Troy-Bilt Chipper/Vac

A local subscriber Tom gave us this Troy-Bilt Chipper/Vac. He picked it up as a project and decided to clear some space and passed it on to us. I don't know the history of this machine or if it even runs. So lets dig in and see if get this Tecumseh powered leaf vacuum up and running again.
Troy-Bilt Model: 47279
Tecumseh Model: H50-65582U
Link to Chiper Vac Bag: www.ebay.com/i...
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I no longer use Harbor Freight Super Heavy Duty Degreaser in my ultrasonic cleaner. Harbor Freight changed the recipe. The bottle previously stated "NON-CORROSIVE". Now it says "CORROSIVE", "do not user on Aluminum". It now damages most carburetors. Recently I have been using Simple Green PRO HD with good results.
#SmallEngineRepair #SmallEngine #DIY #Fixed #Troubleshooting #HowTo #troybilt
Carburetor, Chewed Wires, Chipper, Clogged Pilot Jet, Compression Test, Dead Mouse, Dirty Carburetor, Fixed, Fuel Filter, Fuel Valve, How To, How-To, Kill Wire, Leaf Vacuum, Maggots, Mouse Damage, Mouse House, New Fuel Line, Pilot Jet, Repair, Small Engine, Spark Test, Tecumseh, Troubleshooting, Troy Bilt, Troy NY, Troy New York, Troy-Bilt, Will Not Idle, Wire Repair

[@martysmallenginerepair5634]

I have watched almost every guy on the youtube app work on small engines, they all have their great points on working on small engines! But, you know there is always a but! Lol James Condon is the most thorough and easy to understand guy on the whole youtube app! It never gets boring or uninteresting even on a long video! Thank you James for the content, you have helped a lot of folks diy!

[@Kinann]

And he doesn't have to wear fake teeth to do it!

[@NRP1991]

I’m a small engine mechanic in Ohio and I have fallen in love with your videos. Excellent how you get these machines back up to their glory. WOW that shreds the leaves up really well too !!! 👍🏼

[@DanielCoffey67]

That aftermarket bag certainly looked well made. I think the seller deserves a good review for it.

[@PatrickFaricy]

When I was watching him unzip it to empty the bag, all I could think about was how many times I would have had forgotten to zip it up after dumping.......and gotten a face full, before remembering to zip the back after emptying it each time. lol

[@AJRestoration]

Tip. If you need small wires to poke small holes. Get your hand held wire brush and harvest a few bristles from it. You get various sizes of them and they bend without snapping. Alternatively, harvest from the bench grinder wirebrush wheel. they sometimes break off when you use them so if possible pick them up and save them for times like this so you wont have to bend your metal pics.

[@jcondon1]

Thanks. Bristles do work very well.

[@sgtbrown4273]

Hey AJ 👋 😊

[@jeffclark2725]

Thumbs up great project

[@Jim-ie6uf]

That’s what I do

[@Jim-ie6uf]

Nice job as always. Those leaves are a never ending battle. I grew up in Macon Ga, the pine straw was everywhere. My brother and I raked it up and sold to people to put around their Azaleas in the fall. That was 50+ years ago, we made decent money. Oh, the memories 😊

[@BruceBoschek]

I had made up a rule for myself not to watch anymore videos about Tecumseh engines because they are often so frustrating, but this engine, in spite of serving as a condo for rodents actually didn't need a lot of work. That is a much more practical machine than the normal leaf baggers since it chops the leaves so fine. Good that you got it in time to put it right to work. Thanks for another very enjoyable video.

[@m9ovich785]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA I've had 2 Tecumseh Engines and the last 2. I hated them with a passion..

[@jesterr7133]

Those Tecrapseh engines are always an adventure.

[@jeffclark2725]

@jesterr7133 those tecumseh floats are a very common replacement part, and cheap

[@jeremymcauliff8485]

Even when running "good" a Tecumseh engine will still sound a little bit off.

[@JohnSmith-pl2bk]

@@jeremymcauliff8485 Long cold intake runner that lets fuel drop out of the airstream on it's way from the carb to the head/intake valve when the engine is cold.....leaving a "lean" mix...and inconsistent firing... Tune the engine for cold running and when it heats up the mixture is too rich...... Can't win.... except with the snow blowers which have a heated air intake...and no air filter.....

[@jeffclark2725]

@JohnSmith-pl2bk those chipper shredder flywheels are so heavy on those tecumseh engines, pulling them over cold doesn't help

[@brianallen9810]

@@jeffclark2725 Yes and there is a reason why.

[@mjg263]

Super nice job on that finicky carburetor. The idle passage is easily overlooked and hard to get to, you did an excellent job of explaining it and showing the passage routing.

[@bradmcewen]

So interesting watching others techniques that you can apply to many circumstances. I use to install entry systems. People would pull up a chair and watch ! Now thats me ! PS...appreciate the fast forward through the mundane. This is also great ASMR therapy 👌

[@ДмитрийВелобос]

Здравствуйте Джеймс! Вы прекрасный учитель! С удовольствием смотрю ваши ролики из Сибири 😊 Считаю Вас примером культуры по ремонту техники ❤ В России таких аппаратов не видел.

[@philliphall5198]

You should build one

[@jimprovax6846]

James another great score and repair on this chipper vac. I love your calm demeanor and approach. I love fixing anything mechanical. One of my favorite channels on KZbin. Enjoy your evening.

[@adamspivey]

It's a great day when you post a video! Until next time, I will continue to rewatch the previous ones. Another job well done, sir.

[@rexharvey8420]

Jim you are a great vid maker and explainer of what you do, and a very dedicated and thorough renovator. If I lived in the USA I would certainly buy stuff you have refurbished.

[@TobiasThede]

That was a really good repair, two wires,a New fuel line and a cleanup.

[@davidschipsi1316]

Another diamond in the rough. Another Jim-Rebilt. Fun to watch, maybe not the most practical machine. Good job!

[@MrRmh3481]

I knew the moment I saw that engine. Eager 1 by Tecumseh was one of the best from the mid 70's on. Good job on getting it going.

[@Cw2nh]

Amazing! It's always good to have an older machine that you can bring back to life without spending a lot of money. I'm getting a new one, but the older machines seem to be of better quality. This was a very awesome video to watch.

[@WillKlaver]

.. we had one of these growing up .. i don't know who made it, but on the engine & on the big cloth bag that sat between the handlebars it said 'Billy Goat' .. 🐐🍂🍁

[@samuelfellows6923]

A common brand of these “petrol” outdoor vacuums

[@scottnyc6572]

Pulling the front end loader up for emptying the leaf bag was a great idea.The discontinued filter may be able to buy one of those after market Ice King AC filter and cut in into a rounded shape.Also you gave me a good idea for shining up my Jeep fenders when i saw you using the WD-40 on the plastics.They really came back to life after you cleaned them.Thanks!

[@markae0]

i second the AC filter for a new filter. I got one for 6$ this summer.

[@fredee8887]

That nest was insane! Great video as always, thanks 👍🏻

[@djkarcher1896]

This mulches way better than the usual leaf vacuums, of which I had quite a few. Nice video!

[@restorick2378]

Timely vid! I have the same unit and need to service it. Thank you James!

[@adnacraigo6590]

Me too....And it won't run. I can fix it now.

[@arthurbiringer5676]

That machine is a keeper! Your property deserves it!!

[@billy123174]

Now a great machine it will give you good service for many years to come

[@richardphelan8414]

As usual Jim a excellent Video , showing the correct way of troubleshooting and repairing equipment ,that Rig grinds up the leaves to the point where you just add water and you have a Compost pile like now that will rot down in no time

[@markae0]

That wood chipper on the Vac is a feature many people would want. Lots of people have branches they need to get rid of. Great job on repairing it!

[@readyplayer2]

Great video, James. Love to learn from your repairs and troubleshooting. That said - leave the leaves on the ground if you want to help fireflies.

[@jesterr7133]

Every once in a while, a carb surprises me. I recently picked up a Craftsman self propelled mower from a local scrapper. The carb was one of the worst I have ever encountered. I gave it zero chance of working, but I threw it in a bucket of Chem Dip for about 36 hours, and it ran the engine perfectly. The needle was stuck and it looked terrible, but somehow it is working. Now if only it didn't have a rod knock, lol. I only have $6 into it so far, so I might rebuild it. I haven't made up my mind yet. The mower is in really good shape.

[@catsmr]

Great content! Thanks for bringing us along!

[@w.ottopeck9619]

Great job getting this machine going! You make it look so simple! Anyway I think the branch chipper is the most useful option. I think the most efficient way to do the leaves would be the blower you fixed 3 weeks ago to gather the leaves in a smaller more concentrated area then use the vac unless you’re trying to get your 10,000 steps in.. But enjoyable video. Thanks

[@richardwalters1803]

Always a pleasure to find you've posted a new video. I always liked the Tecumseh engines

[@baratono]

Good old Tecumsehs! The one on my 30-year-old Ariens SnoThro is still humming along. Nice fix!

[@DanKoning777]

How'd I missed this yesterday? Wish they still made this model-I'd buy one if I could find a good used one. The ones made today that are similar are a "Made in China" look-a-like of a different color, but with similar reviews all stating the same issues. James, your channel is in my top 5 and I'm glad to see you're almost at the 200k mark. I've shared your channel with most everyone I know/talk to and will continue to do so. Keep em' coming! 👍👍👍

[@martyb3783]

Another great video. I was shocked to see how well that machine broke down the leaves, almost into dust. Also I am amazed at your skill in videoing all of this and managing to keep your face out of the shot.

[@wildefox1478]

Great video, that old chipper vac just needed a little tlc, very nice work bringing it back from the dead James! I have an old Craftsman chipper/shredder that isn't a leaf vac like yours and is powered by a 5HP Briggs flathead, have had it for several years and never fails to start and get the job done chipping up material around my house, they are very useful to have.

[@waynebrundidge206]

I hate I have never seen a machine that did both chipping and vacuuming. Thank you.

[@geomark8851]

The Troy-Bilt shreds the leaves better than my Billy Goat. Not sure how much effort you are saving using the loader on the BX but it was fun to watch!

[@signalcar]

The worms were dislodged, and after a good repair the machine started working again, good job!

[@jamesalbrecht395]

James, another great video! That Tecumsen engine sounds solid after the “demousing” and carb work. These leaf munchers and chipper units are great. I have a BillyGoat version that is great. When the leaves are dry you can get up to 10-1 leaf compaction with them. But be careful when doing damp leaves. Depending how damp the leaves are you can really clog up the chipper. You also get lower compaction rates. I have worked out that using it like a lawn mower is not always the best method, if you blow the leaves into a condensed area then use the machine to shred the leaves , it may take a bit more time, but it reduces the wind blown leaves redo that always happens. Thanks I always look forward to your videos!!

[@coaterdave]

Nice! Impressive machine. And as always, great repair work.

[@garrydonnelly6433]

G'day James. I could not agree more with Marty Small's comments.Your perseverance and knowledge are admirable. As Marty says your videos never get boring. James as avid viewers of your videos, my wife and I often wonder what your occupation is. Obviously your privacy is paramount but to know a little of your background would be great. Thanks and keep up the good work Garry and Pauline from Oz.

[@thethriftysuburbanite5251]

That's one of the worst mouse houses I've ever seen. I have an almost exact copy of that machine I'm working on now. Your video gave me a lot of insight into how these things work. Thanks!

[@petermashak3341]

Good job, as always. I find it easier, when emptying the bag, to lay a large tarp out on the ground. Drive the machine onto it, and empty the bag. When done, gather up all four corners of the tarp, and drag it to where you are going to dump it.

[@rhbofwcc]

Good advice as not everybody has a loader. Although I used that method, you only need it for a few days and a reminder helps. Sitting for months also causes problems with the carb.

[@boblynch7348]

Ah yes, one of the fun annual jobs to do. Vacuum up 200,000 leaves. A good start for a composte pile. As always, nice video James.

[@tonygriffiths2485]

The job I hated the most at boarding school was picking up leaves, which were thick and many at this time of year October. I would have happily given up my school experience just so I didn't have to picup those damn leaves ! Great machine though, alas RIP critter. A great job very well done as usual :)

[@johncourtneidge]

Super lovely as always! The mulched leaves and whole leaves make useful compost is put in a drum made from chicken wire mesh.

[@DavidBoggs-h2z]

That nest was one for the record books. WoW

[@tomgraham8622]

James, I watch all your videos and enjoy them very much. What I find that works great for cleaning small carb passages are guitar strings. If you know somebody who plays, I'm sure they would give you a take off set. If not, I will send you a set of mine. They are stiff but bendable and different sizes down to 9 thousandth.

[@DavidHearnR]

I hope you were wearing a proper face mask when handling the mouse droppings. That is where the Hanna virus comes from. Also why not take the vacuum, chipper over to the pile to unload.

[@daviddevillers6790]

Nice work on this one. Can't help but think of the ending of Fargo!

[@PatrickFaricy]

That machine did a great job shredding leaves. It was nice to see you put a few branches through it, too. In a couple of years of using this machine you will have some really, really nice black dirt. The leaves will break down much faster than from just using your lawn mower.

[@briankemp5206]

Great job repairing the chipper/vac.

[@chipsatterly4902]

"A recently deceased critter..." Will be thinking about that one for a good while. Lot of corrosion from the urine of that recently "deceased critter." We see that over and over in many of these restoration videos. Good work, James!!

[@RequiredSugar]

Was just looking at picking one of these up. Haven't watched the video yet, but I know I'll learn something. Looking forward to it!

[@rodneymiddleton9624]

Awesome job!!! That mouse picked the wrong place to set up house. Thanks!

[@mraaron12341]

Thanks James. Over here in the UK we don’t really collect leaves. We just leave them to rot down. So it’s not often we come across this type of machine.

[@highrx]

A riding lawn mower with a bagger set-up works well for picking up leafs. The chipper part is handy. Sometimes The blades on the chipper have 2 edges can be reversed to a sharper edge. My chipper does. I made a jig for sharpening my chipper blades using my table saw with a metal chop saw blade to grid a new edge the chipper blades. Being in the north east, You’re chipping hardwoods which dull the chipper blades quickly.

[@notprovided2823]

James, you're a wizard. Understanding why it wasn't idling, and then persevering at clearing that tiny blocked passage, was something special to watch! On the other hand, I typically watch your Thursday releases during breakfast--precisely when I don't want to see maggots. Twice you turned the carb over and talked about possible emulsion tube blockage, and twice you avoided removing it for inspection and cleaning. Why is that? Is it that risky, or difficult, to remove the emulsion tube from this carb? Or did you mention removing & cleaning it as a best practice, but you didn't truly think it was a problem, based on your inspection & experience? Keep up the amazing videos! They DO truly help.

[@jcondon1]

I do not have a good record removing Tecumseh emulation tubes. They are either stuck or some are plastic and end up breaking.

[@mattyal9347]

Nice save! Hey you have a really nice place, those boulders are awesome!

[@emylrmm]

Very well-balanced engine, minimal vibration.

[@andreasbentz6106]

James! For cleaning such small holes in the carb, get yourself some steel guitar strings. They come in various diameters and are hardened but not brittle. If you know a guitar player he will give you some used ones, because they need to be replaced periodically (sound deteriorates). For our purpose, they are still fine (even if you tune the carb 😁). I would send you some if I'd live in the U.S. but shipping from Germany is more than even a new pack of strings cost. Cheers! Andreas

[@Wheel_Horse]

I've thought about a vac machine for years... but my garden tractor mowing deck does a good job of mulching and the leaves go back into the soil... good save James!

[@jameslarson6555]

That was quite the smart mouse, insulating his house like it did!

[@watermanone7567]

James; Very nice job. You can use an air conditioner filter for the side filter of the engine. I have bought them in bulk before, but you only need a small piece. Just use cheap filters so that you get great air flow to the engine. Thanks for the video.

[@nicklutz61]

Very nice video. Always best when you can fix something and then afterwards have it make an easy job of something that would otherwise be difficult. Keep the vids coming!

[@TonySummy]

James; small tip: A mix of bleach in water (about a tablespoon of bleach to each cup of water) does wonders for that "recently deceased" smell. Many years ago, we lived in a mobile home for a year or so, and used to get rats under the mobile home. They would crawl under there and die. So about once every month or two, I would have to crawl under and pick up the dead critters. I used that bleach mixture in a spray bottle afterward to kill off the smell left behind. It worked wonders! Just spray liberally and let it sit for an hour or so, then clean with any type of cleanser to remove the bleach.

[@YukonHawk1]

Great job on getting back and running. It worked perfectly.

[@daryelljeffries7861]

The only thing I hate about watching your videos is I have to wait a while week to see the next one. 😂 And yes I have watched all the past videos some several times.

[@usernameg5]

Good video. Here in south-Finland trees are pretty much leafless now. We had 5-10cm snow for 2 days a week ago, then it melted away

[@richb419]

Hi James, good video, I'm surprised that the compression was as high as it was, I believe that that engine has a compression relief. Rich

[@jcondon1]

Me too. When pulling it over the compression did not fell great. Not only was it decent, but higher then expected.

[@williambikash6645]

A heavy flywheel and or a heavy crankshaft accessory would make the engine feel like it has less compression because of the inertia of the rotating parts. Will the carb float fit in the tea leaf basket? Add some weight to the float and sink it in the ultrasound.

[@helmsajr]

great job James has always.

[@jesterr7133]

I solved the Troy Bilt oil drain problem. I took a quart oil bottle, cut the spout and bottom off, and then cut the bottle in half vertically. It makes a perfect flexible funnel for Troy Bilts. I changed it on one of my Ponys the other day, and didn't spill a drop.

[@gamingwithmr.fregles8802]

I love this, I just hope you dont get demonotized for showing the dead rat

[@m9ovich785]

Thanks James. I had the Little wonder Pro-vac. It was a push around as the self propelled version was discontinued due to many problems I broke it twice, if the Nozzle was too close to the Ground it would suck it down and try to suck the ground up. I'd break to tip off the adjustment Cable trying to raise it up. I installed some gide shoes like a Blowsnower to keep it from doing that. Had a 6hp Briggs and a huge flywheel. It was easy to start because of the weight of the Flywheel. All You had to was get it rolling over with gentle pulling on the rope and the inertia would start the engine. you knew the huge Bag was full cause it would start to tip over backwards.. I ended up selling it because it got too hard to push around on My lot that was mostly a gentle slope.

[@glenmiller-re5ff]

Great job Doc, gotta love the north this time of year, time to get my blower and mulch with mower

[@andrewgrace4410]

Great find and fix James, that's a huge yard🐈🐕

[@arthurbiringer5676]

Another award winning resuscitation!

[@neiltheplayer]

Thanks for posting James

[@stephenhaslam680]

Nice and on short money, it really mulched the leaves into small particles for quick breakdown too. Seasonally appropriate of course!

[@walterbordett2023]

The soft iron wires in twist ties from food packages work well as clearing wires. Tecumseh directions on cleaning carbs say to punch out the Welch plugs and remove seat, emulsion tube and o rings. Soak all metal parts in gunk carb dip and dry. That has always worked for me.

[@kgol4686]

I was surprised u didn't put touch up paint on the blower shroud it was pretty rusty other than that great job on that thing

[@JohnSmith-pl2bk]

I inherited an electric motor powered vacuum like this...and sold it to an agricultural seed merchant. When I delivered it to his premises I found the floor was all 100 year old wood with grooves between the boards... boards that had been highly polished by the dragging of jute fibre bushel bags full of agricultural seeds (grasses, clovers, fodder etc.) He wanted the vacuum to clean out the grooves in the floor...and to quickly clean up any spillages. He sold the collected seed mixture (whatever it was) cheaply ......and you could plant it.... and whatever it was came up to be eaten by stock.

[@robsteinhaur1103]

Another great video James, thanks for sharing.

[@caverbrad]

I had an 8HP unit close to that era. The big problem was always dumping the bag. Then, the original failed so I found an aftermarket one like you did. You can spray water on the outside of the bag to knock the dust down. I believe it said that in my owners manual. It helps some. The chipper only had one blade and would dull quickly. Removing it was much more of a pain than my older MTD chipper shredder that had two blades. In the end I wish I had my smaller MTD rake in unit as the blades didn't dull as quickly. After a couple years I sold it.

[@jcondon1]

Good point. This one only had one blade. I considered sharpening it and saw in the owners manual that removing it was major surgery. Thankfully it was still sharp enough.

[@arlieyatbrough4165]

You killed it with the jet on the bottom

[@dandanthemechanicman4678]

These worked very well for the time. I also have seen these with the comercial Briggs and Stratton engine with electric start to.

[@johna.s.3847]

When James was feeding branches into the chipper I was thinking about the movie Fargo. No problem neighbors around there ! 🤣

[@Joserocha-wm9de]

Nothing like having a Thursday morning coffee in the company of James Condon 🙂

[@jeffersonwebb5850]

Always enjoy your video’s

[@MazichMusic]

A Troy-Bilt previous to MTD'S acquisition. Well made machines.

[@BenKempa]

That’s definitely a unique setup with a drive belt off the recoil side of the engine.

[@1425race]

James, if you are working on OEM Tecumseh carbs there is a very good float needle seat removal and installation tool. The OEM part # is Tecumseh - 670377 and the size I have is 2/2.55mm. I think they do different sizes. Great vid as usual.

[@jesterr7133]

I've had a local scrapper bring me five push mowers. He brought me two Toros, 2 Craftsmans, and a Murray, and only charged me $40 for the five of them. I got three of them running for $6 total. The other two need some TLC, but it's gonna be a good Spring this year.

[@thomasstewart9368]

Grrrrrr8 video. That machine really works good. Nice job

[@larrykelly2838]

Nice addition

[@robinjeffryes2575]

First time I've seen a maggot fall out of a motor. That's pretty wild bro.

[@martysmallenginerepair5634]

Taryl Dactal on Taryl fixes all is a very smart man , but uses skits to make learning fun, and its a totally different video and vibe that i like also!

[@stephenbridges2791]

The main drawback to those machines is having to walk behind them in all that dust.

[@gillgetter3004]

N95 mask👍

[@Vinny-i8o]

Good job my friend keep it up 👍

[@10forthebigguy753]

My boss had a Billygoat. The bag is made of cotton fabric. It was left outside and was rained on and rotted. A new one cost about $300.

[@jcondon1]

Yikes

[@10forthebigguy753]

@@jcondon1 after that, we used old pillowcases for a bag

[@JustAnAverageBrad]

i have a similar type troybilt leaf vac/chipper but it uses a vertical shaft engine ...your style machine definitely chops up the leaves better than mine

[@RoyRucman]

Have a great day