Hi Guys
My weed eater (2 stroke 50:1) starts up fine and runs OK until I put my finger on the trigger to bring it up to running speed to cut the grass. At this point it dies instantly. I'm 100% on the fuel/oil ratio and have checked the air filter which is clear. I'm looking for ideas on how to troubleshoot this. Could it be a fuel blockage, hardened diaphragm (did sit unused with petrol in it for a month or two), bad fuel (I mix before each use not much more than used each time)? Any ideas would be appreciated

I wouldn't trust a visual inspection of the air filter. See if it will behave without one.
You can throw some of the air filters in the was to clean them.

Your using at least the mid grade of gasoline?

Always put Stabil in the fuel when the fuel has the possibility of sitting for a while. It's recommended to use the 2 cycle oil ( 1 container for 1 gal of gas). It's formulated differently.

Always thought it was "keep it simple sweetheart" ;)

The fuel I use is a high octane unleaded. In all fairness I forgot to mention I'm using a different brand of two stroke oil this time so maybe I need to look into that as a possible source of the prob as well? Here in Aus we use the metric system. I've never seen/heard of stabil down here. Have also tried without the filter which is just a piece of foam sponge giving the same result

Stabil

Gold Eagle - Stabil (http://www.goldeagle.com/sta-bil/)

I found these pages in the .au domain

Pure Polaris (http://polaris.netmerchant.com.au/?main=%2FCatalogue%2FSnowmobile%2FSnow%2520Accesso ries%2FBA957399-4F8E-40C9-9C7F-7E8B55A7AA6B%2FPure%2520Polaris%2520Fuel%2520Stabi lizer%2F%3Fitem%3D555E54F8-1461)

PPC - Accessories (http://www.ppc.au.com/accessories.htm)

Tru-Blu Oil | Oil Stabilizer (http://www.trubluoil.com.au/Oil_Stabilizer.html)

Here is some premixed oils:

motor oils: alphaLUBRICATION (http://www.alphalube.com.au/motor_oils.htm)

EDIT: Fixed links

Thx, I'll look into that. Can the oil go off even when not mixed?

What brand/model weedeater do you have? Most all use 40:1

Could be the plug is fouling a little, or more likely, carb problems. Remove the carb and clean it thouroughly. Reassemble and adjust.

What brand/model weedeater do you have? Most all use 40:1

The brand is ryobi and it has the sticker on it saying 50:1 so I know that's the ratio

could be the plug is fouling a little, or more likely, carb problems. remove the carb and clean it thouroughly. reassemble and adjust.

Caught up with a friend of mine yesterday who listened to it when I ran it and then applied the throttle. He reckons a blockage telling me it's getting too much air and not enough fuel when I throttle up. So looks like I'll be going in and looking at your advice here