A couple of weeks ago I went along one of our paths in Brimson with a string trimmer. When it ran out of gas, I went back to get the gas can. I refilled the trimmer and it wouldn't start. Gosh, a friend had just fixed it a year ago and had it running great.
Eventually I got it started but it would only keep running when I could grab the throttle quickly enough. For many tries, I just wasn't soon enough. Then I did grab the throttle quickly enough, but I couldn't hold the throttle and get the trimmer back on the harness. Again and again, the fool pushed on. I gave up trying to get it in the harness and just rested it on my hip.
I was really cutting grass now. Then the trimmer ran slower and slower and started smoking. I stopped it and headed back to the cabin. Then I looked at the gas can I had taken. It was regular gas and not gas-oil mix!!
The can for the mix does still have a clear 50 on it for 50-1 mix. Read labels, dummy!
I emptied the tank and refilled it with the mix. After many, many pulls, the trimmer ran as it should.
The old saying "If all else fails, read the directions" still holds.
Showing posts with label power equipment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label power equipment. Show all posts
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Misguided safety measures
I have more gas cans than I should have. I lose a vent cap or a disc seal and can't seem to find either for that particular can, and so I have to buy another gas can with yet a different vent cap or disc seal.
But the last one I bought is a @#$%&* nuisance. Both the vent cap and the spout ring have stops. To unloosen them one has to raise a plastic doohickey to get over a little wedge in the body of the can. These are bad enough in the summer when one can take off work gloves, but it is finger-numbering when its below 20° F.
I finally took a Leatherman saw to the tabs and got them out of the way. However, the designers overlooked one safety feature that is lacking in almost all gas cans. It takes a lot of effort to put the spout on just so to make sure the can doesn't leak as one pours gas into a tank.
I talked to Scott Cyr at Denny's Lawn and Garden about this. He said he had never found a can that wouldn't leak at the spout. I thought I had found a way to reduce the leaking. I keep the spout a quarter turn counterclockwise from where I want it as I tighten the cap. When I think I have it as tight as possible, I turn the cap again letting the spout turn also.
Today, as I poured gas into my lawn mower, I noticed that I had a puddle of gas on the driveway!
Safety engineers! Product designers! Before you fiddle around with making your gas cans difficult for kids to open, how about making sure that adults don't spill gas?
But the last one I bought is a @#$%&* nuisance. Both the vent cap and the spout ring have stops. To unloosen them one has to raise a plastic doohickey to get over a little wedge in the body of the can. These are bad enough in the summer when one can take off work gloves, but it is finger-numbering when its below 20° F.
I finally took a Leatherman saw to the tabs and got them out of the way. However, the designers overlooked one safety feature that is lacking in almost all gas cans. It takes a lot of effort to put the spout on just so to make sure the can doesn't leak as one pours gas into a tank.
I talked to Scott Cyr at Denny's Lawn and Garden about this. He said he had never found a can that wouldn't leak at the spout. I thought I had found a way to reduce the leaking. I keep the spout a quarter turn counterclockwise from where I want it as I tighten the cap. When I think I have it as tight as possible, I turn the cap again letting the spout turn also.
Today, as I poured gas into my lawn mower, I noticed that I had a puddle of gas on the driveway!
Safety engineers! Product designers! Before you fiddle around with making your gas cans difficult for kids to open, how about making sure that adults don't spill gas?
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