Small Engines (Lawn Mowers, etc.): Carb repair, carburetor body, troybuilt

Question
Hi John
I have a troybuilt 2cycle weed eater and a Honda 5hp engine and both won't run without the choke half way on.
The weed eater I replaced the base gasket and cleaned carb, fuel lines, fuel tank, and filters and muffler. the Honda engine I have cleaned carb twice, and still does not won't to run correctly. Any Ideas?

Answer
I'm sure you don't want to hear this, but they both must be carburetor related. With ethanol, our carburetor cleaner of the old days doesn't work. Try some SEA FOAM or DEEP CREEP, they are basically the same product, one is aerosol and one is just liquid. If you can get your hands on one of them, soak the carburetors and try running some fine wire through the ports in the carburetor body. Once you do this, blow through the ports with compressed air and observe that they get cleared.