Companies\rules that won't let me or make it difficult fix my own stuff.

[seeker_two]

After spending 'hundreds" of dollars in the last few years on very good gas weedeaters, about 6 months ago I bought the cheapest Craftsman electric weeder and it works great! Runs everytime you pull the trigger! Of course I've got 100' cord to drag around but it's still better that yankin' on the damn cable to get it started knowing knowing full well the sumbitch isn't going to start!

I bought a Ryobi one with a battery pack. Nice to go a year without having to replace every fuel line....

 

[Charlie]

Batter pack weedeaters are great if one has a relatively small yard, but battery packs wear out and replacements are expensive.

 

[texas skeeter]

I'm still laughing at you Charlie trying to pull the handle and it still just won't start!!!!

 

[Charlie]

I want to find one that runs on pure 100% ethanol!

 

[texas skeeter]

Ethanol fuel..... Dumbest product ever made!! lol

 

[Charlie]

Not for the people that make money from it!

 

[matefrio]

That's excellent Matey! Seems all the small engine repair shops here in North Tx are almost all gone and or out of business.

Repairing consumer grade lawn and garden tools is a better hobby than it is a living. I'm using it to get tools I need cheap for the home\land I have.

Will upgrade to professional or contractor level ASAP on some things like my riding mower that came with the house.

 

[texas skeeter]

Yeah only bad for the consumers products it's used in!! lol

 

[Charlie]

I think I'm goin' to start an new olympic games category to see who can throw a non-functioning gas weeder the most yards. I'd bet there would be a lot of competition!

 

[robertc1024]

I can contribute a couple for projectiles.

 

[matefrio]

Call me crazy I only run my two strokes on the canned stuff now like below. I know my price per gallon is huge but the payback is not having to open the carb every season.

 

[mroper]

I switched to the Battery B&D trimmer. my trimming is relatively small so I can get away with one battery. My Mower sat for about six years
when I put it back into use I replaced the carb ,fuel lines, oil, and air filter and it was as good as new.

 

[Texasjack]

Yeah, ethanol in gasoline destroys the fuel system in small engines. I use the canned "non-ethanol" fuel mix.

It takes more energy to make ethanol than you get from burning it. EPA claimed it would cut emissions, but it turns out that it doesn't. But, once again, facts don't matter. The corn producing states want to make money, so EPA mandates it's use in fuel.

EPA now controls what fuels you can buy, what engines (of all sizes) that can be used, what toilets can be sold, what refrigerators, air conditioners, washers, dryers, and freezes you can buy, what pesticides you can use, what asthma inhalers are legal, what time of day emergency engines can be run for testing, what kinds of paint you can buy, and many new things are being added each year. None of their edicts are subject to your vote. In many cases they simply extrapolated existing laws to define the regulations they want to enact.

 

[TheDan]

You can "wash" pump gasoline to get the ethanol out of it if you don't want to pay the premium for pure gas. I just add a few ounces of seafoam to pump gas, tho. Helps stabilize the ethanol and mitigates a lot of the damage it does. I also don't mind taking the carb off and cleaning it. That's typically all it needs. Newer fuel lines and gaskets tolerate ethanol much better than the old ones do.

The EPA still needs to FOAD.

 

[matefrio]

Wisconsin all the high octane gas is ethanol free. It was easy there. Here it's difficult to find.

 

[Recoil45]

I don't understand the fuel issues. I have a very old box store echo blower and no carb issues. I run it dry every fall. It's easily 15 years old. My trimmer isn't quite as old but also no issues.

 

[F350-6]

I don't understand the fuel issues. I have a very old box store echo blower and no carb issues. I run it dry every fall. It's easily 15 years old. My trimmer isn't quite as old but also no issues.

Go buy a new "disposable" one and report back next year. Things aren't built the same now as they used to be.

 

[TexasBrandon]

The only machine I have ever beaten to hell and it still works is my Briggs and Stratton push mower. I haven't used it in a few years now that I got the Deere but other than cleaning out the air filter, that thing took an ass whooping an still chugged.

 

[London]

I'm told by several people in the know that most new Harley Davidsons require the entire rear swingarm to be removed in order to change the belt, which must be done at 50-60k miles. Not unusual to pay $1k in labor for this service!

For comparison, my dinky Honda Rebel requires a side cover on the engine to be removed and the rear tire to be loosened and moved forward to change the chain. Takes about 20-25 minutes and can easily be done at home with a motorcycle jack. Probably make it an hour if you're going to change the sprockets, too.

Shit like this is why I'll never own a Harley. Not to mention the catastrophic engine design on the Twin Cam.

 

[London]

Not sure if this belongs here, because it's not hard to fix, but it IS nearly impossible to use worth a shit in stock form thanks to Govt. regulations: