And it is my fault for leaving fuel in it for a long time. The punishment fits the crime. I dropped it off at a Stihl dealer to have a look. They wanted $25 to have that look, which is fine with me as they are providing a service of course. They will not get to it for at least 2 weeks (!!) and while I am not in a hurry, that seems like a long time to me. I also asked them to call me with a price before doing any additional work (beyond taking a look) because I do not want to spend $175 on a $300 saw. I did change the spark plug and the saw has spark but will not start. I believe the carb. is filled with gelled fuel, and the primer bulb is almost black, very still, and the fuel system will not pressurize using the fuel bulb. But after looking at a couple of videos, I am thinking about just taking the saw back and buying and installing a new carb. myself. It does not look like a big job and I am pretty sure that is the problem. A new carb. is only about $20. Hmmmmm, not sure what to do now. Brian
I think I'd get saw back and put a carb and purge bulb on it. Make sure fuel lines are clear and not cracked - replace if needed.
When you take it apart to replace the carb take lots of pictures with your phone or camera. It can help with small details like throttle linkage and so on.
Thanks for the good advice. That said, there are a ton of videos on the 'Net that great people have U/Led to show us newbies how to do it. I think I will go back, get the saw, and throw a carb. on it myself. I will happily pay their 'take a look' fee though because I did bring the saw into them and they do provide a valuable service. Besides, I am not trying to beat anyone or any company out of any money, just looking for a reasonable way forward. So the $25 fee is fine by me. What I was hoping for from the OPE company was a diagnosis but I believe that there are just not that many choices, and as the saw is relateively new and has very little time on it (not yet 8 hours), and the fact that there is spark, the only thing left is the fuel circuit. Thanks for the input guys. Brian
Good idea!!! Carbs are easy and probably won't cost much more than the service fee. YouTube and pictures are your friend if you need it. Ethanol free gas!!!!!!!
OK, to finish off this thread: I picked up the saw last night. Cost was $90, and they replaced the fuel line the diaphragm, cleaned the carburetor and replaced the fuel and adjusted the carb. The saw starts and runs well now but it did take a few more pulls than it used to and I had to flip the choke off before it sputtered with it on (I used to start the saw by going to full choke, priming the system via fuel bulb, then pulling it over until it fired, turn off the choke and it would start on the next pull- now, after pulling it over six times on full choke, I flipped it off so as not to flood it and it started on the second pull after flipping it off choke). So overall, I am a happy camper. Dealer suggested using 'real' gas (no alcohol in it) but that is impossible to find for several states around here and his $45 / gallon stuff in the can ain't gonna' happen. He acknowledged that the price was ridiculous but then suggested using the saw with alcohol fuel and emptying it, filling it with 'real' fuel and running it long enough to drive the ethanol out of the carb. and lines. A great idea but again more effort than I want to go through for casual use of a small saw. So I think I will just buy one of those rebuild kits thrown together, carb., primer bulb, fuel line and spark plug and be ready for the next time the ethanol bits me on the butt. By the way, for all the horror stories about ethanol laced fuel and how the stuff has almost stopped the world from turning, I have had GREAT luck in using the stuff in everything from small 2 cycle engines up to yard tractors and stationary engines. And I leave the fuel in all winter (gasp!) and sometimes, for more than one year (two gasps!). I do run carburetors dry on all equipment that allows that though by using a fuel shut- off to stop things when done for the day or longer. Thanks for the advice and suggestions. Brian
90 bux is cheap! Glad ya got-r goin. I doubt it was the ethanol. If it was it would have corroded the carb (if it's made of aluminum)Which would be past a cleaning(replacement). It could have hurt the diaphragm but I too use only ethanol fuel and have never seen it eat a diaphragm or anything else made within 20years for that matter. It probably separated just like any other fuel and a flush got it goin. You can buy premix fuel for much cheaper than the dealer if it interests you. Amazon has VP 50:1 gallon cans for $20.00 still pricey.
Yeah, this was a pretty big OPE store with a lot of stock sitting around, including a new Honda 928... the one that fixes ALL the ills mine suffers from and a few more yet (damm them and damm my eyes!), so they have significant overhead. So I am not unhappy with the price and I am thrilled that they are even available, so many people have no OPE w/in driving distance and are stuck with no service, or what is available at the local Home Depot (read: usually no service). That said, a new carb. is around $20 so I think it would be beneficial to have one lying around for the next time. I really like that little saw, and use it for all the usual around the house stuff, as well as putting it in the firewood trailer near the end of the year to trim all the splits that will not fit into the stove (18" varies wildly here in the Northeast US apparently ). Thanks for the Amazon fuel source.... won't that incur a HazMat fee of $20 in addition to shipping charges? Brian
Probably will have to have hazmat didn't even think of that. RI is so small I would think everything is in driving distance! The Chinese carbs work as good as OEM. Instead of cleaning an oem I chuckem!!!!
Yep, everything else IS w/in driving distance of any part of RI..... but those places also only have ethanol laced gasoline. I do not know where the closest place is to buy pure gasoline, outside of an airport or racing facility, but I think it is too far away to drive. At least for 5 or 10 gallons of fuel. Maybe I can distill the alcohol out of the gasoline... or is that distill the gasoline out of the alcohol? 'Course if I was close enough to a 'still, I probably would not care about gas, or chainsaws, or being warm in the winter. The carbs: I though the OEM carbs were Chinese. ?? Are they not Zamas from China as OEM? If not, are OEM available and just more expensive? Brian
Toche! Don't know they could come from the same factory as a no name carb from China. Other "good "equipment use walboro like my 461 lol or most good carbs come from Japan......mikuni etc... I think the Stihl sticker adds %50-100 value..
Well, I was not shooting for touche.... I was really asking. ?? I am a casual user of small engines in OPE but it <seems> like Walbro is kinda' on the way out. I actually do have a fair amount of experience with Walbro carbs. on model airplane engines and I have to say, they are less than wonderful IMO. Not sure if any others are any better but not keen on the Walbros, especially once they are not new any more (one season old). Agreed: I think Stihl's are way overpriced, some more than others. That said, I really do like the 211 that I have, it is handy, runs extremely well, is easy to use, fill, adjust and so on. A 35cc, 16" saw that retails for $300. For $400, I also have a 60cc, 20" (stock, 24" aftermarket) Echo saw that is the MUCH better value. Still, I like and use the Stihl a lot because it is small and handy. It also has that E-Z Start (I think that is the name) feature and while sometimes that junk is a gimmick, I find this particular starting 'assist' beneficial. Now in a different world, I would have a hole in the side of the chainsaw crankcase cover and a receiver for a drive available.... and I would carry and use a cordless drill to fire these things up. But apparently I am in the minority here. I just do not like pull- starting the larger engines. It is find for string trimmers and very small saws but even my Echo 60 cc saw is tough to start; it has a compression release but I find it releases too easily and the first pull disengages it so I am pulling against all of dem dare cc's. Then again, maybe that is the marker to choose who can use a chainsaw and who cannot: starting one. Thanks for the info. and posting. Brian
I've never had a problem with pump gas in my small engines. The problem is people fill up a 1-2 gallon tank, mix their oil with it and forget about it. That fuel has a one month shelf life max. Use a fuel stabilizer! I use seafoam specifically. I add just an ounce or 2 to my tanks and that gas is good for at least 6 months.
