pleasant

I was sceptical as to why this would happen and just spoke to a dealership who do extensive servicing as well and they confirmed it. I am very pleased you now believe what I stated....and as a dealership myself I am also pleased another dealership also knows this issue 😇

If you have been running a machine on pump fuel (with ethanol or not) then running the same machine on aspen can ruin the carb diaphragms so be careful doing what you suggest.

Well done. 👍

Agree.....its the quality of that, that's the issue. Not necessarily the design

Google esso premium unleaded its all ethanol free.....except for supply to some garages in the west country for some reason supply them with either e5 or e10 the same as everyone else. It seems it is only esso premium that is ethanol free of the petrol retailers

When leaded fuel was stopped and unleaded came in, all that was needed to allow Suffolk punches (for example) was to change to a different spark plug (J8) Briggs were the same..being air cooled they run hotter than water cooled engines already, so the lack of lubrication and cooling from lead in the fuel wasn't an issue. Having ethanol E5 or E10 makes no difference either....they run on both. It's the shelf life before it starts to go 'stale' and also absorb moisture that is the issue with ethanol........more ethanol in the fuel, the more moisture from the atmosphere it will absorb. It also lowers slightly the combustibility of even fresh E5 or E10....the more ethanol added reduces it's combustion properties, which makes small engines more difficult to fire, and use more fuel whilst running because of it.

What's the compression like. What mixture ratio oil are you using? Have you taken the plug out to see if it's oiled or coked up. If so.....particularly if it's coked up, the gap between electrodes can get reduced due to carbon. Clean it right up or replace and re-fit. If it's very oily then it indicates a very rich mix currently or it has been used in the past with a rich mix. Not only can it oil the plug up, but importantly it can block up the muffler (spark arrester or not) which decreases power..that's if it will start at all. If you think its been run on a rich mix for sometime, then remove the muffler and run it without it fitted...long enough to see whether that overcomes your issues. This will also give you the opportunity to inspect the condition of the piston...which could also be an issue. I wouldn't automatically start stripping down a carb just yet.

Use Esso fuel......they don't add ethanol to it. Unless you are in certain parts of the West country. Just google it. Save you a fortune in aspen

Those blower engines are prone to crank bearings breaking up and trashing the crank seals

Yes...they are also developing a petrol powered chainsaw that a battery saw can plug into, which will recharge the battery

No....but the mk2 version will have a usb port and an outlet to plug a kettle in while its making its four cuts

Ture....will only cut for ten minutes, but your hands will be nice and warm whilst it runs out of charge. 😀

Agree.....people forget there are main chainsaws around. Like the Husky, the Stihl offering is also very good. Well made, reliable and will cut all day if you want it to....none of the weight of a petrol, or smell or or noise or hassle mixing fuel, or storage of it, or starting and maintenance, no expensive battery to replace WHEN it fails in a few years, and no down time due to battery life and re-charge time. In fact IF you have a power source and it's domestic use, then corded it a good option. Has all the advantages over both petrol and battery, with only the mains lead to worry about

That bird that won it was well and truly off her tits on something. When she was 'interviewed' halfway through the voting process by that professional airhead aleisha dixon, i think they reaslised and quickly moved on.

In your opinion what do you consider 'decent battery life?' I mean....even the most basic stihl msa120 has a CONSTANT run time of 20 minutes......20 minutes I hear you say- that's nothing!!! So lets break that down...that is constant run time. Stihl calculate amount of cuts per charge based on cutting 10cm x 10cm square new wood.....such as a fence post. How long to make one cut through that with a sharp chain....5 secs 10 secs...even maybe 15 secs. Lets say 15 secs per cut being generous. So thats 4 cuts per minute. 4 x 20 = 80 cuts mimimum...nearer 100 if we lower the cuts time from the generous 15 secs per cut. Therefore on a small domestic little saw like that why would you need more run time? Its perfect for the use it is designed for...even though initially 20 mins run time sounds pitiful.

I figured the op was referring to the length thanm diameter...but you may well be right

Well, it would be unusual if it wasn't the 340 series TBH, but like I say all the pins are identical.

No, don't use generic ones- use the right ones. They are readily available and are not expensive... doesn't make sense to me to cut corners when this is a pain in the backside job to have to do again if they fail. Part number you need is 03997. They are all the same pin used in the PTO components, so maybe someone has had a go at yours already. I am assuming yours is the 340 series? Note your serial number on the sticker on the body and it will tell you....if it is, then they are definitely that part number and are all the same.

There are two seperate pins...one in one end of the connecting tube and one the other. The end of the connecting tube nearest the engine is a pig of a job to get at. Most likely you will need to loosen the three engine mounting bolts to get better access if that one need replacing. If it is still there and part of it has simply worked its way out, then if you can, knock it back in flush with a drift and then thread strong locking wire down the centre of it and wrap around the connecting tube...this will prevent it falling all the way out in future and will save you having to replace it now. If it is missing or you feel you need to replace it, then ideally yes remove the engine for access BUT I guarantee you won't get off the large metal friction disc on the underside between the blade and the engine...they weld themselves to the crankshaft over time, which means you won't be able to remove the engine fully. Like I say, you can just access the three bolt heads behind it enough to loosen them to give some clearance. If it is the outer roll pin you need to replace, then that can pretty much be done in situ- however if there is any of the old pin remaining in the hole, don't do what most people do and punch it out from the top down, as it will have nowhere for the broken part to come out the otherside and will lock the pulley against the chassis so you wont be able to move it......unless you loosen the engine bolts for clearance. Best punch it through at an offset angle so it can just drop out the other side. Also be careful punching these pin in or out too hard....it is very easy to shear off the pto shaft flush with the engine...these parts are obsolete, so if you do it will be scrap. I used to charge just over an hours labour (assuming it all went to plan) for this job, and people couldn't understand why it cost so much just to replace two pins. When I said I had to take the engine off to do it, they didn't beleive me!

That is quite an old model harrier 56 with the side pto drive...got to be at least 20 years old now, as the side pto briggs engines were discountinued at least that time ago, to the more popular briggs engines without a pto and the drive taken from a pulley on the crankshaft like 99% of mowers we see today. The side pto engine drive mechanism was very reliable as it was a very simple set up. Yes, the pulley on the left side of the engine is a direct drive...so all the while the engine is running, the pulley is rotating. If your pulley stops rotating when there is roller resistance such as simply placing the weight of the mower on the ground, then this suggests to me one or both of the roll pins that secure the pulley and spacer tube to the pto shaft have either fallen out or sheared off allowing the pully to rotate independent from the pto shaft. The pulley is a tight fit on the pto shaft so it may well rotate when not under any load...which is what you have mentioned. Part number for the roll pins is 03997. I suspect this is definitely your issue..it was not an unusual problem especially on older machines due to fatigue of the pins. Look at that first, then come back to me if you are convinced they are fine.

Yeah.....this one's a classic. Think about what you are actually saying to the person you really need help from before you use this one, but I bet a load of you do! 'I've been everywhere.....you're my last chance' Think about how that sounds for a moment. I hear that a lot and people really don't realise what they are saying.

True.....i regularly get phone calls along these lines, and tell them to bring it in and show me because after a minute or so of a customer self diagnosing I tend to glaze over. Once you have it in front of you, even with the customer rabbiting in your ear you can quietly visually analyse it and come to a conclusion before the customer has finished talking. Personally i dont like taking machinery on that a weekend warrior has had a go at, as you have to check what they have done...put that right, before you can find the original issue. 'It's not starting' 'Ok, have you done anything to it? Whats the history? Well, it was working and now it doesn't and I've played around with those screws on the side near the carburettor i think' 'Jeez.....ruddy marvellous' 🙄

I haven't read the whole of the comments on here, but reading your last comment (above) is it flooding the combustion chamber? Popping the decomp valve out without starting plus all the other symptoms you have listed above suggest it is flooding somewhere...or is very very rich. The flywheel rotating backwards on the compression stroke could suggest the same......return pressure trying to compress a liquid?

Yes..let us know how you get on.

Yes.....all working fine whislt its gradually failing in use, then once saw is stopped the soft plastic hardens up and seizes the drum and clutch mechanism so next time you go to use it, its seized