose it’s ability to siphon gas out of the tank. So I replaced the tank which came with new hoses & a filter, which I properly installed to the carb. It cranked right up, but when it runs a half tank, the carb quits sucking gas out of the tank. When I pump to prime the carb, it moves the fuel into the carb, but the pump never gets hard like it does when I prime the carb when the motor is cold. I have to keep refilling the tank, prime, & then it starts & runs until the tank gets about half empty. The new fuel filter is down in the gas tank properly, but It will not run after it shuts off until I refill the tank & prime. I’m baffled. New tank, new hoses, new filter, new carb, & I can find no leaks in the fuel system. It runs strong. The 323L is a two-stroke & it always cranks on the second pull from cold on a full tank. Any ideas?
ANSWER :

Read Full Q/A … : Garden

Chainsaw stalls Chainsaw is 4 years old and has a history of moderate use. After I ran the saw about 1 minute on plain gas (grabbed the wrong gas can – ouch) the chainsaw sputtered and stopped.

It didn't seize, and the pull starter never became more or less difficult than normal. The engine would continue to start if I pressed the prime bulb and engaging the choke, but stall again after 10-20 seconds. The temperature that day was about 50 degrees F and I was running the saw with the “cold plug” installed (per warm weather running).

When it refused to keep running I did the following:
Flushed the fuel tank (that's when I saw the gas had no oil in it).
Ran hardware wire through all of the fuel lines.
Replaced the fuel filter and spark plug.
Cleaned the air filter with a nylon brush and compressed air.

Same behavior (start then stall in less than 20 seconds). I made at least 20+ attempts to start it.

I removed the carburetor and, though it looked perfectly clean, I took off the top and bottom covers then sprayed everything with automotive carb cleaner and blew out the passages with compressed air. The gasket and diaphragm looked new. No pinholes in the diaphragm when held against a bright light. I reinstalled the carb but got the same behavior (start then stall in less than 20 seconds). I again made at least 20+ attempts to start it.

I disassembled the short block and saw that the piston has some slight scoring on it. The ring is clean and I verified that the piston ring has .001 clearance between it and the piston ring groove all the way around with the ring held tightly in place (I was thinking that the piston might have become deformed if it did indeed get too hot when run without any oil premix).

The cylinder wall has no scoring and there isn't any signs of melted aluminum anywhere. The crank is clean as was the inside of the crank cover.

I reinstalled the crank cover using permatex non-hardening gasket goop and torqued the cover bolts to 10 inch pounds. I reassembled everything else per the exploded diagrams in Echo's “parts manual” for the CS400.

During assembly I took note that both the carb gasket and intake boot look like new.

Still the same result: press prime bulb once, engage choke, pull a few times and it starts but stalls after 10-20 seconds.

I'm stumped.

ANSWER : Not sure what to say other than its fuel starvation, if not already done replace the fuel filter in the tank, if no better i would suspect a massive air leak, so replace the crank seals, if there is no primary compression in the crankcsae fuel will not pull through the engine, good luck.

Read Full Q/A … : Garden

Stalls. even when warmed up it will stall despite playing with the gas trigger
ANSWER : Hi and low fuel adjustments need set and try cleaning the carb

Read Full Q/A … : Garden

Do I need gas and oil mix – Poulan Super 250a Chainsaw Plate
ANSWER : I think Poulan uses a 40:1 ratio to one gallon of gas, however I have always used 50:1 the same as my sthl saws with no issue. I would rather have more oil mix that to little.

Read Full Q/A … : Garden

Need to know what carb screw adjustment need to be set at weedeater starts for about 4-7 sec then shuts down put new hoses on checked gas filter and cap checked out ok. i pump the ball about 10 times ,pull cord &starts for about 4-7 sec then shuts down,like no gas or electrical problem. i played with the screw settings & dont know where they shoould be set at . had carb all apart ,put in new plug doesnt seem to matter what i do it does the same thing . any thoughts?also when it starts the motor will rev up when u hit the gas and when it shuts down the gas hose from the tank is still full of gas
ANSWER : If there is a choke adjustment you should set that at full until the trimmer warms up, don’t touch the gas. Then repull start at half choke, don’t touch the gas either at this time. Then start at no choke, and then set your idle on the carberator with the adjustment screw. Also don’t push the primer bulb so many time you will cause the spark plug to get flooded and drown out the spark, which is exactly what is happening.

Read Full Q/A … : Garden

Need gas mix solution – Craftsman 25cc 2-Cycle Gas Blower/Vac
ANSWER : Check age of gas. Cannot be more than 30 days old.

Make sure to use fresh gas w/synthetic 2-cycle oil @ 40:1 ratio
(1 gal.) Gas to 3.2 oz. Oil).Do not use old or stale oil/gas mixture. Always
use the proper oil/gas mix. If you do not, your engine will suffer rapid,
permanent damage.

Read Full Q/A … : Garden

My trimmer starts but after warming up stops and wont start again
ANSWER : After it stalls take the fuel cap off and put it back on and see if it starts,maybe the cap is bad or clogged and not letting air in to equalize the pressure of the fuel being used

Read Full Q/A … : Garden

My tractor stalls like it is starved for gas although the gas tank is full. I,ve changed the fuel filter and the gas cap. I’ve cleaned out the gas tank, gas lines, and the carburetor bowl. The problem seems more acute when the gas tank is full or near full. At this time to alleviate the problem, I blow through the gas cap and the fuel filter fills with gas and it runs good again. But as soon as the fuel filter has no more gas, of course, it stalls until I blow on the gas cap. As the tank gets down to about 1/3 full, the engine runs OK. What else could cause this condition?
ANSWER : I had a similar problem with a sears tractor. close to the carbarator is a rectangle box with a rubber hose going to the engine block – remove the hose and spray carb cleaner in the hose wait a few mins and try again – its a vacuum for the carb

Read Full Q/A … : Garden