Weekend Fun - Make the strimmer live!

[Fitz]

Bought a Black and Decker petrol strimmer th other day. Bought not running because the starter pull cord is broken. I need to dismantle the beast and see if I can ressurect it.

I've asked B&D for some diagrams having described the model to them (it has no uniquely identifying numbers or marks that match the product list on their website).

It's 2 stroke and I was told that up until the cord broke it was working fine.

It's a 2-stroke.

If anyone's got any hints or tips in relation to taking it apart, cleaning it, putting it back together etc. then I'd be glad to hear them!

cheers

Steve

[Adrian]

Nothing in detail - but a general warning about these 'recoil starters' - be very cautios when dismantling it because the ones that I've worked on have a very strong coiled spring.

Get things in the wrong order and this spring can shoot out and you're at real risk of poking it in your eye (or somebody else's !)

It's also a bit of a blighter to get coiled up and back into its housing....

Sorry nothing more constructive.....

Regards Adrian

[.]

rig it up to a drill, run the drill up, see if the strimmer starts.

good luck.

[Guy King]

The message from Adrian contains these words:

In fact, small motors like that are full of pingfuckits.

[Adrian]

Had to read that twice - but love it !

Mum & Dad 'retired' to a small shop in Cornwall. Amongst the things that the did / sold were replacement watchstraps...

Your word precisely describes the little springloaded 'bars' that hold a watchstrap to a watch - the number of those that went into a low orbit, never to be seen again, is nobody's business...

Thanks for making me laugh !

Adrian

[Guy King]

The message from Adrian contains these words:

Not mine - originated in uk.rec.motorcycles, I think.

[Weatherlawyer]

Or tow it behind a hay waggon see if it will jumpstart.

[Fitz]

I was seriously wondering if this was possible. I can't see any obvious bits poking out of it in 'assembled' state, but is this really a viable way of starting the thing if I can get access to a suitable shaft?

[Fitz]

Thanks for the warning - I'll make sure I have the old safety specs on just in case...

[Dave Liquorice]

And keep your fingers out of the way, if the spring does escape it'll most likely form a ball of sharp edged spring steel strip around anything that happens to be in the way. It does this at high speed laserating anything in it's way...

Proceed with caution when taking off the cover for the recoil starter part. Treat that spring (indeed all springs with any stored energy) with repect or they will bite.

[<me9]

Sounds like a BSA bantam clutch. I remember helping a friend dismantle the clutch on hs father's bike, and ........ pingfuckits wverywhere.

[Guy King]

The message from Adrian contains these words:

The complementary part to the pingfuckit is the shoulderbolt. That's the bit which you have left over at the end of reassembly which, with a characteristic shrug, gets thrown over the shoulder into the dim recesses of the shed.

[Andrew Gabriel]

I've heard them call wee-bits (not sure the spelling;-), but again, the wee is the sound they make as they are flung past your ear, over the shoulder.

[Fitz]

Impatience got the better of me and I decided not to wait for the diagrams from B&D.

Turned out to be remarkably simple in the end.

Thankfully the recoil unit for the starter cord didn't need to be dismantled so I didn't end up with the spring wrapped around my fingers.

Once all back together again (the second time after reassembling having forgotten to tension the starter recoil spring) it started following a bit of messing about with the choke and throttle and about 10-20 quick short pulls on the cord.

It's fantastic. So much better than an electric. I spent a couple of hours reaking strimmer death upon the giant weeds and ended up spraypainted green...

thanks for the tips

[Dave Fawthrop]

|It's fantastic. So much better than an electric. I spent a couple of |hours reaking strimmer death upon the giant weeds and ended up |spraypainted green...

Unfortunately strimmers do not *kill* weeds, only force them to start again from the bottom.

[T i m]

And then you can strim them again 'Wahooo' ( 'when will they learn' ..) ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

A Mate gave me his old (but still in good fettle) 32cc 'Bushwacker' .. even my 15 year old daughter enjoys using it on next doors 'lawn' (often 2' tall) ;-)

[Fitz]

Good point. Correction as follows:

I spent a couple of hours reaking strimmer extreme mutilation upon the giant weeds and ended up spraypainted green...

Actually once they throw up some new shoots to recover I'll be hitting them with some homemade napalm. Polystyrene dissolved in unleaded petrol isn't it?

Or maybe I'll just use some glyphosate.

[Dave Fawthrop]

| |Dave Fawthrop wrote: | |> On 7 Aug 2006 02:01:01 -0700, "Fitz" wrote: |>

|>

|> |It's fantastic. So much better than an electric. I spent a couple of |> |hours reaking strimmer death upon the giant weeds and ended up |> |spraypainted green... |>

|> Unfortunately strimmers do not *kill* weeds, only force them to start again |> from the bottom. | |Good point. Correction as follows: | |I spent a couple of hours reaking strimmer extreme mutilation upon the |giant weeds and ended up spraypainted green... | |Actually once they throw up some new shoots to recover I'll be hitting |them with some homemade napalm. Polystyrene dissolved in unleaded |petrol isn't it? | |Or maybe I'll just use some glyphosate.

Glyphosate on a cloth held in a hand protected by latex gloves, on nice young growth, works on individual plants. better than indiscriminate spraying to kill everything.

[The Natural Philosopher]

# Correction

wreaking or reeking, depending on whether it was the weeds or your nose that took the punishment. Or possibly Re-king, if its a question of replacing a monarch under warranty ;-)

Don't worry. Just keep strimming. The bigger perennials die, and the annuals, like the poor, are always with us, anyway.

[Guy King]

The message from The Natural Philosopher contains these words:

I'll have you know I'm in (almost) perfect working order.