spudulike

I purchased a wok for the wife's Christmas present once, it still gets brought up years later, as does the pie maker a year later.....I thought they were pretty good presents. Blokes are like a dog with two dicks when they get an electric drill as a present but give a girl a food processor😡

Horrible grippy grabby things angle grinders. I never feel happy using one but they are a means to an end. The last job was cutting a 60s cast iron bath in to three pieces...fecking thing. I would rather use a chainsaw any day.

Take a look at the IPL below and make sure the components are in the correct order. It sounds like on securing the blade, the gears are forced further together than they should be. Check part "4" as it may be in the incorrect position. Possibly screws "16" are too long and not original?

This Vance bloke, I thought he was OK on the Friday Rock Show but he is losing his way with this latest venture.

Blimey, he has turned in to Martin Lewis but on a serious note, he is spot on. You need 35 years of paid up NI, if you opted out of SERPs or are not sure and need to check, you can do so but may need your self employment Government Gateway info or a phone call.

As Stubby said, one of these in working condition is only worth around £50. Just chuck it in and see if you have any comeback on the source you got it from as it is fake junk and has never seen Germany.

At 50, you are at the top of the ski slope and have just starting sliding down, It will only get worse, Ibuprofen is your friend...just call it "vitamin I" if you need to feel better about taking it.

As a B&S master technician, do you wield a light sabre?👍

Ah, I understand your logic now, I thought you were losing it😉

If you take the plugs out and turn the engine over slowly, you should see the piston rising to top dead centre (TDC) and both tappets on one cylinder rising to fully up so both valves are sealing for the compression leading to power stroke. At this point, make sure there is a small gap under each tappet by moving it up and down feeling for a small amount of play caused by the normal clearance between tappet and valve. If there is no clearance, the tappet needs backing off (the valve seat may also be damaged) or if the gap is massive, you may have a stuck valve. The fuel pump working wont prove decent compression. A reading of +/- 10 - 15 psi between both cylinders will prove that either both cylinders/pistons are shagged or they are OK. Not sure what reading to expect on mowers but 140+ should be OK on a cold engine. I would normally check the carb out, if the needle is leaking, it will cause flooding of the engine.

ADW......I think you mean a compression test...being a four stroke 😉. Not sure if the engine has an automatic decompressor for starting so you may get a low reading if it has. Much depends on the hours it has done etc, a lot of our diagnosis is done at a glance at the state of the unit.

I have never had one of these apart but in general, most engine issues of this type are fuel related so pull the carb apart, check that the needle valve is working, check the fuel is flowing in to the carb, check that the float bowl has fuel in it and there is no water or shyte in the bowl. Remove the main jet AND the emulsion tube - this may need coaxing and then ensure all the holes and main jet are clear. Blast some cleaner or brake cleaner through all the holes/channels and reassemble. I am making the assumption that the carb is like the ones fitted to most of the B&S single cylinder engines. Sometimes the needle jet seals against a tiny rubber O ring and these swell stopping the float being level once the carb is held upside down (Lowering the amount of fuel in the bowl) this can make an engine very lumpy...it did on my Intek engine and can be replaced if you have similar. One other thing to check is that the choke is sealing fully on a cold engine. This may be operated by a lever, thermal actuator or a throttle position but also worth checking as if the choke isn't sealing, cold starting will be hit and miss.

When a saw is new, the rings, piston and cylinder bore are microscopically rough and the piston, rings and cylinder are not particularly round and matching. When you first use the saw, you need to use this roughness to bed in all these components quickly so they form a close fit and this is done by using the saw hard for short periods of time but not for longer cuts that will produce too much heat and cause damage. You can actually hear this happen when you fit a new piston and lightly hone a cylinder as it makes a ringing noise on running. Failure to do this will mean that the piston components and the cylinder will never match perfectly causing less compression and therefore, less power.

If you are trying to start it on full choke, pulling it over many times, it will flood. Have you tried pulling it over whilst holding the throttle wide open? It isn't recommended as "normal" as it is dangerous but it may get a bit of life out of it. If the saw is flooded, remove the plug, turn the ignition off, point the plug hole downwards and pull the saw over a few times briskly until no spatters of fuel come out. Heat the plug up with a plumbers torch or kitchen job, if the wife is out, replace and use the starting method above but no choke. If a saw just pops after around 6 pulls on choke, even if it doesn't pop, turn the choke off as it will flood. See if this works. If you have a seriously big air leak, the saw wouldn't flood. If it was a small air leak, it would still run. What are your H&L screws set to? Is the idle screw holding the throttle valve open a bit and is the starting position holding the throttle open around 1/4 open?

You have learnt well Mr Stubby!