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I have the subject string trimmer and it started to quit on me after running for about 10 minutes. If I let it sit for 5 minutes or so it would start right up and do the same routine again. I ordered and received a carburetor kit and installed it. All hoses and air cleaner were included. Got it together and it started right up. Cannot get it to idle and it is once again quiting on me. Kit also had a new spark plug. I cannot figure out what is causing the stopping. Any ideas before I toss it?
Thanks,
Russ

are you using Echo two cycle oil mixed with high test gas?

rwsinky said:

I have the subject string trimmer and it started to quit on me after running for about 10 minutes. If I let it sit for 5 minutes or so it would start right up and do the same routine again. I ordered and received a carburetor kit and installed it. All hoses and air cleaner were included. Got it together and it started right up. Cannot get it to idle and it is once again quiting on me. Kit also had a new spark plug. I cannot figure out what is causing the stopping. Any ideas before I toss it?
Thanks,
Russ

Click to expand...

Stopping after about 10 minutes is likely to be a faulty tank cap or tank vent.
The tank pressurizes to around 7-10psi.
Any more and it floods the carb and less and the engine starves.
As fuel is used, air has to get in and replace it or you get a vacuum lock.

Did you check the carb before you refitted it by submersing it is a jar of water and pressurizing it ?

Thanks for the replies guys! No, I do not use the Echo oil and I have no way to test the carb in water.I will check out the cap and vent though. It has been a great unit for a lot of years and I hate losing it.
Thanks again!
Russ

Echo is a brand that is worthwhile to have repaired.
When I first started I ripped into carbs left right & centre because all of the information around showed people ripping up carbs.
Then I finally learned how to do things right.You start with the fuel tank, cap & filters
Then the hoses.
A friend showed me the blow through the carb with compressed air trick to see if it is working.
Now that I do the diagnosis properly about 1 in 10 carbs get pulled apart.
Usually if the engine starts the carb is fine

You might like to read this thread
https://www.lawnmowerforum.com/showthread.php/55699-Engine-stalls

Link does bit work.

Put a new cap and gasket on fuel tank. Not much change. It will start right up and run a minute or two at wide open throttle then die. Any attempt to lower speed or even if the unit is moved about - it will stall. To me it seems starved for fuel. The kit was from Amazon - Butom I think.
About ready to throw the thing away.
Russ

Don't know about after market kits
I try only to fit kits from Walbro or Combustion Technology Services ( who supply Walbro with a lot of their parts )

The rotary valve carbs are very reliable and only have one jet which makes them easy to service.
Walbro have a service manual for this carb on their web site.
It is sort of hidden with the link in the bottom right hand corner.

They also have a video tutorial for the rotary valve carbs.
They are a lot simpiler than the other carbs and do not have all the check valves that get stuck.
Did the kit have a new duck bill to go under the purge bulb ?
Did the kit have a new main jet & O ring ?

I am assuming you fitted a new fuel filter in the tank.

The kit had the carb all assembled and included new fuel and air lines. It did have a new fuel filter. I will check out the suppliers you suggested. The Echo website wanted $80 + for a new carb.
Thanks for the reply.
Russ

So the "kit' was actually a replacement carb with some gaskets & fuel lines, not a rebuild kit ?
Without the testing tools we are really shooting in the dark.
However a red neon spark tester is a piece of kit that you will get good service out of, so order one of them, install it on the engine then start & run the engine till it stops, munted in a vice so you can watch it.
If the red flashes ( well orange actually ) suddenly stop then the engine cuts out or if they break up and the engine stops then there is an electrical problem.

If OTOH it continues to spark while the engine is slowing down you have a fuel problem.

My money is still on a pressure leak, but I can be just as wrong as the next man.

While you are spark testing, loosen off the muffler, you can take it off if you like but they are amazingly noisy little buggers without their mufflers.
IF it runs fine with the muffler loose/off then you have a blockage in the exhaust which is suffocating the engine.

Usually a blocked muffler will allow the engine to idle all day & night but die the instant the throttle is touched.
There is a better than average chance the new carb you bought needs to be set up, instructions are on the web manual .
The rotary valve carbs are a mix of a butterfly carb & a slide carb.
THe rotary valve opens up more air , just like the butterfly does .
Under the rotor is a tapered needle as the rotor turns, it also rises pulling the needle out of the jet & allowing more fuel to enter the engine.
They are very robust, much better than the butterfly carbs but a bit fiddly to set the idle properly.

First, let me thank all that replied with suggestions. I originally ordered a replacement carb from Amazon and that did not work out as described above. That was a $15 investment. I was about to get rid of the trimmer and one of you suggested a couple of different vendors to get a carb from. I did look at the website but finally went back to Amazon and ordered one made by Pro Chaser. It was highly rated. Got it today, installed it and the unit runs perfectly. I know these cheap replacements are probably frowned on but spending about $30 was batter than the $75 flat charge for a "shop" to fix it. Hope all of you had a safe and happy 4th.
Russ

Thank you for the result post & good luck with the trimmer.

Unfortunately there is a lot of rubbish for sale on the web
Amazon & ebay are a gold mine for thieves and con artists who buy scrap metal from factories then sell them as is they were a good product.
While you only spent $ 15 the con artist made $ 5 profit and thanks you greatly.

As for the new carb, it may very well also be trash so do not be surprised if it gives you grief again a bit down the road.
The golden rules for buying from unknown sources on line is

1) check for street address
If there is one, Google maps it then do a street view, if it looks like a shop, factory or warehouse 50/50 chance they are a ligitimate vendor.
No street address go some where else.

2) look for a brand name ON THE PRODUCT
Most trash will be unbranded and come in unbranded packaging.
That way the vendor can do things like run a dozen " cyber shops" selling the same trash for different prices.
Thus you buy the $ 10 one that did not work, then the $ 15 & it is no better , followed by the $ 20 & $ 25 etc etc etc till you finally get one that is actually fit for use.

I ran a warehouse where we rented empty pallet spaces to on line vendors.
Noting odd to see the same stuff off the same pallet to be sold for 4 or 5 different prices, all on behalf of the same vendor just packed into differently printed bags with different letterheads on the invoice.

3) check their "Other Items"
IF they are selling only ground care or engine type products then they MIGHT be a ligitimate outlet.
If they are selling everything from maternity bras to truck parts they are surplus / residual or defective products vendors & best avoided

4) if the product has a brand, google the brand
If nothing comes up but the parts from his vendor ( remember they could be using multiple trading names ) and there is no factory / wholesaler etc tied to it the again could be fake & best avoided.


This sounds like a lot of work, but it is only a couple of minutes on your computer compared to all of the time you have spent in your shed + time on this site only to find the first carb was trash.

Use this for everything you buy on line and you will be depriving the FRAUDSTERS income & saving money to boot.
GO back to Amazon and place a negative review on the product ( think of it as revenge ) from the first vendor .
Like buying cheap stolen stuff from the boot of a car at a bar, if enough people make the effort to expose them, the market vanishes and we will all be better off for it.

I have given negative feedback to well over 100 vendors on ebay to the point now that a lot have vanished and a few have banned me .
This is good because the thieves then had to go make new cyber identities and the people who ban me for fear of a bad feedback are more than likely selling scrap metal pretending to be good parts.

rwsinky said:

..Any attempt to lower speed or even if the unit is moved about - it will stall...Starved for fuel...

Click to expand...

I found a 2601 a few years ago that behaved similar to yours - ran fine at high, could never get it to idle. My restart was fine so it was not an ignition problem. Look at both ends where the shaft comes out of the engine block. Remove the pull start and look behind the flywheel for a collection of dirt clumping on leaking oil. If it is leaking bad enough(thus dirt clumping), the lower chamber is not building enough pressure to push fuel\air into the combustion chamber when the piston moves down. Instead the air\fuel is leaking out. Mine actually had a big hole in the rear seal.