I've had poor luck with the regular red Sta-bil, at one point I had a bottle that clotted, there were little red blobs floating around. What do you do when your stabilizer needs stabilizer?That said I've got a bottle of blue marine Sta-bil at camp thats probably 5 years old and seems fine.I mostly use Seafoam gas additive. I put 1oz in each gallon of gas when I buy it and another 1oz per gallon in anything being stored. Since doing so I've had way fewer problems both in the equipment at camp that sits all winter and the snowmobiles that sit all summer. -Curt
On Tuesday, February 12, 2019, 8:31:01 PM EST, Larry Turner <l02tur...@comcast.net> wrote: Yeah, push button is nice. but the battery wasn't charging properly on 1 jan (the date it died) and we started it with the pull rope - started instantly which surprised me. Also, I may have a compression release because it pulled so easy. Yeah, waiting til Spring would be ideal, but here in Va we have snow.ice in the winter than Hurricanes in the Summer/Fall. So it's hard to say when we'll need one again. Like I mentioned, we bought this one in 2012 and only used it for (I think) 24-30 hours in ~2014, then again the 1st of this year when it started instantly but died after about 6 hours. Va. kind of strange with odd weather. Sometimes we get hit hard with Hurricanes then Ice storms and both take out the power. Our neighborhood has underground power but it has to get here... on yours, I would think the needle and jet may be damaged because of the Ethanol. I talked to our local small engine shop who told me that was a large part of their business. Anyway, got to use Sta-Bil as I'm sure you know .... Thanks, Larry On 02/12/2019 3:54 PM, Curt Raymond wrote: Thats a pretty big one. Electric start is pretty nice. If you don't need it right away the best time to look is in spring. Somebody buys a generator during an outage and in the spring gets rid of it because they "Won't need that again." or they bought one 2 years ago, the gas got some water in it and it won't start. IIRC thats how Fred got the generator I have. Which reminds me I need to take my 1200w generator apart, it'll run okay but is difficult to start, I'm sure the carb needs cleaning. Its got barely any time on it and has sat a lot. -Curt On Tuesday, February 12, 2019, 3:47:53 PM EST, Larry Turner <l02tur...@comcast.net> wrote: Hi Curt, It's a 7000w with 10.5Kw peak. The engine is 420cc and while I have been unable to locate the HP it is supposed to be 14-ish. It's called a B&S Type 2100 w/elec. start, if interested. Thanks for the suggestion to look at CL, I will hopefully find a repl engine or suitable Generator. It could be a basket case if the price was right. My existing Generator could provide any parts needed, exc the case. The Champion is an option, probably available at our local Ag Supply. The Honda too much $'s for my limited need. Of course, the need is often inversely proportional to the preparedness which dates back to one of Murphy's many Laws. Thanks for the options... Larry On 02/12/2019 1:18 PM, Curt Raymond wrote What size is the generator? If it were me I'd either 1. troll Craigslist for a replacement similar to what you have for a fraction of the new price 2. Buy a "Champion" brand from FLAPS or Tractor Supply or whatever. We have one at camp, we've had it, I forget, 6 or 7 years and its been great. Cheap too. 3. Buy a Honda and be done with it. While the Honda will be 2x$ option #2 it will last you the rest of your life and be MUCH quieter, probably use less fuel too. If I needed a generator for home I'd go for option #3. Luckily I have a Fred who gave me a generator which currently lives at my in-laws house. I attribute it (ie being prepared) to why we haven't lost power this year... -Curt On Tuesday, February 12, 2019, 12:48:18 PM EST, Larry Turner via Mercedes <mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: Hi Guys, Finally had the weather and inclination to work on the generator. following your suggestion to check the fuel, I removed all fuel from the tank and let it air out, then hooked my battery charger to the battery and then cranked and check for spark. I got zero spark while cranking and decided to check out the coil thinking it might be bad. At least that was a cheap option. What I found when I pulled the cover with the recoil starter I found one of the pedestals that hold the coil/magneto assy near the magnet had completely broken away! As I removed the broken pieces I could see a hole in the crankcase where the pedestals was formed. The 2 pedestals are a integral part of the case BTW. I 1st thought I was seeing the piston in the hole, but as I turned the engine by hand I noted I must be seeing a sleeve rather than the piston as the part I could see thru the hole was not moving as I turned the engine. So it appears I will have to find a replacement motor which are avail for $400-$500. IOW, about 1/2 of my original investment in the generator. I could probably close the hole in the case with JB or such, but would have no way to mount the coil and set the air gap consistently. It strange that this part would break away from the engine; I didn't find anything loose that could cause this kind of damage but it is what it is. I don't think I ran it for more than 30 -36 hours. I contacted Troy-Bilt and B&S but both just restated their 1 year warranty and went no further. No joy in Mudville. I'd love to find a case for the 420cc B&S engine but so far my search has turned up empty. Anyway, lots of people gave me suggestions about what to look for when I was troubleshooting. Thanks again to all who helped... LarryT On 01/12/2019 11:10 PM, G Mann via Mercedes wrote: > Check the carb float bowl for water. Your post says engine speed increased > or sound changed before shutdown... > > Water in fuel migrates into the float bowl... and accumulates in the > bottom, as water level increases, less and less fuel can pass through the > main jet in the center of the carb just above the fuel bowl... finally, > water level rises to the point where the main jet gets no gas, and water, > being heavier than gas, shuts off the flow of gas to fuel jet. Engine dies, > restart doesn't happen because engine is "out of gas" at the main jet... > fuel in tank can not over power water in bowl.. dead engine.. > > Put a can under the carb bowl, remove the bolt at center of float bowl, > drop bowl, with contents into can.. Inspect for water.... Bet that is your > problem.. > > Ethanol gas is hydroscopic.. it draws moisture and absorbs it .. said > moisture then condenses in to carb in droplets. > > On Sat, Jan 12, 2019 at 6:31 PM Mitch Haley via Mercedes < > mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > >> The old way to manage the 'oil alert' shutoff was to short out the >> ignition like an ignition switch does. >> Some generators have a solenoid on the carb operated by the oil level >> switch, usually through a control box. >> >> If the engine note changed before shutdown, the shutdown wasn't purely >> electrical. Switching off the ignition just results in the engine coasting >> to a stop and quickly. >> But it might involve a fuel shutoff like is found on the carburetors of my >> Subaru generator and the Briggs engine on my Trail Mower. The mixture would >> go lean and then the engine would cut out when it got too lean to sustain >> fire. >> >> But if it is the oil alert, is it because the oil level is low, the switch >> is bad, the wiring is bad, or the 'black box' is bad? >> I'd say step one is to make sure the oil level reads maximum. >> Step two, shut off the fuel, take the hose off at the carb, put the end of >> the hose in a container, and turn the fuel back on. Does the gas tank >> supply fuel to the carb? >> Step 3, put the plug wire on a loose spark plug and hold it while the wife >> pulls the starter rope. If you say "yeow" and drop the plug, the ignition >> is good. I used to use #3 as a last resort in my youth when working on >> motorcycles and lawn mowers, but it's a fast and effective test. >> After step 3 it gets less simple to diagnose. >> >> Mitch. >> >> _______________________________________ >> http://www.okiebenz.com >> >> To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ >> >> To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: >> http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com >> >> > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com