Destroyed in the Rain

Well. my Dad managed to trash a relatively new gas leaf blower. How you ask ? By storing it in the rain. You see, my dad doesn't believe in taking care of anything.

The problem. I can;t pull the recoil. It comes out an inch or two and then freezes. Anybody have any ideas as to what might be wrong ? Do I need a new recoil ?? Is the piston rusted in place ? It ran a couple of days ago although it was running mushy and weak (probably rain water in the carb) ? I told him I;ll fix it this one last time. Next time he wrecks it I will have nothing to do with it.

Whoops, sorry. I meant to post this in general chat. can a mod please move it. This is very very local politics not general politics.

Generally, when they do that, the recoil assembly gets trashed. Easiest way to tell is to take the recoil off and see how it works sans blower. Seems like every recoil start engine I ever had either jammed when pulled or the rope would break and I'd damn near throw a shoulder out of joint. Some of the newer ones have, beside the recoil, an optional electric starter. They have them in both 110v and 12 volt units.

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Originally Posted by K7SGJ

Generally, when they do that, the recoil assembly gets trashed. Easiest way to tell is to take the recoil off and see how it works sans blower. Seems like every recoil start engine I ever had either jammed when pulled or the rope would break and I'd damn near throw a shoulder out of joint. Some of the newer ones have, beside the recoil, an optional electric starter. They have them in both 110v and 12 volt units.

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Okay. So what you are saying it I'll have to take off the recoil and see if I can crank the engine. If the engine cranks without the recoil then it's most likely a bad recoil which will have to be replaced. If its the engine then...well... it's time to go back to the old fashioned rake and broom.

Actually, it might be easier to just try the recoil when it's off the engine. Sometimes the pull cord will cross over itself on a rewind and tangle causing very limited travel. This often happens when the engine kind of kicks while you're pulling the rope, and it snaps out of your hand and tries to rewind and gets a bunch of slack in it. The other thing I've seen a lot is the plastic reel that the pull cord rolls in to, gets a crack in the side of it and the rope gets jammed in the split and only allows 1/4 to 1/2 revolution of pull. I'm betting it's the recoil assembly and not a siezed engine.

ETA You might also just remove the spark plug to remove the compression making it easier to manually turn the engine if you want to try that. You can also make sure the piston is moving.

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Originally Posted by K7SGJ

ETA You might also just remove the spark plug to remove the compression making it easier to manually turn the engine if you want to try that. You can also make sure the piston is moving.

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Plus a bunch. Probably water in the cylinder.

Thanks on the spark plugand piston... Good idea. i'll give it a try tomorrow.

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Originally Posted by K7SGJ

Actually, it might be easier to just try the recoil when it's off the engine. Sometimes the pull cord will cross over itself on a rewind and tangle causing very limited travel. This often happens when the engine kind of kicks while you're pulling the rope, and it snaps out of your hand and tries to rewind and gets a bunch of slack in it. The other thing I've seen a lot is the plastic reel that the pull cord rolls in to, gets a crack in the side of it and the rope gets jammed in the split and only allows 1/4 to 1/2 revolution of pull. I'm betting it's the recoil assembly and not a siezed engine.

ETA You might also just remove the spark plug to remove the compression making it easier to manually turn the engine if you want to try that. You can also make sure the piston is moving.

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Thank's. I'll start by removing the plug and then checking the recoil. The thing was left out in 2 rains. When I picked it up rainwater even poured out of the nozzle where the air blows from. It really doesn't even pay to fix it because it will probably just be stored out in the rain again anyhow.. But I'll try and fix it anyway. When it was last used it was running and was shut down normally. And when i tried to pull start it today it sounded like it sort of kicked or did something funky just as the rope seized. Who knows, maybe the cylinder is filled with water or something. These things are not really designed to be left out in the rain time and time again. But try explaining that around here. Also, last time it ran it was kind of sluggish. But that could be due to water in the carb, water in the gas, old gas, etc. I guess I won;t know till I have time to check it out.

Now, the next door neighbor has one also and it just keeps on working. Why ? Because he takes care of his tools. He has a nice storage cabinet. When he finishes using it he puts it in the storage bin and closes the top. The message ? If you pay money for tools and take care of them they will last and they will work. If you treat your tools like shit you end up having to spend time fixing them or throwing them away and buying new ones.

....and dont forget, keep it away from your dad.

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Originally Posted by n2ize

Thank's. I'll start by removing the plug and then checking the recoil. The thing was left out in 2 rains. When I picked it up rainwater even poured out of the nozzle where the air blows from. It really doesn't even pay to fix it because it will probably just be stored out in the rain again anyhow.. But I'll try and fix it anyway. When it was last used it was running and was shut down normally. And when i tried to pull start it today it sounded like it sort of kicked or did something funky just as the rope seized. Who knows, maybe the cylinder is filled with water or something. These things are not really designed to be left out in the rain time and time again. But try explaining that around here. Also, last time it ran it was kind of sluggish. But that could be due to water in the carb, water in the gas, old gas, etc. I guess I won;t know till I have time to check it out.

Now, the next door neighbor has one also and it just keeps on working. Why ? Because he takes care of his tools. He has a nice storage cabinet. When he finishes using it he puts it in the storage bin and closes the top. The message ? If you pay money for tools and take care of them they will last and they will work. If you treat your tools like shit you end up having to spend time fixing them or throwing them away and buying new ones.

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The fact that water poured out of the blower discharge tube makes me now think that the blower assembly or clutch is seized up, which will cause the engine to be very hard, if not impossible, to crank. I would be inclined to separate the blower assembly from the engine, and see if the engine will turn. I don't know if there is a centrifugal clutch between the blower and engine on your unit, but if there is, that's another prime suspect.