hard to start generator

[Soundguy]

( then i got smart and got rid of as many devices that I had that used them lil engines and try to do as much with reliable tractor engines as possible )

it's plain pathetic that a year old couple thousand dollar mower won't start.. but a couple thousand dollar 60 year old tractor will fire right up after setting all winter.

soundguy

 

[Diamondpilot]

I did not read all the post but my buddy had a gen that was hard to start. Finally we loaded it in my truck and I hauled it to a guy who works on things in his garage. Pulled in his drive and he said leave it in the truck. He tried to start it and could not. He then by passed the low oil shut down and it fired first pull. Long story short this soon happened to another friend, my neighbor. His would not start and he had taken apart the carb, ect. I looked it over and found the low oil shut down switch, by passed it, and it fired right up.

Chris

 

[Gary Fowler]

I have a small leave/ branch shredder that I have to work on because I left fuel in the tank. It had stabil in it, but the engine would not get fuel at all. Maybe the sticky float that was mentioned because it ran good if I primed the carb with some fresh gasoline. WHen I removed the gas tank cap, I found that the fuel tank had a large amount of rust in the top so now I have to figure a way to clean that plus fix the carb. That alcohol must really attract water like crazy. I usually try to run my small engines dry, but this one got left somehow with about half a tank of fuel. Even running them dry doesnt stop from screwing up the carbs. My pressure washer is always ran dry of fuel before storing and I have had to have the carb cleaned twice this year alone. It was stored for 3 years after owning it and using it every week for 3 years and it fired right up after changing the oil and new gas. Then it sat for 3 months with the tank empty and wouldnt fire at all. Spent $75 to replace all the hoses and carbs, it worked for 3 days then after 8 weeks of setting it surged up and down and wouldnt hold RPM. Another carb rebuild. Small engine place said gas was the problem and because of the alcohol and poor storage life, they wont warranty their work longer than 30 days because that is how long it usually takes the gas to mess up a carb if it is left setting.

 

[RPW]

Looks like I've been had by the newer gasoline also. Older Onan generator left sitting for quite awhile (didn't need it). Getting it ready to use at a new place we're buying until I have electric installed. Turns out both the carberator and fuel pump look like they've been submerdged in water. Having to rebuild both (carb done, fuel pump almost done).

 

[John_Mc]

Yep, the ethanol in the gas can cause some real problems. For one, it can attack the fuel lines and seals in some engines. For another, the ethanol combines readily with water - so well that it can pull moisture out of the air. This is just one of the reasons that ethanol fuel blends don't have the shelf life that gas from "the good old days" does. The ethanol-water mix is heavier than gas, so it settles to the bottom of the tank. That mix is corrosive, so will attack various metals.

The ethanol is also where an ethanol-gas blend gets some of its octane rating from. So when the ethanol settles out, the gas you have left is significantly lower octane than what you started with. This can also cause damage to some engines.

I'm a pilot, and have access to 100LL aviation fuel, but I don't run it in my small gas engines. The tetra-ethyl lead in that mix is some nasty stuff. Also, even though the "LL" in 100LL avgas stands for "Low Lead", it still has 3 times or more lead than the old leaded auto gas had. This can cause lead-fouling problems in some engines.

I've found some local gas stations which carry non-ethanol automotive fuels. I make a point of buying from them whenever I can, and always fill my 5 gallon cans from these stations for use in my generator, mower, and chainsaws. Some marinas in my area also carry non-ethanol gas (it seems the ethanol blends were attacking some of the fiberglass fuel tanks built into some of the powerboats, creating a goo-ey mess in the tanks and fuel systems). Lastly, some smaller airports carry non-ethanol auto gas. Some aircraft can burn auto gas, and ethanol is a DEFINITE no-no in most aircraft.

 

[BobRip]

Good idea on the low oil shut off, that can get knocked loose..Didn't think of that one.

I have found that if the engine is not level this switch may disable starting. Make it level.

 

[whistlepig]

The biggest hassle of owning a generator is having fresh fuel stored for it. Every year I fill (4) 5 gallon cans with gas and treat them with Stabil. At the end of the year what's left over gets dumped in the trucks or ATV's. I run my generator once a month. After a year I drain the fuel bowl and tank and put fresh fuel treated with Stabil. This can be a hassle for something sitting in the corner of the garage that is seldom used. But our 13HP Honda still cold starts on the first pull every time. My wife can start it on the first pull every time.

 

[Soundguy]

Luckilly I keep a few cans of lawnmower and tractor gas, and a couple cans of tractor diesel.. just got to remember to keep em full during mowing season

soundguy

 

[patrick_g]

I have personally never had a problem with starting an engine that was run dry. I suppose to be extra cautious you could also drain the float bowl. I have added Berrymans choke and carb cleaner to an empty gas tank (there was still gas in the float bowl) and started the engine, letting it run till it stopped on its own and then draining the float bowl. It cleaned out the fuel pathways and it was an easy start the next season.

My standby generator has no fuel storage time issues as it is plumbed to my two residential propane tanks of 1000 gal each. Funny how we used to have lots of power outages, some even during installation of the standby generator, but now it just runs every Monday morning to exercise itself and has never run due to a legitimate outage (so far.)

Pat

 

[John_Mc]

The biggest hassle of owning a generator is having fresh fuel stored for it.

Amen. I converted my generator to run on either propane or gas. I have a 500 gallon propane tank buried out back, so keeping fresh fuel on habd is not really an issue.

I do lose a little bit on the generator capacity when running on propane. This can be an issue since I only have a 4000 watt generator (though it does have 6000 watt surge capacity) - but with a bit of load management, I get by.

I found the conversion kits here: www.propane-generators.com I went with the model that let me run on either propane or regular gas, so I would still have an easily portable generator. Simple to install - no special tools or ability required. If I recall, it was someone here on TBN who first gave me the link.

John Mc