Beth, I can almost accept the fact that the manufacturer didn't bother to update their materials to stay with the times. But the unavailability of a simple retaining clip is not excusable.
GOOD customer service would have said, "It's not a replacement part, but If you'll send me a SASE I'll grab one off the assembly line and send it to you for free".
I had the same problem with my old weedeater. My next one will be electric for sure. I had a battery operated one in the past, but it was before its time and didn't really even work. Maybe they make decent ones now.
Good points, Beth. This all leads me to believe I made the right decision with an electric weed eater. While the cord has to be dragged around, it is overall lighter than the gas-powered version. And, I don't have to worry about Ethanol.
The Federal Government has been promoting the use of ethanol in gasoline for the past 34+ years.
This was kicked-off by the The Energy Tax Act of 1978 which provided a $0.40/gal ethanol subsidy.
I find it hard to believe the same material has been used for the priming bulb for the last 34 years.
It is certainly plausible that a design change was made and old stock was not recalled. A small mom-and-pop hardware store might have had this machine on the shelf for a while.
While there is certainly a disparity in the use of ethanol across the states (and in the counties within those states) I would still expect an ethanol-tolerant design.
As you say, I would also expect attention to evolving fuel standards and changes to keep materials in compliance.
This reminds me of my British sports cars from the1960s. They used natural rubber, becuase the British with their empire were able to get it easily. American cars typically used synthetic rubber parts. These tended to last longer, and changes in the formulation of gasoline tended to impact unfavourably on the endurance of the British parts. Of course, being foreign, they were more expensive. We would replace them with American made rubber whenever we could find a match.
Would use of ethanol in this machine have been an after-the-fact development post its original design or should it have been designed that way from the get go? I'm asking because I'm assuming not much changes on a WeedEater machine, albeit a few bells and whistles here and there. That said, there such be some sort of regular revisting of requirements to keep up with new fuel standards. The other big question is likely where you bought the WeedEater. Perhaps some stores still have old inventory on their shelves that aren't retrofit to meet new requirements.
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