generator advice

[cdrcos@gmail.com]

Here is a little $175 lesson I learned the hard way. This spring I could not get my generator to start even though there was plenty of gas in the tank and it was cranking fine. Thought about it and realized that although I filled the motorhome tank and put the required amount of StaBil in the tank before putting it in winter storage, I never thought to start the generator to make sure the StaBil laden gas went through the generator system. The gas in the generator had gummed up and the system needed to be flushed out and the carburetor cleaned.

When I picked it up I asked the Onan service manager how long I should run the generator after adding the StaBil to the vehicle gas tank and his reply was 45 minutes as the generator was "pretty stingy" in in use of fuel.

Wont make this mistake again!

[David472]

A 45 minute run time seems excessive. I think 5 minutes is sufficient. That's all I do for my lawnmower and snowblower before I store them.

[cdrcos@gmail.com]

Originally Posted by David472

A 45 minute run time seems excessive. I think 5 minutes is sufficient. That's all I do for my lawnmower and snowblower before I store them.

I thought so too, but that is what the service manager at the Cummins-Onan service center recommended.

Of course, unlike a lawnmower or snowblower, with the generator the fuel has to travel quite a ways from the vehicle's tank to the generator and everything in the fuel line between needs to be be burned before the treated fuel gets to the generator. He did tell me that they had to run a gallon gas through the fuel line to purge the gas out of the line.

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by cdrcos@gmail.com

I thought so too, but that is what the service manager at the Cummins-Onan service center recommended.

Of course, unlike a lawnmower or snowblower, with the generator the fuel has to travel quite a ways from the vehicle's tank to the generator and everything in the fuel line between needs to be be burned before the treated fuel gets to the generator. He did tell me that they had to run a gallon gas through the fuel line to purge the gas out of the line.

Most geny's use less than 1/2 gal per hour at no load, so it would take a while to pull the treated fuel into the carb.

[CrazyTed]

You can also drain the carb on the generator so there is no fuel in it while in storage. We actually do this with our racing motorcycles. Of course, we buy ethanol free fuel as much as possible...