Many time the manual tells you to prime it too much. My norm -is choke , prime 2, maybe 3 good primes- throttle open and start.

And don't forget to flick off the stop switch before
pulling your brains out for half an hour.
Don't laugh, it happened to me this year and it's
a good thing I didn't have a hammer in my hand
when I discovered it, because my head would still
be bandaged up.

I had a similar annoyance with my Echo 2601 last year. It is at least ten years old but still in great shape. I never found that I could prime it too much to make it hard to start. Purge all you want. It just fills the carb and flushes any air back to the tank.

Anyway, when I encountered my hard start problem I was purging away with the bulb when I felt wetness (gas) on my finger and realized that the purge bulb had ripped. Off to the ACE dealer I bought it from many years ago for a new bulb. They told me to put new fuel lines on it while I had it apart so I bought enough fuel line at that time.

When I had it apart I found that the ethanol fuel had really deteriorated the fuel lines. New purge bulb and fuel lines in place, and I have my fabulous performance back. So simple and pretty easy!

It's something for us all to keep in mind for our quality equipment that we keep and use for many years. This moderm fuel is really nasty stuff and it will eat the rubber and plastic components.

hi, my GT200R is acting up. when I accelerate it sputters and stalls. i recently replaced the fuel lines/filter & plug but that hasn't made any difference. any suggestions?

mga: It may be dirt or varnish . 1st try adjusting the low speed jet , turn 1/4 turn in or out and see if that cures your hesitation issues . Also 2 ounces of fuel cleaner with fresh fuel once a yr is proactive !

hi thanks for the advice. it doesn't appear that this model has an low or high speed adjustment other than the idle speed screw.

Pull the fuel lines off and use pressurized carb spray to assist with the fuel circuit cleaning along with the fuel additive with fresh fuel . I would think there should be limiter caps (plastic) over the jets . These can be removed if you are mechanically inclined other wise go with the 1st two options or a dealer .

Most 2 stroke trimmers dont start on the first pull unless already warmed up. You purge the carb, choke the carb, pull rope till you get the pop eg. "false start". Then you take the choke off full and put it at 1/2 and pull rope again...it begins to run...and after 30 seconds or so, move it off choke completely to normal running operation. None of my 2 stroke stuff starts on the first pull.

HG: You must have better things to do with your time then dig up over a 1-1/2 yr old thread and explain the obvious.
:( .

I know Ewalk but Echo posts always catch my eye and I'm just trying to add some input to the ole Echo's starting issues as I'v sure had my share.

No biggy Bro , but some of the forum elders really hate regurgitating old files from the crypt ! I hear you though on the harding epa starting issues . Have a Good One !