A Stihl Leaf Blower Stalls Out 

Your 5 year old video is still helping people today. My blower was doing the same as yours. My first thought was the spark plug . Changed it and still ran bad. After watching this video...Sure enough my screen was stopped up too. Cleaned it and my blower ran perfect. I've forgotten it was supposed to have this much power. I'm going to check my Stihl weed eater and edger tomorrow. I will definitely make this part of my maintenance on my equipment for now on. Thanks

Kudos to you my friend, just checked my spark arrestor and it was completely blocked. On the down side now my wife knows its working so no new toy!

Good video. For future reference, there's no need to scrub the arrester, or blow through it. Simply heat it until it glows orange all the way around. Once cooled, it'll be clean as a whistle. Extremely common in all the Stihl handhelds because users run them at idle so much. They clog easily when used that way, because the exhaust system never gets hot enough to burn off all that carbon/fuel residue. Their exhaust ports will usually also be partially clogged.

I've learnd over the years with 2 cycle engines to check the spark arrest first thing. More often than not, it's a clogged screen. Great catch and repair Bruce!! Cheers my Friend!! Zip~

I have a BR200, small backpack model, about 2 1/2 years old. It developed this exact problem this spring. I was expecting it to be a dirty carb issue but luckily found this video from Bruce. The spark arrestor is accessible through the opening in the plastic casing with a 15mm socket wrench, so no need for further disassembly. It was clogged, I heated it with a torch turning the crud to ash, then blew it clear (compressed air not needed). I can't say that I always used the Stihl oil, but will for the next 12 months and check it again.

I work on sooo many Stihl blowers, i can hear a plugged spark arrestor a mile away. I knew what it was 30 seconds into the video. Nice work. Good to verify everything else is kosher.

Like you I cleaned the air cleaner, checked the spark plug, changed the fuel for fresh two stroke, I ran the engine and tried to adjust the mixture all without success. next stop $150 service at the local lawnmower shop. After watching your video went back to the workshop and removed the spark arrestor bingo completely blocked. I used the wire wheel on my 8 inch bench grinder to clean the residue off the arrestor and it now runs flat out . Best blow job I ever had. Saved a $150 to.

Thanks Bruce! I have a BR350 backpack blower that started running poorly. Better than the one you started with, but bad nonetheless. After trying a carb clean and breaking my starter in the process, I was just about the head to the dealer when I found your video. Fifteen minutes later I was back in business and running better than ever!!!

You’re stihl the man years later! Plugged right up, had mine running in 10 minutes

My BG86C is about 2 years old and started running terribly...then it finally died today...I found your video and removed the spark arrestor and it ran like brand new again...the spark arrestor is taking a bath in brake cleaner right now while I do other things...will see how much it loosens before trying the torch method...thank you very much for the helpful tip today!

Wonderful wonderful video..I am not an engine guy but I did have a leaf blower that bogged down ..I did what Bruce said..cleaned exhaust filter( just unscrewed it ..did not have to take the whole filter system off) with starter spray to get rid of the oil and sludge and it kicked right away. Great video

I’d spent the last couple of days trying to fix my blower until coming across your utube footage. I’ve followed out your steps and my blower now works perfectly. Thank you Bruce. Phil

I saw your video, cause my Stihl leaf blower was doing the same thing. I did the same thing you did and got my blower working again. Awesome video. Thanks much, Bruce.

I was getting ready to start fiddling with the carb, and 98% sure I was going to buy a new blower tomorrow. Nope, not anymore. Thank you sir!

big help, thanks. I replaced the spark plug, cleaned the air filter, couldn't figure it out. You just saved me some money since it won't have to go into the shop now. Appreciate it

Just viewed your video. Had my blower worked on not too long ago and it ran somewhat better. They said it was the gas but I knew it wasn’t the problem. Waste of money. They should have known to check that. Your video was exactly my issue and when I went to start it I could tell within five seconds it was fixed. Very simple fix!! Going to your videos first every time I have a problem with something from now on. Thanks many times over!!

Thanks!! You just saved me a trip to the repair shop. My backpack model was doing the same thing. Pulled the arrested and cleaned it and Viola! Runs like a champ.

Posted over 4 years ago! Thanks! You fixed my BG56C!!! Yip, plugged spark arrestor. Runs like new. It probably doesn't help that I add a little (?!?) extra oil to the gas. But, I go by the philosophy "if a little is good then a lot..."

God bless you Bruce...I just did it at the same time with you....and....YES!!! IT'S BACK TO LIFE!!! Thanks for your help!!! All the best!!!

Thank you sir for the great video. I checked the spark arrestor first thing and it was totally plugged. I cleaned it and saved myself from having to buy a new blower.

I have a new BR450 blower that started running crappy after only 3 months even when using Stihl oil and premium gas. Tried everything. After seeing the video, pulled out the spark arrester and guess what, it was plugged. Thanks for the help.

you just saved some money! I had problems with my blower not running right - actually, it ran very poorly! Checking the spark arrest was something I never thought of! I checked mine and found it completely plugged! I proceeded to clean it and restarted the blower to find an excellent running blower.Thanks for making the video! Love it! Thanks again!

Thanks for saving me alot of time and money. My and my stepdads Stihl weedeaters were doing the same thing, easy fix! Last time mine was acting this way I found a dirt dobber had clogged my exhaust, same symptoms but no dobber nest. Just had to look a little deeper with a 15mm socket

Bruce you saved me a carburetor job, your video was fallowed to the tee and solved my problem Thank You

Another great video, and reminder to check the spark aresstor screen More often than not, when there a clogged spark aresstor screen, the back pressue from the exhaust will go thru the carb, and end up dirting the air filter. Sometimes when diagnosing this issue, a dirty air filter and the smell test will lead you to the spark aresstor screen

Un gros Merci pour ce vidéo!! Après plusieurs heures d'ouvrage sur cette machine, et sans résultat, mon chum a été enchanté de trouver enfin la solution grâce à vous.

Great info, got mine working as well plugged up muffler. I don't have a torch though. So what I did was attached the filter to a drill and used a wire brush while it turned at high speed. Worked like a charm, thanks.

Brilliant! 10 mins saved me $50+ in repairs...Completely solved my issue...Thank you!

Had a Stihl serviceman told me that all this brand has this problem at one time or another if it runs at low speeds . The low speeds causes this problem- and the propane torch will fix it and blow off the ash after it cools or lightly wire brush it . Thanks God for utube videos Bruce , and thank you too .

You, sir, saved me a lot of time and frustration. I thought the carb was the problem, but runs like new now. Thank you much!!

Hey Bruce just wanted to thank for the video on repairing a bogged leaf blower. I thought that I would have to go to a great deal more work and expense but after following your video to clean the spark arrestor it runs great.

Bought the BG50 yesterday. Thanks for the vid! Looking at many years of a clean yard..

Bruce Pender, Great video. You saved us from bringing it into a specialist. Thank you from Australia!

ALl the times I've repaired these machines, it's never been the spark arrestor....but it was this time. Thanks for pointing me in that direction....

Thanks for sharing. Was exactly the problem with my Stihl FS 85 Brush Saw. Saved me paying a shop rate. Thanks very much!

Thanks for posting. Since I live in a wet are inside a neighborhood, I cut the screen off the nozzle using a die grinder cut off saw. The saw is slightly louder with the nozzle left out, but pretty close to stock noise with the nozzle with no screen.

I always learn something new from your amazing skills, thank you for posting these brilliant videos.

2 years ago I bought a new Troy Bill 4 stroke backpack blower, from the moment I bought it, it didn’t run right. Last month it stopped working so I cleaned the carb, replaced the fuel filter and the purge bulb. It still ran bad so I checked the spark arrestor and it was clean, I decided to remove the spark arrestor and it ran better than when it was new.

Thanks Bruce. Your video was spot on. I have The same make and model as yours and the same problem. I cleaned out the exhaust like you did and my machine went from boging out to blowing like a hurricane. Well done

Thanks for this tutorial. I have a similar model with the same problem. I've basically rebuilt the thing but to no avail. I never thought to check the muffler!

thank you so much for posting this awesome video .it took me less than 5 minutes to get mine working after watching this video

I had the same problem happen to mine, happened a bit over a few years until I got fed up and decided to cut the spark arrestor off to exhaust tip, what a huge improvement. I live in the suburbia so no need to worry about dry bushy areas to set fire to, but got a spare spark arrestor in case. Even with the Stihl HP Ultra oil mixed properly it still clogs up, that's why I just cut it off, but thanks for showing me an easy way to unclog it so I know how to unclog the new one.

Can't thank you enough Bruce. My problem was solved. I owe you are beer! Cheers from Adelaide , Australia.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Bruce! I've got a Echo PB 230LN hand held blower that I put up 9 months ago when it started to loose power and bought a PB 250 LN. Today, it wouldn't even start. I always have Echo equipment, and have always checked the spark arrestors and I usually just find blackened screen at the worst. Plus I knew I had already removed the screen on this a couple of years ago. I changed the plug, fuel filter and lines and carburetor and it still was low on power. I was happy it started, but was ready to put it on Craigslist and get me something better then the PB 250. I just proves it pays to check out RU-vid for some helpful hints.

I would like to thank you my friend was on my way to Ag-Pro to buy me a new carburetor when I decided to stop and watch RU-vid first within 10 minutes my blower was running better than new thank you

Mine has been doing the same thing and I have done everything but this to get her going today. I said "I know someone has a video on youtube" and yours was the first I pulled up. Thank you so much for posting this Bruce! I call this my RU-vid Collage. LOL.

That did it...but all you need is to spray some carb cleaner in it , wire brush (might not have even been necessary) just took a cloth, small screwdriver, cleaned it out,,,it has never blow this hard....wow...thank you so much

That is the proper way to do itbesides buying a new one you could always take a screwdriver through it wouldn't even have to take off the muffler but that is great!!

Bruce you just saved me lots of $$$ and time following your video Thanks so much You are the God of Stihl

I had a makita blower same symptoms ,I tried everything but the exhaust. Cheers Bruce.

You got it! 2 minute fix. My Stihl SH55 has done a ton of work both blowing and vaccing and it's 10 years old!

Also the choke valve inside the air filter element can cause a bog or a flooded running condition. Its mostly on the chain saw side you see this... Good job Bruce...

Very common problem with Stihl. First thing you should look for when servicing or troubleshooting. High quality oils and fresh/treated fuel will buy you the most time with cleaning the spark arrestors. :-)

Thank you for sharing that spark arrester tip. I have a dead 024 that showed those “laggy” symptoms before it would only idle. I’ll go and try to resuscitate it. And a hello from Brighton UK Xx

Im have sh 86 for like 4 years and it never ever get a sigle problem its not cheap at alll compere to other brands but it a nice peace of tool than never fail and if it do it cheap to fix 💪💪

Thanks! We have a stihl backpack blower that's bogging down. Air and fuel filters are okay. We will try this right now.

Just finished a clean out on mine. These things are designed to rut HOT. Too much idling and/or bad fuel and you have a the perfect storm.

Great video, should always coat everything with anti-seize on re-assembly. Exhaust parts are known for welding themselves together over time, anti-seize is the answer.

Thank you. This was a great video. I ended up using an old toothbrush to clean the filter. It ran very well after that.

Good catch Bruce!! It isn't tough to overlook something like that, most of the time we start a repair with tunnel vision!! I never would have checked the exhaust!!☺

Use some anti sieze compound upon reassembly so next time it comes apart more easily... Although it was not difficult , anti sieze can be a time saver and parts life extender...

This was exactly my problem. Thanks Bruce, use saved me a ton of money in repairs or a new machine. Now i wonder if this isn't the problem with my weed whacker and chainsaw. Too bad they arent as easy to get to or removable. Thanks again. Good job on the video by the way but you really should have a camera man 😉

Thanks Bruce, you nailed it. Totally fixed my problem.

I bought that same blower new and the first thing I did was to remove the spark arrestor, I do that to all my two smoke equipment.

Mine bogs down after about 5 minutes, I'll take a look at it sometime this weekend. Ohh by the way Bruce careful using latex gloves with that blow torch, they could ignite with any sparks that get on them 🔥

you can just cook the spark arrestor till all the screen glows white hot and just let it air cool. I learned that this is an Stihl approved method

I've got a brand new one and it bogs down before it warms up that people at the store said that was normal but once it's warmed up it doesn't bog down anymore

YES!!!!!!! thank you. i tried everything else. you just saved me the cost of a new one.

Great video and even better advice. My Stihl 86C runs like a top! Thank you.

The best thing you can do with any 2-stroke is sell it and buy a 4-stroke! I bought a Honda blower and it starts 1 pull every time. My Stihl FS45 is nothing but trouble and has been since the day I bought it!

Awesome job ....the way you did it is the exact same way I do it ....great easy fix....oh and I finally got a lift table for my shop ....love it!!!!

You just saved me $40 I was about to order a new carb. Thanks

Carby clean also works a treat, rather than the propane torch. Cheers

You don't need any disassembly. Use the screwdriver/wrench tool that Stihl provides and remove the spark arrester directly. Also, a good butane lighter will burn the carbon off nicely.

Thank you for this Great Video mate ! Very helpful

I have a small engine repair shop and get tons of these in . The fix= a 15 mm socket to remove the " spark arrestor " pitch it .The engine runs cooler and lives longer. This is built in obsolescence and boders on criminal . To the tree huggers that say "oh no you can't that " I say go hug your tree and go to bed .

Well this was helpful had mine running like new in 5 min thanks👍

I just picked up a free stihl blower , hopefully this will fix it

You just saved me about 100 bucks! Thanks!

Bruce you didn't have to take off the Orange cover. You can just take the spark arrestor out and clean it then put it back in. Also you should start the unit back up and see if it's the carburetor.

I haven’t tried it yet, but if it works, I’ll be very happy period you’re right I’ve seen this with my steel MS 170 chainsaw. In fact, I found it when the dealer missed it period once I cleaned screen on the spark arrestor I was good

You may have saved me a ton of time...thank you Sr!

Day one of purchase, take off the spark arrestor, cut the screen out with a hacksaw and put the straight pipe (remaining part) back into the blower...problem solved. OR just wait for hesitation, THEN remove, cut off blocked screen part, and you'll have no more issues. This method also solves bad acne, oily skin, dandruff, and pigeon toe.

hi bruce, good lesson. something i noticed and i'm not sure if it was brought up in another comment. i would suggest not using your driver to start screws like you did on the muffler. you're working on aluminum.

Its hard to Believe but I have a Sthil Bg 55 that I bought almost 9 yrs ago its bogs slightly when its fully warmed up but runs good at full throttle I took out the spark arrestor thinking it was clogged after almost 9 yrs and to my amazement it looked brand new I credit it to Sthil HP oil (silver bottle ) I have been running it in my Echo SRM 225 and it runs great I used to use Echo brand oil and it was hard to start and always had that black runny oil coming out of the muffler but with the Sthil oil in my Saws Blowers and Weed Wackers they start much better and the Throttle response is improved . but on most 2cycle engines this is a common problem having the spark arrestor clogging . Great Video Bruce Pointing out this Problem most people would start adjusting the carb when its not the problem

Good catch DR.Pender i was thinking dirty screen in carb!

I use carb spray and a wire brush, then blow it out with air compressor. Some people burn them clean. Some people take them out and throw the spark arrestor away (don’t tell Smokey the Bear).

I thought it was the carb, but you were right. It cranks now!

A guy in my neighborhood gave me 2 identical blowers like this and this is the exact problem these blowers are like new!

I've had the same thing happen to my BG 86 a couple times using Stihl oil. It's a 5 minute fix with a wire brush and some carb cleaner but still frustrating. What's the real danger of just pulling the spark arrestor on this unit? Otherwise it's a great blower and is pretty strong once warmed up.

Thanks very much for the great demonstration Bruce. I think this is my problem. :)

Thanks so much mate I'm sure you just saved me a few bucks.

Worked like a charm!! Thank You Sir!

Great video I need to service my sh86 too as it was a bit boggy. Very helpful

The video that put Bruce on the map!

Best way to go for cleaning for suff like that but in some cases people just take the screen off it won't hurt the engine.

Perfect--Thank you for sharing. This was the fix I needed. Time for some ice cream!

haha when you showed it bogging at the beginning i said too myself.....spark arrestor. But then you started dumping fuel and what not so I assumed that you knew something else was going on. haha.....its always a good idea to change and clean fuel system as a "while you're in there" job.

Nice video dude!