Before we started our regular Saturday ritual of grocery shopping, Efiwym, my wife, and I headed back to the estate sale house to pick up the rototiller. Of course, while Efiwym was there she purchased a couple of tomato cages for her garden. The lady reiterated that her father, who now was a small equipment mechanic, told her the rototiller had “compression.” She also stated that she could not test it because she did not have any gas for it. She said, “We switched to all battery-powered tools, so we do not have gas around here.” I was starting to wonder why I agreed to purchase the rototiller. Efiwym wanted to put her vegetable plants into the ground this weekend and I had a project that I had no idea how long it would take. I loaded up the rototiller and took it home. The only thing on my mind was that damn rototiller.
After we got home from grocery shopping, I took a quick look at the rototiller. I began to realize that it has a 2-cycle engine. Suddenly I was struck with fear. A 2-cycle engine! Now I really wished I never considered purchasing this old, rusty rototiller with a 2-CYCLE ENGINE! You might be wondering what the big deal was. I really only had one bad episode with a gas-powered tool with a 2-cycle engine. It was a grass trimmer. Many years ago, before you could buy a decent battery-powered grass trimmer, I purchased a brand new 2-cycle gas-powered grass trimmer. The first couple of years, that trimmer would start right up. A couple of pulls with the choke on, and a couple of pulls with the choke off, BAM! the trimmer would run.
What is the difference between a 2-cycle engine and a 4-cycle engine? The only thing I know is that you need to mix the gas with some 2-cycle oil. That oil lubricates the engine, not the oil sitting in a crankcase of a 4-cycle engine.
I do not have a great history of keeping up on the maintenance of my gas-powered equipment. I do not change the oil. I do not change the spark plug. I do not do any preventative maintenance. Why? Because I had success with my snowblower and lawn mower starting and running without any problems. I had the lawn mower and snowblower for ten-plus years and never did any maintenance. I was lucky.
Then came the grass trimmer. After a couple of years, I could not get it started. I pulled and pulled on the starter cord until I was exhausted. Eventually, I replaced the spark plug, but again, it took a lot to get it started and it would die in the middle of my trimming. Ultimately, I tossed the trimmer in the garbage can and went with a corded electric trimmer. I swore I would never buy another 2-cycle gas-powered piece of equipment again…until today.