Craftsman Blower

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Bootlegger

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I've always been impressed by the 2-cycle engine knowledge here and I have a problem with my Craftsman 25cc leaf blower. When I shut it down this spring it worked fine. Last week I couldn't get it to start. Used fresh gas, changed the plug, nothing. I guessed it was either something in the ignition or the compression, both of which would be major work for me. I took it to the mechanic who said there was no compression and it would cost more to fix than to buy a new one (he has a Poulon for $70).

My question is what could make it lose compression while it was being stored? Is it worth my effort to take it apart before I buy a new one? Or is this something I can let my sons take apart to learn about engines?
 
Nothing could make it lose compression while sitting but it may of lost it when you last used it (wrong gas?) or was slowly looseing it to the point that it now won't start.
Some 2 stroke tools will run on low compression if you can get them started but they will be weak.

You could try getting a second opinion or purchase a compression tester to verify yourself.

I wouldn't bother to fix it.

Use it for educational purposes and go buy a Stihl or Husqvarna.
 
kettensäge said:
Use it for educational purposes and go buy a Stihl or Husqvarna.

It's never run right from the beginning. I had to do a lot of adjustment to the carb just to get it to run full out. Maybe I overdid it or maybe it was defective to begin with.

I think having the kids take it apart is a good option.
 
My Craftsman chainsaw was the same way. Worked fine for years and years, eventually it lost enough compression that it was suddenly hard to start and I had to blip the throttle to keep it running...piston just wore out is all. Your situation was either a bad gas situation and you unintentionally had too little 2 stroke oil in there or its been slowly going downhill and it just gave out. Coincidence that its last hurrah was this past spring.
 
You should be able to tell by the variation of effort required to turn the engine over with the starter whether it has compression or not. Relative to new.
If it went to zero, more than likely you straight-gassed it. (No oil in the mix.) Tip: before pouring from mix jug, shake it up for a few seconds.
The 22 cc Weed-Eater blower I had (15 yrs.) finally gave me enough probs.
Got a factory-refurb 150 Husqvarna (50 cc backpack) for $220 from VMInnovations.
Wish I'd done it years ago.
I'd consider Echo blowers before Stihl. $$$ DAGS on "backpack blower review" or such.
 
I NEVER mix up the fuels, they are clearly labeled and I use the OPTI-2 mix. It has always started easy but also never ran well at the high end, hence the carb adjustments. Maybe I got it too lean and the damage from last winter's cleanups is now making it inoperable?
It has the silly SimPul technology which makes it easy to pull but hard to tell if something is happening in the cylinder.
 
You could pull the muffler to get a good look at the piston. Takes 10 min. If it's scored, stop, get in the whip and drive to your favorite OPE dealer. Get a quality blower from a reputable manufacturer. Stihl is my favorite but Husqvarna and Echo both make a decent product. Buying that $70 Poulan will just get you more of what you already have, problems. Poulan/Craftsman = same manufacturer Maybe you will get lucky and a Stihl dealer will have a BG55 sitting on the shelf. It's been replaced by the BG56 but if you find one they generally run $150 or so. BG56 is great too but they are a little more $$.
 
Bootlegger said:
kettensäge said:
Use it for educational purposes and go buy a Stihl or Husqvarna.

It's never run right from the beginning. I had to do a lot of adjustment to the carb just to get it to run full out. Maybe I overdid it or maybe it was defective to begin with.

I think having the kids take it apart is a good option.

If it was running very gas-rich in the first place there is every chance you've got a stuck ring, which will take you to zero compression really fast. What the tech told you is kinda true... workbench hours are never cheap regardless of what's on the bench.

Taking it apart isn't all that hard... I'd get the kids a socket set and a manual and have at it.
 
CTYank said:
You should be able to tell by the variation of effort required to turn the engine over with the starter whether it has compression or not. Relative to new.
If it went to zero, more than likely you straight-gassed it. (No oil in the mix.) Tip: before pouring from mix jug, shake it up for a few seconds.
The 22 cc Weed-Eater blower I had (15 yrs.) finally gave me enough probs.
Got a factory-refurb 150 Husqvarna (50 cc backpack) for $220 from VMInnovations.
Wish I'd done it years ago.
I'd consider Echo blowers before Stihl. $$$ DAGS on "backpack blower review" or such.

I have mostly Stihl equipment, but an Echo leaf blower. I really like the Echo. It is quieter and always starts first pull.
 
You might also want to look at the Redmax blowers. These are the blowers most of the lanscapers use. I have an EB7001 that is just a pleasure to use always starts 2nd pull. It has plenty of power and runs like a dream.
 
I have A Stihl chainsaw and leaf blower. Weed wacker is Echo with a different gas/oil mix. I am going to sell the Echo and get a Stihl just for the simplicity of all using the same mix. At one time I had 3 different oil mix jugs plus regular gas for mower and snowblower. I moving to simplify the process.
 
I took it buy the Stihl dealer today, the hardware store its housed in recently started selling Craftsman tools. I told the young lady mechanic that if it cost more to fix than to replace I'd buy the $149 Stihl from her. Yeah, I know, an incentive to be dishonest, but they've worked on my Dolmar chainsaw before and I trust them. I think tomorrow I'll be running a Stihl.
 
Bubbavh said:
You might also want to look at the Redmax blowers. These are the blowers most of the lanscapers use. I have an EB7001 that is just a pleasure to use always starts 2nd pull. It has plenty of power and runs like a dream.

Funny about that. Husqvarna bought RedMax/Zenoah a few years ago, for their stratified scavenging engine technology. Great move. The current Husqvarna backpacks, I'm told, are evolving RedMax blowers, with plastic pieces molded in orange resin instead of red. The 150BT I mentioned pops on second pull; choke off & one pull. So your choices involve price & decor. The 50 cc model is a very civilized beast- wet leaves no problem.

I tried to point where you can get a factory refurb at your door for 25% off. (Good deals on refurb Husqvarna chainsaws there, too.)
 
I have a Stihl BR600 and even tho it's now about 6 years old, you'd still be hard pressed to find a better power to weight ratio. Just under 22lbs and makes 700cfm (at the end of the tube, where it matters!) @ 200 MPH. Plus the 4-Mix engine makes all the neighbors come out to see whats making that odd noise, lol.

RedMax made a beast of a backpack blower and the EB8000 series even out performed the BR600 on paper. Trouble was it used twice the fuel (at least!), was a full 6 lbs heavier (Initially was 28lbs and change if I remember correctly), and was more expensive to boot. We have a EB7001 on the golf course and it's a great blower. So long as I can put it down after 20 min. I've run my BR600 for 9+ hour days with stops only to refuel and while you feel it at the end of the day, it's not nearly as bad as that RedMax after an hour. The RedMax hangs out farther too which only exaggerates the weight penalty it carries.
 
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