Serious flaw with Kohler engines in new Lincoln and Miller welders...

[FredH]

Thanks for the Heads up :thumbsup: . I had considered getting either a Miller or Lincoln as a generator rather than a regular generator but Think now , I'll look elsewere and go back to my first idea of a regular generator . That has got to be a design flaw , I mean , Geez , Even the Harbor Freight gas Predator engines don't have that issue .


Pretty Sad that they won't stand behind a product that cost's what those do .

Fred H.

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

It's probably a vapor tube which recycles the evaporated fumes back into the engine. Overfilling probably results in gas flowing into the tube instead of vapors. Blame the EPA more than anything. The latest tier of emissions have just become overly restrictive on off road intended applications. The technology just hasn't been made practical yet, either that or its prohibitively complicated and expensive for the technology to do it right.

 

[Arc weld]

What happens if you fill it correctly but have to drive on a rough road to get to the job site? Wouldn't that do the same thing as overfilling? The machines themselves are great but they do need to do something because it is way too easy to overfill a gas tank. The EPA is getting ridiculous but I think the over fueling was an oversight when the new engines came about. They might have had to spend a lot of money to redesign the fuel tank and/or the machine to solve the problem. It's also very possible they weren't aware that the problem would occur? Even if they were, I doubt they'd ever admit it.

 

[Arc weld]

Out of curiosity I looked at the owners manuals for both the Lincoln and Miller machines. They mention not to overfill and use the fuel gauge to tell when it reaches full but the reason given is to allow for expansion. There is no mention what-so-ever that overfilling will result in engine damage. Shouldn't you have the ignition off when refueling anyway? Like I said in the original post, there wasn't a problem with the older machines before the new emissions engines. In cold weather there wouldn't be much expansion.

 

[Shield Arc]

Blame the EPA more than anything.

I think it was in the 1980's the company I worked for had to change out all the diesel engines in their floating fleet to meet EPA standards to work in the state of California. Never did hear what that cost.
General Construction Company

 

[buickanddeere]

I smell an old wive's take that contains a small amount of fact mixed with plenty of conjecture and speculation.
There is a possibility somebody is confused between a fuel line and a PCV line.

 

[RandyT]

Under the new EPA carb regs, all units have to have a vapor recovery, some will also have a charcoal canister (the old coffee can) Over filling could result in either raw fuel or the charcoal becoming contaminated with raw fuel which will damage the canister. Depending on where the vapor line is connected to the tank, I guess could result in getting fuel drawn into the carb through the low vacuum line, or damaging the charcoal canister, which would act like a clogged fuel cap ( be aware that the new systems do not have vented caps). The other thing is most small engine makers consider 1 ounces of oil usage per hour is considered normal.

Command engines are designed for about 2000 hours. Some will go longer some will go shorter. In defense of the engine and welder makers, this system is so new they haven't figured out all the bugs yet. Vapor recovery went into effect in 2011, and went into full effect this year. I am sure I will hear about this problem at my Kohler update in two weeks. If not I will mention it at the update school.

 

[Arc weld]

It's certainly not an old wives tale. My buddy takes very good care of his equipment as evidenced by his old 305G with 5700 hours. In hindsight he wishes he would have kept it. He wasn't purposely overfilling the new one. He usually filled it at the pump and left room for expansion just like his old 305. Washing the cylinders because of carb. flooding is obviously a problem they had some idea about or Miller wouldn't have put the warning sticker on the new machines. If it's a new system and they haven't worked the bugs out yet, the least they should do is honor the warranty until they work the bugs out. These are 5 and $6000 machines and a lot of guys have 2 or more of them. Under 700 hours and needing $1500 in repairs because of accidental overfilling is unacceptable. If this was on a vehicle, there'd be a recall and they'd have to come up with a solution to prevent it.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Just another case of a manufacturer struggling to meet EPA. I don't think it's a good time to buy anything NEW!

 

[Arc weld]

The sad part is all of N. America seems to have to meet the California emissions. Some of the safety people in shops are getting ridiculous too. Had a bigger customer all concerned about such a thing as a ....


CUTTING TIP!:shocked: Why? Because it had a sticker on the package claiming it was known by the state of California to contain lead, etc. Called the supplier and they didn't have MSDS sheets for it but did have a chemical composition chart from the manufacturer. It was over 99% copper. Lead wasn't even listed. Apparently they're supposed to put the stickers on if there are trace amounts of lead used in other products coming out of the same plant. It's just as stupid as California banning small motorcycles because they think kids are going to be chewing on their bikes rather than riding them. I think that law has since been overturned but they need to stop the insanity!:hissyfit: