Finally got my Homey 25 cc weed wacker all together and running. It is on EI with a 11.1 mm bore carb and free flow muffler, no other mods. Turns a 16 x 8 MA prop at about 7800 max. The carb is a Walbro WT 324. My problem is this, it idles really high at 3000-4000 rpm's. If I turn the low needle in too much, it runs rough and surges, but the idle is a little lower. It also cuts off if I lift the nose. The throttle is spring loaded. Should I try to remove the spring in the throttle? Also, are there some basic steps for setting the carb for a gasser? What should it idle at?

Did you dissamble the carb? Take the butterfly out? If you get it back in the wrong way, it won't idle. Take the spring off. It only adds resistance to the throttle servo. Most of these carbs I've seen will run on anything from 1.5 - .75 turns out on both needles. They're not usually touchy.

Dr.1

Andernamen, Don't try to adjust the idle speed with the "low" needle on the carb, that needle is only used to adjust the "low" speed mixture. Adjust the idle speed by closing the butterfly. Remove the hook on the return spring that closes the butterfly but don't remove the spring, it's needed as a spacer to help keep the butterfly centered.

Okay, will do. Any Idea what a small gasser should idle at?

Really depends on the engine, the port timing, the carb, ignition timing, etc., etc. Some will idle down to around 1200 or less, some won't go reliably below around 2000 rpms.

AV8TOR

I think I had the carb upside down. There was a small hole on the carb open to the atmosphere. Not sure if this is it since it won't run well now that I've switched it. Is there some type of hole in the crankcase that has to be plugged on a Homey 25? Also, how should I go about setting the needles. I opened both needles about one turn as a starting point.

Turn the low end out to 1-1/2 open and leave the high at 1 open to start with.I just tried 2 different brand new 11.11mm carbs on my toro25 and it wouldnt idle down hardly at all(i even pulled the idle screw completely out.)It also wouldnt transition right after 1/2 open to wide open throttle.Probably to much carb(brand new engine).Im going down to a 9.53 venturi and trying it.If that doesnt work im going to put on a stock 7.9 with 2 needles(the original had 1 needle.Dont know what hole your talking about unless you mean the atmosperic pressure hole on cover.

WT 645 is what comes on the Zenoah 26.

Great Carb. but expecsive. $53.00 from Horizon and $45.00 from Brillelli.

I still can't get the engine to run reliably and I think the carb is the reason. I set both needles to 1.5 turns open and it will not run unless the choke is closed. If I open the choke, it immediately dies. I've tried a few different settings of the needles, but it will not idle below about 3000-4000 rpm. I double checked the timing, and it is right. Don't see any airleaks either. What else can I look for? Is there another carb that is proven to work on this engine?

Is the diaphrams getting hard? That would stop it from pupming enough gas to run right.

Also there are 2 little screens in the Carb. they get pluged.

A rebuild kit is about $10.00 and a can of spray carb cleaner is about $5.00.

That's about the price of a replacement Carb. off the auction site.

Berrymans B-12 will help soften the diaphram.
Don't leave it on the diaphram to long, it will disolve it.
Get the spray stuff and spray it in all the passages to clean out the Carb.
You could get lucky.

take the diaphram cover off along with the diaphram, there's a little lever that's got a spring on one end, pry up the end with the spring a very slight amount, that will make the carb pump more fuel, I ran into that problem with a homie blower lately, I could either get it to idle or run full throttle, not both, and noticed that the needle (single needle) was out 2 turns or so, after I pried out the metering lever a little it ran great...

Make sure you have it installed correctly first. Are the pulse holes lined up?

I think the pulse hole is lined up, but I'm not sure. I've tried installing it both ways. It actually ran better when the pulse hole wasn't lined up and was sucking air. I contacted the vendor who sold me this carb and he said it was untested. I'm thinking of trying a brand new one. They are relatively cheap on e-bay.

If the pulse hole were not lined up, it would not pump gas and therefore could not run.

It's called physics don't Ya know.

There may be two holes on the face of the Carb. one works and one just looks like it works.

I've decided to replace the carb. Does anyone have experience with a carb that is a good match for the Homelite 25? Low idle and decent transition. I want to try something different from the W-T324-1. What is the best one to use?

Here is a clip from an email Scott from Brillelli sent me.

"On our current 25 I use the WT 645. Same as a Zenoah G26. It is a great carb, but expensive. On all of our engines I use the 645, Wt 201 (DA 50 carb) and the HDA 48 (G-62). They are not cheap, but they allways work."

Found another problem....arrrgh! I got a twister carb adapter from wacker engines and it doesn't seal the carb bore completely. There is a small crescent that is open to the atmosphere allowing air in from the back of the carb. No wonder it wouldn't idle. Not sure how to correct this, perhaps some silicone or marine epoxy? The twister bore must be slightly under 11.1 mm. I'll have to check, maybe I just need to align it better.

The best thing to do is contact Wacker Engines and let then decide.

I've heard they are fair and reasonable people.

And they may have an idea or two themselves.

Wacker couldn't help me other than to suggest I get a carb with a smaller throttle bore. Is there a carb that has a 11.11 mm venturi and a throttle bore of around 12 mm? I threw away the original carb manifold unfortunately.

It's a bit complicated. What I do with the twister manifold, is I make a small dam that will only allow a small headed screw to hold the manifold on. I then fill the pulse hole and that dam area with JB Quik Weld. Sand that down for a nice smooth manifold surface. Then use a drum sander in a Dremel to open the manifold adapter throat up to the same diameter as the carb. Then you can tap the fuel pump cover of the carb, and run an outside pulse line to a pressure tap in the crankcase. You can add this pressure tap anywhere in the crankcase that is convenient. If I get a chance, I will post a pic of one I just did as described tomorrow.

AV8TOR

Well, I was very busy today, but I did try to take those pics for you. I took a number of them figuring I would post the best one, but when I got back home here and looked at them, none of them turned out. Guess I need to read the manual for doing close up pics with my new digital camera....

But did you understand what I was trying to describe? If you look at the manifold, where one of the screws that holds it to the engine goes, there is a very thin area between where that screw goes and the throat of the manifold for sealing. It is barely enough sealing area in that one spot for a small bore carb. When you put a larger bore carb on it, it becomes a problem. So I grind the head of that screw down a good bit smaller. Then I insert that screw in it's hole, and put a nut on it to hold it there. Then I find a piece of plastic, like a straw or something, and fit it over the ground down screw head. I then put tape from the straw to the manifold on both sides, forming a dam. I then fill this area with JB Weld. I also fill the other cavities and the pulse hole with JB Weld. When it dries, you can remove your dam, and sand the manifold sealing surfaces flat. You can then grind the throat of the manifold out with a Dremel tool and a small sanding drum to fit the throat size of your carb. I've done it quite a few times and it works well. Just remember that you then have to rig an external pulse line to the carb for the fuel pump to work.

Sorry about no pic to help explain,
AV8TOR

Well, I tried some pics again today before I continued to assemble the engine, and these came out a little better.

You can see how thin that area is next to the screw on the original manifold on top. You can also see the areas I filled with JB Weld on the bottom manifold. It has been enlarged to accomodate the carb throat, and you can see how the enlarging process gets into the JB Weld in a few places, which of course is what it´s there for...

The middle pic is one of those that didn´t really turn out yesterday, but I included it because it shows the ground down screw head, and the piece of plastic I had used to cover the screw head and form part of the dam.

AV8TOR

It all makes sense to me, except the external pulse hole. That is something that I'm not sure I can do. I'd be afraid of drilling in the wrong spot and messing up the cylinder. I think the pulse hole lines up even on the bigger carb. I'm going to try the JB weld fix at least around the bolt hole. That should at least prevent that massive air leak.

Du-bro sells a drill a tap and a pressure fitting.
Just buy them at the same time and ask to make sure they all go together.

It's pretty easy.

An easy way to do the external pulse on a Homelite, is to put one in the backplate. If you put it in the center of the backplate, it is not in the way of anything, and you don't even have to drill and tap; just use a pressure tap with a nut. (You also don't have to take the engine apart; just remove the backplate.) Be sure to use Loctite or CA glue on the nut however, so that it can't come off and make a mess inside the engine!!

On the carb in the fuel pump cover, there is a raised boss that is used on many Walbro carbs for a factory external pulse. All you have to do is drill through that boss, tap it and insert a pressure tap fitting. Then connect it with your backplate pressure tap with a piece of tubing, and you're "Good to go!"

AV8TOR