carb icing -- small engine -- any brilliant cures

Been poking around the web, but mostly just finding suggestions to fashion some sort of carb shield out of sheet metal.

Not going to work for me....am I out of luck, or does is there someone here with a better idea.
kris

 

So, humor me.

I read a couple of the things on the gas line anti-freeze....but as I understand it, carb icing is caused by air traveling through the venturi. I know fuel also enters at that restriction, but, and I may be wrong, I thought the actual ice-up builds just above the venturi. Meaning anything in the gasoline would have little to no effect on the icing.

I don't know, and I am not arguing. Just trying to understand the principles and how to make them work for me.
kris

 

Hmmm....seems like I am out of luck.

Struggling to clear some snow with my leaf blower, which is working after a fashion (I have a large Stihl backpack blower), but the carb keeps icing up. Not to mention me icing up. Wish I had not drank all the Jameson Irish over the weekend as a cure for my sprained wrist, because some Irish coffee sounds good right about now.

Ah, well, the sauna (Finnish, with rocks) beckons....

 

Never heard anyone talk about volts and blowers. It has no battery. I "pulls the string" and it starts. It is a pro model, but not top of the top. Anyway, again, I think I am stuck....My internet research tells me so....

 

Appreciate the discussion....and my various injuries are better -- but I am having a bit of difficulty using left hand still, which makes tinkering with temperamental small engines frustrating.

And, here is my long -- possibly boring -- attempt to answer your questions.
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My issues (well not all my issues -- )

1) My steep GRAVEL driveway jumps from just below 400-feet in elevation to just over 800-feet in about 400 yards. Heavily forested on about 1/3 of the drive.

2) Had an ice storm with nearly 1/2-inch of accumulation -- then we had a snow storm with about 4 inches on top of the ice -- or something like that -- honestly, it has become a blur.

3) Weather moderated on Tuesday, with temperatures hitting 34F with plain old rain. Started a melt-off. Temps stayed around 35F through the night.

4) Wednesday, fairly dense fog, driveway still covered, but very, very slippery. I could drive up and down on Tuesday, but on Wednesday, I had to put on tire chains, it was so dicey. Walking was difficult, and I don't need any more falls. Thought about putting on my caulked boots, but the rock on the road can make them dangerous, also. Temperature still at 34-ish F. While it was slippery, in some areas it was easily blown off with my leaf blower. So, it was fine for awhile, then started losing power. It would idle, but no power.

Brought it up to house and let it sit for 30 minutes, in the meantime, went to clear roadside ditches which were running full with snowmelt, but were clogged in many areas by fir needles/sticks/etc. Clogged ditches mean washed out driveways.

Hands were frozen (some of the unclogging is easier by hand), but went back to get blower and "lather, rinse, repeat" -- in other words, same problems repeated several times. Late in the afternoon, the fog disappeared and the sun was out. I should have tried then, but I was done for the day. .

So, Ice-up is just my uneducated guess, but it seems to fit. Temp just over freezing, pretty humid (it was foggy), etc.

Well, time to limp back outside (10 a.m. PST) and try again -- a bit misty, but nothing like yesterday -- and the temp is a balmy 29F.

Of course with the refreeze Have a suspicion the blower won't be effective, if it runs.

Thanks again, all of you.

kris

 

As I thought, the overnight refreeze has made my blower project pointless today. I tried for a few minutes (blower ran fine), but too icy this morning.

Learned several years ago to only use non-ethanol premium in all the small engines. Carburetors and fuel lines actually have a lifespan with the non-ethanol. And, I actually prefer it in the car, I swear it has more power when I do.

The non-ethanol is about a $1 more per gallon, but worth it in reliability of equipment. Use about three gallons of a 50-1 mix a month -- give or take -- more in the fall and spring (wood cutting and brushcutting) and not all that much in the summer (fire danger restricts small engine operations). Mix with the Stihl non-synthetic oil, which includes stabilizers. I usually do the mix, although sometimes my husband does. Problem is that he gets nervous and tends to spill while measuring. I am glad he is not a surgeon.

Well, I am starting to sound like an Oregon logger, which, I am not, although my grandfather was back in the 1920s.

So, two choices for today. Head down the driveway to the county road -- about 3/4 miles away, take off tire chains and go to work for the afternoon. Get back about 6 p.m., put chains on when the pavement ends....

Or, defrost the freezer....I think going to work wins -- I would rather be using the blower

I could bore you all to tears, and if anyone really cares, let me know, and I will answer, but rather than list each piece of equipment with model numbers and all that we have

Two brushcutters -- one Husquvarna, one Stihl (think super-duty weedwhackers, which will handle steel blades like you use on a circular saw).

Three string trimmers -- two Stihl and one Ryobi (found it alongside the road).

Two blowers -- backpack Stihl, handheld Husquvarna

Three saws -- one Homelite Electric, one Remington Electric and one Stihl 29.

Honda inverter 1000 watts.

Oh, forgot my pride and joy -- a Stihl pole saw == if you don't know what that is, google it.

Anyway, it is tough to type with only one hand (left is still sprained from ice fall), so off to work I go.
Kris