Generator Usage

[Sn33kR]

You can also try any airport, they have a high octane no ethanol fuel......

[CAG]

Originally Posted by Sn33kR

You can also try any airport, they have a high octane no ethanol fuel......

At about $5.60 a gallon.

[Sn33kR]

For ethanol free fuel you can also check at an airport, they use high octane, ethanol free fuel. Moisture will collect in your oil because no system is totally sealed, ( crankcase vents) that is why you should also change the oil at least every two years even if you don’t use it much..... or so I was told when I was a young lad.....

[CAG]

Originally Posted by Sn33kR

For ethanol free fuel you can also check at an airport, they use high octane, ethanol free fuel. Moisture will collect in your oil because no system is totally sealed, ( crankcase vents) that is why you should also change the oil at least every two years even if you don’t use it much..... or so I was told when I was a young lad.....

Yes, but did you see my earlier post? Avgas is about $5.60 a gal for 110 octane. To fill my tank would be $292.24. Seafoam is cheaper.

[GHen]

Aviation fuel is overkill, ethanol free fuel is available in most areas and is only a dime or so more than normal premium. Adding stabil is also a better option that aviation fuel.

[Camper_bob]

There's a station near me that carries race fuel (100 octane?). When they first opened a few years ago, I think they had "ethanol-free" badging all over the race gas pumps. Now they have the standard "may contain up to 10% ethanol" stickers all over the pumps.

Plus it was over $8 a gallon last time I was over there.

No thanks, I'll just go with off the shelf stabilizer... until and unless I can find regular non-ethanol fuel near me...

[onewinglo]

Originally Posted by RetiredOne

I understand that about the oil, and it should be hot and up to temperature in probably 5 - 10 minutes or so, I can see letting it run for another 15 minutes to keep it up to temp and evaporate any minimal moisture, but 2 hours????

I do the same thing, I treated the gas in the Fall, but only fire up the genny every couple of months for 20 - 30 minutes with a electric heater plugged in as a load. I can't see the reason to run it multiple hours every month, seems like overkill.

I only run my backup house generator maybe twice a year, but it's propane, so I don't have to worry about the carb getting fouled.

I'm not a generator expert but my generator has an air cooled engine. Air cooled engines have a common issue with moisture in the oil. Unlike auto engines, the air cooled piston/cylinders are built pretty loose because they expand a lot as they warm up to operating temperature. This loose environment allows a lot of combustion blow-by to get to the oil. Air cooled engines generate water as a result of the combustion process and a lot of that water gets in the oil due to blow-by. Also, a lot of the water resides in the crankcase as water vapor, just waiting to attack internal parts as the oil barrier falls away over the weeks. The water results in corrosion. Aircraft engine manufacturers for small planes ALL recommend you fly for at least an hour every week to drive the excess water from the oil. They do not recommend you pull the plane out of the hanger and run the engine on the ground for 10 minutes... That adds water to the oil! A lot of folks just can't fly every week so some have built or bought engine dehydrators that force a low volume of very dry air into the crankcase to combat corrosion. Engines are $$$. The simple fix is run that generator under load for an hour or two every month! (And change the oil as recommended.)

[joe w]

We're lucky, if you can call it lucky living in NYS, in that the nearby Indian reservation has ethanol free for $2.90 and regular 87 for $1.97.

[onewinglo]

Originally Posted by Sn33kR

For ethanol free fuel you can also check at an airport, they use high octane, ethanol free fuel. Moisture will collect in your oil because no system is totally sealed, ( crankcase vents) that is why you should also change the oil at least every two years even if you don’t use it much..... or so I was told when I was a young lad.....

I think the problem with avgas is the lead. At most airports our only option is 100 octane Low Lead. "Low Lead" is a misnomer. Avgas has about 5 times more lead than automobile gas had back in the day. Tetraethyllead is nasty stuff. It causes problems with spark plug fouling and other issues for engines not designed for it. My class C shares one tank for the Ford V-10 and the generator. Avgas would cause havoc starting with the catalytic converter, then all the O2 sensors, then...🙁

[Jimdeb80]

Are we talking diesel and gas. Thanks

[SloPoke]

Originally Posted by CAG

Yes, but did you see my earlier post? Avgas is about $5.60 a gal for 110 octane. To fill my tank would be $292.24. Seafoam is cheaper.

JFC... you can buy non-ethanol fuel anywhere... even Amazon sells it to deliver to your door.

https://petroleumservicecompany.com/...5-gallon-pail/

if the goal is to draw good fuel into your generator for winter storage... you don't need more than a gallon to flush the fuel system, filter and float bowl. For us - we just start the genny - even in sub freezing temperatures and run the thing for an hour or two to keep it healthy.

[Florida Ranger]

Ran mine today with A/C turned on ,, yes it was hot on the Gulf Coast today. But it is going down to 38 tonight.

[pconroy]

Just chiming in - if you're in Colorado, more ethanol-free options are showing up. Maverick had it here tonight for $2.81. 85 was $2.41. This was on the interstate.


Knock off 20 cents a gallon for a station a ways from I-25...

[Big Daddio]

Here is a link to find out gas stations that sell ethenol-free gas. Just click on a state or province to find. Most oil companies do not put it into premium or high octane fuels.
www.pure-gas.org

[thenne1713]

TYPICAL symptom of failing fuel pump STARTS w/ surge/ die after 45-minutes; while 30-min/ weekly exercise keeps all lubed and clean/ dry, still needs that 1-hr session x 1-month to check for that type failure. So, For me, typically 2-1/2-hrs/ month... and if life happens and interrupts, I try to make it up the following week sometime.

[curver900]

up here it is below zero or zero or just d&mn cold... from about mid Nov through March/April... you could go and fire up the genny once a month by bringing your batteries and then hooking everything up and then fire it up and plug in a space heater and run it for an hour... or you can, like most normal people up here, just change the oil in the fall run the carb dry and/or drain it and let it sit till May. Like my boat and other toys that sit all winter they run just fine the next year... non-oxy, seafoam, drain carb, change oil... sleep well... I have never in 30+ years had a failure or an issue starting in the spring... that includes my 1952 tractor....that my Grandfather owned...

[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by SloPoke

JFC... you can buy non-ethanol fuel anywhere... even Amazon sells it to deliver to your door.

https://petroleumservicecompany.com/...5-gallon-pail/

if the goal is to draw good fuel into your generator for winter storage... you don't need more than a gallon to flush the fuel system, filter and float bowl. For us - we just start the genny - even in sub freezing temperatures and run the thing for an hour or two to keep it healthy.

That's $14/gal. No thanks, I'll just continue treating my fuel and running the gen each month.

IMO, the best idea on here so far has been the valve in the fuel line. Install the valve, then you can run the generator dry for storage.

I haven't looked to see if mine has a carb drain on it, but you can bet I'll be checking that out next time my rig is in the driveway.

[Jopopsy]

Originally Posted by Camper_bob

IMO, the best idea on here so far has been the valve in the fuel line. Install the valve, then you can run the generator dry for storage.

I haven't looked to see if mine has a carb drain on it, but you can bet I'll be checking that out next time my rig is in the driveway.

If it has the carb drain, that negates the need for the valve right?

[pward]

Originally Posted by Jopopsy

If it has the carb drain, that negates the need for the valve right?

Draining the carb would not cover the filter or fuel pump which would still be full of gas.

[RetiredOne]

Originally Posted by Camper_bob

IMO, the best idea on here so far has been the valve in the fuel line. Install the valve, then you can run the generator dry for storage.

I'm thinking that makes a lot of sense too. Let it run till the carb is dry, then no chance of buildup. I do that with all my other outside power equipment and never had a issue starting them later.

Originally Posted by pward

Draining the carb would not cover the filter or fuel pump which would still be full of gas.

Yeah, but if the gas was treated right in the Fall with Stabil or Seafoam, that wouldn't matter when you tried to fire them up in the Spring. You're using that same gas all Winter long when you run the genny each month. It's just keeping the bowl and tiny passages dry in the carb, to keep them from fouling.