# How to adjust weed-eater?



## ahoude23 (Aug 18, 2008)

The weed-eater needs some adjustment and I'm not sure how to do it properly. Changed spark-plug, cleaned air filter, and cleaned muffler but it still hesitates. Got a Husky 223L last year (Lowes:sad, should have got Stihl from dealer in town. Idles good, runs good WOT, but hesitates going between the two. Has the limiter caps on it. Any help would be appreciated.

Andy


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## jpollman (Jan 14, 2001)

If he doesn't see this and reply, send Ferg06 a PM. He does that stuff for a living. I'm sure he'll be able to help you out.

John


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## ahoude23 (Aug 18, 2008)

Thanks, I'll do that if I don't get many reply's. Forgot to mention I left the cutter head on it when I tried. Should it be off when I adjust (no load)?

Andy


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## bigcountrysg (Oct 9, 2006)

Carb needs cleaned. I would do this with a can of gum out before making any adjustments to the carb. 

When making adjustments you will want the cutting head on.


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## FERG 06 (Oct 6, 2006)

Here I am! :lol:

If it hesitates going from low to high speed but runs good at high speed, the low speed screw needs to be opened up, (CCW) a bit. Maybe 1/8-1/4 turn.
The low speed screw is the one closest to the engine. The high speed screw is closest to the air cleaner.
If the limiter caps prevent you from opening it up any more then they have to come off. It'll have to be pryed off so be carefull what you pry against.

If you don't get any results from adjusting it and you can't live with it then it'll have to be cleaned out.

And yes, adjust w/head on or you'll over rev it.
And sort of on the same subject if you break your debri shield off, replace it. Most people don't know that w/o the shield to cut the line off at the proper length, the engine will bog down because of too much line weight.


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## ahoude23 (Aug 18, 2008)

Thanks guys, I'm going to mess around with it later this week and I'll post how it went.

Andy


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## William H Bonney (Jan 14, 2003)

FERG 06 said:


> Here I am! :lol:
> 
> If it hesitates going from low to high speed but runs good at high speed, the low speed screw needs to be opened up, (CCW) a bit. Maybe 1/8-1/4 turn.
> The low speed screw is the one closest to the engine. The high speed screw is closest to the air cleaner.
> ...


I have an Echo that bogs down and stalls at full tilt,, does that mean the "other" screw needs to be turned?? Honestly,, I've learned to just live with it and just not go full tilt on the gas but,, I'm trying to sell it on Craigslist now and noone want's to mess with it..


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## FERG 06 (Oct 6, 2006)

William H Bonney said:


> I have an Echo that bogs down and stalls at full tilt,, does that mean the "other" screw needs to be turned?? Honestly,, I've learned to just live with it and just not go full tilt on the gas but,, I'm trying to sell it on Craigslist now and noone want's to mess with it..


Take the muffler screen out and burn the carbon up with a propane torch.
Don't leave the screen out. It's there for a reason. 1) to arrest sparks (only the better units have them) and 2) to warn you that you're doing something wrong! I.E. burning old fuel, cheap oil, dirty air filter, rich mixture or a combination of any of them.

What kind of Echo? You might not want to sell it after you fix it. You can't get any better unit other then other commercial units. I used to get about 5-6 yrs out of the SRM2100 using them 4 days a week on the lawn crew before I wore then out.
Don't buy any of the Craftsman, Ryobi, Weedeater, Troybilt, Poulan etc. crap.


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## jpollman (Jan 14, 2001)

I agree with you 100% Ferg. I've got an SRM2100 and it's about fourteen years old and still works like a champ. I just replaced the bump advance head with a Rapid Loader and I love it! This is a great trimmer for a homeowner. As you said though it could be used commercially with no problem for a long time. With a homeowner using it, the thing will last for YEARS. I can attest to that because I think I bought mine in '95 and it's still going strong.

John


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## FERG 06 (Oct 6, 2006)

They actually are commercially made.
2) piston rings where all the machines of lessor quality use 1.
Other things as well.
I've got a blower from the early 90's and a backpack from about 94 that we used on the lawn crew and they still run strong and I couldn't begin to add up all the hours on them.

When people come in with their crap machines and ask me what i recommend i point to the wall where there is a Echo trimmer and 4 Echo blowers and i tell them about the Echo hedge trimmer that has trimmed well over 10,000 bushes (no lie. 1 complex we used to trim had 600 bushes and we trimmed them twice a year for 10 yrs) and I say "what do you think".

But most people won't spend the $200 (now they're $219) to buy a good piece of equipment.
They'd rather spend $79 - $99 over and over and then they'll up grade to a $129 machine and when they find out it's junk too then they're p.o.ed.


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## William H Bonney (Jan 14, 2003)

My Echo is a SRM2400. I sat down with it last night, determined to fix it. I started it up and just started turning screws... :lol: I quickly found out that the screw that needed adjustment was the one closest to the air filter. I turned it little by little and it didn't seem to help until,,,,,,,,,,,, I turned it completely 180 degrees.. :yikes: That thing is like a frickin BUZZ SAW now.. I'm gonna burn out that carbon today and see what happens because last night I tried turning it on it's side to use it as an edger,, it would run fine for a minute or two, then stall...

Edit: Looks like turning that screw fixed that "edging" problem as well... it just has the slightest little bog down until it completely warms up (10 seconds or so). Edging with that thing sure eats up your string though...


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## FERG 06 (Oct 6, 2006)

I've got some .105 line from way back I'm trying to use up but it seems I never have to bump it. Then again I don't have any fenceline or brick siding to trim. 

I was going to say adjust it if it stalls when turning over. 
I take it you don't have limiter caps on the screws since you were able to turn the screw half a turn.
Standard setting to start with is 1 turn out. Adjust the screw half way between the stalling position (turning clockwise) and the "running rough or chugging" position (when turning CCW).
Fine tune it from there if it stalls upon acceleration.


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## dougdad (Nov 11, 2007)

Run allittle Seafoam through it, It will help clean it out, even better then carb. cleaner and it has a lot of other good bennies, I use this stuff all the time. If all else fails carb. kits for them are cheap and they are not realy that hard to do, just take your time and watch what you take apart from where and how.


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## ahoude23 (Aug 18, 2008)

I think I may have to take off the limiter cap on the "L" screw. I can get it to stall about midway between the limiter adjustments when turning in (clockwise). Any suggestions on how to remove them?

Andy


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## FERG 06 (Oct 6, 2006)

Very carefully pry the plastic off. 2 screwdrivers, 1 on each side works if you can get at it. Just be careful what you're prying against.


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## ahoude23 (Aug 18, 2008)

I'm going to start pulling it apart tomorrow. We'll see how it goes. 

Thanks,

Andy


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