At my age, I am not a big fan of yanking that damned cord. Despite the fact that I only use the factory canned, non-ethanol fuel with stabilizer. Every Spring it's the same thing. I follow all the starting procedures in the manual and even put in a new spark plug. I even used that ether spray. NO LUCK! It started with a Stihl and after several bad experiences, I gave it away and bought an Echo. Worked fine for a season or two, now it's doing the same thing. They're trying to force me to get a new battery model. Not only do I not need one more thing in my life, that requires re-charging, you have to plan beforehand so that it has a full charge. I'm on a first name basis with my local small engine repair guy.

Sounds like my rant of a few years ago. I moved to a corded weed-eater, but that cord got heavier and heavier. Eventually I bought a Black and Decker battery-powered weed-eater that came with two batteries, and love it. One battery in the weed-eater, with the 2nd in my pocket, and I'm off.

I was very reluctant to go to battery power, but have no regrets... other than I need more batteries, because the thing is so convenient to use that I trim a lot more stuff than I used to.

My Shindaiwa had started up for me every spring for the over thirty years I've owned it.

I may have replaced the plug two years ago. Not certain.

My Homelite weed eater was like no other small 2 cycle engine I'd ever owned, it just started every spring for years. Last year it didn't. I put a $13 Amazon carb on it today. Runs, not perfect, but usable. High speed jet needs adjusting. Now I need to spend $10-15 for the tool to adjust the $13 carb.

I've had my Echo for 12 years. Even after its short South Texas winter break, it still starts on 2nd or 3rd pull, every time.

Why not just start it and run it for 5 minutes to exercise it every 3 weeks? The EGO battery powered ones are probably the way to go for you and they're a great cordless machine.

Get an outboard motor, the issues will make the weed eater insignificant.

I have a 2-stroke outboard...25hp evinrude. That thing has been awesome....starts first or second pull, runs great. Weed eaters, on the other hand, are the devil. I just can't get them to keep working more than a year in a row. I don't have much that needs weed-eaten, but there is some. I went to a Black and Decker corded a few years back, and it does the job, but the cord is a pain. I'm thinking about picking up a battery operated one this summer...I'm just sick of the hasstle.

This is why I own a DeWalt 20-volt weed eater!

And it comes with the easy re-string head.

I've had no problems with my Stihl trimmer and leaf blower.
I run Chevron pump gas with Stihl-brand 2-stroke oil.

Each fall I simply dump the fuel out of the fuel tank and run until it's out of gas.
Both the trimmer and blower start each spring, no issues, no drama.

Milwaukee 18 volt cordless... will run on the one 9ah battery for about an hour which is just about if for me anyway.

I’m still Stihl with chainsaws, I went to Echo for weed whippers.

quote:

Originally posted by sourdough44:
I’m still Stihl with chainsaws, I went to Echo for weed whippers.

Yup.

I've found, for whatever reason, that if I use synthetic 2 stroke oil (I use Opti II, recommended by a guy with a mid-7 figure lawn care/landscaping business) mixed with ordinary ethanol gas, I can leave fuel in the tank all Winter and it starts right up in the Spring. No purging or anything. Just shut it off and put it away when I'm done with it in the Fall.

My Stihl that’s going on 15 years has started every spring with minimal effort. This year I had to replace the primer bulb. Can’t beat that IMO.

A couple ideas. Resist the urge to rev your engine hard when first started. A good weed eater revs very high, it needs to warm up before fully stressing it.

Start it with the weed eater on the ground or supported, not pulling the starter rope in one direction and pushing the unit away with the other hand. I've seen a vid on this creating problems but have no hope of finding that vid.

The Stihl I bought 10 years ago starts with the first pull every time.

I bought the ethanol resistant engine version and other than 7 years in having to actually do some maintenance of putting a primer bulb on it, it's been flawless.

My cheap Ryobi has had no problems for six years, when it dies i'm going battery powered

Went with a 20V Dewalt weed eater a number of years ago because I already had their batteries in a drill and impact driver. Slide in a battery, pull the trigger and away it goes. No hassle compared to my previous 2-stroke.

My 6 yr old Husqvarna Pro weed eater takes 2 pulls to start in the spring and just one the rest of the season. When it dies I'll probably go with a rechargeable one of some kind.

Jim

My wife bought me a 4 stroke Stihl knock off last August.
I just gassed it up and pulled the chord twice and it just started.
I'll never have another 2 stroke.