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Earl's Yard ServicesBlog2025
03 Nov 2025
0 Comments By Earl Gibson Small Engines , ,

Carburetor Tuning 101: Adjusting High & Low Speed Screws 🔧

So, you’ve cleaned your air filter, installed fresh fuel, and put in a new spark plug—but your engine still runs rough. If it struggles to accelerate or idles poorly, you might need to adjust the carburetor mixture screws.

This guide is for small engines that feature adjustable fuel/air mixture screws (often found on two-stroke equipment like chainsaws, trimmers, and some older lawnmowers). Caution: Improper tuning can quickly lead to engine damage. Always prioritize your engine’s health over maximum power.

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02 Nov 2025
0 Comments By Earl Gibson Small Engines , ,

Breathe Easy, Power Up: The Air Filter Trick for Small Engine Performance đź’¨

When your small engine equipment—your mower, generator, or snow blower—starts feeling sluggish, running rough, or burning through fuel faster than usual, your mind might jump to complex issues like a carburetor overhaul or a pricey repair.

Stop right there.

The single cheapest, fastest, and most impactful piece of maintenance you can perform to restore peak power is simply replacing the air filter. It’s the engine’s lungs, and if they’re clogged, your machine is literally being choked.

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01 Nov 2025
0 Comments By Earl Gibson Small Engines ,

Winterizing 2-Stroke Tools: Your 5-Step Checklist for Storage ❄️

As the last leaves drop and the cold sets in, it’s time to retire your weed trimmers, leaf blowers, and chainsaws for the season. For two-stroke (2-cycle) engines, proper winterization isn’t just good practice—it’s non-negotiable for engine longevity.

Why the urgency? Unlike four-stroke engines, two-strokes use oil mixed directly with gasoline. If that fuel/oil mixture sits for months, the gasoline evaporates, leaving behind a thick, gummy oil residue that is a death sentence for small carburetors.

Follow this simple 5-step checklist to ensure your equipment fires up effortlessly next spring.

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31 Oct 2025
0 Comments By Earl Gibson Small Engines , ,

Oil Change Rule: Match SAE Viscosity to the Weather

If you own a small engine—be it a trusty lawnmower, a powerful pressure washer, or a reliable generator—you know the key to longevity is proper maintenance. While keeping the fuel fresh is important, the lifeblood of your engine is the motor oil.

Walk into any hardware or auto parts store, and the wall of oil bottles can be overwhelming. The most crucial decision you’ll face is choosing the correct SAE viscosity. Getting this right is the cheapest insurance you can buy for your machine.

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30 Oct 2025
Stihl FS130 brush cutter 1
0 Comments By Earl Gibson Small Engines , ,

Fuel System Fix: Renewing Your Weed Trimmer’s Lines and Filter 🌿

Your string trimmer, or “weed whacker,” is a workhorse, but its tiny two-stroke engine is extremely sensitive to fuel delivery issues. Over time, the clear lines inside and outside the fuel tank become brittle, crack, or—most commonly—get stiffened and dissolved by ethanol in modern gasoline.

If your trimmer runs for a few seconds and then dies, bogs down under load, or if you see cracked lines near the primer bulb, it’s time for a vital, budget-friendly repair: replacing the fuel line and filter. This simple fix often revives a seemingly dead trimmer!

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