Short Rant

[Brandon1023]

Being the fact that we live in the year 2012, we have seen a lot in the past decade. One of those things happen to be the introduction of the California Air Resources Board (C.A.R.B) and some laws/legislation which put pressure on the same loved engines we use here at DiyGoKarts. I understand the atmospheric situation of Earth- it's not the best. However, since this air quality is "deteriorating," the EPA finds it appropriate to limit the very equipment we as consumers Purchase with our own money! (or at least obtain once purchased equipment).

I understand we need to control the emissions, but don't put a stupid plastic cap over my fuel mixture screws.

I also recognize brands such as Stihl (highly used brand of outdoor power tools) puts these stupid limiter caps and non-slotted screws on the carburetors because they have their hands tied thanks to the d@mn EPA.

While this is true about people tampering with equipment, they need to look right under their noses. Did you know the (average of 6 engines per ship) 10 Cylinder engines on a cruise ship with over 100,000 HP burn Thousands of gallons of Diesel fuel every HOUR? Aside from that, the Diesel exhaust has a Sulfur content of ~ 15 ppm. I'm not sure how my 13 HP Honda quite compares to this (sarcasm cuz there's absolutely no comparison), but I know for a fact that the EPA has better things to worry about, much like a police officer should be catching drug dealers instead of ticketing someone going 4 mph over the speed limit.

So to the people who actually read this so-called "short" rant: who is with me on this one? It's quite frustrating as someone who repairs machines in my free time from school when I have to skip fixing a Stihl chainsaw because the carburetor is buried in the middle of the saw. All this makes me want to do is jet my Honda carb to run rich and send a video of the black smoke pluming out the muffler to the EPA out of principle.

As for those mixture screws, there's a saying "Necessity breeds ingenuity." Meaning.. If we need to do something, we'll think of a way to do it!

[r_chez_08]

I have an EPA cap on my Honda. Bit annoying, but providing the engine was running right from factory, this screw should't need adjusting, right?
It would be easier putting a special screw head in the screw instead though. This way people will not mess with the screw, but those in the know can fix their kit providing they have the right screwdriver.

Or just have a slotted screw head :P

I am not totally against EPA's efforts, but I see what you are on about, their efforts with small engines are a piss in the ocean!

[Brandon1023]

exactly. and i believe if i pay $300 for a stihl chainsaw (thank goodness i didnt.) i have every right to mess with my own carburetor. it mntions in their warranty that they dont cover "unauthorized repairs." soo i have to treat my equipment as if i rented it from the "service center" ? some freedom we have here. when i saw "your rights as the end user" in the manual, i thought.. [female dog] PLEASE... i have no rights.

[newrider3]

This kind of sums it up:

http://www.ifixit.com/Manifesto/

[r_chez_08]

^ I like that :P might just print one off.

[anderkart]

Many times you can pop those plastic caps off and use a dremel/hack saw to cut a slot for a flathead screw driver. (although your right about this most-likely voiding your warranty)

Sometimes instead of cutting a slot, you can use an old pen with the ink cartridge removed. You just heat the tip of the plastic pen housing up with a lighter, then force It into the adjusting screw and hold in place until the plastic cools a bit. Then you have a tool to adjust the odd-ball screw head...

Originally Posted by r_chez_08

I have an EPA cap on my Honda. Bit annoying, but providing the engine was running right from factory, this screw should't need adjusting, right?

Not always...

I recently talked to a Echo technical rep about re-adjusting the carb (on my weed-eater) and leaned they adjust the carbs low/high speed screws at the factory to match the altitude of the location where that Item will be shipped to for sale.

My weedeater had a code# sticker stating what elevation the factory had adjusted my carb to run at. (that code# didnt state elevation, just a #) It turned out my weed eater was factory adjusted for a 2000-foot elevation, and I bought it in a town that is a 6000ft elevation... Someone screwed up when they shipped my weedeater to the home depot I bought it from and my new weedeater ran like crap! That Echo tech guy told me how to properly re-adjust the carb and said they would still honor the warranty if ever needed... I got it all dialed in and my weedeater runs GOOD now!

I dont like them screwing around installing tamper-proof/EPA carb adjusters either, but I understand why, and sometimes these stop guys from fiddling with adjustments they dont actually need to be making... (like radically adjusting the carbs screws when its just out of gas or something... Then some of those guys cant ever get it running correctly again, even after pouring in more gas or fixing the true cause of their original problem.

In these situations, the tamper-proof screws are actually doing the consumer a big favor, Its kinda helping to "Idiot-proof" the product...

[Fabroman]

IMO, these "precautions" have been used to prevent the try-hard wannabes who think they know what they're doing from making a bad situation worse. Most of us here know what we're doing when we start tinkering with our engines &, if we don't, we ask others for advice. Unfortunately, most people don't.

Fact: Only 8% of the population have "common sense" (scary thought huh). The mentality of some of these "wannabes" is usually limited to thoughts like "my engine isnt getting enough fuel so I should adjust the mixture so it gets more". The sad fact is that the engine in question may not be getting enough fuel due to a blocked fuel filter or something trivial like that. So, instead of examining the issue they end up making a bad situation worse, ie: polluting the planet even more...

[kendelrk]

i agree with fabroman, they dont need people thinking they can fix it, then mess it up and blame the company, thats just wrong. when i started in small engines i had to ask for alot of help here because i messed up, not the company. Through time i learned alot and can now tinker with carbs and mufflers without worrying about messing up. and r_chez, if i bought my engine where it was to run at 2,000 foot elevation, then take it to a huge mountain thats like 8,000 foot elevation, would it run right? no we would need to be able to adjust the air/fuel mixture. But at the same time people make money due to having the special tools and working for a small motor repair company. if the EPA didnt do this, it would affect many jobs

[Brandon1023]

obviously just like any essay in school, you can almost always argue both sides. as for the OP, i dont narrow it down to JUST carb screws. they design some tools in such a way that hinders the ability to fix it. its just a matter of control. the epa wants to have the higher power over us, and "limit" us. even IF i had no common sense, and bought a weedeater which i ended up screwing up, that's MY business. not the EPA's. i know theyre trying to save the planet and all, but instead of worrying about a 26cc engine running a little richer than usual, they should be figuring out alternate ways to power the weedeater.

this thread is just to get some opinions since im curious. the epa isnt going to prevent me from "tampering" with my own stuff just b/c they want people to pay an arm and a leg just to have their carburetor rebuilt. im not one who likes being bossed around and told what to do, so the epa lost some respect (not that they give 3 llama droppings anyway). and IF someone with no common sense DID mess their weedeater up, money will be going in to someone's pocket since chances are they'll be getting it "serviced." ohh yea i forgot. since im learning everything from an authorized service center (a big tool rental place called Best Equipment) they are simply a big garage in the back full of equipment, and normal people just like all of us, who happen to posess some more skills.
on a side note: what about the "fixed adjustment" carburetors, which contain the plug in the screw hole (not a cap on a screw). obviously these cant even be adjusted afaik. is there a screw under the circular plug?

[Rustydog2010]

Originally Posted by Fabroman

Fact: Only 8% of the population have "common sense" (scary thought huh).

78.6% of statistics are made up on the spot...

[souperman000]

Originally Posted by Rustydog2010

78.6% of statistics are made up on the spot...

I thought that too when I read his comment.

[landuse]

I have a weedeater engine I put on a bicycle that has absolutely no adjustment screws at all. It is one of those that get set at the factory.

Here are a few pics for you guys to see. I wish I could set it

[Fabroman]

Originally Posted by Rustydog2010

78.6% of statistics are made up on the spot...

Haha, yes, I've used that line myself, unfortunately, my statistic wasn't made up, it's the result of a recent study I heard about only last week.