Carb adjustment screwdrivers and the EPA

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This is the same thing my Husky dealer told me about three years ago. I bought a few online as did another poster. My little saw runs good now.
 
This is the same thing my Husky dealer told me about three years ago. I bought a few online as did another poster. My little saw runs good now.

A couple years ago I bought a brand new and expensive Stihl brush cutter via Amazon.com. After running it for a while, I began to suspect something was wrong. It was taking too long to get up to top rpm, and it sounded and behaved like it was running too lean. And I couldn't adjust the carb without special tools that were unavailable at my local Stihl dealer. I found the tools on Ebay, but the seller wanted over thirty dollars. So I fixed things myself with a dremel, just took a couple minutes. That ended my warranty but I didn't care anymore, I was a bit angry about the situation. It seems they deliberately tune these things lean at the factory so they'll pass emissions requirements. All a totally unnecessary hassle in order to please the greenie wienies.
 
A couple years ago I bought a brand new and expensive Stihl brush cutter via Amazon.com. After running it for a while, I began to suspect something was wrong. It was taking too long to get up to top rpm, and it sounded and behaved like it was running too lean. And I couldn't adjust the carb without special tools that were unavailable at my local Stihl dealer. I found the tools on Ebay, but the seller wanted over thirty dollars. So I fixed things myself with a dremel, just took a couple minutes. That ended my warranty but I didn't care anymore, I was a bit angry about the situation. It seems they deliberately tune these things lean at the factory so they'll pass emissions requirements. All a totally unnecessary hassle in order to please the greenie wienies.

I'm not too concerned that they tune these things to get approval from the EPA mafia, it's just the issue that too lean causes premature engine wear, or outright damage.
Then people add more oil to try and compensate, negating the EPA measures. I wonder if one can sue the EPA for a new saw? Yah right.
 
I recently ran into a Walbro carb on a customer's Husky 137 that needed rebuilding to save it. Instead, I bought an aftermarket carb with slotted head adjusting screws for almost the same price as a rebuild kit and replaced the carb. It started on the third pull and was a breeze to adjust with a small flat blade screwdriver. Problem solved.
 
A couple years ago I bought a brand new and expensive Stihl brush cutter via Amazon.com. After running it for a while, I began to suspect something was wrong. It was taking too long to get up to top rpm, and it sounded and behaved like it was running too lean. And I couldn't adjust the carb without special tools that were unavailable at my local Stihl dealer. I found the tools on Ebay, but the seller wanted over thirty dollars. So I fixed things myself with a dremel, just took a couple minutes. That ended my warranty but I didn't care anymore, I was a bit angry about the situation. It seems they deliberately tune these things lean at the factory so they'll pass emissions requirements. All a totally unnecessary hassle in order to please the greenie wienies.

Do you even get a Stihl warranty if bought from amazon?. We are required to build each piece of equipment, ensure that the customer has been shown the proper starting procedure and make sure it is tuned properly. THEN sign off on the warranty. Stihl pays us when we are to adjust a customers carb so I do not see the issue here. Buy from an dealer get a warranty. :surprised3:
 
Do you even get a Stihl warranty if bought from amazon?. We are required to build each piece of equipment, ensure that the customer has been shown the proper starting procedure and make sure it is tuned properly. THEN sign off on the warranty. Stihl pays us when we are to adjust a customers carb so I do not see the issue here. Buy from an dealer get a warranty. :surprised3:

I see your point. Since you brought this up, now I'm not sure about getting a warranty for stuff bought from Amazon. I bought it because I had accumulated around $150 worth of cash back credits for using Discovercard for a long while. So I decided to cash that in by purchasing a new brush cutter. Discovercard listed Amazon as a place to cash in. I believe the vendor was a Stihl dealer somewhere, but not in TN. So if I purchase a new Stihl via mail order, can I still take it to my local dealer for warranty service? I tinker with all my machines, and I prefer to fix things myself. On the few occasions I've had to take saws and landscaping equipment in to be serviced, I always have to wait a while before I get it back, and I'm impatient. Then there is the driving back and forth I don't like.....
 
I see your point. Since you brought this up, now I'm not sure about getting a warranty for stuff bought from Amazon. I bought it because I had accumulated around $150 worth of cash back credits for using Discovercard for a long while. So I decided to cash that in by purchasing a new brush cutter. Discovercard listed Amazon as a place to cash in. I believe the vendor was a Stihl dealer somewhere, but not in TN. So if I purchase a new Stihl via mail order, can I still take it to my local dealer for warranty service? I tinker with all my machines, and I prefer to fix things myself. On the few occasions I've had to take saws and landscaping equipment in to be serviced, I always have to wait a while before I get it back, and I'm impatient. Then there is the driving back and forth I don't like.....


I am on the same page as you BUT if something is under warranty I leave it to the pros. Sure I can adjust it but many times there is a revision in the carb, a service bulletin etc.. Once it is out of warranty it is fair game !!
 

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