If this is the first go-round so the rest of it isn't worn out yet, get a $10 carb rebuild kit and do that.
The generic chinese replacement carbs are hit or miss, some are such horrible quality control that the needle valves don't even have casting threads to hold onto and can't be adjusted right. The bad quality control is not just a matter of which fake-brand you buy, rather it is a certain % of all of them. If this were a more valuable trimmer then I'd get an OEM carb (Sears is not the OEM), if you are allergic to rebuilding the original.
Originally Posted by jeepman3071
Originally Posted by skyactiv
With those cheap trimmers, one thing breaks and midway through the summer, something else breaks, too. They have carbs cheap on eBay, but your blowing time fixing a POS Poulan basically.
An idea for those of you that have power tools is to see if the battery is compatible with a trimmer they offer. This Dewalt as an example:
https://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DCST920B-Lithium-Ion-Brushless-Trimmer/dp/B01C5YWS3A?ref_=ast_sto_dp
So instead of him fixing it for $50 and being fine for a few more years you recommend he spend at least $125 on a new one? Seems kind of silly if the current one is repairable.
I fix a ton of weed trimmers for customers. Usually I can throw on an ebay carb (I don't even bother with rebuilds) and they are good for a few more years AT LEAST. If it breaks halfway through the season after a new carb they are operating it wrong.
That's the thing, "IF the current one is repairable". He's starting out with a low end trimmer, then if you throw garbage parts at it, maybe it starts working again or maybe not. Maybe more fiddling will get it running or maybe it only goes another year or two, becomes not worth the bother if it has enough years or hours on it, which is why some get the commercial/contractor grade gear, so it lasts more than ~50 hours.
So what I would do is, estimate how many hours it has ran, then add 3 hours for every year old it is. If that total exceeds 50 hours, replace it because it doesn't have a commercial engine. Whether you replace it with a $90 new low end trimmer, or a $60 refurb, or a $200+ mid-grade with a commercial engine, or a (variable price based on performance) cordless electric, is a topic onto itself.
"IF" it is only light trimming and you already own an 18V cordless tool brand which offers an 18V trimmer, I'd think long and hard about going that route, but you will never get the same performance or runtime out of 18V as you would any gas trimmer. You can go 40V+ and get the performance, but not the runtime (so consider the lot size you need to trim at once), and at about double the price, or more once you factor that you'll burn through one battery and need it replaced, by the time a new 2 cycle trimmer has worn out, but you can spread that cost out if you have other tools using same battery.
