VIDEO HERE (9:11 minutes)
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It's all common sense stuff, but I think #1 is the most important. The only time I've killed my generator with the switch is when I know I'm going to be restarting it within the next hour or so, but 99% of the time I just cut the fuel off and let it starve.
It's paid off, though - I've had that generator for over 8 years and never had to have the carb rebuilt or replaced and it always starts on the first pull or two. It also helps that I fire that sucker up and use it at least once a week during the summer (I have no power in my shed) and once every couple weeks during the winter.
I bought a fuel injected Honda after a tornado knocked out power 6 years ago and have needed it twice. Once for 11 days. Great generator. I run Shell VPower (no ethanol) in it but when I store it, I run the gasoline out of it and fill the tank with Gulf ProFuel. It's an expensive, high level distillate with no ethanol and lasts for 5 years in an unopened can and 2 years in the fuel tank. The gasoline I keep on hand for the generator is rotated twice a year and has a good dose of SeaFoam in it. Seems to work. Steve_in_Ottawa
ReplyDeleteTry the fuel additive PRI-G. It's cheaper than your special gas and works great. I keep 50 gallons of gas in cans and it lasts for more than a year.
DeleteKenny, are you still getting your 'stored' fuel supply in non-ethanol form, e.g. Murphy USA / Walmart? I've found the ethanol-free blends are the best bet for any kind of intermittent fuel user.
DeleteNope, I'm burning 10% ethanol with that PRI-G. It works well for me.
DeleteIs it hard to find gasoline with no ethanol South of 49? My local Shell station now has VPower 93 octane (and 91 octane) neither of which has ethanol. Steve_in_Ottawa
DeleteRegular (ethanol cut) gasoline works for me too. Long before we started hearing about "bad gas" and ethanol mixes, my grandaddy burned the gasoline out of most anything. I have been doing it for years with the same results Kenny reported. It has been my experience that it is best not to let anything set with gasoline in it for over a few months without cranking and running it. If I think it is going to be more than a month, I'll drain/burn any residual. If I am pushed to store some gasoline, I usually use Sea Foam or equal. kept gas in in a 5 gallon Jerry can for close to one year with good results as late as last year (I tried it in a blower before using it in the boat). I have a neighbor who for years ran only pure "high test" gas in his mowers, boats, sea doos, 4-wheelers, saws, etc. I think he wasn't draining the tank/lines and the gas got "old" on him. Every year he was hunting a reliable small engine guy to get him back going. Last year he told me he had "gone electric" (chainsaw, weed-eater, blower, etc.). Any thing power tool that burned gasoline, he replaced with an equivalent electric version! LOL
DeleteI second the PRI-G. As a test, I kept a 5 gallon container of gas fresh for 5 years using it, adding more PRI each year. No issues. Aviation guys use it almost exclusively.
DeleteI like Sabil with ethanol shield 🛡. I always turn the fuel off and let it run out and make sure to start it every couple of months. Keep a spare plug.
DeleteKeep your oil clean.
ReplyDeleteI've had a generator since 2000 and always used sta-bil with no problems. Still have the same generator, a troybuilt and still working fine.
ReplyDeleteUnderstand, at best, 99% of consumer generator motors are sub-500hr motors. They are NOT designed for long term use. Change the oil all you want, but most of them will not outlast your longer term crisis.
ReplyDeleteThat's when the engine comes off the rototiller, or snowblower, or lawn mower.
DeleteOr the gen-head gets powered by a 55-drum cut in half length-wise and welded to an axle for a verticle windmill.
Not to mention waterwheel, bicycle, PTO on a wood-gas tractor....
Fuel stabilizer is important, but remember that it has a shelf life.
ReplyDeleteIf you try to store it for too long it can go bad, unless you use a product called Stabilizer Stabilizer.
the Costco generator I have contains Chinesium, but it works. Basturds didn't mill the bottom of the crankcase flat or something, it leaks oil like nobodies bizness. about a quart a year into the aluminum tray I put underneath the darned thing in the garage. But it has always started, and I pretty much only start it once a year, load test it with a couple of electric space heaters - let them run for 15 or 20 minutes, then close the fuel and let it starve. And never had a problem starting it next time despite crappy gas, but I do only put 93 octane in it. Same with the snow blower. Just run the carburetor bowl dry and put it away. Have only needed to use it for power failures 3 or maybe 4 times in 15 years.
ReplyDeleteFor ten bucks you can put an hour meter on it, good for keeping track of oil changes.
ReplyDeleteamazon.com/Magicalmai-Inductive-Motorcycle-Snowmobile-Waterproof-Hour/dp/B07Y3ZYBLW
For free, I change my oil 1st. of the month
DeleteI change my oil, 1st. of the month, just like a woman.
DeleteYes - but even if it just sits, lubricating oil should be changed every so often. Components of the oil can oxidize and degrade over time. Ask me how I know (OK I will tell you, chemical engineering degree here and I did a stint working designing petroleum process units for heavy oils including lube oil hydrofiners & vacuum units). So having the stupid thing leak a 1/2 quart a year or so precludes me from having to drain and replace the oil every couple of years. Works for me !
DeleteI’ve been running gennys for over 30 years (more regularly than I’d like)- the suggestions in the video are correct, but I would think them just common sense. I use Sta-bil and Startron in my fuel, & have never had a ‘run when I need it’ problem. I’ll go months between running the thing, & I never fails to run when directed to do so. Have 15 gallons in case of a storm? Heh- I keep 50 on hand & rotate through it in my vehicles. Yeah, it’s a pita, but if….
ReplyDeleteYeah, I do the same thing with the same amount of fuel. The oldest fuel in my shed now is about 8 months old and barring any emergencies this winter, will be about 14 months old before I use it.
DeleteMost of my gas gets burned in my mower, so during the winter it just sits.
Wirecutter- I second your sage advice on running your gen set out of fuel every time you shut it down. Especially when you're running E10 fuel, which is a moisture magnet and a carb killer.
ReplyDeleteBesides, how difficult can it be when you're done with it to shut the fuel off and walk away? Easy Peasy.
Down here in FL I've been using non-eth in my 2000 build vehicles since the introduction of "water-gas". 10% alco -blend resulted in a 10% drop in mileage on both of them. So I currently have 10 jerry cans with non-eth in them. But I do use Pri-G in all of them and I've pulled cans that I know were at least a year old and it ran fine through the car.
ReplyDeleteAfter I put a new engine in my 2001 F-150 and got it broke in, I tried burning pure gas in it to see how much better my gas mileage would be compared to 10% ethanol.
DeleteIt was something like a half mile to a gallon more. That's it. I went from 17 to 17.4 mpg with pure gas, not worth the increase in cost to justify running it full time in my truck. I will say though, the performance was better with pure gas.
I was told by another reader that had I been pulling a load, there would've been a noticeable change for sure.
I have a Kohler 150 amp LP generator and running it dry is not an issue. It is not a portable unit but a true whole house backup generator with an Automatic Transfer Switch. If the power goes off the GenSet kicks on and the ATS will switch over to the generator. When the shore power kicks back on the GenSet runs 10 more minutes before it shuts down after the ATS switches back to shore power. I exercise it for 10 minutes every other month and it gets a yearly oil change if it has not been run for an extended period. I installed Gensets at Satellite earth stations all over the world. They were mostly diesel powered where Kohler's had fewer problems than Generac. I can run 11 days on a full 500 gallon LP tank. In today's fuel prices that is just over $120 a day to keep power.
ReplyDeleteI always drain the carb on my Honda. Just running it down doesn't get all the fuel out of the bowl. I made the mistake of forgetting to turn the fuel off once...the carb leaked, filled the Jug and then then crank with fuel, it was just nasty. Found I could buy a Chinese Carb for less than I could rebuild it. Won't make that mistake again. I can get E-free nearby and only run that in the generators.
ReplyDeleteBINGO. Best comment so far. This is the right way to keep the carb from getting gummy. Running the carb dry can actually increase the chance of gumming up the jets, since there is now a small amount of fuel that needs to evaporate and sometimes the main jet is still touching that remaining fuel! All carbs have a drain screw, just open that up and let the carb go really dry. You can even leave it open if you want, so any leaks from the petcock won’t refill the bowl.
DeleteGot me a 24 Kw Generac and a 500 gallon propane tank. House is all electric and power is fairly unreliable out here. In the two and a half years we've lived here, it's got over 300 hours on it. When the lines go down in these hills, it takes tough men some time to repair them, especially in foul weather. It burns just under a gallon of fuel an hour. It runs itself every other Wednesday for 15 minutes and does a self diagnostic. Brushes went out once, just snapped off at the armature. Glad I've got it, but if I had to do it over, I'd find something liquid cooled. We ran two big Caterpillars in Iraq 24/7 for years. Biggest problem there was shitty fuel. And occasionally some asshole firing rockets at them and us. Eod1sg Ret
ReplyDelete