Sweet deal on a generator, except one thing

[Kurtatron]

I’ve wanted a generator for a while now.

Appliances I want working during an outage: refrigerator, microwave, and small Window AC unit. Maybe a space heater in the dead of winter to prevent pipes from freezing.

I bought a busted 4200 watt craftsman for $40 that I ended up annihilating from sheer stupidity. It was already in pieces, but I wanted to try and fix it. While it was running I shorted a wire to the frame and toasted the generator stator.

So on Facebook, I found this monster instead. It’s a never used 6100 watt craftsman. For $200! Purchaser in front of me bailed because he couldn’t find a truck, so I snatched it.

The only con is the weight. Wow these higher wattage generators are heavy! 198lbs!

My 4200 watt was about 120. Why such a jump? Crazy. A starter is so unnecessary. Can’t see why that and a battery make any sense on a pull start generator.

This generator does not have an oil filter. The 4200 watt did have an oil filter. I wish it did, but I’ve read that small engines last plenty long without oil filters.

I’m planning on feeding it Pennzoil 5w-30 platinum. Since it isn’t something that will see regular use, any recommendations on keeping this thing running for years?

 

[Owen Lucas]

Nice find! Did it come with the wheels?

 

[spasm3]

You need to crank it up and put a load on it at least every year. You don't want it to lose its magnetic field.

 

[fsdork]

Unless it runs for days on end, stagnant fuel is more likely to cause a problem than oil (short of running it out of oil, of course). I keep either alkylate (Aspen or similar) or stabilized non-ethanol gasoline in my generator. If I had an emergency that caused me to consume a fair bit of fuel, I'd run whatever gasoline was available, then run alkylate or stabilized non-ethanol through it before storing.

 

[Kurtatron]

Nice find! Did it come with the wheels?

Yeah, new in box. I just haven’t installed them yet.

 

[Kurtatron]

Unless it runs for days on end, stagnant fuel is more likely to cause a problem than oil (short of running it out of oil, of course). I keep either alkylate (Aspen or similar) or stabilized non-ethanol gasoline in my generator. If I had an emergency that caused me to consume a fair bit of fuel, I'd run whatever gasoline was available, then run alkylate or stabilized non-ethanol through it before storing.

I intend to use non ethanol gas with stabilizer. Gas station 10 minutes away sells it.

 

[eljefino]

Keeping that thing gassed up during a weather event will be your biggest challenge. OTOH It will be good for keeping not one but multiple ACs going if it's really swampy and you can find fuel.

 

[Chris142]

Get the wheel kit or mount it on an old lawnmower chassis

 

[Kurtatron]

Keeping that thing gassed up during a weather event will be your biggest challenge. OTOH It will be good for keeping not one but multiple ACs going if it's really swampy and you can find fuel.

Yeah, you’re right. I’ll probably have to run the thing in bursts. It says it’ll run 13 hours on 7 gallons of fuel at half load. Not great.

Clearly greatest advantage of inverter generator.

 

[Sequoiasoon]

I have 4x 5 gallon cans. 3 of them are frequently empty unless there is a predicted potential weather event. At that point generator is full, all cans and all vehicles. Event ends and the 3 cans get used up in my vehicles ready for next time. 4th can gets used for my riding mower.

I haven't tried siphoning from vehicles in forever. Supposedly issues these days on newer vehicles. The 20+ gallons in SUV will get me pretty far if I need to travel and get stuff (fuel or other). I run mine to get refrigerator/freezers cold, get boiler running for heat/hot water and then it pretty much shuts off. I hate the heat but I can survive if needed. I also have some battery operated fans for camping. I'll cook on the grill since I have 3-4 spare propane on hand. Kind of like camping with nicer amenities.

 

[repairman54]

That is a great unit. E start is a blessing if your not around and the wife needs to crank it up. And if its stored in a cold area you will not like the recoil at all.
My old 5200 / 8100 Craftsman E start was a solid unit, sold it when I moved to a Generac house. Had it over 15 yrs and it ran non stop for 11 days during Sandy when I lived in NJ. Original battery lasted over 10 years.
Use a premium fuel stabilizer, I stored mine with PRI-G in the tank, tank always full ready to go. I haven't touched a carburetor in years using the PRI-G or a quality marine stabilizer. (non Stabil)
It will run longer than they say on a tank. With no constant electrical load its just idling. Fridges and freezers do cycle on and off.
Mine had a 5 gallon a day habit with 2 fridges and a oil burner cycling with both of us during the day.

 

[SonofaBoomer]

Good generator, I have a similar one that is about 20 years old. Got me through a bunch of major storms. I crank it up every year before the season and run it for an hour with a space heater on it until the gas runs dry. When I do this maintenance I use nonethanol with a bit of smokeless marine two stroke oil in the gas to help keep the carb clean.

 

[Nessism1]

Fuel stabilizer for sure. Start it up a couple times a year, then drain the carb afterwards. You really scored on this one. Congrats!

 

[Cujet]

I use M1 15W-50 in my air cooled portable generators. It handles the heat of hot and hard use very well. It is not too 'thick' for cold weather starts, and will prevent engine failure on many models.

 

[nickaluch]

10/30 oil change every 50 hours during use ethanol gas during storage. Keeping gas in it during a emergency can become a issue. I had a similar sized generator during Sandy keeping it gassed was a full time job for two weeks when very few gas stations had gas. I sold it and downsized much happier

 

[thastinger]

Fog the cylinder for storage, pull the rope to put the piston at TDC so both valves are closed when it is stored. Drain the bowl at least.
You're not limited to PCMO for that engine, and I wouldn't use it in an air cooled engine that runs under heavy loads. Kohler makes a good 10-30 oil for their generator line, I would use that.

 

[Kurtatron]

The battery has 0.5v. I think this generator has been sitting a long time.

Guy who sold it said he bought it in Florida and decided to sell it because we never get outrages in GA.

The generator is probably deprived of a magnetic field. Don’t some generators have an automatic magnetization? This one has a battery.

I’d prefer not to use the drill method if possible.

 

[football]

Put a new battery in it. Put a smart charger on the battery. I program mine to charge 8 hours a week. My small batteries last forever doing this. And don’t have to worry about overcharging or boiling the battery.

That GF6 fuel economy 5W30 is absolutely the wrong oil for summer use in GA. It will consume.

I’d run Rotella 10W30, 5W40, 15W40, 0W40, or SAE30. Oil change interval is every 50 hours. All of these have HTHS over 3.5.

Running it out of fuel is NOT good enough. That still leaves a few teaspoons of gas in the carb bowl. Use the carb bowl to drain the carb. Then put the choke on and try to start it. This sucks any fuel out of the jets and small carb passages.

Honestly I’d post it for sale as new (it is) and try to get $400-$500 for it. Then get a dual fuel inverter 3500-5000 watt unit.

 

[Kurtatron]

Put a new battery in it. Put a smart charger on the battery. I program mine to charge 8 hours a week. My small batteries last forever doing this. And don’t have to worry about overcharging or boiling the battery.

That GF6 fuel economy 5W30 is absolutely the wrong oil for summer use in GA. It will consume.

I’d run Rotella 10W30, 5W40, 15W40, 0W40, or SAE30. Oil change interval is every 50 hours. All of these have HTHS over 3.5.

Running it out of fuel is NOT good enough. That still leaves a few teaspoons of gas in the carb bowl. Use the carb bowl to drain the carb. Then put the choke on and try to start it. This sucks any fuel out of the jets and small carb passages.

Honestly I’d post it for sale as new (it is) and try to get $400-$500 for it. Then get a dual fuel inverter 3500-5000 watt unit.

The manual does say to run sae 30 until 40 degrees. I’ll probably switch to 10w30 then.

I don’t think I’ll sell it since an inverter will be a lot more $$$. Given the infrequency of outrages here, the price difference can buy all the gas I need.

No chance saving the battery you think?

 

[Sequoiasoon]

I actually use my car booster pack from my trunk with no battery on generator. I use the "override/boost" button on the cables and it cranks right up. I usually let it run out by shutting the fuel. I use a minimal amount of TruFuel for the couple times per year run with load.

If I'm doing pull start next time after running out, I let the fuel fill lines/filter. It doesn't make it to the bowl as mine has an actual plastic fuel pump on it. I'll give it some slow pulls and then a shot of starting fluid. Starts pretty quick then. Even though I'm in NY I have M1 15W-50 in it.

One thing to watch is short runs/start ups. I had fuel dilution in mine getting higher on dipstick so drained and replaced. Mine is a Generac from Grainger with Briggs motor.