The Truth Behind Why Shops WON'T Work On Your Stuff
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- Опубликовано: 23 мар 2024
- Taryl's been in this business for a long time. Over 40 years and he's seen it all. We are watching the downfall of the outdoor power equipment repair industry and THIS is why shops are turning away your equipment. You want the truth? Can you handle the truth? Check it out here. And There's Your Dinner.
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This is why I fix my own stuff. Everything still runs from sears I bought 30 yrs ago
Same here, of course the shops need to pay the light bill. Its a business silly....
The shops are basically running their own selves out of business with this attitude towards older equipment, that’s why they all have to supplement their incomes with utube otherwise they won’t survive on repairs alone.
I have two 73 and 74 Sears ST16s, with all the attachments, they still run perfectly. Luckily I can fix them myself, they are so much fun.
@@gamebredduramax71u obviously never owned a mechanic shop before talking like that
@@gamebredduramax71 May be true, but the sad fact remains that it makes no sense whatsoever to 'throw good money after bad' and spend way more fixing up an old piece of fecal material, instead of spending that same money on a new machine that in most cases, will come with a warranty. Plus, there's the parts availability issue for old equipment...it's getting worse every day. And most of the new parts these days comes from CHINA, which sucks.
My retired buddy winters in Florida, and he picks up a lot of generators and pressure washers down there. People use them once, and when they pull them out a couple of years later, they don't start, so they go buy a new one. He cleans the carbs, changes the oil, and resells them. Nice little side gig.
thats what my dad did when he retired. he would fix stuff cheaper because he had an income. but he never lost money. There is a warehouse in KY or TN. that sells parts for almost every thing sold. He could buy Card rebuild kits for 1.00. Other places was selling them at 10 dollars. He just charged a flat 20 bucks to rebuild the card including the parts. Other places was 75 buck. He would make an extra 10 to 12 grand a year working about 4 months
@@robertleath9913 10-12 grand in 4 months, thats a lot of 20 dollar carb rebuilds😂
I have a 35 year old Onan generator that just needs a little cleaning. Runs, just a little rough because the carb is dirty and the plug needs to be cleaned and gapped. I like tools that can be fixed. But I also think putting 2 stroke motors on strimmers and chainsaws is archaic. Electric is so much better. You get a lighter, safer tool that doesn't waste energy by idling when you aren't actively cutting. There is no comparison on torque delivery. You can do direct drive with electric. To buy a gas chainsaw that can do what my electric chainsaw can would cost 3 times as much and weigh at least twice as much. Then there's the fact that eau de gasoline smells like shit and is toxic, especially when it comes out of a small 2 stroke. I have lung disease and the NOx emissions alone would send me into fits.
The only thing I use these days with a 2 stroke is my plane. And that's just because there is no good alternative. Lithium ion batteries are too dangerous to use in an aircraft so until they market a safer battery technology, electric is out of the question.
The real moral of this story: LEARN to care for and maintain your own stuff.
Sadly it's the mentality of "If it breaks I'll buy a new one" or "If it breaks I'll just take it to the repair shop". Then they get a shock that their junk costs a boat load to fix and they don't want to pay. I have a mechanic friend who had to deal with a lot of cheap-skates who tried to get him to work on their clapped out junkers for nothing. He always gave me the "friend deal" when it came to working on my truck but I always threw a few extra bucks at him because he took the time to work on it for me.
Most people don't want to get gas on their hands haha
Buy good quality items to start. You know the old saying, "You can pay me now or you can pay me later, again!"
@@scottprimrose6966 That was always my thought when it came to buying new parts for my truck. I could save a few bucks now and pay twice when it broke again or I could pay twice the price from the beginning and not have to fix it again for a long time. I hated buying cheap parts because I knew they wouldn't last. It took longer to save for quality parts but when you got them it was like Christmas. :)
It’s easy. Use non-ethanol gas, change plugs, fuel/air filters annually and store with empty fuel tanks or use stabilizer. I’ve never had anything quit on me doing these things.
When I was in the RV repair business, I could repair 12 volt power supplies. I bought an electronics repair book, I got the service book from the manufacturer on how to repair them and even stocked repair parts.
I took an old one, repaired it for the next replacement and then swapped it out then repaired that one for the next job.
I made money on each repair and saved customers money on the price of a new one.
Then in the late 1990's, the power supply manufacturers, in their infinite wisdom, started manufacturing all electronic power supplies complete with irreparable and irreplaceable circuit boards. AND, on top of that they encased the whole electronics in resin. So, even if you were capable of repairing a circuit board, you could never get to it.
Now, the only option is to replace the power supply with a new one at the full retail price of course.
I just got done updating all of my equipment I believe in steel chainsaw. I have three of them. They’re brand new. I just bought a brand new 500. I injected chainsaw that is awesome but I don’t buy cheap stuff but some people they buy what they gonna afford. There’s nothing wrong with that. but on video as usual.
Bosch did that with electronic ignitions in the 1980's. Instead of one power transistor you had to change the whole module and being German it was several hundred dollars.
Planned Obsolescence coupled with taking away the 'right to repair'.
@@barbmelle3136the toyota ones are always cheap
I just got burned buying an electronic golf cart charger online. I won't say the site name, but they sell brands with names like DigiGoo and GYBVDSFM. Those boards are refurbished junk. Mine was obviously reworked with a hand soldering iron, and there are no schematics either, of course.
This video is a giant favor to every mechanic out there who doesn't have time to explain it to each customer! Taryl articulates perfectly what most mechanics and technicians have had to explain more than once. Customer Redbeard is NOT an exaggeration. Heck, he's even sober!
AMEN!
So many people have no idea what goes into repairing a machine … nor do they care
💯
You shouldn't need to explain this to anyone. It is simple economics. Paying a Chinese person to build a new one in China where costs are low is cheaper than paying an America to fix it where costs are high. Not only are the costs lower in China, there's also the currency exchange advantage. A Yuan is 14 cents.
This is gold 💯
Most people work as employees for someone else and are unable to understand the true cost of running a business and keeping it going.
Most of the younger people today think that the reason they were given a job is so they have a place to socialize with coworkers and play with their smartphones all day. They get annoyed if they have to do something else, or God forbid, talk to the grumpy public.
@@fredflintstone8048or they shut down because the answer isn't as simple as a Google search.
@@fredflintstone8048 I guess "younger people" must apply to anyone under the age of 65 because smartphone addiction is huge everywhere.
You ain't never lied about that. We have a small landscaping business. We have track loaders, backhoes, tractors, and dump trucks. It's a full time job even if the business is only part time. There's a hydraulic line always bursting or a truck tire that has to be replaced or gets a flat when loaded. Then you have to worry about the DOT constantly. Insurance, fuel expenses, repairs that we do, repairs that have to be done by shops, good drivers and operators, it takes a lot. And customers always want to bicker about the price of having something done. Sheesh!
That's why most shops much prefer to work on professional landscaper's equipment...the main thing they want to know isn't "how much is it going to cost?", it's "How soon can you get my machine repaired so I can keep making money with it?"@@rutbuster1
I suspected when Scruffy put the first one on the floor that he was gonna disappear and leave a pile of junk.
I understand why shops won't work on the cheaper equipment. If it can't make the shop any money, it's not worth it. But as a homeowner, you have to make a decision. Do you repair it yourself, learn to repair it, or just buy another one. I'm blessed for having the knowledge to work on this stuff myself and I am so thankful that I grew up in a household that taught me these skills. I can work on practically anything. I've noticed that a lot of the problems people have with this equipment is often self inflicted. Had they done the proper maintenance or preventive maintenance, the equipment would still be working. And not to offend anyone, but a little common sense goes a long ways.
Same here!
Right, there's regular use, then there's abuse.
Letting them sit with old fuel and shutting them off immediately when hot, can kill them.
Dirty fuel and substandard fuel offerings at the pump can harm them.
Old fuel line can be replaced if you learn to do it.
Carbs are sold complete for low cost.
A do it yourself can teach himself with RUclips and checking out local stores for odds and ends like pull rope, fuel line, correct spark plug.
Online stores have offerings of diaphragm repair kits if you can figure out ordering correctly.
I had a mower that took 4 orders to get the spark igniter. The info says it fits, but three of them didn't.
Lawn mower detectives gave up and went to the bar.
I had to fix by trying again and again.
Then the new one didn't last.
FPOS.
The grass was 3.5feet tall, so I had to borrow a D.R. trimmer mower.
Now that's not a bad machine.
You can find them used, locally, but you have to really need one.
The supplies for them aren't cheap. But doing maintenance every few hours keeps things going.
You need mechanical know-how when there's several machines and a lot of area gets overgrown. And terrain makes you need a smaller machine.
You have to cut it before it gets tall and the summer heat has you. I had to get a guy and pay him because I couldn't do the work like he could. Then I would maintain the one and he would use the other.
But unfortunately common sense isn’t very common anymore
4800 hours on RUclips and counting. Wish I grew up the son of a wrench turner, but I have an aptitude for mechanics, so this comes relatively easily for me.
@@modoc852 sabotage is all too common.
So put your equipment in a shed and lock it up.
Big lesson, there.
It used to be, all you needed was a covered area.
Now children have only one parent.
No good role models.
No morals, respond only to consequences.
I had a craftsman blower about five or so years ago, brought it to local small engine repair shop wanted it fixed. He basically told me what you just said ( not worth our time to fix you could buy a new one for what I’d have to charge). Then he asked about my old truck I was driving, I said yes I got the old truck on the road after sitting about fifteen years in a warehouse in Detroit. He says I know what’s wrong with your blower then proceeded to give me the fuel line and how to cut it at angle to fish it in etc. I asked him how much for the line etc. he says no charge!!! I fixed it just like he said worked!!!! Since than I bought a new lawnmower and trimmer from him. Both better quality than I had before
I don't understand, what does your blower have to do with the truck?
That’s customer service.
Another thing that Taryl didn't mention was that if someone pays a shop to repair one of these cheaply make older pieces of equipment and something else goes wrong with it in a short amount of time they're going to want to take it back to the shop and expect them to fix the next thing for free. When the shop refuses the shop has a very unhappy customer on their hands that threw good money after bad in the first place. Paying to continue to keep these things running is a huge waste of money.
Listen to what Taryl says about buying battery powered equipment. They stand up better to being left around unused, although it's good to run them and give them a charge once in awhile the batteries having a shelf life being the problem.
ryobi stuff is just fine for most homeowners, 18v!
Yeah, once a shop works on a piece of equipment like that once, they 'own' every problem it ever has after that. "What?!!!...I paid you $75 last year to fix it and now I have to pay you another $75 this year?....don't your repairs have a 'warranty'?"
@@mikes-wv3embeen running mine 10 years now on the string trimmer. The battery fits all of my other tools. Has out lasted a stilh trimmer bought after it. For the average household battery is best option. I’ve even seen battery tools on a commercial lawn service on my street. They had a charging bank set up with a row of batteries and a rack full of tools. Save yourself the trouble
@@russellstewart5414 Those battery string trimmers are no joke, hands down one of the best battery tools I own. I got a 60v dewalt trimmer a few years ago without the battery since I already use that platform for my day job. It seems more powerful than my 32cc gas weed eater, I barely need to crack the throttle on the low setting to get the job done. It'll take grass right down to the dirt real fast if you're not careful with it.
I had a "customer" who did this to me. He basically trash picked and thought I would fix the stuff so he could flip it. At first I'd fix the decent push mowers he would bring me. Then he started bringing his pickup full of electric blowers, trimmers, and power washers, mowers with busted decks, basically anything he found on the side of the road or in a creek. I had to run him off and I banned him. 😂
id fix it is hes willing to pay the price and find the parts
@jonsworld5307 That was part of the problem. I'd spend time evaluating and troubleshooting just for him to say never mind. That took time from paying customers. He'd get mad that I charged him to troubleshoot especially when he couldn't tell me anything about what he brought me. I finally had to tell him to go away and don't come back. I should have payed Taryl for some "Ronny Throwing" lessons. 😆
@@BushcraftingBogan ah iv learn to spend no ore 10 mins evaluting stuff spray gas in car if fires and quits i know its got spark and no fuel at that point i just order cheap china carb if i dont have blown up one for parts like it if dont hit on gas put spark tester on it if got spark and gas il do compression test that almost always shows its junk so il call them tell them its junk want it back come get it if not il keep it for the 2 dollar Dianostic fee then i sell used parts off it to get my 25 dollar fee i fully understand ig shop with overhead cant do this tho find local guy like me send thos to him i got lucky found biger shop to send me the jobs they dont want
yep sometimes ya just got fire custmoers @@BushcraftingBogan
a good mechanic would do this if timewasnt a concern
@@jonsworld5307
Mostly garbage when new = absolutely garbage when old
A lot of the new stuff is bad. That's the truth. Poor quality control.
@@rutbuster1 Actually it's great quality control. They put just enough quality in it to last a little beyond warranty.
@@lylejohnston4125 You got that right. Car manufacturers are the same way on certain rather expensive parts. They always seem to go bad when the warranty expires.
You are right it's the truth
CRAPSMAN...
Just a case of big business killing small businesses with disposable, frequently changing designs and proprietary parts that are expensive when new, then few years old, unobtainable.
Hey, it'll be the same with battery powered stuff too.
Read about the Phoebus Cartel. They pretty much started that concept.
I don't think repairing an electric one will even be an option at all, certain not diy like gas powered stuff.
@@GrandPrix46
Oh, DIY will be stronger with electric stuff.
You'll have way more flexibility with battery powered things.
@@GoldSrc_ Got you mixed up with another comment on another video. I guess we shall see, but I imagine it'll just be throwaway/buy new for the most part on electric stuff when it dies (outside of the battery just being junk, of course). I can't see the average Joe troubleshooting, disassembling, finding replacement parts, replacing said parts, then reassembling an electric lawn mower.
Well, where are the TV repair shops today? When a new TV is $200 at Walmart and there are no parts or schematics available, it's impossible. You throw it away and buy another.
This is where we Grass Rats come in! Assuming we can get parts, we'll work on it if it's ours or belongs to a friend. We don't charge labor, we just like screwing around with crap.
[at the end]
That's me, I'm Uncle Andy. Find stuff at the curb, take it home, put it in the basement, and mess around with it on Saturdays after cartoons on MeTV.
I am surprised at how many parts are available for cheap throw away Chinese junk. When they supply machines for $100 dollars or less they supply quite a lot of parts.
I wish I could still get metv
i fix all the old stuff id prefar it bring thos to me 25 bucks plus parts il have all 3 fixed in a day
Charging money would have you on the hook if it fails & it won't matter if it's not related to the original issue. Only real option is sell it as is or for parts
@@tonysheerness2427 A carb for a chinese linetrimmer from the wholesaler is $5.00 (can't recall if it was in U.S,GB or Euro). Even Echo parts direct from china ebay is cheap i.e pb250 blower carb kit here is $52nz oem, yet a whole carb with 2 air filters,primer bulbs,1 spark plug,tank grommet,fuel filter & 3 fuel lines was $56nz landed. It pissed me off all i really needed was the diaphram pump & couldn't get it here in nz by itself. The oem cost was a rip off, it most likely cost $0.50c if that to make
I think Scruffy was dumpster diving around the neighborhood, then Uncle Andy ends up with the crap.
na he was dumpster diving behind Taryl's shop
@dfields9511 agreed, now they need a skit on temple seeing that stuff a second time, lol
I have an electronics repair shop and this literally happened. I tossed some unrepairable items in the dumpster and the next day someone brought them back in asking how much to fix it. Luckily I recognized the items and inquired when they came from. He gave an excuse that he got it from a pawn shop and I refused to work on it.
If he would have been truthful, maybe tell him they were junk and in the dumpster@@Kryodyne
@@Kryodyne disposable(plagued/diseased) junk has messed up the whole world, good luck on your soon ending business(not intending to be evil/mean/harsh), but do to the obsolescence of repairable products and super cheapness, with huge inflation...
I'm not saying you should fold up and move on yet, but as a business, good luck. it would be wise to keep up on all the tech and have tooling to repair it, because a day will come when the disposable junk suddenly becomes gold again (any major global disruptions?, likely sooner than later).
but no-no, lets just keep our heads in the sand and pretend it's all peaches and cream, whilst electing imbeciles.
NO, I'm not a prepper, but foresight, basic mindfulness and multiple skills are always great to have.
Just cleaned out the carb & replaced the fuel lines on my late Dad's Craftsman air blower that looks close to what you have, Taryl. After a fill of VP 93 octane 2 stroke gas, she fired right up. Sentimental value, yes sir. Those old Craftsman weed trimmers, blowers and mowers were sold in a time when people like my Dad trusted Sears and the Craftsman name. Long before the arrival of the big box stores and Ebay, your local Sears was a go-to place for Dads everywhere. I figure as long as I can find the parts, I will keep my Dad's Homelite chainsaws, Craftsman air blower and snow blower and his beloved Simplicity 6216, going good and strong........with a big assist to your channel. Thanks, Taryl, for what you do for us grassrats!
I knew the tool isles by memory, anytime i got dragged to the mall would just spend my time in the tools and checking the stereo equipment.
Cliff, the same here. I'm saddened over what happened to every single Sear store. We trusted the clothes and products they sold. I fully understand why a pro like Taryl does not want to be bothered by these old machines. It's up to each homeowner to decide if it's easier to throw it out and buy new. I figure with Taryl's channel, we can at least to try and give it a go....@@cliffpalermo
But you fixed it and that is cool as; nothing quite like it. That's the thing, people bringing it into a shop are asking someone else to use their time to fix it. I worked in a shop and had people bring in shit from 94 to 02 asking us to fix it for less than 20 bucks when it was the first of spring and we had 50+ service orders we had to do. I mean we can do it, but it's going to be expensive because I'm not spending a week finding the cheapest parts for an item you didn't even buy from us.
@@unacceptablelobster1678 Completely understand your pov as a shop owner. And yes, it brings alot of satisfaction when the gear fires up and runs good! I think the folks who tune in to Taryls channel (and others) are not the same as the people you've run across in your shop.
I have used a lot of this lower end stuff (Ryobi) for years. If you take care of it and don't put ethanol gas in it they will last for years. That is the problem, people don't take care of stuff, too busy messing with their cell phones and going on vacation to Disneyland.
and that is why more and more homeowners are going to electric. They don't want to deal with gas, oil, and maintenance. Pop a battery in and off you go. If you can use the same batteries in all your equipment, that is even a greater plus. Ethanol fuel is fine for lawn equipment as long as it is being used on a regular basis. Believe it or not one of the most reliable pieces of lawn equipment I owned was an electric corded string trimmer.
Where I live the only gas you can buy is that which has 10% or more ethanol. So now what?
@@Discretesignals I have a corded string trimmer that is over 45 years old and I still use it.
@@tommak6516 I hear ya, I just spent 3 evenings helping my grandson clean the carb on his motorcycle after letting it sit all winter with ethanol gas in it. Only thing I can tell you is to get the gas out of the tank and run the carb dry after every use.
I love working on these curb finds as I am retired and I consider it fun. Yes, I put a little money into some of this stuff and then I have the joys of giving it to my sons in running order. Just this week, my grandson brought me a Stihl FS76 trimmer that he found for me to play with. The engine was locked up, but appeared to be complete, every screw and component was there. I did my usual checks and found that the piston was missing! Otherwise, it looked great and had great spark. What the heck, I just ordered a piston and rings and will be excited if it runs. If not, it was all a crazy kind of fun for me. And too, this engine is so, so easy to work on, I can hardly believe it. This video of yours Tayrl, is a great one!
I'm also retired and I spent the day yesterday changing the compression cylinder on my office chair. I always threw them away when I was too busy working to fool w them and would just buy a whole new chair but it works great now. It was no easy task at least not as easy as RUclips made it out to be, I had nothing better to do anyway. Any way you look at us old guys rule when it comes to fixing stuff
Here in the UK most repair shops and dealerships will avoid taking in similar items sold in the lower price bracket through box stores and from some manufactures, also machinery sold online through Scamazon and Fleebay as a lot of it is cheaply made Chinese machinery with zero parts assistance. The problem is homeowners assume that most workshops employ a person who likes repairing machinery for little wages and don't realise that the actual workshop staff are those who have to be paid a decent wage to pay for food, homes, transport and other costs to live a comfortable life. We now even have to be wary with machines from the likes of Stilch in the lower price band like the FS 38, 44, 55 trimmers and brushcutters, MS 170, 171, 180 and new 162, 172 saws as these tend to be priced to a point that they have hardly any repair value.
It sucks being poor.
Dam right. Titan products from screwfix absolute shit if it has a engine on it.
ANY PERSON like that that does NOT like to fix things IS in the WRONG business! I am a electronics repair tech and I always told my customers, "You may possess the equipment I repaired BUT I NOW OWN IT!" I would even get upset if, years later the item would come in for other repairs! Why just this week I bought a coffee damaged lap top and a water damaged camcorder off Ebay to have some trying to repair them! Its a SICKNESS!!!
@Capohanf1 sadly its the labour cost to fix something of a certain cost and as Tayrl mentioned a lot of manufacturers who sell cheap machinery either sell parts in modular assembly form that costs more than what the machine is worth. Plus a lot of the budget end equipment from China either has zero parts backup or technical backup, the only technical department they have are a call centre whose technical advisor states just put the machine back in the box and send it back to us. I find some of the Chinese built two cycle machinery and ultra cheap lawnmowers terrible quality machinery. There is a brand sold through a UK DIY box store called Titan and the two cycle items have 1 years warranty for a reason, as they only last one year.
Sometimes like you rightly said if you have the technical knowledge able to fix these machines and sell them on its a bonus.
Man, I’ve had to deal with this for at least 27 years now. It never changes either. Everyone wants you to work miracles on a $15 piece of equipment that should have seen a dumpster a long time ago, but I keep working on those things. I cover a wide range though too. Tillers, handhelds, mowers, older tractors, pressure washers, ATVs, edgers, etc. Everything said in this video is 100% correct. Some customers just don’t understand when you try to explain to them that it’s just not worth it. Only benefit I have is used parts for the cheap equipment and I have done it long enough that I’ve been lucky enough to get em goin. I started on all this junk.
Two things I learned early in my career as a power equipment mechanic: If you buy junk, you get junk, and the bitterness of poor quality lasts much longer than the sweetness of low price.
It isn't necessarily junk, just not financially viable to fix unless done by yourself.
I used to repair the CB radios back in the 1970's at home as a secondary job and simi hobby. Then the radios were $ 200 to $ 400. So I could charge $ 20 to $ 30 to repair them . Then the new ones started to come out for under $ 100 so I quit as it was starting to cost more to repair them than a new one could be bought for. I have a weedeater similar to the one brought into the shop that I got from my dad when he passed away. It had not ran for around 20 years. As I was doing the work on it all it cost me was some time and new fuel lines and it ran fine. I would not have even wanted to pay for the cost of the fuel in my car to take it to a shop due to the age. Picked up some older chain saws and a leaf blower for $ 50 total. Put in some fuel lines and cleaned the carburetors and they ran fine but They would not have been worth paying the shop prices to get them going. One was a Craftman and the others were Poulans. Now a shop has to charge $ 50 to $ 100 an hour to make it worthwhile to work on something.
Well said Taryl. We only work on Sthil, Echo and Husqvarna handheld equipment.
In the past I work on the off brand handheld equipment, often with mixed results. Lots of low compression problems- scored piston, rings, and cylinder, equipment that just wouldn't start and run right consistently. Now only work on Stihl, Husqvarna, Echo and Redmax handheld equipment. Too much good business out there and not enough time to mess with the cheap stuff. Cost prohibitive for the customer.
@@mikespain8655 Yes Mike, great comment. We also use to work on anything with an engine. We were very small back then with very little work. These days a slow time is 2 weeks out on repairs. We are so lucky to have wonderful commercial and residential customers. We do no advertising our business is solely word of mouth.
@@mikespain8655When I worked at a Husqvarna dealer, we only serviced Husqvarna stuff...good setup,right?..well,not exactly...people would bring in old 70's-80's Husky chainsaws that were either flat out thrashed, or had completely unobtanium parts...old cheap Husqvarna-branded re-badged Poulan/Weedeater junk trimmers and leaf blowers...low-end Husky Chainsaws, trimmers, blowers people had bought from Lowes, Sears, Tractor Supply, etc., that were usually engineered and built by Poulan(yes, I know Poulan is owned by Husqvarna). And the box-store customers usually insisted their consumer-grade junk was "still under warranty" even though they usually had no paperwork to back up said claims....
Welcome to my world, as a general machine shop we have the same issues at work. People bring in consumer grade equipment and expect us to repair it for a few dollars. It burns up a considerable amount of time to try and explain why we can't work on that stuff. So much so that we are considering closing the shop to the general public and focusing on commercial work only.
So far as lawn care, I sat down and added up what it cost me per year to maintain my own yard. I discovered that hiring it done was cheaper hands down. A side benefit, is that I can pay the man that does it in less than a minute, where doing it myself took the better part of a day that I could have been doing something else.
As a mechanic some people don’t understand.
That I would pay NOT to touch their stuff😂
@@fastinradfordable Yep, like my brother years ago. The hardest thing to get across to customers was why it cost more to work on a van.
@@steamfan7147 And why does it cost more to work on a van?
@@tommak6516 All the parts and pieces of a pickup truck, crammed into a smaller engine bay with less access.
It just takes longer and if you're in business you have to charge for it.
Back when covid hit, i was without a job, no money. Those disposable equipment keep food on the table fixing them. I charged $50 flat rate on most stuff. 90% of the time i came out ahead.
Hey. You did good. No shame there. You did what you had to do. I respect that.
ouch! did the same construction/labor/repair work for peanuts(as always), including MAJOR things for family and friends for near zero gain.
still doing the same thing, NEVER hack job it, because it's unpaid or cheap labor or even someone you've grown to dislike. what I'm saying is always keep and have pride in your work, so when the next person comes along (days to many years later, they see it and say, this and that is wrong/poorly done, but most is good to great!).
most issues are owners, hosing themselves and not maintaining their equipment, that said, I recall very minimal anything done to lawn equipment for many years( and it always worked, even after nasty winters). what changed? not much with the end users!!!!!!
Smart 👍
As long as you do NOT have any overhead OR liability issues you can do that BUT the first time some fool cuts off a finger or something else with something he got from you and some ambulance chaser gets involved, THEN THE FUN BEGINS!!!!!
How on earth did you get donor parts and come out 90% of the time? What year and models were you working on? I can understand changing a tube or a ring, but really? You had to be picky as shit to have that rate.
Everyone wants your labor for free but never want to volunteer their own.
Yah but your labor is NOT doing brain surgery at the rate you want to charge.
@@pitdawg6418 Normal shop rate these days is around $180-$250 per hour. Brain surgery is probably $250,000 or more.
I love your user name BTW 🤣🤣🤣. 💯🎯
@@iraqiimmigrant2908 So do I.
Exactly!....I have an Automotive and small engine repair shop, and I learned several years ago exactly what you’re talking about. I’ve saved myself a lot of aggravation by taking a few minutes on the phone when the customer calls to try to figure out what their problem is, and then I’ll explain to them just what you’re saying. I’ve even gotten to the point I don’t flip mowers any longer....by the time you take it in and work on it, the buyer doesn’t want to pay for the time and parts you have in it. Things are definitely changing.
The landfill is loving this sht
Even with battery powered stuff, a replacement 4ah 40 volt battery for my Ryobi trimmer costs $179 which is the same price as the tool with the battery and charger.
Buy some more Ryobi tools and share the battery.
The battery stuff is a scam.
@@LarryReynolds591it's not a scam really. It's just not good for more than really small jobs around the house.
Locally 3 different shops declined doing a brake job on my '85 Ford F-250 with parts I selected. I am willing to pay for shop time and labor of $110 to $130 an hour. Guesstimates from one was $450 per axle for labor and they never got back to me to schedule an appointment. During lulls in the weather I am doing the work myself as I have the tools, knowledge, and resources to do the work myself. Poor health limits the time spent. BTW for the front the parts cost is about $500 for all new parts including hoses, bake pads, rebuilt calipers, and new hubs/rotors. Rear has been less with new drums, shoes, slave cylinders, and parts kits. I am 76 years old. I also document all my work with a camera. In spite of my misteaks (mistakes) I am money ahead by doing the work myself.
They want to hose you on the parts that's why they won't do it.
Wow, this video hits home. My parents owned a mower shop and everything you said hit home. When it comes to training somebody and then soon as they start to know what they’re doing, they wanna leave and go somewhere else to make more money. They don’t care about all the time you invested in them to train them. Also, the engineer that put the recoil in front of the engine, so you have to tear the whole thing apart to replace the rope on to be shot. 😢
And that's right about training someone, but at the same time I've been in shops where you already come in doing good work, and instead of a pay raise, the creeps just keep trying to put you down to make you feel you don't deserve it. Usually they have a shop pet who does iffy work, but has been there for years and kisses their butts. He gets good pay while you do all the work as well as fix his bad workmanship! I noticed the whole time, the owners complaining about former workers who did good work then quit, complaining about not being paid enough and noticing a pattern. Yeah, i got what I needed from those places and joined the ranks of those that smartly moved on.
No, I get it. I call it "The pooring of America".
And soon, the next generation won't even know how to fix or repair anything anymore.
I call it the dumbing down of America.DEI , Is now rotting the medical field. 3 states eliminated the Bar exam for lawyers. Qualification for lots of fields are going away for ''diversity''.
A few years back I had a engine blow on my Craftsman tractor. This tractor was a Husqvarna built tractor. I stopped in at a Husqvarna dealership, they would not touch it because it was green. I replaced the engine myself after looking at the quality and cost of a new one. When I bought the tractor I payed less than $800.00. A new when I looked was $2300.00 and it was built like crap!
Where did you get a replacement engine? Harbor Freight? What did it cost?
@@tommak6516 No it was not harbor freight. I looked up a 14.5 horse which died. They had a 17.5 with same crank diameter. So I bought it. I do not remember exactly what it cost but it was someplace between $400 and $500.
@@danielsweeney6742 Where did you buy your replacement engine?
Man can I ever relate to this video! I have a computer repair shop that now offers business only managed services. I only service monthly subscribers. My computer repair shop is closed to the public and non-subscribers. I still work on a few business grade Lenovo and Dell computers. I regularly turn away people wanting me to fix their Walmart specials and "its disposable" is exactly what I tell them. No monthly subscription, me no can help you. People get mad at me all the time.
Then bitch at the repair bill squawking the computer itself didn't cost that much... Which would suggest the actual value/worth of the device.
I usually fix my own laptop myself. I've had to replace all sorts of stuff on various laptops over the years.
THIS stuff has been happening since the VIC 20 days! The only way you could do anything with them was to be a Commodore Dealer and "DEAL" with all their KRAP!
I'm starting to think that shops won't work on *any* of our equipment if it is not cost effective. The shop that I have been using for 8 years totally ignored my calls this year for service on my TB riding mower. I called another shop and was told that they are only taking their store brands and TB wasn't one of them. All I had left to do was binge watch YT videos on how to service my mower. I successfully took my mower apart, cleaned the cooling fins, put it back together, changed the oil, changed the air and fuel filter, added a fuel shutoff valve, aired up the tires and fixed the parking brake that wasn't engaging. I just have to oil my zerk fittings when the items come in the mail. Oh well, glad to know that I don't have to depend on someone else for basic service anymore.
Hey…don’t feel bad…I’ve been deemed not worthy of having ac and live in the mid west where we get 110 in the summer time normally…I even got put through a humiliation tactic by my gas company who also repairs ac’s and told I’m not worth their time…and I have a $1500 credit balance on my account with them…so I’m having to figure out how to do hvac cuz I have a medical condition that prevents me from being able to regulate my body temperature as normal…so when it’s 100 degrees out…I’m roasting and sick…I fixed the ac once but it still has a leak from being installed poorly by the last hvac that worked on it before I moved in to the place…so this spring im preparing to learn how to braze copper and replace parts on it then vac it down and fill it back up with r290 (propane) so I can finally have my ac working again…I refuse to run window acs again this year after one summer of paying triple electric bills because of the window units….Im a single mom and own my property that’s not mortgaged to the hilt and therefore not a new home…but who are these sobs to tell me I’m not worthy to have what I’m asking for if I have the money to pay for it like everyone else does…if I have the cash and it’s not totally trashed…there’s no excuse…and I found out after trying to braze the line that r22 and r290 is propane and methane! They think this is ok but I’m doing something about it….sob won’t have a job when I’m done with him….they won’t even sell me a new unit! So eff them! I’ll do it myself and make them squirm through the proper authorities for their discrimination
@@w8what575 Sorry to hear what you are going through. Good that you have a little knowledge of how to repair your AC unit and that you are willing to learn more. It's getting hard to find contractors who will braze with nitrogen. Most of them are too lazy to do that simple step. Hope that you get your unit up and running. Wow, I had no idea that window units increased the bill each month. I know that space heaters increase the bills and I really hate using them.
I still have my old R22 AC unit with copper coils in the air handler and I refuse to get rid of it. These new units today are cheaply made with aluminum coils and those coils tend to get holes and you have to pay a lot of money to replace them. I had an HVAC guy come to my house and he tried to talk me into getting a new aluminum coils unit. He kept annoying me by reminding me of there great warranty so I asked him what does the warranty cover?! He began to stutter and finally he said that the warranty covers the line that they solder. So those expensive coils that tend to get holes and leak are not covered. I am that lady who does research and he messed up trying to get one over on me. He left and I never heard from him again.
When the battery stuff fails and ends up in the dump the environment will suffer even more ten the supposed solution.
"When the battery stuff fails..."
I will still have either the tool or the battery, typically only one or the other goes bad.
If the tool goes bad... It usually means you overworked the tool, and need to buy a more powerful tool.
If the Battery goes bad, you most likely failed to keep it charged.
And the battery powered shit will not gum up like the gas tools do, when you put it away for the winter "Still full of fuel."
@@TimeSurfer206 yes I’ve never had a car battery, flash light battery, watch battery or any other battery fail. And I’ve never, ever thrown a battery in the trash either
It's because people refuse to read their service manuals. It's so much easier to replace it with an idiot proof battery and let it fly. It's becoming rarer and rarer that people learn how to repair their own stuff and that fact compacted with companies making cheap crap with proprietary parts that were designed to die in a year doesn't help.
@@andyhamilton8940 You never had a battery fail? Do you reside in an institution of some kind?
@@tommak6516 it’s called rhetorical satire dummy
My dealer told my the grinding noise my shifter was making on my gravley side by side was normal for its age and shouldn't worry about it.
Also found out that when bringing the exmark mowers I bought from them for service, they were just changing the oil. Nothing else. I had a mower I bought from them that never had the air filter changed or hydrualic sytem serviced 2 damn years.
We fix and service all our ow. Equipment now.
I fixed one of those 2-stroke mini-tillers that has basically a weedeater motor. Wasn't anything crazy wrong with it, carb was FUBAR so one of the cheap knock-off carbs got it going again the most cost effective way. Guy gets it back and is happy as could be, nobody else would even look at it. A couple weeks later, guess what shows up? That same mini-tiller, pull cord hanging out of it. Take it apart expecting a broken spring, but no, it grenaded itself, there was nothing left. That whole housing is discontinued, eBay turns up used ones for stupid money, I tell the guy, sorry, its dead. "But you just fixed it, what do you mean its dead?", well, I fixed what's wrong with it when it was here, this is new damage that nobody could have predicted (I never noticed anything with the recoil when I fixed it), its like if you have an alternator replaced on your car and a month later the transmission blows.
It didn't have a bad ending tho. Guy brings me in a seized weed eater he found on the curb, and guess what, it had the same engine so I was able to combine them. He was still in it for more money than it was worth and that was with me not making much on the deal. But whatever. As much as I like 2-stroke engines, I turn away just about all of them except snowblowers. Its nothing against the engines directly, its just that they're usually on cheap equipment that ain't worth fixing, if its good equipment, its going to a real shop before some guy in his garage.
Hey I stopped repairing any cheap disposable garbage right after the first piece of garbage I took a look at.
Excellent tutorial video
I find lots of good working equipment in front lawns on garbage day, most need new fuel and a spark plug and carb cleaned I get them running and have a garage sale in the summer, snowblowers, leaf blowers, trimmers, edgers, lawn mowers, just about anything, most people don’t spend two minutes looking at these thing and just toss them.
Hey, quit copying what I do. roflmao
But a legit repair shop can't do just a spark plug and carb clean. They have to be sure the repair will last. They will either rebuild or replace the carb, completely drain & clean the rest of the fuel system, so they know a person won't come back in complaining of a fuel leak, or a burnt down garage/house. This of course drives the repair price up, sometimes into the "not worth repairing" territory. Not to mention the other problems that make the machine unsafe to operate, but the customer doesn't want addressed...
This is so SPOT ON! I would never charge that much, but I don't know how many times I got one of those trimmers running (easy fix) and then the rewind go out. TOO much of a gamble. Sad, because those trimmers did run like scalded dogs.
Most the time if the starter is broke there is good reason !
Its a global issue as we have the same problem in the UK. The problem is most homeowners see a great value product and read the fake reviews and get hooked into buying cheap. Even ride on mowers have gone that route, which you highlighted in a recent video on the box store mowers you see in the USA. We seem to have a lot of budget range ride on mowers sold here in the UK and they aren't great quality in comparison to the ones sold in the USA as many are Chinese built.
Same thing happened to electronics repair years ago.
I’m still using my 73 and 74 Sears ST 16s, I use the scraper blade constantly, they are so much fun to plow snow with. My father bought all the attachments years ago. They are a blast to play with.
I used to work as an electronic technician in a TV shop for over 16 years. Same thing happened to electronics, even top name brands you thought you could trust. New TV's got so cheap that they were not economical to repair. Loved that job, but the owner couldn't afford to keep the doors open due to lack of business.
Taryl, what you showed us all on RUclips is just right one correct. I can really relate to all of what you said. The cheapie outdoor power equipment rarely ran for more than a few seasons at best. But if you drained the fuel and ran the two stroke dry till it stopped, you had a winner for a many seasons. The other 90 percent never did anything preventive service. That is why you can find this stuff free or for sale all over the place.
Thank you for taking me back in history Taryl, hope this year I can see you guys at your summer hangout and ride along side of your funny guys. Peace to you all too. vf
I own more than one business. It's very hard to find people to hire, and when they do show up, most don't want to do anything, then ask for a raise.
People used to "need" jobs- somehow they don't anymore. how do they pay their bills? legit asking
What's the pay like?
If you're cheap and don't want to pay a decent wage, nobody will last long, or they will ask for a raise.
People want to work, but even you wouldn't work if your boss paid you peanuts.
@@GoldSrc_ a strong incorrect assumption you're making there
There needs to be a balance.
If it benefits the boss...
some of the benefit should "trickle down" to the workers.....
Best quantifiable customary trickle down..... is money...
@@Mike1614b
@@Mike1614bjust want to reassure you that people *do* want to work. Honestly. As an average human being, I can guarantee you that most people WANT to contribute to something greater than themselves. Sitting at home all day leads people to feel depressed and lethargic. And yeah people absolutely still *need* jobs.
However, people want to feel like their work is fulfilling. They want to feel included. They don't want to feel exploited. Or unappreciated. Not saying you pay them low or anything. What I'm saying is that so many employers underpaid their workers for so long, that by the end of the pandemic, we ended up in a major work shortage. That may be over for many companies, but the sentiment within the working class is still very much there. They will turn down a job at the drop of a hat if they feel like the employer is 1.) not offering enough, 2.) Offers inflexible schedule. Or 3.) Offers a demanding on-call schedule. or 4.) No upward mobility and finally 5.) If the employer seems like an A-hole.
I don't blame them. Corporate employers offer no loyalty to workers anymore.
I'd say take a look at your own house. So to speak. It's likely something about your jobs they don't like.
I see my comment got censored.
I'll try again.
The trickle down effect is the BS that employers and businessmen say will happen if they make great profits...
they say they will trickle down some of those profits to the workers who actually make those profits happen.
Except most don't....
This is the situation with most consumer products today... Be it electronics or yard tools... The "miracle" of modern volume manufacturing. The design priority is cheap to manufacture, repairability is not even considered...
Same thing in the TV biz 25 yrs ago. Final straw was recycle fees. We had to charge up front
for an estimate & a $25 disposal fee. All the old junk stopped coming in. Bottom line was
not take deposits & go broke OR take them & go broke after 55 yrs in biz. Biggest
cause was Chi-Com junk & plummeting new set prices. Now go find a TV shop. Odds are you wont. 50 yrs ago there were yellow pages full of them, now none in every little town.
Enuf fer now LFOD !
as i watch on a disposable 90" tv for $800
Taryl, that's exactly why I closed my TV/VCR repair shop in 2000.
I know you're for real. There's no one around my area that even works on tv's or electronics anymore. There's some computer shops and appliance shops but no tv shops anymore.
I was still fixing TVs and VCR until 2006, things started to slow down for me in 2004 though.
By 2008 people looked at me weird when I told them I was fixing that stuff just in 2006 lol, pretty much everybody had a DVD by that time.
Taryl I almost always agree with you and I'm a longtime supporter. However, as someone who does tree work and runs Stihl, Husky and Echo pro saws- I can't understand the knock against Husqvarna. My Husky pro saws (550xp mk2, 572xp, 592xp) have been more reliable and had less trouble over the years than my Stihls (ms261, ms362, ms462,) and are smoother to run. They're also built like tanks and balance a bit better. Maybe entry-level big box store Husky's aren't great, but I can say the same for entry level Stihls. Pro Husky saws are as good as any saw out there.
Yes, unfortunately both Husqvarna and Stihl sell cheaply made entry level equipment...Stihl used to sell a half-crank weedeaters, I think they were FS-38 and FS-44, I believe, that were basically Ryobi trimmer engines...pure junk, and h*ll to work on..and those cheap little platsic MS-170 and MS-180 saws with the milk-jug plastic fuel and oil tanks in them....Husqvarna actually sold that exact blower Taryl has there, and the weedeater too, I believe, that were orange and had Husqvarna stickers on them...cheap @ss Poulan/Weedeater crap...they still sell cheap entry level saws, trimmers, and blowers that are based on Poulan designs(yes, I am aware that Husqvarna owns Poulan)....
I bought a Homelite chainsaw here in Australia from a big hardware chain called Bunnings Warehouse. The saw cost me $160.00AUD and about two years after I bought it it crapped itself and ironically the warranty had just expired.
No one would touch it with a barge pole, which was unfortunate(in a way)as it was actually a decent chainsaw. However, I didn't bother fixing it, I gave it away and bought an Echo..
I retired a few years ago and was never so glad to say to folk "I dont have the kit to work on that stuff anymore". I used to do homers for small businesses and nieghbours. Ninety percent of the time it was neglect caused the issue - that was the first thing that would annoy me. The second issue was it sometimes took more time than it was worth to fix them. Few times I only charged for the parts cos to add any of my time would have cost more than a new one.
Adding ethanol to regular fuel spelt the death knell for domestic use of 2-stroke equipment
As a Paint sprayer, pressure washer and small engine repair shop owner it is true. $90 a hour adds up real quick. Take care of your stuff and it will take care of you. Non-ethanol fuel is your best friend.
45 years ago in a dealer, we would not accept any Sears Craftsman for repairs . Special order parts would require a 100% deposit non refundable. You get what you pay for in the big box stores, cheap initial cost but no customer support.
Unfortunately, in 10 years or less a small engine mechanic is going to disappear like TV repairmen did in the 1980’s. I personally think that Stihl and Husqvarna homeowner equipment is cheaply made and overpriced.
Nah, the battery shit is just gonna get more and more expensive, especially if the feds keep throwing hundreds of billions at litihum batteries for cars. They think we can mine about 100 times more of the stuff than actually exists. It's gonna be like dippin dots or sirius xm.
I bought my Craftsman 4 cycle Blower and Weed Whacker in 2007 and still kickin' butt with them . Fuel line replacement and trimmer head is all I've done besides frequent oil changes . Thank you for you effort to make these videos . I always learn a lot from you .
Thank you as a tinkerer and retired person I like to think I have the time to fix almost everything but you are 100% correct about costs and time. Also I have found many carbs that just do not want to be fixed using cleaner and ultrasonic cleaners more time shot.
I worked in a mower shop in the late 90’s and they refused to work on a lot of Homelite and Craftsman 2 cycle blowers and trimmers back then. Wasn’t worth it.
Homelite were once very good saws ! till china got involved !!!
@@garyalford9394 Sad to say, but China has their hands in everything now.
@@garyalford9394 America was a good place until our politicians sol us out to china.
Cheaper brands aren't really cheap these days though. Especially lawn mowers. I remember when you could get a good push mower for under 200 bucks. Not anymore. Also Flatheads had to be phased out for the more complex ohv.
And gasoline ain't what it used to be. After just a couple months that crap goes stale, carb gets bad and there went yer dinner.
🤣👍 exactly
I used to be a career mechanic. And recently I saw, a Ford truck with a no crank no start problem. And the technician related it back to the tail lights. And the tail lights and modules, were $4,500..
As a professional salesman, selling service, and parts, in the repair industry. Not only can I not justify that to myself. But I also cannot justify that to any reasonable customer. With any type of gray matter in between their ears.
I just cannot stand there and, attempt to sell that service, and those products... Without both me and the customer knowing, that this just isn't right.
The customer knows it isn't right. The customer has a hard time reconciling with, the fact that, a 10-cent fuse went out in the air conditioner of their General motors product..... Causing their vehicle not to get them back and forth to work like it's supposed to. Now I got to look my customer in the eye and say.... Well your truck don't start because the tail lights went out?
And those tail lights are going to be 4500 bucks.
So, why would I bring my skills, to your repair industry, Knowing damn good and well, that I can't sell that kind of nonsense to any reasonable human being on this planet?
Hit the nail on the head as usual! We see this exact skit/scenario happen all the time. Every Day! Even the Exact questions when the customer comes in, when was the last time it ran? Yesterday someone broke a bolt into MTD Troy-bilt trimmer cylinder on the intake side. They couldn't get it out and wanted a new cylinder. We could only get them a short block which costs way more than what they paid for the machine. After some talking we found they used the machine to try to earn a living, we had some abandoned equipment in storage and we gave them a working trimmer letting them know that when they earn enough money to get a higher quality machine, to come get one of ours, please.
The point is, yes, we need to earn a living and the throw away hand held equipment is just that, throw away. Good dealers sell and service the equipment they sell. Find a good dealer, spend some time and some money and you should get a high quality relationship and piece of equipment that will provide you with years of service.
Hey Taryl! I agree with you about the entry level big box store handheld equipment. It's cheap and made to be thrown away. In the long run, buying the high end commercial grade equipment from a dealer, you will be money 💰 ahead. It lasts longer and if maintained, it will last for years! My John Deere lawn equipment I purchased from my local dealer is 20 years old and still going strong! Keep the videos and skits coming! Love everyone of them!!
That is so true about some of the.older lawn care equipment is more expensive to work on than it's worth
Have you looked at the prices of new stuff today?
@@danielsweeney6742 yes I have done that it's not cheap at all 😕😔
Thank Biden !!!@@robertmailhos8159
Plus the risk of older equipment is the obsolete parts situation. Here in the UK people are always finding old cylinder/reel mowers, old mowers, ride on mowers and other equipment either when they move into a property or when they are clearing their parents homes when they move them to a care home or when they pass away. You will occasionally get the odd customer bring in or ask if they can be looked at, but they don't realise that the parts may be a struggle to locate, the engines on them are obsolete (mainly Tecumseh, or other) or they don't have a realistic view on the value of the machine repair cost as they all assume its a hobby repair shops like doing for little money.
6:30...while i knew that about engines, alot of this hand held stuff was out in the open on a flat bed trailer or in a truck bed that was traveling down the road to the next job....but now you just made me realize why they are so hard to start back up again, because they got cold again from the 20 minute drive in the cold morning air like they have never been run that day.
I know that I fix my own lawn equipment for that reason & my dad spent a lot of money on buying Honda lawn equipment that he has had for 21 years now,his Honda hedge trimmer is in very good condition because it has barely been used but his line trimmer has done a lot of work, I rebuilt the engine in his Honda lawnmower which had done a lot of work as well.
When I was repairing power tools prior to that we had to turn away GMC power tools which were built out of rejected Makita parts, they were say a $30 AUD 5 inch grinder & one tool had a seized bearing in it because it had been forced into a housing which Makita rejected.
Other tools that we had to turn away were $15 AUD palm Sanders,I did myself a favour & bought at least the green handyman grade Bosch Palm sander last year for a couple of hundred AUD !
Yup, when battery-powered equipment fails, talk about disposable! You can replace a switch, control module and battery. If the motor has an issue, I'm sure it will cost as much or more than a new piece of equipment, without labor.
Plenty of gas powered equipment is the same way
Yup my mom's house she has too Chain Saws have jot used in years.
God knows how many stuff.
This buy a Battery one if she needed one
Well said. As a homeowner who used to purchase the “throw away” stuff, I have moved to battery operated equipment. Much happier now!
Im heading in that direction myself. Already purchased a battery chainsaw. Next will be a battery hedge trimmer. My husqvarna string trimmer is 10 years old; but i know someday it will finally quit. I'll go battery on the next one. But I'll make that husky last as long as i can. My JD LA110 is still going too. Hope i can keep it going.😬
I had the same Craftsman blower and string trimmer in the early 90s. Can't believe those even exist still!! Great video!
I've been using a Ryobi S430 that I bought new more years ago than I can remember. I've replaced the carb, fuel lines, and done basic maintenance (oil changes yearly, spark plug, etc). I've always let it idle until it ran whatever fuel was left in the tank, to cool it down and get the fuel out of the system. I leave it sit outside while I clean up so it still gets airflow, too. I switched to using ethanol free fuel a couple years ago in all my lawn equipment, and installed fuel filters/shutoff valves on my mowers. That way I can empty the carb without having to drain the tank.
I've got a 16 year old Shindaiwa trimmer that I have only put 2 spark plugs in in it's life....Just homeowner use, always cranks every spring without fail
Shindaiwa fan here as well. My 3 Shin tools always start & run flawlessly, all at least 15-20 years old.
@@brianc9642Shindaiwa now the same as Echo...
These economics have worked their way up into more expensive appliances, like refrigerators. Not built like the refrigerators our parents had- they fail after a few years and cost more to fix more than simply buying a new one.
I remember when I first started learning about small engines Tayrls teeth which are them child’s toys deceived me into thinking he don’t know cuz with the antics and the teeth, well I judged the book by its cover. One day I clicked on his video and realized he is very knowledgeable and very honest. He is one of my favorites now. Donnyboy73 is good but so is Tayrl. This was a great video, this is how it is. Sometimes it’s worth it to fix this stuff yourself but sometimes not ! Usually things on the curb are completely destroyed by neglect but sometimes you find something good that requires minimal work to restore. Again I say great video, truth of how things are. The edit is this, I like Tayrl and believe in him so much that I bought some tecumish stickers and some other stickers. The old tecumseh sticker with the girl, that’s on my toolbox. I hope to change over my shop to small engine and handyman repairs this year.
Great Video! I used to waste so much time, as a homeowner who can wrench on stuff, fixing old "disposable" cost equipment out of a matter of principle, made me feel good. Eventually I had enough, started buying Stihl, and commercial quality equipment instead, and making a habit of running it, even in the winter, to keep it all in working condition, and it was a good change. I still have my Commercial Toro Zero Turn, Stihl Trimmer, Stihl Chainsaw, and it all still works great, and if it does need repair or a wear item I just do it myself, once in a blue moon. Saves so much time and money in the end to just buy better stuff. If you are mechanically inclined, buy used commercial stuff, repair/refurbish it yourself, and you likely won't have to buy it again, ever.
15:39 Lol. Taryl said “oh no”. I feel your pain Taryl. 100% facts.
Even push mowers are throw away items now. Neighbor never maintains his, just buys a new one every two to three years. Still using my old Snapper.
The new riding mowers at the lower price point are junk also. So many big box store $1500 riders are disposable units. Newer Cub Cadets have a reputation as junk but my 2012 Cub with a Kawasaki twin is built like a tank compared to this new stuff.
@@scottp2462 The old Cub Cadets are nice. Tube framing and good engines. Everything is either stamped or plastic now.
Hey Taryl, I wasn’t quite sure what to think when I first saw one of your videos. Now I can’t stop watching them. You got my sense of humor and I love working on anything mechanical. My first mode of transportation was a mini bike I made in metal shop in the 60s. I put and old cast iron Breaks and Scrapum on it off a roto tiller.
I usually charge a $35 deposit non-refundable per machine. I don't work on ANY hand held machines. Except my own. When straight gas is run in a two cycle machine, it becomes a anchor.
i hear you. most of this homeowner equipment is only worth fixing if you can do it yourself. sometimes that isn't even worth it.
Very very true
As a plumber, smack dab between Boston and New York city...... I wont even leave the driveway for under $300. The bill starts at $300 even if im only at your house for 20 minutes. I have to load what tools and parts I think I will need in the van, talk to you on the phone, drive at least 15 minutes there and 15 minutes back, talk to the customer, bill the customer, and unload the van. I'm already into it for 2 hours before you even add in the actual time I spend doing the repairs.
Those who don't understand have never run a business.
Oh yeah?...well, maybe you can work as a plumber for a $50 service charge and $40/hour after that and then show us how 'rich' you're getting.@@Billybigrigger-ic7jp
If you keep on overvaluing and overcharging for your services, one day you'll find that many people just learned how to do what you do, and you'll be in a world of pain
He’s not overcharging. He’s correct. Every second of your life is worth $. Charge a person for your life you use to help them.
@@mikesolns1364lol. People are both stupid and lazy. Some can learn. Most can’t. Or won’t.
Plumbers are the biggest cons on Earth. Charging old ladies in my area $500 to swap a toilet or north of 2K labor to change a water heater.
A few years ago I had left my 20 year old Honda lawnmower outside all winter and it had gotten so much water in the carb,cylinder and exhaust that I thought it was a gonner. Was going to bring it to my local shop as I’ve known these guys for years now but I saw so many mowers outside their shop I changed my mind. Took all the parts off,cleaned out the old gelled gas,drained the cylinder by pulling the starter cord a few times,changed oil,put chevron 94 in it and she fired right up and has run great ever since. Just this week,I fired it up for the first time in a year and a half and it started first pull and that’s with old gas still in the tank. Small engines are easy enough for homeowners to work on if you want to save some money.
HI Taryll and Co.
I have a pile of machinery like that (in fact I recognised that Craftsman strimmer at the start, as a Flymo in the UK, and I have about 3 of them in my pile!), because after I've worked out what needed fixing is going to cost, and I've been told instead of paying a diagnostics fee, say you can have it for parts!
I'm thinking of asking for a deposit now, as it costs me to get rid of it, and what "parts" I can recover might take years. How often do you need a fuel tank for an old cheap machine?
A carb clean, replacing a hardened carb gasket, new fuel pipes, fuel tank bung, spark plug, fuel, fuel filter, sundries, labour, etc, they are at least most of the price of something that has over a years warranty on it.
This is why people like us make videos on machinery, so if someone really wants to get it going but doesn't want to spend the money to get it professionally repaired, can have a tinker, and hopefully have the enjoyment of getting it going unless something we've mentioned is the nail in the coffin for it.
I just replaced the coil and sparkplug in my echo chainsaw. It's running again. Not a hard job to do with my limited ability.
I just did the same.
I have a 1971 Echo chainsaw, still works great.
With the internet and RUclips you can find the answer to almost anything! Amazing how we got along before without it!
Pays to learn to fix them yourself.
I have an old yard machine push lawn mower. Been mowing 3/4 of an acre for 20+ years. Changed the blade, spark plug and filter a few times. Beyond that it still runs perfectly. Still has the original pull start on it. (watch the rope break this year, now that i've jinxed myself 🤣)
This is Steve and I pick up scrap metal and I have been getting alot of lawn equipment throw away.
I been pulling scrap metal from a old small engine repair business.
22 loads of everything in lawn equipment business.
Since January and till now 32,500 lbs of scrap by hand and 60yrs old, it's a lot of work
Good morning Taryl and gang.
Little Johnny will make a great employee if you only need your fridge stocked. LOL
...stocked with beer lol....
Honestly theres a market for it here. Lots of the newer stuff parts have to be back ordered. Lots of the older stuff is still fixable and don't need much for parts just a good clean. Also Husqvarna auto tune saws are discontinued due the the electric battery operated saws taking over. The only way to fix module issue is to get the software update tool and to be connected directly to the mothership ( Husqvarna site itself). You have to be a Husqvarna dealer and have a membership to access their update platform and load it into the tool itself. So theres an issue and that saw is basically a disposable item. However, Tanaka blowers, or Hitachi equipment was awesome for their day and still is good. If its gummed up its worth fixing, but once a piston is scored or cylinder is scored or a ring is broken your SOL. Also if straight gas has been run in these, good luck rebuilding them. Same goes for old Kioritz equipment, Johnsored, Homelite, Onan, Zenoah etc. If they're just gummed up fine, but if there's wear damage then your out of luck for parts, unless one knows of an old wearhouse that carries old new stock then its ok. But not all old Craftsman equipment is. Old Craftsman weed wackers one can still fix and get components for at reasonable cost. I can still get parts for my Murray lawnmower that had the Briggs & Stratton quantum 5.5hp engine and its a flathead engine. From plugs to valves to pistons and rings. Even repair facilities still take them in and are reasonable in the repairs and parts on these units. They try and benefit the community and reduce the amount of garbage in the waste facilities and they have ingenuity ways on how to fix engines and equipment.
Well the answer is just not buy that type of equipment, or buy well taken care of used!
@garyalford9394 Old Craftsman chainsaws still sell for $80 some of the engines ranged from Electrolux ( Poulan) and even Homelite engines. Basically re- branded saws. Still can get parts for these.
This is one of the best video's yet. I can't understand why people don't get this concept.
But now you have cheap crappy electric gear on the market. We all know most people well gravitate to the lower price every time.
Sad truth. I still work on a lot of that kind of stuff but Im do it as a hobby and charge a cut rate.
I used to do that, and learned the hard way, charge cut rate, and that gets you cut-rate customers...cheapskates who bring you junk to repair, expect it to be fixed cheap, and expect it to be repaired free if they bring it back, even for unrelated issues...in other words, the customers the other shops don't want, or have run off...
TRUE! Taking care of stuff will keep it going. It's up to us. Good job!
Even when your a Stihl dealer it’s not all sunshine and rainbows.
This is great advice . Excellent video !
I mix my own fuel. I use 100ll avgas. I use very little, perhaps 3 gallons per year and have yet to have anything fail to fire up and go to work in the spring.
High quality fuel is a huge part of this conversation.
Where does one get avgas?...I thought that was only sold at airports, and only to aircraft owners to put only in airplanes...
@@dyer2cycle
Yes. The airport.
"For my ultralight at home."
Truth be told I have one of those too.....
6:00. So should I let my Stihl chainsaws and weedeater idle for a little while to cool off, before I shut them off?
Absolutely. Especially 4 stroke mowers etc
I am going to start doing that.
We were monkeying around with a thermal camera, and saw that if you let a small engine idle even for just 1 min it cools down quite a lot. Don't remember the numbers, but it was dramatic, and I've done it ever since
When I worked on the flightline we had support equipment ( air, turbo, and water cooled) that you had to idle for 5 minute before shutting them off unless it was an emergency situation.
I always allow all engines to cool off a bit, on warm days I never turn off my cars until the electric fans go off and on my cars with turbo I always wait at least 30 seconds to allow the oil to cool down a bit the turbo shaft no matter what the ambient temperature is because those turbos are covered in heat shields.
Things like generators that don't idle still cool down a lot if you let them to run without a load for a couple minutes.
Well said. I have an MTD weed eater and it has been running for years, but I've had to replace the Carb & the head. Both parts were not hard to find and not expensive. I find it best to drain the fuel and run it empty between uses. As you have said a little maintenance and care will go a long way. It is foolish to bring in a small engine to a repair shop because it will be too expensive to repair due to parts & labor. As you have stated, you have to make a profit. You have overhead expenses and your time is valuable. I suggest anyone that abhors maintenance on small engines is better off just replacing and not buying a high end model that will ultimately end up in a shop for repairs. Sadly in many areas (Illinois) one cannot obtain non-ethanol fuel. I have to buy premium non-ethanol fuel in Wisconsin for mine.
Good day from the Napa Valley. This video is right on. I just wised up and realize I have been working my butt off on this crap. I have kept a very few of my best customers. My shop hour labor is now 100 bucks and you can't believe the response. When I started I worked on small motors I worked on everything. clogged carbs, bad fuel lines, even replacing engine blocks. loved your video are you sure we are not related?
Hey Terrell have you ever seen the float in the plastic carburetors on the newer Briggs & Stratton engines get gas in them
Good morning Taryl.
You guys are SUPER creative with these videos. Thank for the education and the entertainment.
As a fellow repair shop up here in Canada... This is my most favourite video to date. I needed to see this. You may have just saved my sanity!