Earlier this year I was having a problem starting my snow thrower and
then to keeping it running. I had already changed the spark plug,
cleaned the air filter and carburetor. To start I had to use a paint
stripper heater to warm the cyliner head. To keep it running I had to
run at half or at full throttle. Surely there isn't much to a two
stroke single banger that can go wrong. Anyway a month ago I had a
similar problem with my weed whacker. On this one I even stripped and
rebuilt the engine. Didn't improve much. The only variable left was
the two stroke engine oil ratio. Sure enough. In my effort to
minimise polluting the atmosphere I had added engine oil on the thin
side and this must have caused the engine to seize somewhat. A richer
oil to gas ratio fixed the problem. Its late October and we already
have our first snowfall. Keep this oil-fuel mixture ratio in mind if
you have trouble with a two stroke engine. A little rich on the oil
might improve your engine reliability.