GardenKit

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You have a good memory Steve, thats exactly what happened.

hahah Bob, good point. They are actually in 1 litre bottles.

Suzi

Aspen do not just do ready mix fuel, they do 2t oil as well as chain oil etc. Aspen Fuel :: Aspen 2-stroke synthetic oil

How old is the saw? I guess its out of warranty, as they have not been around for quite a time now. If it is by any chance in warranty then put it in for a claim. I have had the same thing paid under warranty. Stihl are very fair despite posts to the contrary.

Great job, pesky things, them valves. How I hate those 4 mixy things. Give me a 2 stroke any day.

I get loads of customers bringing their new saws back because they can't start them, even though I have gone to great lengths to explain the procedure. I guess its a lot to take in on top of having had to decide which saw to buy. Firstly ensure that there is enough fuel in the tank, if the filter is exposed you will have trouble. I would also strongly suggest you use Aspen2 as you will be an occassional user. Normal starting procedure. Apply the chain brake, set the choke to full, and prime the bulb until its firm (about 6) Ensure that the ignition is on. Pull the cord sharply and quickly, but do not expect the saw to start. Instead, just expect an attempt to start which will just be the slightest cough. DO NOT pull again. (if you do it WILL flood) Flick the choke off, but do not touch the throttle trigger. This will leave the fast idle set. Pull sharply again and it will start. It will be running fast and the clutch will be straining against the chain brake, so move your hands quickly to the operating positions, release the chain brake and rev the engine to 'clear' it (and cool the clutch), then release the trigger. The engine will settle to tickover. Yours sounds flooded. They can be a bitch to clear, as a 2t engine not only floods in the combustion chamber on top of the piston, but also in the crankcase. You can dry out the top, but when you try again you merely bring more excess fuel through from crankcase. This fuel is now oil rich as some of the petrol has evaporated. When it does start it will smoke well but soon clear. If its very flooded, empty the tank before attempting to start, that way you are not pulling even more fuel through.

Valve clearances are critical on 4 mix, and should be adjusted early in the machines life and then on every service. I posted some instructions as to how to adjust them on this thread a while ago, http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/maintenance-help/39878-km100-problems-2.html, they may help.

Valve seals can be replaced properly and the carb can be renewed, so why is it a temporary fix? Maybe you need an new fixer!

Be carefull, whilst some carbs do have a brass jet which can be screwed out as GTR says, others such as the ones on some Briggs engines do not. The best solution is to remove the carb, its not difficult and clean it with carb cleaner and compressed air, removing any screwed in jets which can easily be seen with the carb on the bench. Better still, find someone with an Ultrasonic cleaner to give it a good deep clean.

This may not prove that Aspen is better for engines, but I think its worth sharing. I retrieved the oil and plug from a Briggs mower engine which had seen one seasons use and has been solely run on Aspen4. The oil splash on the left is the oil I saved, and the oil on the right is unused oil of the same brand and viscosity. There is a little discolouring of the used oil, but not much, and its viscosity appears identical. The plug is also extremely clean. This is down to the very pure nature of the Aspen fuel and is typical of all engines run on Aspen.

Thats exactly right, petrol fumes do really stink. Most users do not realise how much they stink until they use Aspen. Then they might not notice how Aspen does not stink, until they switch back to petrol.

But if she was delivered to you instead of Rich, would you keep her?

But, just like Aspen, if you really wanted her, the price would not matter. Availability may be a problem in this case though.

You could not afford her anyway:biggrin:

Its only a phone call away for anyone who wants it, so that argument really does not work.

But did it give you a good feeling and a warm glow??

You only have to work on machines run on Aspen to see the difference it makes to tha machine. As an engineer, there is no doubt in my mind that engine life will be improved. Let's face it, if it was the same price as petrol everyone would be using it and very happy with the results. It is just the price that some people cannot see past.

TBH they probably only want a very slight tweak of the L screw, counterclockwise only a degree or two. I do hundreds of conversions to Aspen and some need this tweak, but they will then run quite happily on pump fuel with this slightly richer mix without the need to retune. Conversion to Aspen is nowhere near the big deal many make it out to be. Tachometers are not required for tuning the L screw and the H will not need altering for Aspen.

'Gaspin for Aspen' 'Aspen users are efficient workers'

Some good ones so far.... keep them coming.

The stickers available are only really suited to retailers. What is needed for end users such Dan and LGP are stickers with a punch line as to why they use it. Remember the petrol stickers from the 70's "I've got a tiger in my tank" Post your ideas here, if any are good enough to get Anglo American to produce them there could be a prize for the creator I guess. (how about it Eddie?)

I was indeed taking the mick, but should have used some quotation marks. He only wanted the starting issue resolved, even when I dropped it back this evening he still insisted it does not need a service as "its only about 4 years old" He also would not believe the extend of the carb problem until I showed him the pictures, and insisted that it could not be the fuel at fault even after seeing the pics. It took a while to educate him. He has however converted to Aspen now, so he is not all bad.

For it to be banging out of the inlet manifold, I would imagine that the the inlet valve is not fully closing, either due to incorrect clearance, damage to seat, or carbon deposits. Whilst checking the valve clearance, also check the security of the the rocker arm post. Valve timing is not adjustable, neither is ignition timing. See how you get on with that first.