Starting my generator this winter shud be easier

[tractorgp]

I use starting fluid for testing engines for spark or no spark and have been lucky so far . I did stretch the valve covers on a Rocket 350 years ago, they were square then a bang and they were round and almost pulled the bolts through, as long as you know a little goes a long ways it is good stuff. Your workman ship is top notch,well planned and your video was filmed well and I enjoyed it. My generator goes half a year to a year between starts and I had to go propane to get away from my fuel going stale . My electricity goes out during the high winds and they cant fix it until it dies down to go up in the bucket trucks so can be a few days and takes more gas then I would want to store even with stabil in it. Mine always smoked and stank when I got it started and sometimes had to run half choke the whole time.

Wind is the problem here too. In recent years we haven't had many failures but when they happen I have to get the generator going for the fridges and freezer. Thanks for the comments re my workmanship and videos.

 

[tractorgp]

Interestingly enough, at least in Eastern Kansas, my generator has always started on the first pull with just stabilized non ethanol gasoline in it. I bought it at Sams Club on sale for $199.00. I think the engine is a Honda Clone. I also have a Honda Push mower. always starts on the first pull. My Cub Cadet snow blower is a little finicky though, but it has electric start so isn't really a big deal. I always use non ethanol fuel for storage over the winter months with either Stabil in the fuel or SeaFoam

I use a fuel stabilizer with the Motormaster brand. Can't say that I have been entirely faithful with amounts and procedure over the years though. My Honda lawn mower starts first time every time. The $100 6.5 hp engine on my homemade soil screener has been giving starting trouble lately so I will probably try to adapt the feeder tube idea (as in the video) to that engine next spring.

 

[kcflhrc]

SeaFoam can work wonders on these small engines to keep them clean and running strong. Crappy gasoline is their worst enemy.

 

[buickanddeere]

SeaFoam can work wonders on these small engines to keep them clean and running strong. Crappy gasoline is their worst enemy.

Todays non ethanol gasoline is much superior to any gasoline sold from the 1910's to thr 1980's.

 

[fidowanttobe]

Todays non ethanol gasoline is much superior to any gasoline sold from the 1910's to thr 1980's.

What do you base your opinion on?

 

[1stDeuce]

OP: If this works, kudos to you! I have a very similar generator labeled ETQ, and it's also difficult to start by just choking and pulling. I had to really rip on the cord, and actually broke it once. I discovered that if I held the throttle at idle, it would fire right off and idle nicely!
I think the reason it doesn't want to start normally is because the governor is holding the throttle wide open, trying to get the RPM's up, even while I'm pulling the rope...

I made a catch for the linkage that holds the throttle down close to idle speed. I hook it, choke it, and pull the rope and it's idling on the first pull now. After it idles for a bit, I release the linkage and let it rev up. Obviously it's not going to power anything at idle, so I leave the breaker off until it's at governed speed so I don't damage anything that might be plugged in. Probably a lot easier on the motor than having it immediately head for 3600rpm's when it's really cold out...

Two other things I did that help... First, I ALWAYS turn the fuel off and run the carb dry before I shut it down, using the choke more and more as it starts to sputter, until it finally quits. That keeps the carb from gunking up due to the ethanol combining with water from the air. Even non-eth gas sitting in the carb seems to lose it's volatility over time, so this way it's getting fresh gas from the tank. Second, I put synthetic oil in mine, and that made it noticeably easier to pull below freezing. I just used Rotella T6 15W40, as that's what I had laying around. If I used it more in the winter, I'd probably do 5W30 or 0W20 instead. A fridges and freezers aren't much load, unless you've got a LOT of them, so it's probably going to run cool anyway...

And to those of you saying "that wasn't necessary, my generator starts fine", I say that's great, but his isn't yours. I'm happy for you, but your point is pretty moot.
He's in Newfoundland, and uses it mostly in the winter... If your generator starts easily with one pull at -40F, I'll eat your sock.

I wouldn't worry about unfiltered air getting in either... It's winter... Not usually much dust. You could run it with no filter and it'd probably never have an issue...

 

[kcflhrc]

What do you base your opinion on?

It's all about the additives they use. Top Tier rated gas is your best bet and the additives have gotten a lot better over the years. Basically all unleaded gas is the same, it's the additives each company uses is what sets them apart.

 

[Rocky J]

OP: If this works, kudos to you! I have a very similar generator labeled ETQ, and it's also difficult to start by just choking and pulling. I had to really rip on the cord, and actually broke it once. I discovered that if I held the throttle at idle, it would fire right off and idle nicely!
I think the reason it doesn't want to start normally is because the governor is holding the throttle wide open, trying to get the RPM's up, even while I'm pulling the rope... I made a catch for the linkage that holds the throttle down close to idle speed. I hook it, choke it, and pull the rope and it's idling on the first pull now. After it idles for a bit, I release the linkage and let it rev up. Obviously it's not going to power anything at idle, so I leave the breaker off until it's at governed speed so I don't damage anything that might be plugged in. Probably a lot easier on the motor than having it immediately head for 3600rpm's when it's really cold out...

I also put synthetic oil in mine, and that made it noticeably easier to pull below freezing. I just used Rotella T6 15W40, as that's what I had laying around. If I used it more in the winter, I'd probably do 5W30 instead.

And to those of you saying "that wasn't necessary, my generator starts fine", I say that's great, but his isn't yours. I'm happy for you, but your point is pretty moot.
He's also in Newfoundland, and uses it mostly in the winter... If you didn't know, it gets really cold there, and everything starts hard in the cold, if only because it's harder to pull over quickly.

I wouldn't worry about unfiltered air getting in either... It's winter... Not usually much dust. You could run it with no filter and it'd probably never have an issue...

Walk behind snow blowers do not have a air filter element because they would just plug solid with the blowing snow in the air.

 

[Shaneard]

Walk behind snow blowers do not have a air filter element because they would just plug solid with the blowing snow in the air.

That made me laugh. Should we all remove the air filter off our vehicles when driving in a snow storm behind an 18 wheeler? I think not!

The one thing I have learned from reading all these post is don't buy an engine that has Champion or Tecumseh on it.

 

[Shaneard]

That opening is for air intake and the air has to go through (what looks like) a pretty dense filter to get to the carburetor, so hard to see how the starter fluid spray would find an easy way through the filter - but I don't know what would happen for sure.

I've sprayed ether in tractors with oil bath breathers on them and they will crank. The suction from the engine will suck the ether in regardless of air filter etc.