Generac Carb Problems

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Have a 5000 watt Generac generator that when I put gas in, it just pours out of the carb. Guess I'll have to take it apart and clean it. Was wondering it anybody else has issues with theirs. I always drain the fuel tank and then run the carb dry.
 
Sure sounds like a float issue. If you ran it dry the float could have stuck in the "let gas in" mode.

Before you take it apart try rapping on the bowl with a wrench, sometimes that alone is all you need.
 
draining the fuel and running it until its dead isnt such a good idea, running the least amount of ethanol fuel and an ethanoal sta bilizer is. sounds fuel related
 
Yep, sounds like the bowl float is stuck down. I've had them stick due to debris. If there's no in-line fuel filter on the beast you might want to add one.

I guess I've been lucky with my routine of running the fuel out for long term storage. I do add a rich dose of StaBil and/or 2-stoke oil in the last bit of fuel.

Joel
 
You should be able to pull the bowl off without pulling the whole carb.

I'd be willing to bet you'll find some jelly doo-dee in there.

It happens with my genny, the atv's, power tools, etc. Sta-bil helps and I add a touch of B12 Chemtool.
 
In a safe area such as (Not in a cellar with a gas water heater flame or a furnace that can run, and ignite gasoline fumes that are heavier than air and will travel along the cellar floor).

Drain the tank on the generator.

Dispose of old gasoline.

Expect about 1/2 to 2 ounces of gasoline to leak out, and take the bowl off of the carburetor.

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Generators that turn 3600 RPMs like my Coleman 5000 / 6250 with Tecumseh HM-100 have a residual magnetism that remains in the armature. When these units start to generate power that residual magnetism starts the initial flow of power. The current flow from then on increases that residual magnetism until it reaches a maximum. IF the generator sits too long it can (may or may not) loose the residual magnetism. IF it does loose the residual magnetism you will have to ZAP the armature with some source (electric current from a 6 or 12 Volt battery, or a huge magnet near it) to get a residual magnetism started. It is interesting that people who have done this say that if you have a light bulb on the output of the generator, it slowly increases in brightens. This is because the output current causes an increase in residual magnetism, that causes an increase in output voltage and current, that causes an increase in residual magnetism – exc. -exc.

So if you do not want a 3600 to loose its residual magnetism you should run it once in a while. How often is anybodys guess, and the time interval to loose the residual magnetism probably varies with the manufacturer, and maybe even with individual units.

If there is not an outage, I now run my Coleman Powermate about twice a year, and so far have never had to zap it.

Then there is the problem of keeping the carb clean. The small idle circuit air hole just behind the choke plate (on the floor of the air passage before the main jet) tends to get clogged up. Sta-Bil or Redline SL-1 in the fuel helps fight the ethanol in the fuel that aids this clogging. WD-40 down that hole before storage is a good idea.

I have a Generac ix2000 that I ran Stabil and then sprayed WD-40 on the carb idle circuit, and main jet. I also foamed the cylinder with Sta-Bil Foaming spray oil, and pulled the rope a few times with the spark plug out. Then put the spark plug in and lightly pulled the rope so it stopped on a compression stroke so moisture from the air can not condense out of the air and build up in the cylinder, and also the springs for the valves are not in full compression. I will leave this gen-set sit like this for several years if it is not needed for an outage. This generator is not a 3600 RPM unit and to the best of my knowledge does not require residual magnetism to start. However if it did not generate any electric when first used I would hold a huge magnet near the electric generation section to imitate it.

It is a good idea to pull the bowl off after you run it dry, so you clean out any crud and also get the last bit of fuel out of it.


Probably the best fuel tubing is Tygon fuel tubing. You can get it from McMaster-Carr. There are several kinds of Tygon tubing. The kind you want is Tygon F-4040-A , and McMaster-Carr sells it in just about any ID you could use.

Also add an inline fuel filter.

McMaster-Carr has a special deal with UPS. Expect you package to arive at your door in one day, two days tops. And the shipping charge will be low.
 
Black fuel tubing in general is junk. And it only takes a speck of that black fuel tubing the size of a period at the end of this sentence to break off and stick the fuel valve open. To prevent this from ever happening again with that piece of equipment you want to use a fuel filter and after the fuel filter use tygon fuel tubing.
 
I ran our Coleman Powermate 5000/6250 Watt Peak with Tecumseh HM-100 10 HP engine (loaded to 3000 Watts (1500 Watts heaters on each of the two 120 Volt sides)), with fresh fuel that had a double dose of RedLine SL-1, last week before putting it away for the winter. After it cooled off I drained the fuel, and removed the bowl from the carb. I cleaned out the bowl with a paper towel, and gave the inside of the bowl a lite spray of WD-40. Sprayed WD-40 down the idle air hole just behind the choke plate, Sprayed WD-40 around the main where the top of it sprays into the air stream. Pulled the spark-plug and sprayed Sta-Bil foaming engine storage oil down the spark plug hole and pulled the rope several times with a clean paper towel over the spark plug hole. Replaced the spark plug, and pulled the rope several times, and then stopped on a compression stroke so the valves are closed to not have valve springs compressed, and also not let moisture from air into the cylinder.
 
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I will run the Coleman Powermate next spring before chaining it up and putting a tarp over it on the back porch so it can quickly and easily be pulled into the yard to power the whole house AC.

I have no doubt that with the way I have protected the carburetor it could sit for many years and when fresh gas is put in it it will start easily, and run well.
 
Originally Posted By: marshall25
Have a 5000 watt Generac generator that when I put gas in, it just pours out of the carb. Guess I'll have to take it apart and clean it. Was wondering it anybody else has issues with theirs. I always drain the fuel tank and then run the carb dry.


Buy a carb rebuild kit for $10. Then pull the bowl and replace the easy stuff from the rebuild kit. The fuel bowl gasket does not always come off in one piece and a new float valve never hurts.
 
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