Anybody familiar with echo hedge trimmers?

[atlarge54]

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I picked up these four echo hedge trimmers at a garage sale today for a grand total of $30. The guy said he just buys new ones every two years. Put gas in one and it fires but doesn't run right, gassed up another and it seems to run fairly well only a workout will tell. Anybody familiar with them, three are 1500's and one is a 150.

The funny thing is I've really needed one for a long time but just too cheap to spring for one. Maybe I can make a few bucks off them and buy another chainsaw that I DON'T NEED.

 

[w8ye]

I haver a couple Echo weed whackers, a blower, and a rotor tiller.

Only trouble I've ever had is occasional metering valve diaphragms in the carbs.

 

[timmcat]

Adjust the carbs richer than you would for a chainsaw or trimmer, and keep the cases greased, they dont like water in the grease either. I service/sharpen 80 to 100 of those a year and probably send 2 or 3 to scrap per year mostly due to water damage or broken cases due to being run over.

 

[atlarge54]

Well they all run but of course the one that looks the best has a carb issue. The part (gasket) that has the two little flappers (check valves?) has one that is deformed. Carb is clean so looks like a gasket and diaphragm should fix it. The one I gave a workout yesterday was the HC-150 and I think it has a plastic carb with no adjusting screws. Would the HC-1500 be a better model to keep?

What is the preferred method to sharpen the cutters?

 

[timmcat]

I use a 4 1/2" angle grinder for all but the closest teeth to the handle. For the last 3 or 4 sets of teeth I use an extended reach cutoff wheel. As far as your crb questions go, I've never seen a non adjustable plastic carb on an echo anything. The early walbro wz was plastic, but had both hi and low adjustment, the c1u and c1q that were on most of the machines from the 90's had at least 1 adjuster, and the newer zama rb seris carbs are fully adjustable, you just have to know where they are, usually behind a black plastic plug.