OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Trimmers and Brushcutters Two Stroke Trimmers & Brushcutters Kawasaki KBL27

My machine is leaking fuel from the carby. It floods when I prime the bulb & is getting hard to start. Does it need a carby kit? I use it commercially.

Yes you could need a carby kit but we need to know some answers first.

1. How long have you had the unit?

2. Have you checked that the exhaust port is clean and also that the screen in the exhaust is clean.

G'day Bruce,
I took the carby off after posting my message & found that the diaphram(?) inside the primer bulb is in a million pieces.Should I re-kit the whole carb or just replace that bit.Its a TK unit.Do you think this could be from using ethanol fuel or am I reading too much hype!?
I've had it for about 2 years commercial use;I clean the muffler screen regularly.

Replace the full kit. I am not sure about the ethanol as we don't use it in any equipment.

If you are using it commercially you should get around 4 years maximum.

Ethanol is unfriendly to various flexible fuel system components. I'm unclear on why you would be using it. There is a fuel available in some gas stations that contains a few percent of ethanol and is sold slightly cheaper than pure petrol, but it gives inferior fuel consumption to almost exactly the same extent as the price saving, so it makes little or no sense for cars. (Ethanol requires an air fuel ratio of 8 to 1, compared with 14 to one for petrol. A litre of ethanol only has around 60% as much energy as a litre of petrol.) For a small engine with polymer components in the fuel system, using a fuel containing ethanol is a pretty dumb idea unless the fuel system has been designed specifically for ethanol, which would cost considerably more to manufacture. People in most parts of the US are stuck with having ethanol in their fuel - we in Australia are not, we (so far) get a choice. In my view it is a very easy choice to make.

You're right grumpy,I knew there were issues with ethanol fuel relating to car fuel lines etc, just didn't use the gray matter with regard to other engines - to my cost.I stopped using it several months ago. It was cheaper here on the sth coast when fuel prices were so outrageous probably as it is manufactured here near Nowra.

Redeye from what I have been told over the years the ethanol % is not really controlled here is OZ but the USA have it set. So it does not surprise me the amount of damage that can be caused.

Ethanol also attracts moisture which can cause corrosion of metal parts, deterioration of rubber and plastic parts.
The use of ethanol in petrol is supposed to be capped at 10% whether this happens who knows.

Fixed the problem - perished check-valve in the primer bulb, cost me $13 for a bit of rubber the size of 5 grains of rice.