"My take on the current fuel 'crisis' is that the age of gasoline and Diesel is over. I doubt if you'll even be able to buy a new internal combustion-only new car within ten years. I could tell you what will replace oil-based fuels, but of course I would have to kill you LOL. I can say that it won't be alcohol. Anyone who has been paying attention will already know what the 'mystery fuel' is. Strangely enough, Jules Verne, who predicted many modern marvels in his books, also predicted the use of this fuel 'which burns with the heat of the sun' and produces no harmful emissions. The current surge in oil prices is actually because of this new fuel. Everyone in the oil business is trying to grab as much profit as they can before the oil crash, which will be the most dangerous time in history. They know that once this is really 'out of the bag' (which it already is, but most people don't believe it) they will have lost control of this huge share of the energy market. Think about the ramifications" Just thought it was funny that there are six months left on this prediction and car lots are swimming in brand new internal combustion only vehicles and fuel prices are relatively cheap. I predict they will be around for a long time to come.

yungman, Your statement about a lean condition from a partially blocked carb causing problems is true and quite common. Usually a lean condition on a governed engine like a mower is apparent from loss of power. Slightly lean conditions may not be so apparent and can cause problems.Your assumption that it is detrimental only to 2 cycle engines is not quite true. Both 2 and 4 cycle engines are affected by lean conditions. An lean carb causes the mixture to burn much hotter just like a cutting torch burns hotter when the oxygen is increased. This heat can damage either 2 or 4 cycle engines in different ways. 2 cycle engines that are too lean can burn a hole in the piston or piston siezure can occur among other things. Four cycle engines that are too lean can burn exhaust valves and seats and possibly overheat and cause the rings to lose their tension. Your statement that people may be "out to lunch" or "doped up" is sad but true. Most of the failures that I see are caused by user neglect or abuse. Other failures that are common are what I call planned failures like ignition coils, soft metal cutting blades that wear too quickly, etc. etc. Manufacturers design acceptable failure rates into certain parts that nobody else makes. CD ignition coils are a good example. They are propritary parts that usually fail a few years out of warranty and cost about triple the money that they should. What manufacturer wouldn't want to sell a $50 ignition coil for every mower they have sold at some point in the future? Sell a million mowers and sell that many coils. What a windfall!! Motorcycle manufacturers are notorious for doing that with all kinds of cd packs, voltage regulators, pulser coils, switches, and relays. Sorry I got a little off track....

Information for consumption. Honda/Yamaha/Husqvarna/KTM/Suzuki/Kawasaki They all produced extremely high output 2-stroke racing engines in their off-road motorcycles, and these engines were put in some of the most grueling conditions you could imagine. Virtually ALL of them recommended 20:1 or 24:1 mix ratios. What the actual FACTORY mechanics did at racing events was very telling. Their teams (admittedly not running "stock" engines) but were running engines putting out even MORE power for the displacement class followed the same rules. 1) The higher the RPM's the engine turned the more oil they ran in the fuel. (e.g. a 125cc machine that routinely lived in the 10,000 - 13,500rpm range ran 20:1 or 24:1 -- The 250cc engines that ran between 6,500 and 9,000rpm ran 32:1 or 40:1, and the Open Class machines (251cc and up by AMA but they were all 400+cc engines, usually 465's, 490's, or 500cc) ran 50:1 or in some instances if the temps were cool and the loads light on the engine they ventured into the 70:1 range.) (2) Additionally Husqvarna did some testing in the mid 70's that was also very interesting. They put 3 identical stock engines on a dyno and ran them for several days at varying RPM and load conditions. Then both motors were torn down and inspected. The engine running CASTOR based oil had the least wear, followed by the synthetic oil, and finally the engine running standard 2-cycle oil. (3) A second test they performed was to run synthetic in 2 identical engines and one was run at 24:1, the other was run at 50:1 The engine that ran 24:1 had less piston skirt wear, and less rod bearing wear, but had the same main roller bearing wear as the engine run at 50:1. I personally ran my 125cc race bikes on synthetic Yamalube-R at 24:1 or ran Bel-Ray MC1 at 24:1 even though Bel-Ray claimed it was a 50:1 oil. The 250's I ran 32:1, and the brutal 500cc machine ran 50:1. The plug reading will tell you a lot. The insulator should be light tan in color. If it is white you are too lean, dark, black, or oily, and you are too rich. Changing the oil/gas ratio DOES affect the jetting settings so changing ratios will likely require carb adjustment. If you are fouling plugs then you have the fuel/air mixture incorrect for the gas/oil mix you are using. Manufacturers intentionally make the low rpm pilot jet on the rich side (so they start easier) and excessive idling will foul the plug. I am not sure if there is a low speed adjustment on the carb you have, but if you constantly foul plugs you may want to lean that out a bit, again the plug condition will tell you.

I have a Honda HHT31SLTA that I bought last summer and absolutely love it. I wanted a 4 stroke because I hate having the seperate can as well as the high level of vibration. It works well at mid to high revs, but seems to not have the top end power I expected. If I don't use the choke it will start on the second or third pull, if I'm quick turning the choke off I can do it on one pull. It's been very reliable so far. I changed the oil and it was a snap. Just warm it up then turn it upside down and let the oil drain out of the filler hole. I was afraid I'd make a mess but that didn't happen. Filling it took some time but luckily I have a very small funnel and filling the case was easy. The only downside is the weight, at 14 pounds and change it's not light, but I knew I was making a trade off when I bought it. The included shoulder strap takes some of the burden off, especially when walking between spots to trim. I don't really run mine upside down, and haven't seen anything in the manual about how long you can run it when it's not level. A lot of people are paranoid about this but I don't worry about it. Hope that helps. Go to www.hondapowerequipment.com and check out the manual for yourself. You'll also get an idea of the recommended maintenance.