Why is my weed eater smoking?
The reason your weed eater is smoking is because of wrong gas-to-oil ratio and poor combustion. A dirty muffler and carburetor, water damage, clogged air filters and overworked motors are among other possible reasons your weed eater is smoking.
Wrong Gas-to-Oil Ratio
Two-stroke engine weed eaters require you to mix gasoline and oil in one chamber in a particular ratio. The oil lubricates the parts of the engine, while the gasoline powers the engine. Different engines have different ratios, with the most common being 50:1, 40:1 and 32:1. You must check your engine’s manual carefully to ensure you mix your oil in the correct ratio, failure to which your weed eater will smoke. If there is too little oil, you will notice white smoke. If the oil is in excess, you will notice blue smoke and oil leaking from your engine.
Poor or Inefficient Combustion
Poor or inefficient combustion is as a result of the oil mixture in the chamber failing to heat up properly. The oil fails to heat up with there is insufficient oxygen ratio in the combustion chamber. Usually, if you forget to turn off the choke after powering your machine one, excess air will fill the chamber affecting the combustion process. In this case, you will notice some black smoke coming from the exhaust.
Another cause of poor combustion is using very old fuel. Normal fuel has a shelf life of just about 30 days. If you live it sitting in the chamber for a long time, it oxidizes and fails to heat up properly when you run the engine.
Dirty Muffler and Carburetor
A dirty muffler and carburetor prevents proper circulation of air and causes smoking as the engine burns the debris in the chamber.
How to fix a weed eater that is smoking?
Fixing your weed eater depends on the issue at hand. The first step when you notice any kind of smoke from the exhaust is to switch-off your engine and determine the cause of that smoke. Here are a few solutions;
Use Correct Gas-to-Oil Ratio
If you realize that the ratio of gasoline to oil is the cause of your weed eater smoking, turn off the engine, leave it to cool and then empty the existing mixture. Check the manual of your engine to confirm the correct ratio. If you aren’t sure of how to mix the gas and the oil, buy commercial premixed oil from recommended sellers. Premixed oil has a longer shelf life.
Close the Valve if Open
When you notice black smoke, check if you have closed the valve that allows air to get into the combustion chamber. If you haven’t, switch off the engine, and wait for it to cool. When you switch it on again, ensure you close the valve to solve that issue.
Use Clean and New Fuel
If you have closed the valve and you still notice some smoke, then it could be you are using very old fuel to run the engine. In this case, switch it off immediately, wait for it to cool and empty the chamber. Clean the chamber to remove all traces of the old fuel, then use clean and new fuel. Avoid buying fuel from normal gas filling stations. Instead, find dealers that sell premixed oil for weed eaters.
Clean Muffler and Carburetor
If the cause of your weed smoking is a dirty muffler and carburetor, have them cleaned to allow free circulation of air. You can clean the muffler yourself as it easy to clean. As for the carburetor, I recommend you get assistance from a qualified technician since it’s a bit complicated.
Why is my electric weed eater smoking?
Your electric weed smoker is smoking because of worn out motor brushes, insufficient lubrication and electric faults. Dirt, too much power and burning plastic are other reasons your electric weed eater is smoking.
How to fix these problems:
- You can replace the motor brushes if they are worn out. If they are dirty, you clean them.
- Check if your weed eater has enough oil. If not, add the required amount for lubrication.
- Check electrical wires to see if there is any short. These wires can sometimes shot and heat-up burning plastic compartment. If you notice smoke with the smell of burning plastic, this could be the issue.
- In case you identify shot circuits, consider changing the source of your power. It could be you are using too much power.
Why is my Ryobi weed eater smoking?
Your Ryobi weed eater is smoking may be as a result of faulty valves, insufficient or excess oil, and insufficient combustion. Sometimes, when you store your Ryobi weed eater in an inverted position, oil pours into the chamber and burns out during combustion.
Here is what you need to do to solve this problem;
- Check if the valves are faulty. If they are, replace them with new ones.
- Ensure that the oil mixture is always in the right proportion.
- Clean the engine parts regularly, if possible after every 10 hours of use.
- Avoid storing the weed eater in an inverted position. However, if it happens that you do, and oil pours into the cylinder, drain it out since it could burn and produce smoke.
Why is my Husqvarna weed eater smoking?
Your Husqvarna weed eater is smoking due to a poor combustion, dirty muffler, dirty spark arrester screen, and misaligned carburetor settings. Using old fuel, and failing to close off the valve when running the engine are other possible causes your weed eater could be smoking. Here are a few things you should do to stop your machine from smoking;
- Clean spark arrester screen
- Clean the muffler
- Align the carburetor settings
- Use clean and new fuel. Fuel has a shelf life of about 30 days. You should avoid leaving fuel sit in your machine for more than a month.
Why is my STIHL weed eater smoking?
Your STIHL weed eater is smoking because of poor combustion, wrong gas-to-oil ratio, and wrong carburetor settings. Other reasons could be dirty carburetor, dirty muffler and leaking oil.
Poor Combustion
When the ratio of air to fuel becomes excessively rich in the combustion chamber, it fails to heat up efficiently. The engine produces a black smoke when it incompletely heats up fuel. Inefficient burning occurs when you forget to close the air valve or the choke completely when starting the engine, or when you use very old fuel. In addition to the black smoke, you will notice some deposits on the spark arrestor screen.
Open Choke
If you notice this, switch off the engine and check the valve. If you forgot to switch it off completely, allow the engine to cool, then switch on and ensure that you turn off the choke when you run the engine again. If the choke is not the issue, then you are using old fuel. In this case, drain the engine, and get some fresh fuel. Additionally, clean the spark arrestor between the muffler and the exhaust as it collects dirt when the machine is choked. If you forget to clean it, your weed eater will continue smoking even after the above remedies.
Carburetor Settings
If you have ascertained that the above diagnosis isn’t the problem, have a technician check your carburetor settings. Change of altitude may alter its functionality and cause your weed eater to smoke. A simple alteration will solve the problem if you move to higher altitudes where the air is richer due to low pressure.
