Outdoor Power Equipment and Small Engines - Trick to starting Echo blower??

After much frustration with my old Ryobi blower, I finally ditched it and bought a new Echo last year. It started up just grand, just about every time I've used it. Well, I took it out last night (probably have not used it in a month ) to blow off the driveway, and for the life of me I cannot start it. Is this typical of ALL blowers??? Surely I don't have to buy a new blower each season???? I'm no lightweight either - I'm of the female persuasion, but I'm a regular at my gym, so strength is not the problem. Help!! :(

After just 1 month since the last use, it should be fine. Either starting technique is wrong, or there is a problem. Close the choke, prime the primer if equipped, hold the throttle wide open, and pull it a few times. Once you hear it sputter or cough, open the choke and try again. If it doesn't start like that, then there are repairs to be made.

"Close the choke, prime the primer if equipped, hold the throttle wide open, and pull it a few times"

I set the choke to the first position (the other side of "run" - I don't remember what it's called, but that's what the instructions say to do.). I primed the primer. And I slid the "on" switch to ON (rather than "stop"). Again - that is per the instructions. When you say "hold the throttle wide open" - sorry to sound stupid - but what is that - the "trigger" where I give it gas? There is also a switch for speed (it goes from slow to fast) and I have tried it both ways w/o any difference in results.

The choke should have 3 positions. Full |--|, half |/| and run | | |.
Make sure the tank has enough gas, turn the switch to on. Use full choke to begin with, push the primer 3 times, squeeze the trigger,(gas,throttle), pull the starter rope, if or when it fires,(tries to start) move the choke to the center position. Squeeze the trigger and pull again, it should start, give it a few seconds then move the choke to run.
As cheese said if this fails to get it started, there is a problem of some sort. If the instructions you are using are from your owners manual, check the troube shooting section for anything that may have been missed. Your manual should have a reference to cleaning your spark arrestor, (I have seen this plugged on newer echo blowers)
If you just purchased the blower last year, it may still have warranty. If all this still fails you may want to contact the dealer.

Thanks. I don't believe I have ever had to hold the trigger (throttle) to get the blower start (makes it a bit tricky to hold that down with one hand while pulling the rope with the other!!) but I will certainly try that tonight.

I even had my neighbor take a look at it (and this is a guy that can usually get anything to start) and he is at a loss as well. It started easily up until now. The last couple of times that I used it, I noticed that when I gave it more gas, it wanted to cut off, so I had to let up on the gas in order to keep it running. I didn't know what the problem was, and being as busy as I am, never got around to looking into that. Now of course, it won't even start. My neighbor thinks I got a bum unit. Am I screwed? I bought this thing in Aug 02 ( I thought is was newer than that - but I checked the receipt). It came from Home Depot. Anyone have any idea what the problem is? If I take it to a repair shop - will they charge me more than the thing is worth? This is SO frustrating. It's a PB200, if that helps.

It sounds like the carburetor is in need of a good cleaning. Try squirting a little fuel into the spark plug hole and see if it will start and run for a second or two. If it starts and then dies, you have a fuel problem (carburetor).

Well this really fries me. :mad: The darn thing is only 2 years old, and cost $150. The shop said that the problem was old gas had mucked up the carbuerator. He also said that gas only has a shelf life of 30 days, and turns to varnish after that time. So, if I only use my blower once or twice a month, am I just supposed to dump out the gas each time I use it? That makes no sense to me at all. And never mind that I have no idea WHERE I would dump the gas anyway. :confused:

He said that the fuel mix (stabilizer) might extend the life for another 30 days, but still, I don't think I'd use that much. Would that really help? Does everyone really use their blower that often that they burn all the gas in it every month?

there is fuel-stabilizer that will keep gas fresh for 12-24 months. it is made by briggs and stratton. if the carb was clogged gumout carb-cleaner might have worked. i has a push-mower that set for almost 2 years and it wouldn't fire, sprayed some gumout in it and the first pull it fired up and blew out a little smoke and never smoked anymore. i still use it today to mow my sisters house. glad to see that it is fixed and i would start it at least every two weeks to keep the carb clean. sorry that you had to pay $70.

That sounds a bit steep, but I don't know what they had to do/replace. I wouldn't trust any stabilizer for over 90 days. The fuel will keep longer in a gas can with sealed lids. A small amount of fuel goes stale much faster than a large amount.

Yeah - I think it was way steep. But this shop has a really good rep, so what's a person to do? :confused: I will be getting some stabilizer for sure. AND I think I need to immediately empty the gas out of my new Echo trimmer as well, before I have the same problem. Sheesh. :rolleyes: I would have thought that with all the technology, that ruining an engine with "old gas" would not be possible. Go figure.

Yep, all this "technology", but they can't build an engine as good as they did 25 years ago. That technology is focused on making stuff lighter, cheaper, and more efficient..with the emphasis on cheaper. One day maybe "better" will be added to the list.