Ryobi Leaf Blower
I bought a Ryobi "Back-Pack" leaf blower a couple seasons back. Toward the end of the first season it started acting up. Basically, it would start on the choked position but when I tried the accelerator it would bog down and die. After a bit of frustration I learned that it would run on half-choke (though "rich") and I could get the job done if I was careful not to touch the accelerator. And there was one more hitch: I had to remove the choke lever and put it in my pocket. It seems the lever had just enough mass that if I left it at half-choke the engine vibration would gradually wiggle it to "off". But if I pulled the lever off its shaft the setting at half-choke would hold. With that Rube Goldberg I got through the end of that season and the next full season. It was just hard to remember to replace the choke lever each time I finished, so the choke lever went through the wash machine a few times.
Periodically though I would search the Internet for a solution. Many, many people had opinions about this problem which, to read the comments, seemed universal with this model. Most solutions centered on carburetor issues. All solutions were accompanied by much colorful language as people dealt with their anger at Ryobi (for building this "piece of crap"), at their Moms (for ever bringing them into the world), and at God (for allowing all this to happen).
One enterprising fellow found a unique solution. He figured that the little fuel filter (which hangs at the terminus of a gas line in the tank) was getting clogged with use. He read the warranty (which lasted about as long as the fuel filter) and decided to bring his machine back and get a replacement under warranty each month of the season. He actually liked the machine enough that he went through this rigamerole for an entire season until, finally, he miscalculated the days and they wouldn't take the machine back. I actually tried replacing the fuel filter; it was fruitless.
Others took their machines in for carburetor rebuilds which lasted (you guessed it) one use after the warranty. Of course, some changed air filters (fruitless), spark plug (fruitless), fuel mixture (fruitless), and other procedures (fruitless), before giving up on the machine entirely and buying a "professional" back-pack leaf blower for $100 to $200 more. One guy was angry that he tried adjusting the carburetor but it took a special tool that he didn't have and couldn't find one to buy.
After occasionally wading through these accounts for over a season (and sometimes off-season), I decided to buy a new carb and replace it myself. How hard could it be? When I got on-line and searched options for purchasing a carb I found there were two basic kits: one had the carb, gaskets, and a few other parts (about $22); and the other had the carb, gaskets, AND THE CARB ADJUSTMENT TOOL (about $16)!
So here's what I thought. I didn't really think I needed a new carb, one blogger thought a carb adjustment would work but couldn't find the tool, I agreed he was probably right, so I decided to buy a $16 carb adjustment tool and get a replacement carb for free that I could put in the garage until I needed it.
The kit was delivered a few days later. I inspected the new carb and it's info sheet had a diagram that showed where the carb adjustment screws are located. I tried the new tool, figuring out how to fit it onto the adjustment screws, then found the adjustment screws on my Ryobi in plain sight.
I choked the heck out of the Ryobi and got it to run on half choke and then fiddled with the adjustments until I got it running smoothly with no choke. And voila!, the accelerator worked properly too.
The guy who couldn't find the tool had complained that the carb was improperly set at the factory in China. Since so many of these machines have this issue, I think it may be a little more subtle. It may be that the factory setting works fine for a "run in" period but then an adjustment is needed. The issue arises and the customer gets angry because he wasn't warned about this. If they put the tool in the package and explained its use or, if they ran the engine in before shipping it they could have avoided a lot of ill will.
For me? I'm happy with the machine now that it works. Time will tell whether the fix works over the longer haul--it could be that the real problem is that the carburetor adjustment doesn't hold once it's properly set. If that's the case, I need to keep track of where I put that little tool!
Periodically though I would search the Internet for a solution. Many, many people had opinions about this problem which, to read the comments, seemed universal with this model. Most solutions centered on carburetor issues. All solutions were accompanied by much colorful language as people dealt with their anger at Ryobi (for building this "piece of crap"), at their Moms (for ever bringing them into the world), and at God (for allowing all this to happen).
One enterprising fellow found a unique solution. He figured that the little fuel filter (which hangs at the terminus of a gas line in the tank) was getting clogged with use. He read the warranty (which lasted about as long as the fuel filter) and decided to bring his machine back and get a replacement under warranty each month of the season. He actually liked the machine enough that he went through this rigamerole for an entire season until, finally, he miscalculated the days and they wouldn't take the machine back. I actually tried replacing the fuel filter; it was fruitless.
Others took their machines in for carburetor rebuilds which lasted (you guessed it) one use after the warranty. Of course, some changed air filters (fruitless), spark plug (fruitless), fuel mixture (fruitless), and other procedures (fruitless), before giving up on the machine entirely and buying a "professional" back-pack leaf blower for $100 to $200 more. One guy was angry that he tried adjusting the carburetor but it took a special tool that he didn't have and couldn't find one to buy.
After occasionally wading through these accounts for over a season (and sometimes off-season), I decided to buy a new carb and replace it myself. How hard could it be? When I got on-line and searched options for purchasing a carb I found there were two basic kits: one had the carb, gaskets, and a few other parts (about $22); and the other had the carb, gaskets, AND THE CARB ADJUSTMENT TOOL (about $16)!
So here's what I thought. I didn't really think I needed a new carb, one blogger thought a carb adjustment would work but couldn't find the tool, I agreed he was probably right, so I decided to buy a $16 carb adjustment tool and get a replacement carb for free that I could put in the garage until I needed it.
The kit was delivered a few days later. I inspected the new carb and it's info sheet had a diagram that showed where the carb adjustment screws are located. I tried the new tool, figuring out how to fit it onto the adjustment screws, then found the adjustment screws on my Ryobi in plain sight.
I choked the heck out of the Ryobi and got it to run on half choke and then fiddled with the adjustments until I got it running smoothly with no choke. And voila!, the accelerator worked properly too.
The guy who couldn't find the tool had complained that the carb was improperly set at the factory in China. Since so many of these machines have this issue, I think it may be a little more subtle. It may be that the factory setting works fine for a "run in" period but then an adjustment is needed. The issue arises and the customer gets angry because he wasn't warned about this. If they put the tool in the package and explained its use or, if they ran the engine in before shipping it they could have avoided a lot of ill will.
For me? I'm happy with the machine now that it works. Time will tell whether the fix works over the longer haul--it could be that the real problem is that the carburetor adjustment doesn't hold once it's properly set. If that's the case, I need to keep track of where I put that little tool!
posted by Phil Govert at 2:11 PM
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