I popped into a garage sell last week as I was leaving a friends house because it was only 2 doors down. Asked about tools and wound up buying nothing but when the lady figured out I like to tinker she offered me a 25cc Craftsman leaf blower that "didn't work" to see if I could fix it for free. I said "Sure I'll take it home and pull it apart. Even if I can't get it working, maybe I'll learn something."
When I got home I discovered that it would start, but as soon as the throttle was depressed, it choked out. That got me thinking that the engine was not burning all the fuel properly and getting flooded or possibly the fuel had just gone bad. In my mind I'm thinking to check the following:
- Spark plug
- Fresh fuel
- If that doesn't work, clean the carburetor
- If that doesn't work, maybe clean out the whole engine and check the fuel lines
Before going to get new gas I pulled the spark plug just to check for wear and get the proper size to replace it. When I pulled it, it was covered with carbon and had a little flake of carbon between the two electrodes. A quick brushing with a wire toothbrush to the head of the spark plug cleaned it right up. I put the plug back in and gave it a crank. Two pulls later it was running like new even with last year's gas!
Not bad!
