On 08/10/2015 11:04, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Thu, 08 Oct 2015 09:59:12 +0100, Stephen
wrote:

Hello,

I bought one of these on a whim when it was in a sale a couple of
years ago. I've never used it properly but on the advice of people
here, I would run it with a load every now and again to make sure it
was working. What with moving house etc. it has not been used in a
long time. I found it whilst tidying the garage the other day and
cannot start it.

Is there anything I can try to resurrect it? The oil/petrol mix has
been in there a while, should I pour that out and start again?

Thanks,
Stephen.

You occasionally see suggestions that fuel left to stand for long
periods loses its ability to fire up (not sure whether that applies to
petrol alone, or two-stroke mix, or both). It sometimes happens with
garden machinery that's been left in a shed over winter, and then
won't start in the spring. The explanation offered is that volatile
components evaporate, resulting in greater difficulty in starting.
I've never been very convinced by the explanation, but the fact of
poor starting behaviour using fuel that's stood around, remains.

I don't see anything wrong with that explanation. Petrol is a mix of
hydrocarbons with different volatilities.

I'd drain out the old fuel, use some freshly made-up mixture and also
flush the fuel line with it, clean the plug outside and in, bring the
genny into a warmish place to dry out any condensation or damp that
might have built up in the ignition system over time, and try again.


+1

I would also remove the float chamber from the carburettor and clean it
out (it may or may not be easier to remove the carburettor first). What
happens in 2 strokes is that the petrol in the carb evaporates, leaving
the two stroke oil behind as a sticky residue. As someone else
suggested, may be worth cleaning the main jet too.

Check you-tube if you have never stripped a carb before, they are quite
simple but when you remove the float, the spindle and the needle valve
will drop out and disappear if you do it the wrong way.

My other favourite technique with recalcitrant engines is to warm up the
carb with a hot air gun or a gas torch. Try not to melt the fuel pipe,
but it is safe to get them quite warm to the touch (they get warm by
conduction from the cylinder barrel in operation). Also OK to heat up
the plug (removed) in an oven or with a gas torch. You can make this too
hot to touch without gloves.