Generator ??

[shooterg]

Got a Coleman that sat for 2 years. Looks brand new but won't start(I did hear it run at the previous owners) . Probably not that much to get it running at the local small engine shop, but several folks have told me the generator itself goes bad from sitting.
True that ? Why would just sitting there make it go bad ? Anyway, 50 bucks to get the Suzuki engine running is one thing, but useless if the generating part is toast. It's a 6500 max output Coleman brand.

[rockrat]

Never heard of that before. I had a generator that sat for 10 years empty of fuel. Put gas (non-alcohol)in it and it started after about 4 pulls and generator worked just fine.

[Winger Ed.]

If it had any fuel in the carb. it probably needs its jet cleaned.

The dymo should be fine.

[Rcmaveric]

I was reading the needed to be started and ran periodically. Use seafoam to stabalize the gas.

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[Johnch]

BS
I have a Harbor Freight Generator that sat around in a barn for 4 years
With out any gas or oil in it
I couldn't get it to turn over as the pistons had seized up
I pulled the plugs and put penetrating oil in and left it sit a few days

It now runs great
That generator cost me a can of penetrating oil and I still have 95% of the oil left

John

[redneck1]

Well actually its true , sort of .

When you get the engine running you might have to excite the field again .
Its rather simple to do , some generators excite rather easily . you can plug a drill into it pull the trigger on the drill and spin the chuck backwards a few times .
Some might need a bit of actual voltage to excite .. Give it a Google and you'll see its no big deal

[Markopolo]

i am looking at the new multi fuel types... propane does not cause the carb to get all gunked up from sitting I hear.

[handyman25]

Have a honda that set for at least 10 years. ran carburator cleaner thru it and now it runs fine The problem is the fuel not the generator. in my opinion.

[Ickisrulz]

i am looking at the new multi fuel types... propane does not cause the carb to get all gunked up from sitting I hear.

Propane is much more expensive than gasoline.

If you want to keep a carburetor clean, use 100% gasoline treated with a fuel stabilizer. Then, run the generator out of gas before putting it away. If you cannot run the generator out of gas, at least run the thing every couple of months for 20-30 minutes to get fresh fuel in the bowl.

[samari46]

Probably due to the ethanol mixed in with the gas. Float get corroded and will cause the gas to leak out of the weep hole. Been there and had to take it to a shop that does repair work. Take the generator outside and pour some gas in the tank. Then look to see if you have any gas leaks. Don't need much gas. Probably could get a repair kit and do the job yourself. My gasoline generator weights a lot and getting too old to keep moving it around. Put in a Generac propane generator. Works great. Frank

[rbuck351]

If the engine won't start it's almost certainly a gas problem. First, check the smell of the gas. If it really stinks, not like gas, the gas is bad enough that it won't run and needs to be drained and replaced. Next, if it hasn't run in two years and it was left with gas in the carb, the carb bowl and main jet needs cleaned out. Gas evaporates in the carb and more gas is fed into the bowl which continues to evaporate. Some of the additives in the gas don't evaporate and continue to build up in the carb until it ends up being a thick goo that will plug the main jet sometimes leaving a 1/4" or so of goo in the bottom of the float bowl. I'm not familiar with the Suzuki carb so I'm not sure how the float bowl comes off but that is where I would start looking for the no start. Another thing to check is put a short squirt of starter fluid in the throat of the carb and try to start it. If it fires up for a short spurt and dies, you can bet the carb or fuel line is plugged. Do not use any high pressure air in any part of the carb unless the float bowl is removed as it will destroy the float.

Chances are about 100 to 1 that the generator ( dynamo) is fine. When you get it running, do not leave fuel in the tank for long periods of time without adding Stabil. Even then if there is a fuel shut off turn the fuel off and with out a load on the generator, let it run out of fuel. Hot weather can spoil gas fairly quickly and the smaller the container the quicker.

Propane not being a liquid at atmospheric pressure is already evaporated and does not have additives to leave in your carb. It does not go into the carb bowl like gasoline and cannot plug a carb.

I have never seen ethanol be a problem in gasoline except for in some plastic filters. Ethanol does dissolve some plastic and some newer floats are plastic.

Most modern generators are self excited and don't need anything other than to be spun up.

[gbrown]

Propane is much more expensive than gasoline.
.
Yes, you are correct. However, if you have 2 freezers full of food, plus 2 refrigerators, who cares? Especially if they have food not so easily replaced, such as tuna, caught wild and in vacuum sealing, venison, vacuum sealing, etc. Not much of a worry about the cost of the fuel. Natural gas runs about the same or a little more. I'm good with that.

[GregLaROCHE]

I agree that there shouldn’t be anything wrong with the part generating the electricity. I did have a generator that wouldn’t start by hand until a good battery was installed. Also, it’s best to drain gas out of all small engines, if they aren’t to be run often. Especially, two cycle ones.

[Winger Ed.]

i am looking at the new multi fuel types... propane does not cause the carb to get all gunked up from sitting I hear.

I sure like mine.
It burns about a gallon an hour of either fuel, but will run all of the 120V house circuits.
We loose power here sometimes, but so far, not more than a day.
When that happens, I run it about one hour every 3 hours to keep the refrigerators cold.
With the dual fuel, I can run it several hours on propane, shut it off, put it away, and forget about it.
For the added hassle of a gasoline engine--- the way we use it, its worth a few extra bucks to run mostly propane.

If we lost power for an extended period, and I run out of propane;
I've got some extra gas cans, then there's the gas in the car, truck, and boat.

[fcvan]

I've had lawnmowers that croaked due to gas in the carb, I worked on both using the usual remedies and couldn't get either to work. My Harley Sportster had a shut off valve for the fuel and I would run it dry every time. Somebody 'borrowed' it once while I was out west and the Wife wasn't home. He got a free colonoscopy, courtesy of my Wife. Fortunately, my Wife's Dad is a Harley guy, and when he moved in he sorted it out. The heritage is fuel injected, not a problem.

I have 2 Honda generators, neither have fuel cut off valves. Both get started first of the month, as does my Brother's. I even took to buying electric tools such as hedge trimmer, etc. 3K generator in CO, 1K in CA, both working fine. Power goes out more in CA than CO, and when it does, it can be days on end. In CA, the power company shuts off grids when the winds get too high to prevent fires, and don't bother to warn the public.

A machinist friend lost all of his CNC machines due to that, he was off grid in the hills, now he is off grid in town. He also sued the power company due to damages. Another friend is a caregiver for an elderly woman 80 miles away. She had just done her monthly shopping and so my friend went down with huge ice chests, one was mine, and a generator (mine) so she didn't lose her life, due to life sustaining medical equipment needing power. Darnedest thing, a 'biofuel' company couldn't distribute fuel as the pumps need power. That, and all of the electric car owners who couldn't charge their status symbol cars.

I once noticed the power was off, checked my brother's house around the corner, him too. Battery backup power for his computers only lasts 20 minutes, power was back on in 10. My oldest daughter's house less than a mile away was out, and she heats her old but paid for house with a pellet stove, which needs electricity.

My 1k generator will only run one thing at a time, the house was cold (50) and the kids were all cuddled in their blankies my wife made them. I asked 'what first?' and she replied 'COFFEE!' Coffee made, thermos filled, check. I told her to get out what food she needed for the day and keep the fridge cold. Pellet stove started. I took out the 'penny stove' I had made with the grand kids for a science project and we fired it up to make oatmeal and hot cocoa for the grand kids.

Once the house was warmed, I plugged in the fridge. 2 minutes after it kicked off, the power was back on. My daughter turned off the lights and let the candles burn, and then smiled at me. That generator ran for 6+ hours, and did not use the full 6/10ths gallon it holds.

For a time back in the early 1990s, I had limited visitation and my girls were over during which another power outage occurred. My camp stove was shot so I made a candle wick from kite string and used some paraffin wax so we had light. My girls were 9 and 6, and they knew I was a boy scout years ago. I braided up a bigger wick and made a paraffin burner.

I didn't have a pot stove base so my oldest kept it steady over a bent wire hanger as it wouldn't stay up by itself. As she monitored the tomato soup, her younger sister and I assembled some sandwiches, As we sat down for our 'roughing it' dinner, youngest one says 'you know the power is going to come back on.' And as it did, my oldest walked over and turned off the light so we could enjoy a candle lit dinner. I knew I had seen that smile before :)

Generators for some are a way of life. Keeping them running needs to be routine schedule of running and using them. Non ethanol costs less than the repair bill, but if not available, Marvel Mystery Oil in the gas can be your friend. I run my HAM radios from the sun, and try to keep things charged from that rather than the wall.

A penny stove is a fun project for kids (Google videos), not too big to keep in the emergency bag of food, water, blankets in the car, and an empty tin can of appropriate size with holes appropriately drilled makes a better pot stand than a wire hanger. It is big enough to hold the penny stove and rubbing alcohol which fuels the stove. Roads get closed in N CA a lot, we were once an island for a week as the 3 roads coming into the county were closed due to a ricslide to the east, mudslide to the north, and flooding to the south.

Off topic (or is it?) a Dutch Oven can be a life saver, I have several, and never pass on anything cast iron at a garage sale, they make a great little fire pit for cooking over and roasting marshmallows with the grand kids. I have to cast one from bronze for my Wife, Doc says she can't eat from cast iron any longer. She was anemic for 40 years until she flipped a switch or something and has dangerously high iron since cancer surgery. She beat cancer but she still misses cooking a roast or chili in, or having me cook scratch biscuits in a dutch oven while camping.

[MrWolf]

Propane is much more expensive than gasoline.

If you want to keep a carburetor clean, use 100% gasoline treated with a fuel stabilizer. Then, run the generator out of gas before putting it away. If you cannot run the generator out of gas, at least run the thing every couple of months for 20-30 minutes to get fresh fuel in the bowl.

Yup what I do. I run mine twice a year if I remember. Always drain, learned that long ago the hard way. I did pick up a multi fuel carb kit for it. Never installed it but converts to propane. I have a whole house generator now but my contractor generator is an easy 20+ years old and still runs great.

[dverna]

Backup power is a nice thing to have. Where I live, there is no Natural Gas, so we run propane. If purchased in bulk, propane is less expensive than gas and there is never a carb issue.

The issue with propane is vaporization rate as I live where it can get cold....negative 9 this morning.

Marko....I had a dual fuel Champion and it is a good unit. Last year, went with a whole house unit and it has run twice. Nice not worry about it starting, or fueling it up, or running it dry.

[mrmachinist]

My most recent generator experience was mixed. I live in one of the hardest hit areas for hurricanes Laura and delta.

We didn’t have power for a month for Laura. I had an old generator I had bought for a storm almost 10 years ago that had 3 hours on it from just starting it periodically. Worked fine until one day it wouldn’t start and the motor would just free wheel. Had less than 50 hrs.
I neglected to change the oil (which was still break in oil) and it gummed up the valves and stuck them open. Replacing the head fixed it up.

Change your oil every 50-100 hrs. Yes if you are running all day that’s ever 2-4 days. I now have a Honda that’s quiet to run our camper off of. Much better. Our house is too big to run off a small generator, the 5ton ac takes way too much power. When it’s around 100 degrees and 90% humidity you need ac.

More than likely just clean the carb and you will be fine op. Just keep the oil changed.



Edit:
In the event of a long outage. Try to buy 300 gallon totes of gas. Much cheaper and less hassle than filling up cans every day at the gas station waiting in lines.

On a side note. I started putting the marine stabil in all my gas cans when I fill them up. That way no matter if it’s the mower sxs generator if it sits for a while no big deal. I only run no ethanol fuel in my small engines and try to run it all the time in our cars. Hard to find super in no ethanol for my old rover though.
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[Lloyd Smale]

i am looking at the new multi fuel types... propane does not cause the carb to get all gunked up from sitting I hear.

keep in mind that propane is harder to ignite and the choke doesnt work like it would with gas. For the most part chokes are just opening another gas jet to give them more fuel these days. My gen i gas/propane. It has a built in gas tank and a line going out to my big propane hog. It will make for two problems. If I shut off the propane at the tank going to it it takes quite a bit to bleed out the air. Where the propane doesnt use a choke mine has a button to push to kind of shove more propane in and you have to hold that for some time to bleed the air out. Now even if theres propane right up to the generator propane is just harder to start cold then gas. So what i do is start my gen on gas let it run for a minute or two then open the propane up to it. When it starts stumbling from being rich from having both gas and propane at the same time i then close the fuel petcock on the gas tank and it will run the gas out of the line and propane will take over. Ive sat out in zero temps pulling and pulling on the recoil trying to start it on propane and it will flat wear you out. Now the one we have at camp is a honda set up specifically for propane. It has a 12 vt battery and electric start and you flip an on switch and hit the start button in camp to start it. It has an automatic enrichment system built into it for cold starts. Mine started out a 6k gasoline gen and i put a conversion on it to run either. I also have it set up where it will run gas, propane from my hog or i can hook a hose to a 100 or 20 lb tank and run it like that. Good thing about running them on propane is like was said theres no carb fouling and your oil stays much cleaner. I always run the carb out of gas and leave it that way and only keep a gallon of gas in it to get it started in cold weather and make sure at least once a year i run it dry and put new gas in it> Premium non alcohol with a bit of stabil. They also sell tri fuel set ups that allow gasoline/propane/natural gas all to work. As to generators going bad sitting. Well i pulled some gen sets out of lighthouses that were decomissioned and some that had be swapped over to power grid power and some of those gens sat for 10-20 years. We would take them in drain the diesel out of them clean the injectors and every one of them fired up and put out power. I just started my old 900 watt honda last year for the first time in 5 years. gas had evaportated right out of it. Put new gas a new plug and its started on the 3rd pull and worked perfect. Ive heard of generators needing to be excited after sitting but have never seen it. We were taught if it happned to plug a drill into the 110 plug and manually spin the drill and it will produce a current back into the generator that will excite it.

[Markopolo]

its not a problem of propane being more expensive. it isnt here. problem is when we loose power, and its many times a year. i need the thing fueled up ready to go especially in deep winter. i cant "put it away" like somebody that is going out for a weekend romp. its gotta be ready to roll all the time. our tiny grid is way less stable and the weather way more severe. i am hoping that propane will be the answer. a 10 gallon should bottle should run the thing for several days under partial load with just internet, and computer gear for the home business. right now I am running a battery bank with associated power filters and so forth, and I can make it with just the internet and a laptop for about 6 hours if I am super careful.

[Markopolo]

Good Post Lloyd... a voice of experience.

the one I am looking at has that fuel enrichment thingy, and is electric start. last thing you wanna do during a alaskan winter storm is mess around with a gen set that wont start.!!! i wish honda made a multi fuel setup. one that you diddnt have to convert over.

[Ural Driver]

Y'all keep talking, I have a 30 year old Coleman sitting in the shop that hasn't been started since about 2000. I'm taking notes here. :idea:

[Hossfly]

I think the problem with portable gen. Is that they are portable. Easy to push back in shop or garage and forget about.

I bought a Lincoln welder gen 4500 watt, 1999 model, used it plenty for around farm welding pipe fences, steel barn repair and fabrication. Used it plenty when power out but hassle getting it out and starting. Will keep it around for serious emergencies, and if 20kw propane unit fails. Have 400 gallons of propane available for this next event, but running large gen set to power 2 greenhouses and the rest of the ponderosa, will need to cycle on and off.

[Mal Paso]

You can't compare Gas and Propane by price alone. Gas weighs 7 pounds per gallon liquid Propane weighs 4 pounds. Propane has much less power per gallon.

[popper]

Ethanol absorbs H2O that corrodes parts. Both carbs on my GS 450 Suz got gummed over the summer, yrs ago. drop the bowl and clean the needle & seat. Got it running and she sold it when I was in Fl.

[Minerat]

I have a second hand 7Kw DeWalt with electric start. Just found out the hard way that the battery does not get charged when the gen is running. You have to plug in a wall wort, which I did not get from previous owner. The battery is one of those 9 volt sealed used on ice fishing fish finders. Just a heads up.

[Duckiller]

Shooterg I think some of your aquaintances are trying to get a generator cheap. Mechanical things
don't wear out just sitting. They may rust and have other problems but they can be fixed.

[fcvan]

After reading some of the comments I noticed the comment about how quiet the Honda is. Umpteen years ago, I bought the wife (and the family) a toy hauler, a Honda 3000i, and took the Wife to a home decor store so she could decorate to her taste. She then took us to get clothes to be kept in the trailer, all seasons. Wear it, wash it, put it back when we got back home.

That evening, a co-worker was out to dinner with his wife, they were there because his Wife bought him a new Chevy Duramax for hauling their trailer. He knew I was going to buy the trailer because we talked about it often. When I mentioned the quiet Honda, he said 'sure, its quiet, but you can bet when you go to the dunes, you will be parked next to the guy with the loudest generator.' I never thought about that.

[farmbif]

I didn't read all previous posts but my background and training in mechanics gives me a bit of insight without even looking at the generator.
as probably others have said. carburetor---
if it sat with gas in it for 2 years the carburetor and possibly the rest of fuel system will need to be disassembled and cleaned out. if carburetor body or parts suffered corrosion damage from fuel with ethanol in it it may need to be replacement to run right but I would first thoughouly clean it out.
the generator head--the part that produces power on many of small generators will lose magnetism after sitting unused for long periods of time.
this can be corrected very easily by flashing the generator --google it for instructions--6 volt lantern battery is all you need to flash a genny once you get you get the engine running.

[ascast]

for OP, sometimes the windings can get full of mouse stuff and that can kill a genny, otherwise I think your source is a bit off.

[jim147]

Speaking of mouse stuff, they can also get full of ants like AC units. They may be small but can do a lot of damage when the power kicks on.

[David2011]

Pump gasoline is a problem with or without ethanol. It makes varnish inside the carburetor which is why the FAA doesn’t generally allow certificated aircraft to be flown on it. Aviation gasoline doesn’t create varnish even over a very long time. I even use av gas in my large model airplane engines that run on gasoline. They often sit without running for extended periods. The advice to run the carburetor dry is questionable. The conventional wisdom in radio control circles is to keep the rubber parts in the carburetor wet with fuel. Part of small engine carburetors is a pulse operated fuel pump and if it dries out it can crack and it quits pumping. That applies only to two stroke engines where the oil is added to the fuel and not to four stroke engines.

If a generator is run on pump gas, just run it low on pump gas and then run it for an hour or so on av gas. Aviation gasoline does not run hotter or make more power than pump gun in small engines.

[JoeG52]

Av gas has lead in it. Do NOT put it in your car, it will kill your emission system.

[Lloyd Smale]

only downside to my multi fuel generator is it does put out slightly less power on propane vs gasoline. Not a consern unless your running at a 100 percent load.

[Jsm180]

Pump gasoline is a problem with or without ethanol. It makes varnish inside the carburetor which is why the FAA doesn’t generally allow certificated aircraft to be flown on it. Aviation gasoline doesn’t create varnish even over a very long time. I even use av gas in my large model airplane engines that run on gasoline. They often sit without running for extended periods. The advice to run the carburetor dry is questionable. The conventional wisdom in radio control circles is to keep the rubber parts in the carburetor wet with fuel. Part of small engine carburetors is a pulse operated fuel pump and if it dries out it can crack and it quits pumping. That applies only to two stroke engines where the oil is added to the fuel and not to four stroke engines.

If a generator is run on pump gas, just run it low on pump gas and then run it for an hour or so on av gas. Aviation gasoline does not run hotter or make more power than pump gun in small engines.

Been doing that for years, my little 2 strokes never run on car gas, only avgas. Generators start first or second pull every time regardless of how long they sit.

[Ickisrulz]

I have a Porter Cable branded 5500 watt generator with a 10hp B&S engine that I bought new in 2003. One time the carburetor got gummed up because I left fuel in it too long. The clean out was fairly easy and fast. It still starts with only one pull. Like I said, I run it out of gas every time I use it and I only use treated 100% gasoline.

I am thinking about replacing this generator in a year or so. A 20 year old essential piece of equipment makes me a bit nervous. There aren't a ton of hours on it, but I think a new one would give more piece of mind. I figure I can sell it for $300-400 and buy a unit with a few more kWs for $800-900. If I wait until the power goes out around here, I can get even more money for it since there is usually a run on generators.

I installed a transfer switch in the house and it is nice having the power going when the lines are down. 5500 watts is pretty good, but we did trip the generator's breakers a couple times during the last ice storm since we have a cord out to our tortoise house running an electric heater. 9500 watts would be much nicer.

[HATCH]

Well actually its true , sort of .

When you get the engine running you might have to excite the field again .
Its rather simple to do , some generators excite rather easily . you can plug a drill into it pull the trigger on the drill and spin the chuck backwards a few times .
Some might need a bit of actual voltage to excite .. Give it a Google and you'll see its no big deal

The carb is all gummed up. You need to either put a new carb on it or clean out the one that is on it now. Most likely a $50 fix or less.
As far as making electricity, the drill deal works 90% of the time.

My suggestion, dump all the fuel out of it.
Get ethanol free fuel only. Yes PURE gas. Spend the money and get mid grade or premium.
Get a product called Stabil. Put it in the fuel.
Once a year start the engine up and let it run for a hour. Have it power something up. Just a simple single light bulb will work. You want to verify it is making electricity.
Then every 3 years either run it until its empty or dump the fuel and put new fuel in it.
My genset is a 7kw. it is large enough to run my entire 20x16 shop (casting maching, AC and lights)

5 years ago I purchased a 7500 generator. Paid too much. I ran it the day I got it. It sat for almost 3 years before I started it up. It fired right up with no issues but didn't make electricity. I tried everything and it wouldn't make electricity. Took it back to Northern Tool as I had a 3 year warranty, they couldn't get it to make electricity either. They gave me a full refund.
I purchased a different brand with a extended warranty also.
I fired it up on day 1. One year later I fired it up again and ran the shop for a hr.
I am on year 2 now. I will fire it off this summer and run it the 8 to 10 hrs until its out of fuel.
For items that you let sit for months at a time, you should only run ethanol free gas in it.
If you don't use it that often then use premium ethanol free.
This is what I do on all my lawn equipment (blower, hedge cutter, weedeater, mower, and power washer)

[Blkpwdrbuff]

Samari, I hope your Generac works for you.
I have dealt with over 20 of their 17.5 Kw's and they don't last for squat. The regulators go out very regularly, along with the circuit boards and the diode boards.
In my next to worthless opinion there are much better brands. ONAN is one that comes to mind. A little more cash but a lot less trouble.

[too many things]

check the oil
it has to be about 1/8 above the full , mark
you have to watch it close .

[Lee W]

check the oil
it has to be about 1/8 above the full , mark
you have to watch it close .

I was going to say the same thing. I have an old coleman that must have the oil very full in order to not trip the low oil switch.
18 years old and starts on the first pull, if the oil is at the correct level.

[Gtrubicon]

Generators have become a way of life here in Northern California, due to fire concern our power is shut of for any weather that my have wind involved. I was a self employed contractor until last year. The only gas powered generators I would even consider owning are Honda. I have 5500, 3500 and 2000 model, better than any other portable hands down. Are crap gas does a number on carbs, as mentioned before, drain the fuel out of the carbs and add fuel stabilizer. Out here on the left coast our fuel turns bad very quickly, I have resorted to running Sunoco race gas in all small equipment used on the property. So now that 6-10 day power outages are the norm, with 2 freezers full of meat, propane is the answer. I have a 500 and 2 250 gallon propane tank, that are tied together. I can’t store that much gas and keep it good for use. I put a 22kw on demand genset in and couldn’t be happier. It runs the whole house, ac and pool pumps as most of our outages are in the drier warmer time of year. It averages around 1.9 gph while running with our power demands. We always buy our propane in the summer when it’s at its best price, this august it was $1.27 per gallon.

[rbuck351]

If I lived in California I would go with propane, in Alaska I would use gas or even gas with alcohol. Never had any issues using gas with alcohol and even prefer it in coleman stoves and lanterns as it burns cleaner.

[Finster101]

I'm in Florida and have a whole house propane standby Generac. It has seen a fair amount of use and is what I consider low maintenance. Just filled my tank yesterday with the highest priced propane I have bought yet. $2.79 per gallon. Thank you Mr. Biden.

[Hossfly]

Our propane price here in winter is currently $1.87 per gallon in the summer it was $1.46. So you need a large tank like 1000 gal to take advantage of good prices. I have a 250 and a 1000 gal cap, La. is not that cold usually but with this polar vortex here now we use a lot with 2 greenhouses and 22kw gen set. If power does go out the gen runs and both boilers takes a lot. We’re blessed with what we have.