Spark arrester

[Tjstampa]

I have two questions. First I have a Stihl Kombi 56 power head. It is about four years old and I figure it gets used 35to 40 times a year. I live in central Florida and use it for both trimming and edging. I am starting to notice a lot of carbon buildup on the small portion of the spark arrester that I can see. Should I preemptively clean the carbon off, and if so how.

Second question is somewhat related. A neighbor saw me changing the oil in my lawnmower and brought his huaqrvana 125bvx over to me. It would run for a few minutes and shut off. I took the screws off the muffler and it looked like the screen underneath was completely clogged. I hit it with a wire brush and cleared some of the junk off and it fired right up once I put it back together. Does this need to be cleaned better. I have the same blower.

I can post pictures of the Stihl if that would help. Any insight would be helpful.
I have been running the Stihl ultra oil in either premium gas from Costco treated with stablize and anti ethanol enzymes until recently when whoa finally move in with ethanol free gas.

 

[AVB]

Normally I use a small propane torch to burn the carbon off as you got get it red hot to do so but be careful as to not get too hot or burn the screen up. Use good pair pliers with long handles to hold the screen or spark arrester assembly. By good I don't mean you best pliers use one that can hold the spark arrestor firmly so you drop it and burn something else.

 

[Nutball]

Just a guess, but I figure running a bit lean (with extra oil to be safe), not using the choke too much, and not letting it idle too much should all help keep the spark screen clean. Running rich will leave a lot of unburned carbon to clog stuff. I've known some engines to plug up a screen in 2 months. I just remove them permanently.

 

[AVB]

Only problem removing the screens. Some areas require them due extreme dryness which create fire hazards like the California area. If I not mistaken which can be some areas even have local codes requiring them. Here where I am it is safe to remove them if the clogging becomes bothersome otherwise I just clean them.

Yes they tend clog here too. Mostly because how rich I need to tune these engines to get the idle and max rpm speeds down to specs.

 

[Tjstampa]

Thanks guys. That was a much easier fix than I thought it would be