Generator ??

[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.

[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.