There Should Be a Recall
I have a shady 3.4 acre lot of which I mow maybe an acre of. That means come fall I have a large quantity of leaves to clear. For 18 of the 20 years We've lived here, I used my little Tanaka hand held leaf blower I bought when I had a small city lot back in 2002. While it is still a good machine and running strong, the big leaf cleanup would take me several days, then one more full day in early December before the snow flies and after the oaks finally dropped their leaves. In November 2022, I went out and purchased a Stihl BR800 C-E Magnum back pack leaf blower. According to Stihl's website at the time, "it is the biggest and baddest backpack blower" they make. It cost me almost $800 with the extended warranty, but worth every penny. It has the "Easy2Start" recoil start system which allows the user to start & stop the machine without having to take it off. This machine has taken my full yard cleanup down to just one day, and the later small clean up to a couple of hours. I routinely clean my yard and driveway after a windstorm and it is so easy. I still use my little Tanaka for small stuff and up on the roof to clear the gutters. My wife didn't think it was worth the money, but she doesn't do the yard work, I do. Everything was great, until a few days ago.
A line of windy thunderstorms caused my driveway to be absolutely littered with pine needles and pine cones which can be hazardous for me heading out on "The Beast." I got halfway down cleaning the driveway when the RPM's started dropping off. Then the engine started sputtering causing me to continually blip the throttle to try and keep it running. Then finally it stalled. I took it up to the garage to see what might be the problem. I knew it was not the fuel/oil mix. I had just topped it off before starting the job, and I tag all my gas cans. My mix was dated 5-16-25, was 93 octane Mobil gas, with Opti-2 universal 2-stroke oil, and Sta-Bil 360 which is a gas stabilizer with an ethanol treatment. I use this 2-stroke fuel/oil mix in all my 2-stroke equipment and have for too many years to count. I pulled the fuel filter out of the tank with a hook to ensure it was clean and submerged in fuel. I got the machine to restart, but it didn't run for long and died again. I called the dealer and would bring it in on Monday June 30th.
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| Opti-2 universal 2-stroke oil, my preferred choice |
I got the machine back yesterday. It was ready on the 2nd but I was working and could not go pick it up. The technician told me what the problem was.... a bad carburetor, and Stihl knows about the problem! Turns out there is a series of serial numbers out there with bad carbs, of which mine was one of 30,000+ machines out there. Stihl has not issued a recall, and had I not gotten the extended warranty, would have had to pay the full repair price. I only paid $6.37 for a new fuel filter because the diligent technician always replaces it and fuel lines with a new carb. Since the filter is a normal wear item I gladly paid for it. The technician complimented me on the condition of the machine and my care of it. I told him it's easy since I am not a landscaper beating the crap out of my equipment, or running it all day every day. When I purchased the blower, you got the extended warranty if you purchase a pack of Stihl 2-Stroke oil or a gallon of Stihl Moto-Mix fuel. Both cost $39.99 so I bought the gallon of fuel. My warranty remains in effect until November 2026. If you have one of these machines and experience the problem out of warranty, raise a stink! Threaten Stihl with a complaint to the Department of Consumer Protection or a class action lawsuit. Even though I got mine fixed, the service tech knew I was pissed about that shitty way of doing business.
Driveway Work
I hired one of the volunteers in the fire department to bring his tractor and York Rake over to my house the level out the gravel driveway yesterday. It is actually what's called "process" which is crushed stone mixed with stone dust. Once it is compacted, and dry it looks like concrete. We've been in our house for 20 years, and the freezing and thawing cycles had left ruts on the straight-away where we always drive in the exact same spot. The top of the driveway has a turn around, so we are not driving over the same spots all the time. In the ruts were the top of some boulders of unknown size poking up. He offered to dig them out, but I did not want to have to fill in the holes and the rocks were locked in place and stable. Instead, on Tuesday the 1st I rented an electric Bosch jack hammer. $45 for a half day rental seemed reasonable. Because of the distance from the house, I used my Generac portable generator to operate the jackhammer instead of multiple extension cords. This did two things; ensured I had full power to run the jackhammer, and did the quarterly preventative maintenance run of the generator under load. I only had to knock off about 3 inches which was done quickly. I then busted up a rock off the side of the driveway where I park my utility trailer that was pointy and sticking up. Gone! There was also another rock closer to the house that I would hit with the snowblower and that one is now also subterranean. I brought the jackhammer back to the rental facility with plenty of time left to go. When Nick showed up with his tractor yesterday at 08:00 AM, we were ready to go. It took him multiple passes with the rake and the bucket to break up the process, and then spread it out. I used a garden rake to pull material off the grass and back in the driveway that spilled over. I paid him $200 cash which he greatly appreciated. After he left I used my pickup truck to drive up and down moving a few inches over each time to roll and compact the process. Then last night we got a good soaking rain with thunderstorms that will help with getting it locked up. My wife says she doesn't see a difference. She's also not the one taking care of the driveway either, she just drives on it. Snow clearing this winter will be much easier and more thorough than with ruts packed with snow.
Happy Independence Day
July 4th occurs every where on the planet and is just a date on the calendar. INDEPENDENCE DAY that occurs in America on July 4th should mean something more than just a day off or a BBQ. The men that signed The Declaration of Independence pledged their lives to this nation, as have generations of American Patriots that signed the blank check payable up to their lives to preserve The Republic. So while you enjoy that burger and that cold brew, remember the real reason we celebrate today.
