My generator has been setting for at least a year. There was a lot of oil on the cement underneath it. It is a 8hp Briggs engine. When I unscrewed the oil check, I had a big flush of oil/gas come out of it. So I drained the rest of the mixture out of it and filled with new oil. I ran it for a half a minute or so and shut it down and recheck the oil. It was milky colored like there was water in it. So after 4 changes of oil it is starting to clear up. What is causing the milky color? It is always in the pole barn and not exposed to water. Could it be the ethanol in the fuel that was in the crankcase? I think 2 more changes and I will run it hard for a couple of hours and see what happens.
milky oil
- Thread starter dirtymudder
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Water, now seek out the source.
If you are positive there is no active water source (leak somewhere it's stored, etc) then condensation from a metal gas tank's internal walls not filled completely (with an air space of course) and experiencing cold air temperatures (as air cools, it can hold a smaller and smaller amount of evaporated moisture, so it will eventually precipitate out as water droplets at some temperature) could be the cause, or water in a filling jerry (you should be able to see it in a plastic tank, maybe with a light but daylight should be enough; it will be at the bottom) or if not those reasons, you need to discover what exactly.
If you are positive there is no active water source (leak somewhere it's stored, etc) then condensation from a metal gas tank's internal walls not filled completely (with an air space of course) and experiencing cold air temperatures (as air cools, it can hold a smaller and smaller amount of evaporated moisture, so it will eventually precipitate out as water droplets at some temperature) could be the cause, or water in a filling jerry (you should be able to see it in a plastic tank, maybe with a light but daylight should be enough; it will be at the bottom) or if not those reasons, you need to discover what exactly.
look for cracks on the engine. I used to have a lawnmower with milky oil. It was a tiny crack on the motor.
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