Why does my weed wacker keep stalling out?

- Old gas?
– Fuel filter blocked?
– Choke still on?

Does it restart again immediately? After one or two presses on the bulb? Does it have a choke? I’m sure it’s full, right? Do you smell gas?
Those answers will help. You might simply need to adjust one of the air mixture screws.
If it’s new you can take it back.

@robmandu You beat me to it. ;-) I figured since it was new the filter is ok. The gas might be old but it’s summer so I ruled it out.

@SuperMouse: Honestly..it’s because your sexy new avatar is distracting and far cuter than any weeds, it just can’t stay focused :)

Are you using the fuel mixture… usually the weed whacker type motors require a certain amount of oil added to the gas… every year I forget to do that and it will run till it gets hot and then it will stop. I now use an electric one as it is easier to deal with… Oh and it is not any type of oil it is a special small motor oil… check the instruction manual if you have it.

Otherwise the other factors for a running motor… assuming it is getting the right fuel mixture are oxygen and spark. Read the instruction manual thoroughly to deal with those… even then there may not be much to do if it is really not working take it back.

@bythebay…Off topic, off topic! Personal joke between @bythebay and wtf. Sorry @SuperMouse

@whatthefluther: Oh, you are a funny guy!
@SuperMouse: Sorry for discussing your sexiness during your weed crisis…forgive me…

Have you tried Cialis?

I used to date a guy…never mind.

Cialis who?

~ @whatthefluther and @bythebay I have no idea why the two of you refuse to take my whacking crisis seriously, but I am truly saddened by your lack of respect for my pathetic whacker.~

@robmandu and @Lupin how can I tell if the fuel filter is blocked or if I need to adjust some air mixture screws? @jumpo7 I will read through the instructions and hopefully get an idea of other things it might be.

Fuel filter maintenance should be in the owner’s manual, too. It’s a common task. Generally, I suggest looking in the vicinity of the fuel line. It could be the filter is in your gas tank. Or it could be at the other end of the line just before fuel enters the engine. Depends.

Do you smell gas after it stalls? I will assume the answer is “yes”. Since I don’t know the model, and every carb is different anyway, I’ll give you a generic adjustment procedure. One screw is for idle speed, the other is for high speed high load. Mark them both with white out or nail polish. One at a time, turn the screws in (clock wise) until it stops and note how many turns it takes. Now do the other. Now back them out to their original positions. Sometimes you get lucky and that frees up some crud blocking a hole. Does it stall at idle? Turn one screw in 1/2 turn and see if the speed changes. If not, then put it back to the original position and try the other one. As long as you marked the screws and wrote down the position you won’t screw up anything. Adjustments rarely take more than one full turn.
You set the high load screw when the unit is running under load. Having a helper for this one is a good idea.
Another thing to check is the air filter. You did say this was new, right? So the filters are probably good.

I just give mine a good slap when IT does this.

@Mr_Callahan Sometimes that’s all you need to free up a stuck float.

@SuperMouse….OK, OK, seriously: you are not supposed to use a weed wacker to cut through corn stalks! Now if you would have taken my advice long ago and returned home to SoCal you wouldn’t even need a weed wacker (we are in the midst of another drought and few lawns are even near green, but we received some spot showers today). See ya…wtf

Oh one more thing to check… If the string is out too far, the rpm is too low and the unit is off its peak torque/power curve. That can cause it to stall if you are under load. Setting the string length correctly (or 1/2 inch shorter) usually makes it go faster and cut through heavier stuff – Even corn stalks ;-)

what happens to a weed waker if you put regular gas without the oil does it ruin it?