Weed Eater Maintenance – 4 Simple Tips To Keep Your String Trimmer In Shape

Keeping your gas weed eater in good working condition means doing regular weed eater maintenance. Whether you have a cheap weed wacker that you just use on weekends or the best commercial weed eater for your landscaping business, this is something that needs to be done regularly. Here are a few of the important weed eater maintenance jobs that you need to schedule.

Fuel Filter

weed eater fuel filter

To be able to perform at its peak your weed eater needs a supply of clean fuel. Every gas weed eater will have a fuel filter that removes impurities and debris from the fuel so that it doesn’t end up in the weed eater's engine.

You’ll find the fuel filter either in the fuel tank, on the end of the fuel line lying in the tank, or somewhere inline of the fuel line. Pop the old filter off and replace it.

Make sure that the filter goes on properly and that the fuel line doesn’t get kinked when you replace it. Sometimes the cap on your fuel tank will have a little breather hole in it. Make sure this is clear of debris.

Air Filter

weed eater air filter

Your air filter should be replaced or cleaned every 5 hours of use. For combustion to take place your weed eater motor not only needs fuel, it also needs oxygen. Your air filter removes all the dust from the air so that none of this ends up in your air / fuel mixture.

It’s not a bad idea to replace the air filter every now and again but normally just a good clean will do. Unscrew the cover over the air filter, remove the filter and rinse it clean in some warm water.

Leave the sponge out in the sun to dry out completely and then, once it’s dry, apply a little oil to the filter. Use a thin oil like a 3-in-1, not motor oil. Just drop a few drops on it and then squeeze the filter to work it through the filter. This will help the filter catch some of the finer dust particles it might otherwise have let through.

Spark Plug

Your weed eater spark plug should be replaced annually or every 25 hours of use. You may need a spark plug wrench to remove it. Spark plugs are pretty cheap so even if it looks fairly ok when you remove it, rather just replace it. It’s important to make sure that you replace it with the spark plug indicated in your user manual.

When inserting the replacement spark plug make turn it in with your fingers, not the wrench. You want to be sure not to cross thread it as it goes in and doing this by hand gives you a better feel to make sure you’re doing it right. Once you’ve got it in finger tight use the wrench to tighten it up. Be careful not to over tighten it.

Spark Arrestor

Your spark arrestor is found inside your muffler and will need some cleaning or replacing from time to time. This is especially the case with 2-cycle weed eaters. Take it out and check it for carbon deposits. If it’s really dirty it may be an indication that you’re either using poor quality oil or that you’ve got too much oil in your oil/ fuel mixture. Clean it off and then replace it. If your spark arrestor is made of fibre glass then you'll have to replace it as these can't be cleaned.

Weed Eater Storage

At the end of the season you should degrease your weed eater. Use an aerosol degreaser and spray the dirty and oily areas. Let it stand for a few minutes and then wipe it clean. Give it a bit of a rinse and make sure that it’s dry before storing it.

Before doing any of the maintenance it’s a good idea to make sure that the power switch is turned off and that the spark plug boot is removed. Weed eaters can be tough to start but you don’t want it starting by accident while you’re busy working on it.

Don’t wait until your weed eater gives you trouble before thinking about maintenance. Regular maintenance will save you from having to repair your weed eater carburetor which is a pretty big job.

Even if you buy the best cordless string trimmer you'll still need to maintain it. If you do these simple jobs regularly then your weed eater will start up a lot easier and it will last a lot longer before needing to be replaced.

    David Miller

    David is a health conscious and houseproud family guy. When he's not being used as a jungle gym by his kids you can find him working on his latest DIY project in the garage.