Ice Auger Help!

Before you go crazy tearing into the carburetor, I would try dumping the old gas then put in your new gas with a cap full of Sea Foam.

< sigh> It's all worth trying. Change the fuel,empty the bowl if it's got one,check the needle valve adjustments,dump in a little SeaFoam. Sometimes you get lucky and that fixes the problem.

The main problem i'm seeing is that we're working with blended fuel. It seems to be okay for fuel injected engines that have a closed loop vapor recovery system but this new gas is really bad for small engines that have a carburetor. There are four basic problems:

1: It's a blended fuel. It's a low octane gasoline blended with a high octane ethanol. It's only got a reliable shelf life of 30 days. Anytime after that .... it can start to undergo something called phase separation. That's just a fancy way of saying that the gasoline breaks down into it's two parts.

First you get a charge of low octane gasoline where the engine barely runs. The ethanol is intended as the anti-knock additive and without that the engine knocks like crazy. That destroys the piston rings & cylinder walls.

Next you get a charge of high octane alcohol that makes the engine rev way up & overheat.

2: The second problem with the new fuel is that it's pretty corrosive. It destroys the rubber plenums in the carb and eats at the metal parts that aren't corrosion resistant. After a couple of years of exposure to the new fuel the carbs are ruined. The fuel lines and primer bulbs can also be destroyed unless they're specially made to handle ethanol.

3: Most of the small engines have a fuel tank that's vented to the open air. The alcohol in the fuel bonds with the water vapor in the air and that adds to the process of phase separation.

4: We've exported most of our small engine manufacturing to China. The quality coming back really isn't that good. They're just low cost consumer goods that are only intended to last 3- 5 years. The cost to repair usually is greater than the cost to replace so you just throw em away and buy new. They could be made better so that they can handle a blended fuel but most folks will buy the lower cost thing on the store shelf.

Anyway .... might just be bad gas. Might be that the carb is pooched. Might be the piston & cylinder. I'm really careful about using fresh fuel. For the last ten years or so i've been figuring on having to replace the carb every so often. It's just a part of life now that the fuel has changed.

Edited to add:

2LCSTORE.com is about the best source for replacement carbs that i've found so far. Oregon manufacturing has branched out into aftermarket carbs and their products aren't bad. A replacement carb for my Honda powered wood splitter was only like 22.00$ w/ shipping last fall.

All very true scrappah
We run a lot of older small engine equipment and took notice pretty quick when the switch happened, it tears everything up.. seen an o ring turn to goop.
of course there are plenty of additives to remove the effects of ethanol.. a few work... Guess I should say haven't had to rebuild the outboard motor since I started adding it.
Those old parts are not easy to come by all gas used in the old stuff gets the additive any new equipment isn't going to last anyways so not worth the extra cost.
start checking off what it is not.. could be the return spring mine was loose on the lawnmower causing similar issues

There is a newer product becoming available called "canned gas" you can get it at small engine shops and it comes already blended with 2 stroke oil in various ratios. It comes in a one quart metal can, is totally ethanol free and stabilized. for occasional use in small engines like this it is the cats meow! Keep the corn liquor for mix drinks, don't put it in any vented fuel tank and BURN IT!!!!