homelite engine blower

[bangka]

hi!
i just bought a new homelite blower at low price. i have it tested at the store and it starts. now at home, i'm new to gas engines. there are 2 levers, blue and red, i think the blue is throttle, the red i don't know. now what am i gunna do for this thing to start and run great? i'm at lost at the controls because theres no manual included. and what kind of oil should i mix with fuel? is 2 stroke motorcycle oil ok? like castrol synthetic oil for 2 stroke? i will probably put this into a 50"-55" boat, maybe a semi scale one, and would probably try to look for a clutch.
and does anyone have a manual? and how much rpm and hp do you think it can produce?
thanks for any infos.
ernest

[kevin28]

Without a picture, i cannot tell you what the levers are.
mix with 2-cycle oil a stock homelite is 4 oz. to 1 gallon gas 32:1
In my boat i run 6-7 oz of oil per gallon.
a bone stock homelite is .8hp and turns 8000rpms.
Gutting the exhaust and putting a walbro 167a carb will help it.
lots of homelite blowers use a long crank that may make it difficult to mount in a boat...but not impossible.
Sounds like the start of a good project.

[bangka]

ok heres a pic of the engine, as you can see 2 levers. i think the red is choke. whats the purpose of this?

[bangka]

another pic and another problem i guess :( the pull start is attached to the plastic casing, should i cut the casing off and leave the pull start area only? and how in the world i going to mount this engine? :eek:

[bangka]

another pic

[bufferoo]

Take off the air cleaner box (you won't really need it on the water anyway) and move each lever one at a time. If one moves the butterfly that's your throttle. If it moves a plate that closes the opening but still leaves a small hole that should be the choke. Other option is that they are your mixture screws and your throttle is linked elsewhere. I'd guess that would be more likely as the throttle control is usually mounted in a handle on these things.

You can cut off all the blower assembly that you don't need and only keep what you need for the pull start.

Mounting may be a problem but from what i've seen these typically are the same engines as used in weed whackers and you can find replacement backplates that have mounts built in. Some of them even help performance as they help stuff the crankcase a bit.

With the long shaft this engine would most likely work better on an aircraft (maybe an airboat?) but it can be used in a boat.

I've been working on a salvaged chainsaw engine for quite a while now and I tell you that I wish I had never started with it. If I could go back I would rather spend the time & $$$ on a boat specific engine instead of the stress and bother I've put myself through. Mind you, now that I have put so much into it I consider it a personal challenge and it WILL be used in something. :D

Bufferoo

[bangka]

thanks bufferro. first how do i get the aircleaner out without breaking it? stupid question i guess.:-) its ok actually to have this engine, not much here at the price i pay for it. i will be using it in a semi scale motoryacht type boat so 20mph if ever would be fine for me.
thanks!

[bufferoo]

From your last picture it looks like there is a little clip on the top of the air cleaner housing. Pop it up (or off) and that should open it all up. There should be some foam inside and that can be pulled out. The rest of the housing should be held in with a few screws. If it's like the other aircleaners I've seen the screws that hold it in place will be the same ones that hold the carb on. You'll need to take them out, pull off the housign and then put them back in. Shouldn't cause any problems.

I don't doubt that you should be able to get at least 20mph out of that engine even if left stock.

Bufferoo

[bangka]

problem!!! now the engine wont start. i don't know why. i put gas with 7 or 8:1 ration. is it the plug? i will try to buy another plug and see what happens.
and if its flooded with fuel, how do i drain it? because i see fuel dripping from the carb.
by the way i am using synthetic oil from castrol.

[bufferoo]

Are you saying that you used a gas\oil mix at 7 or 8:1? If so then I wouldn't be surpised it if does not start. That's a LOT of oil. Try 25:1 or even 32:1. If you use Homelite oil you can even go to 50:1 but I don't like doing that myself.

Bufferoo

[bangka]

i thought it was ok, i read posts that put gas with oil ratio like that. anyway, i will try to mix another with 32:1 ratio. do i need to take the engine apart and clean the inside of the engine? because the starter pulls ok put the engine just wouldnt fire up.
thanks bufferoo

ernest

[Hockeekidd98]

mix it 50:1

[bangka]

ok i try 50:1 first. if it fire up, i will go 32:1. i hope it will. my shoulder actually sore from pulling the starter without success. :-)

[Chris LaPanse]

I use 32:1 in my boat (4oz of oil to the gallon). This gives it adequate oil without loosing power or being hard to fire up.

[ejp]

If you use amsoil you can mix 100:1. Just remember that any oil ratio change will change you jetting mixture richer with less oil and leaner with more.

[bangka]

i dont think ill do 100:1 ejp. i'll try 50:1 when i get home, im at work right now. thanks!

[kevin28]

A stock homelite calls for 32:1 (4oz per gallon)
In a boat it is under constant load, I run between 6 and 7 oz per gallon. never messed up a plug yet.
also, if i were you, I would not spend the money for synthetic oil in a $25 homelite. I run standard 2-cycle oil from the garden center.
Now in a zen, i use the synthetic.
When you get home, take out the plug, (disconnect fuel) turn the engine upside down and pull a few times to get all that out of the case.
make sure the plug is clean and dry.
Put it back together.
It should fire right up.

[bangka]

i tried firing the engine last night, no success. kevin, i'll try your suggestion, that's my thought, maybe it's not synthetic compatible. do i need to pour or clean it with denatured alcohol to clean the inside of the engine?
i even tried pure gasoline into it, but still no success.

[Chris LaPanse]

Pull out the spark plug, clean it with denatured alcohol. Let it dry, reinstall it, and try to fire it. If the spark plug is not fouled, merely coated in gas, then pull it out and leave it out for a few hours before trying again.

[bangka]

ok chris i'll do that. do i also have to clean the inside of the engine? or just the plug?

[bangka]

it still doesnt fire up. i'll give up for now, maybe i'll just bring it to a repairshop in the weekend to see what's wrong with it.

[Rickracer]

Pull the spark plug out, hold it against the head with the plug wire attached, and slowly pull the motor over, watching to see if it has any fire. If it doesn't, try a new spark plug. :cool:

[bangka]

i've done that rick, it does have a spark, i even have a new one which has more spark, still nothing though. do you think it has to do with the position of the magneto? because the flywheel went loose one time when the retaining nut came loose and so does the flywheel. the engine was running at that time, and it died when that happens. and that was the last time i was able to fire it up.

[Rickracer]

...you've most likely sheared off the flywheel key. Get yourself a new flywheel key, Remove the flywheel, pick out the remains of the old key from the flywheel and the crank, replace the key, put it all back together and you should be good to go. You might want to use some loctite on the crankshaft retaining nut this time, to a reoccurence of this little incident. :cool:

[Chris LaPanse]

check the choke - I spent three days trying to get the zen in my manta ray to fire - I would pull until it was flooded every time with no life, and then I discovered that I had the choke settings reversed. Also check the carb. It might also be a good idea to chek the magneto position - check that the piston is at tdc when you see the spark (when you have the spark plug removed). Aside from that, take it to a small engines repair shop and have them check it out. It is probably something embarrasingly stupid (yes, it happens to all of us). Good luck figuring it out.

[bangka]

it does have a slight chip, but i guess its still ok because it fits ok and the engine turns ok when i pull the chord. do you think it has to do with the magneto location? i don't know anything about it though.

[Chris LaPanse]

As I said, it might be, but I doubt it. Check all other things, and if you can't find any problem, take it to a small engines repair shop. Other than that, I don't know.

[Rickracer]

...pull the flywheel nut and check to see that the keyways are lined up. I'll bet you sheared the key. If the flywheel was "loose", as you said, and the motor died, that means the flywheel (which is also the ignition trigger) went out of time, which means the key must have sheared, or come out. If you are handy with tools, it's a half hour job to fix it, and costs only the price of a flywheel key. :cool:

[bangka]

ok ill check it again this evening.
chris whats tdc? i will also check the plug ignition. just when should the plug ignite?, when the piston is in the top and just about to go down?

[Chris LaPanse]

tdc is top dead center - in other words, it should spark right when the piston is at the top, maybe a tiny bit before.

[Hockeekidd98]

I have that same leaf blower, mix it 50:1 there are starting directions on the handle...

[bangka]

its ok now, its the plug timing, remove the flywheel and aligned it and its ok now.
it seems strange though because at half open choke, its goes wide open throttle ok but dies when the choke is set at full open.

[Rickracer]

Sounds like the carb may be gummed up a little bit. Try adjusting your needles a bit. Open up the high side a 1/4 turn or so, crank it and wait a couple of minutes for it to warm up then see how it responds. :cool: