Husky 50 w/no power

Kenster · Oct 26, 2002

I have an approx. 10 year old Husky 50 Special that has seen light use...firewood only, 3-4 cords of wood/year. It has always been a little hard starting, but after it warms up, runs well with plenty of power for me.

Lent it to my brother in law for 2 years while living overseas and just got it back. It starts o.k., but has no power and will not idle. Tried new gas at 32:1 with stihl oil, still no good. Next thought was to try spraying carb cleaner and replace the plug and filter. Any other suggestions?

P.S. - just found this forum because this problem....that's the silver lining.

tundraotto · Oct 26, 2002

Probably needs a carb kit. Needs a new plug and gas and airfilter for sure if its been sitting. The new airfilter will enable good carburetor adjustment after you have installed the carb kit. I would not spray carb cleaner into a two stroke any more than starting fluid - it prevents the oil in the premix from lubricating. Using carb cleaner to clean the carb is fine when its off.

Greg Carberry · Oct 26, 2002

Its old enough now that it will need the carb kit and filter etc as Otto said without a doubt. Should fix it right up.

HUSKYMAN · Oct 26, 2002

What did your brother do to it? Did he use it or did it sit the whole time?
Since it starts up the carb may be fine. I bet your brother messed with the mixture screws on the carb and got the settings out of whack. When you hold WOT does it rev to the moon, or does it burble and seem like its not revving enough? No power usually means the mixture is way too lean

Turn both screws all the way in (not too tight) and then back them off one full turn. Then start it and see if it runs better. It should at least idle. You can mess with the low speed adj and idle speed screw in small increments to see if you can get it to idle without the chain moving

Once you get the saw to idle tune the saw to make a slight "burble" at WOT. Go to www.madsens1.com and download the .wav file, it lets you know what to listen for and gives great directions. A little rich is always better than a little lean

HomeDelight Man · Oct 26, 2002

Hello, You may want to check the spark arrestor on the muffler. I have been getting a lot in that are clogged up lately. Quick check, spark arrestor should look like a screen, sometimes they get blocked with carbon from super rich mixed gas ( tooo much oil in the gas). Good Luck, Jonathan

Kenster · Oct 27, 2002

Thanks for the quick replies folks. New plug, new gas and clean air filter got the saw back to decent (not great performance). Think I might try the carb. kit to enhance....the last tune up w/carb. rebuild was done at a shop about 3-4 years ago.

How hard is that for a relative beginner? Is there a place on the web that might have good step-by-step instructions or might they come with the carb. kit?

P.S. - Thanks for the Madsens web site tip!