On Sat, 14 May 2016 00:04:42 -0400, Micky
wrote:

On Fri, 13 May 2016 22:58:57 -0400, wrote:

On Fri, 13 May 2016 22:04:18 -0400, Micky
wrote:

On Fri, 13 May 2016 16:09:39 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

On Friday, May 13, 2016 at 5:41:56 PM UTC-5, Micky wrote:
Spring is here and it's time to work on the scooter I think I posted
about last fall. This is a TaoTao 49/50cc scooer made in the
People's Republic of China.

The carburetor needs a cleaning, or I can buy a new one. Matching
ones range from $18 to a little over $50. URLs available if wanted.
Do you think there is a positive correlation between price and
quality? A negative one? Any one? Or are they all really the
same thing? I once saw a particular model of camera for sale online
for between 50 and 200 dollars, very same thing.

Generally when you arer talking parts for Chinese equipment - or
buying from chinese sources or importers, you are buying the same
stuff at different prices depending on the business model of the
seller. Some buy in huge volumes at low cost and sell at low margines.

I can buy an item from one of those sellers for $0.18 US including
shipping from Hong Kong.

I can buy the exact same part from an importer in Texas or California
for $7 plus $18 shipping and handling.. The EXACT same part.
Absolutely no difference in quality except POSSIBLY the importer has
inspected the item to ascertain it is what the manufacturer in China
said it is, and that it is all there and fully assembled. In an
extreme case it may even have been tested to determine it is in
functional condition.

So I buy 3 for $0.56. If one is no good I still have another spare - -

That's pretty much what I thought. I think even the ones with only 1
or 2 photos fit the same as the one with 8 photos.

BTW, I wanted to borrow a second big charger to crank the engine off
of two in parallel (if I could have??) but a friend lent me instead a
battery from a riding mower he was getting rid of. After draining the
gas tank and the hose and the valve, I used that last fall to get it
running for as much as 40 seconds, but only when I sprayed starter
fluid, and even with continued spraying the engine would still stop.

I thought I could keep doing this and flush out the carb, but I didn't
see any changes. For $22 I'll get a new carb and maybe clean the
other some day.

The battery enabled me to check all the lights, etc and eveything
works. Then a couple weeks ago my friend decided he needed the
lawnmower to pull his new chipper, so I gave the battery back. A new
one is coming Monday for $24.

(They actuallhy sold reconditioned versions of that camera for 200 (as
well as 50) while new it was still sold for 100!!)
Be carefull about using ether on 2 strokes. No oil in the fuel
m,eans no lubrication to the engine.