Generator Carburetor Change - Sound legit?

[birddogdad]

on my new RV, has a cummins onan gen set... the gen ran like crap cycling and that was the fix by cummins... was under warranty but that was SOP by the  techs... i was told to run Seafoam in my gas in the onboard RV tank and for a small portable gen set i would recommend a couple other things to do.

1)drain gas from carb, ez screw just for this
2)if you are going to leave it for greater than 6 months , drain tank, pour into a car if you don't want to waste it...

run E free if you cant do either of the top 2

[rasbo]

Being retired I now fix these things my self,,it's easier to buy the carb and replace it yourself. I rebuilt my Honda 2000 carb,watching a video.. it felt good saving labor,did the same with honda outboard,just put a new carb on that. My honda has no drain,i use seafoam and run it once a month.. fire up a one of those nasty poodle turds you smoke and enjoy saving a few bucks,

[Caseknife]

Definitely run non-ethanol in all your small engines.  Ethanol creates all sorts of gunk in the carburetors that will plug
the jets and small ports of the carburetors.  Star Tron seems to work very good in combatting the effects of ethanol.

[rtspring]

Easy way to save is do it yourself.  Its really not hard and once you do it you will have the knowledge to fix problems down the road.  Preventive maintenance is the best thing to achieve with small engines.  Always use good gas and if not using them, run them once a month or drain all gas.  Gummy ethanol will mess them up. 

You can utube just about anything these days!!!!

[birddogdad]

Being retired I now fix these things my self,,it's easier to buy the carb and replace it yourself. I rebuilt my Honda 2000 carb,watching a video.. it felt good saving labor,did the same with honda outboard,just put a new carb on that. My honda has no drain,i use seafoam and run it once a month.. fire up a one of those nasty poodle turds you smoke and enjoy saving a few bucks,

i have (2) of those 2000's the screw is directly on the bottom of the carb bowl with a tube that runs to bottom of gen? maybe your carb bowl is backwards and hiding the screw? Watch for that damn oring on the bowl!

[Knocker of rocks]

Being retired I now fix these things my self,,it's easier to buy the carb and replace it yourself. I rebuilt my Honda 2000 carb,watching a video.. it felt good saving labor,did the same with honda outboard,just put a new carb on that. My honda has no drain,i use seafoam and run it once a month.. fire up a one of those nasty poodle turds you smoke and enjoy saving a few bucks,

i have (2) of those 2000's the screw is directly on the bottom of the carb bowl with a tube that runs to bottom of gen? maybe your carb bowl is backwards and hiding the screw? Watch for that damn oring on the bowl!

I just kill the fuel valve and run the machine till it quits.  Seems like a fine way to do it.

[Knocker of rocks]

Ill add my  .
Never leave gas sitting in a carburetor when not in use.
Run it dry or drain the bowl when through.

And, get a real good stabilizer, Not Stabil, and run only ethanol free gas.

Seafoam?

What do do you recommend besides not stabil?

[Fl0und3rz]

Never heard of Seafoam as a stabilizer.  Fuel system and intake cleaner, sure.  I'll have to check it out. 

[Knocker of rocks]

Never heard of Seafoam as a stabilizer.  Fuel system and intake cleaner, sure.  I'll have to check it out.

After all these years I finally looked at their website, you seem to be right.  It isn't a stabilizer.

Ethanol free fuel needs a ton less stabilizing.

[rasbo]

Never heard of Seafoam as a stabilizer.  Fuel system and intake cleaner, sure.  I'll have to check it out.

I run mine once a month,it hasn't had a problem.the Honda on off switch is the fuel shut also which sucks. I should put a pet cock on it so I can run it dry...also I'm not sure if the seafoam stabilizes anything,but by running it it helps

[hunter399]

+1 on fixen your self
But it already at shop might as well pay ,and get it fixed up right.
I have never taken a small engine to a shop,spark ,fuel ,air,make anything run.

[Fl0und3rz]

I'll take a 2 cycle there, because those seem to run on voodoo.  But otherwise, if I have time, I am in the fix it yourself camp.

[Knocker of rocks]

I should put a pet cock on it so I can run it dry...also I'm not sure if the seafoam stabilizes anything,but by running it it helps

I think the problem is varnishes and the like.  Even if you only partially empty the bowl by closing the valve and running it until it dies, then any crerated varnish won't be in gumming up the work but down below that.

I don't know if that is fully correct, but doing just that and using SeaFoam sure has made the problems go away and made the machine start dependably.

[rasbo]

I was amazed how small things get in the carb,it sure doesn't take much to plug up. Draining the bowl, will certainly help

[pianoman9701]

Easy way to save is do it yourself.  Its really not hard and once you do it you will have the knowledge to fix problems down the road.  Preventive maintenance is the best thing to achieve with small engines.  Always use good gas and if not using them, run them once a month or drain all gas.  Gummy ethanol will mess them up. 

You can utube just about anything these days!!!!

Good advice. I just don't have a shop space to work. My wife took over the garage for an internet business that doesn't sell anything. I was able to fix a disabled neighbor's toilet this weekend with the help of Youtube. The tank bolts were rusted completely. I used a hack saw blade between the tank and the bowl to cut them, changed out all the innards and it works like a new toilet. Probably helped her getting rid of all the black mold around it to. By the way, Parkinson's really sucks. I feel for her. 52 and hardly able to get around.