# cheap carburetors



## stan (Sep 19, 2006)

I am looking for a new carburetor for my echo 233. I see prices low and some very high. Anyone have any success with the cheep carbs on ebay? Stan


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## finaprint (Jan 29, 2006)

I myself prefer to use the OEM part, there is no question as to whether the metering in it is correct or not. A lot of shops though change them, quicker getting the repair done and they make more money that way too. 

The cheaper Chinese ones can be questionable as to how long they last as to the rubber metering parts inside and how well they stand up to ethanol if used in your fuel. How well they set the metering valve can make a big difference too, that valve can be off .005" and the engine then does not run well. 

I have never used them so cannot say, but after selling cheap Chinese in auto parts you can transfer what you know there and it works the same way. Chinese rubber can be crap. Close settings?, don't expect those to be dead on either.


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## paulr44 (Oct 14, 2008)

finaprint said:


> I myself prefer to use the OEM part, there is no question as to whether the metering in it is correct or not. A lot of shops though change them, quicker getting the repair done and they make more money that way too.
> 
> The cheaper Chinese ones can be questionable as to how long they last as to the rubber metering parts inside and how well they stand up to ethanol if used in your fuel. How well they set the metering valve can make a big difference too, that valve can be off .005" and the engine then does not run well.
> 
> I have never used them so cannot say, but after selling cheap Chinese in auto parts you can transfer what you know there and it works the same way. Chinese rubber can be crap. Close settings?, don't expect those to be dead on either.


We've seen a number of the $6 or so carbs., they often leak/overflow. YGWYPF: you get what you pay for. $6 carb. = $6 solution. We only use OEM carbs, even if they're Chinese but installed originally by OEM. Point is, there are knock-offs for less, and if you buy OEM even if Chinese you have a warranty behind them, and in general a better quality item. I can warranty a Walbro or Zama carb., or a carb. through OEM such as RedMax or STIHL or TTI. You buy cheap online, you're on your own.


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## finaprint (Jan 29, 2006)

$6 carbs? Pretty funny, I had no idea they got that low. But then I don't buy them. YES to OEM part even if Chinese, one has to realize some parts come from there even though we don't want them to. They have good manufacturers and bad just like here. 

$6.......go figure. I wouldn't think one could pack an order to even make a cent doing that low.


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## paulr44 (Oct 14, 2008)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Troy-Bilt-...611777?hash=item3fc3110381:g:7hMAAOSwP8Vc4qAp


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## justice (Aug 13, 2011)

I have a Still weed eater I bought from my brother. I had clean the carb several times for him. It was a piece of crap. When I got it ; it got to the point it would not start. Check OEM price it was out of sight 50 dollars more I could buy another one. I toss in the junk pile in my shed. I came across one those cheep carbs and I figure what do I have to lose. I have throw more money out the window for other things. I got it and look just like the oem plus it came with all new hoses and filters! Well I be dam it starts on the second pull which it has never done when new! It gets the crap ran out of it family members borrow also. That was 2 1/2 years ago and it still running. And by the way this Still product was made in China! I bought a weed eater at Walmart can't remember name but Red in color. Pull it out the box A little assembly was require fir it up and while using that unit the gas tank fell off. That goes to show there crap equipment every where!


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## finaprint (Jan 29, 2006)

I just learned to make the originals work in 99% of the cases, it comes from garage work on cars. Too many car carbs got junked to buy new ones that although the catalogs said they worked they didn't for spit. The aftermarket cuts thousands of specific carbs with specific calibrations to just a few carbs they have rounded the numbers off on to make them supposedly work. They didn't, we found you got much more customer satisfaction out of reusing the same carb just rebuilt to new. It took longer to do the work but the satisfaction level seemed to be worth it and we charged for the time after an explanation to the customer. A lot of our work was collector cars too, that would have been a reason as well, they did NOT want carbs that were not correct for the cars. 

Why I strive to always use the OEM part. There are really very few reasons to junk the old parts except for wanting to shove out finished work faster. You DO have to be whoppingly creative fixing some of the issues you will run across though.


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