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Old 01-14-20, 09:26 PM   #5
where2
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Join Date: Apr 2013
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Oooh, small engine mechanics... This thread I can totally relate to!! I've got LOTS of small engines!! When I was growing up, my best friend's dad used to do small engine repair for extra $$$ on the side. I learned a bunch as a teen in his garage, being around dismantled chainsaw, edger, mower and car engines!

As Pinball said, the last carbs I needed to play with were practically the same price for a Chinesium carb as a kit. I bought the eBay Chinesium carb for my Troybilt 5500W generator just so I could add a drain to the bowl and easily drain it when I wanted to put it into long term storage. This left me with one completely new carb with an old slightly pitted carb bowl that I could install on the generator if I needed it in a pinch. My neighbors have identical generators, so having a spare in the neighborhood is a good thing when a hurricane comes along.

With that bowl you have, I'd hit the inside of it with a wire wheel on my dremel moto-tool. Then I'd probably hit it with some naval jelly or a soak in Evapo-Rust. To clean the main carb body, I'd remove it, check the float needle for varnish, and if you have access to an ultrasonic cleaner I'd dunk the carb in one for an hour in some sort of parts cleaner fluid. If you don't have access to an ultrasonic, I'd spray carb cleaner through the passages, and try to visually inspect the passages with a magnifying glass to be sure the lower pickup that draws off the bottom of the bowl is clean. If you can back the lower carb jet out with a screw driver, do it and check it visually that way. Run a small paper clip diameter wire through the jet if it looks crusty. You don't want to ream it with a drill bit, you just want to flake off any varnish.

Beyond that, I'd turn the low speed needle in gently (clockwise) against the stop to find out where it was originally set. (typically around 1.5 turns out from the stop). Then I'd remove the low speed needle, spray carb cleaner through the passages. Blow the carb cleaner out with compressed air. Reinstall the low speed needle at whatever setting it was previously at, reassemble the remainder of the carb, add the primer bulb replacement, and give it a go. It ought to run if it has spark, fresh gas, and a clean carb.

If you get bored, I scored a 5kW Coleman Powermate generator with a Subaru/Robin engine a few months ago when a neighbor was moving. (it was on the swale for the trash man/junk guys). The engine had fuel in the tank and actually ran! The generator head was burned up (cooked windings). Last night, I scored another nearly identical Coleman Powermate with a Briggs & Stratton engine like my Troybilt uses. The air cleaner was partially removed from this one, so I am guessing the engine won't start but maybe the generator head is still functional? (I'll find out this weekend). My original plan was to gift the first generator to my sister for hurricane season use. If the latest generator just needs a carb, they're under $15 on eBay all day, and that's easier than swapping the generator head. (although, the Robin engine seemed quieter than I remember my Briggs being). I might have to break out the sound meter and compare sound levels if I can easily get the last one running.

If I get that project done, I picked up a Poulan Farmhand 2900 (20" bar) at a thrift store not too long ago for $10. (I have two just like it already.) I may have to see what it needs to get it running? Typically, chainsaws need a Zama or Walbro carb kit, and replacement fuel lines. I keep a spare carb kit for each of my weed eater and chainsaw engines on a shelf, along with eBay fuel line... I usually go through the carbs and fuel lines on at least one chainsaw and one weed-eater every spring (in FL), then take them to our farm in Maine over the summer. When we leave the farm, I bring whatever saw and weedeater was there back home to R&R the next spring, leaving the one I most recently renewed and refreshed.
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