If that is a honda GX engine or any of its copies, call me any time for help. I have MOUNTAINS of hours on them
How particular are these things about the lube oil? Car parts shop dude who sold me the stuff told me this particular can was the right one. Something about motorbikes on it? The machine’s manual says SAE 10W-30. Stuff I got is 15w40. But the machine runs and it’s getting an oil change right after it’s first real job.
I intended that first job to be processing the bark that we’ve peeled off our Portuguese tree trunks. But the stuff ended up gumming the takkemachine up with its damp fibers. I’ll try again in the summer when the stuff is dry. If it still refuses we’ll burn the stuff and use it for fertilizer.
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They dont give a crap what you put in, just that you’ve put it in.
I always use 5w30 but also sling whatever i have to hand
If they burn a bit of oil, use thicker oil it really helps
Also, clean the float bowl out on the carb every 10 or so tankfuls fuel. The needle jets block and emulsion builds up making them a pig to start
Clean the bowl and it stops it
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I think I’ll start doing that on my older machines like the compactor which is a right proper pig to start, and might this work for the chainsaw too? that’s a different engine though, much smaller, burns different fuel too.
If I take the carb apart, will I be able to put it back together, or will all kinds of springy bits fly out as soon as I take the casing off? (I have zero experience with those) Is it an operation I can perform in my filthy barn, or should I find a cleanish workspace to do it? A float bowl sounds like a thing i’ll recognize on sight, as is a needle jet…
Just about everything I use on an almost daily basis has a Honda GX of varying CC’s - generators, 4 out of 5 water pumps, log splitter, brush cutter. Most others have a Rato engine… which is just a Chinese clone of the Honda.
One of the few things I can rely on to work 'first time, every time". I 
them
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I genuinely think they are one of the best engines ever made. Even the chinese copies are brilliantly made these days
I bloody love them. On my compressor in the van its just indispensable. -14 degrees or plus 30 and it starts 2nd pull every single time
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@schurem They are dead easy to pull apart and get back together again (the whole engine). A cleanish space is preferable (but you should see my workbench!).
Hey, if I can do it???
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The two stroke lube that you mix with the petrol gets really sticky will blocks the jets in the carb in ‘no time’.
The carb will probably be a pain to get to . That is why I usually just drain the fuel tank and then run the saw until it is dry if I aren’t going to be using it for a week or two. If it has been unused for more than a couple of months, I resign myself to the fact I will have to remove the carb and give it a clean.
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In all honesty, they are field strippable. You dont even need to be that clean and tidy. Just have a can of brake cleaner or carb cleaner to wash it all off with.
Tear it apart and see how it ticks. Remarkably simple devices. Only normal irritating points are where the fuel pipe joins the carb, the poxy little spring on the float itself getting stuck and the tiny little jets being hard to clean.
Oh and dont hold them up to the sun to check you can see through them. Thats what idiots do.
Ive probably done that over a thousand seperate times and never learn.
Oh, and dont waste money on gaskets. Just use cereal packet thickness of cardboard. It lasts about the same as crap rubber does anyway
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Is a specialty fluid I get at the toolshop, yeh?
Are the bit between the halves of the engine that keep the thing from leaking, right? Gets replaced every time you take it apart? Does the carb have a gasket too?
Yeah. It evaporates grease and grime and leaves no residue. There are dedicated carb cleaner solutions as well. Pretty much the same stuff to be honest and brake and clutch cleaner is cheaper
As for gaskets. If you are gentle, you can reuse the ones between airbox and carb and carb to motor. They are a brown rubber normally or sometimes black.
If you split one, dont bother worrying about it, just trace the pattern onto a decent cornflake etc packet and cut it out. Voila new gasket.
Then when you inevitably have to take it apart again a month later, just rinse and repeat
I go through about 6 cans a week. Cleaning wheels to stick balance weights to them and engine work etc
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It’s funny how this sort of stuff is so far beyond most peoples’ ken. Just figuring out a machine (wether it’s a computer, a bike or a chainsaw) is just simple applied logic and a bit of common sense physics, right? Well to about 95% of the people I meet, it makes me a card-carrying wizzard or something.
My boys call me “fat hairy McGuyver” because I do this sort of stuff. Using cardboard for gaskets is right up my alley 
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I find it quite therapeutic working on little engines…
Big stuff makes me hate the world and all the people in it, but small delicate little 2 stokes are just beautiful to behold
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Small engine repair/plumbing/electrical work is “mostly” incredibly easy if you have the time to invest. There are youtube video’s showing how to fix anything really.
BUT, but, you must have the correct tools to do the job. I always find myself going to the hardware store at least twice when fixing something…need an socket size that I don’t have, a wrench, etc.
But that ■■■■-eating smile you have on your face after the jobs done (and it works) is worth it!
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While I also (usually) apply the principle of the ‘right tool for the job’. For those just wanting to start out you don’t need a set of tools that would rival your local garage - a decent socket set, ring/open end spanners, pliers, shifter/adjustable wrench and screwdriver set will suffice. The one exception and the one indispensible tool when working on engines IMHO is a good torque wrench.
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My workspace is a converted cow stable. The other half of it isn’t converted and houses five cows. Moo!
It’s about ten clicks out from the city, beautiful country all around. Birdsong and the seasons real close. I love the spot. Hopping on the bike to get another socket is not an option for me.
My old man, bless his soul, when he couldn’t find the right size socket, he’d hop on his bike and buy one. I inherited a metric F-ton of stuff and just carted the lot of it to my workshop.
Getting the right tool for me is more a question of finding the damn thing, blowing the dust off of it and/or adapting something that’ll do the job.
I do love my tools. To me, they are almost like toys. A good tool is such a joy. And maintaing them, taking them apart and rebuilding them, it’s like playing with technic lego, isn’t it?
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This definitely for chainsaws (any diaphragm two stroke engine)
Youtube video is your friend.
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What are your thoughts on ethanol free fuel, like the kind you can buy at Home Depot? I have a Harbor Freight wood chipper that I use about 4 times a year, looks real similar to yours. Instead of draining it of gas, or starting it every few weeks, I just eat the cost and only use the ethanol free fuel. Takes a couple of pulls, but it can sit for months in the shed and still start without any trouble. Schurem, like you said, it needs to be full of oil.
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I have engines like that. Brushcutter is a perfect example. But even though it can sit for six months and be OK, I would never take that risk with a fire fighting pump and have got into the habit with all my engines to do all I can to ensure that it will start when I need it.
For that reason I will not run any ethanol blend through my small engines, primarily due to the corrosive effect it can have on rubber and plastic. My petrol 4x4 on the other hand is rated for up to 15% Ethanol and I will happily put it in that.
Bottom line: Check with the engine manufacturer. If they say yes, go for it.
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Finished another project today. It was a three parter:
They wanted the gate moved, so a bit of the wall torn down, and the old place filled with brickwork.
They wanted the terrace made smaller and lower, so the fake lawn could be bigger and steps built for the back door.
They wanted a play house in the back, where the gate used to be.
So the brickwork took about four times as long as I had estimated. Building the play house thing took only twice as long. Only the fake grass went in right quick and on the cheap.
Anyway, in the end I think I’m making some dosh on it, and we had a great time making a thing. Here’s some picas:
You can see the bit in the wall that we built.
Getting the old gate in and (almost perfectly) straight and fitting is a sheer miracle. Skill had next to nothing to do with this, just sheer luck.
Sweet curves. I like to make things round.
I saved some time and money by re-using the steps a colleague had to tear out of a schoolyard as they were deemed a liability.
What a nice thing! I promised the clients I will come put some finishing touches in when I have a day to spare, included with the price. I’d like to close the railings a bit, with either more sticks or some ropework.
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