Generator FAIL!

2LZ · 01-09-2017, 10:13 PM

Ok...so we had a Stormagedon come through on the weekend.

Last weekend, Mrs 2LZ and myself had everything prepped for the event. Plenty of propane for the HVAC, the pellet stove was loaded with extra bags on the side and we loaded the wood rack for the wood stove and got it all set up and ready. All it takes is an old guy to fart on a hot summer day and we lose power here in Volcano, so we prep for that too.

I have an older but very nice Honda generator. Got it from Mrs. 2LZ dad when he replaced it with a new one. It's a smaller one but it runs the TV and keeps the fridge from spoiling. The two most important things, right? Have to watch the NFL playoffs, especially in lock-down.

4:00am Saturday morning, the power goes out. How did I know? Try breathing through a dead C-PAP machine. In your sleep, you can suck that hose all the way through your beak.
Up I got....lit the wood stove, fired some boiling water for Mrs 2LZ and waited.

A few hours later, power's still out. We decide we best get the fridge and TV plugged in. Fire the trusty Honda, good to go! After about 20 minutes, it's sounding funny. Revs up and down like the governor is floating. Then the TV went on and off. We unhooked that to save the electronics....and it didn't help. We stopped and re-fired it, it settled down for about 10 minutes then it started acting weird again. Yes, it has fresh gas and oil. At this point, we decided to shut it off and go to town for some supplies. The roads would be empty right?

After town, we get back and go to fire the trusty Honda....and nothing! That SOB wouldn't start to save our lives! I pulled the plug and cleaned it. It looked normal, not flooded. Pulled the air filter, choke, half choke, no choke....nothing but a couple pi$$ed off people with wore out arms. Then it dawned on me....out of all the China motors in the garage that have yet to fail me, IT'S THE DAMN HONDA THAT QUIT ON ME!
Fortunately, the power was only off for almost 13 hours and the fridge made it....barely. The ice in the maker was not happy though.

So, I'm off to Harbor Freight to buy a new generator tomorrow. I know it will run. ;-)

**cheesy** · 01-09-2017, 11:23 PM

Where's the 'Unlike' button?

BlackBike · 01-10-2017, 12:55 AM

http://www.harborfreight.com/engines...arb-63088.html

Probably best bang for the buck.

That little compact quiet 2000watt is neat too

Adjuster · 01-10-2017, 03:32 AM

I have the Predator 4000/3200. It starts first pull every time. The trick for me is to shut the gas off and let the carb run dry.

/

ben2go · 01-10-2017, 09:03 AM

I've run into this before. It's a carb problem for me. The jet clogs with the crap that dried fuel turns into. It's not varnish, like fuels from the past. It's like a concrete dust type crap, that's usually found in a carb bowl after the fuel dries out. When it gets wet with fresh fuel and gets sucked into the jets, it turns into a concrete like substance. Some genny carbs don't have replaceable jets, so a carb replacement is required.

**JerryHawk250** · 01-10-2017, 09:21 AM

This is what I got. I got it for $350 https://www.amazon.com/WEN-56475-Por...electric+start If you don't need 220v this is perfect. It runs 12-14 hours on a 4 gallon tank. Has a plug for my RV and use it for my mobile DJ buisness. and is small and portable. I have a main breaker lockout and a plug in next to my panel so I can feed one side of my panel for lights frig, freezer and heater if needed. Living in hurricane country we have lost power for weeks at a time. I will be putting a natural gas conversion kit on it so I don't have to worry about finding gasoline.

Sport Rider · 01-10-2017, 10:25 AM

what model/size was the honda? I have this: https://www.walmart.com/ip/43310326?...&wl13=&veh=sem

it will run the fridge and a couple lights with no problem. you can daisy chain two together for more power. and it doubles for my toy hauler power supply.

2LZ · 01-10-2017, 10:57 AM

Thanks for all the great responses gang! I'll have to check a lot of these out. We have a ton more bad weather coming, so I want to make sure we're covered.

The worst part of this is that the generator has a little temporary doghouse on the back deck, so it was nice and dry. It was Mrs. 2LZ and I that were out there tugging on it in a deluge. You do that for an hour total and it has a way of wanting you to launch (what probably still is) a perfectly good Honda generator over the railing.

Once I get a replacement, I'll tear this down, get it going and use it for a backup. I keep fresh gas in it and run it once a month, even during the off-season. I think it's spoiled.........

2LZ · 01-10-2017, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ben2go

I've run into this before. It's a carb problem for me. The jet clogs with the crap that dried fuel turns into. It's not varnish, like fuels from the past. It's like a concrete dust type crap, that's usually found in a carb bowl after the fuel dries out. When it gets wet with fresh fuel and gets sucked into the jets, it turns into a concrete like substance. Some genny carbs don't have replaceable jets, so a carb replacement is required.

I've seen this!...but it was on an old Harley I had after I took a friends advise and added some fuel additive for storage (not Sta-bil). Had to tear the carb apart and that dusty stuff was everywhere.

BlackBike · 01-11-2017, 01:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sport Rider

what model/size was the honda? I have this: https://www.walmart.com/ip/43310326?...&wl13=&veh=sem

it will run the fridge and a couple lights with no problem. you can daisy chain two together for more power. and it doubles for my toy hauler power supply.

Sport...

, Depending on the user's need for backup power, these little units are remarkably quiet and have come down in price as seen by the harbor freight one. Also northern tool carries one too. I think they call them inverter generators.

I have a Colman I bought that is still in its original box, haven't even put any oil in it. Its from after hurricane claudette 2003

2lz...Happy hunting

Sport Rider · 01-11-2017, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackBike

Sport...

, Depending on the user's need for backup power, these little units are remarkably quiet and have come down in price as seen by the harbor freight one. Also northern tool carries one too. I think they call them inverter generators.

I have a Colman I bought that is still in its original box, haven't even put any oil in it. Its from after hurricane claudette 2003

2lz...Happy hunting

I use mine 4 or 5 times a year. we rarely lose power at home. only once for that. otherwise, it's light duty for running the morning coffee pot and charging electronics. it's very quiet and is working out well so far.

2LZ · 01-11-2017, 11:32 AM

Well....and the answer is..... A new Predator 8750!....with wheel kit, a new 12 gauge cord, battery and trickle charger to keep the battery alive for the electric start. Of course, I went in armed with Super Coupons and a pair of 20% off's for the other items.

Of course, not being Jack Lalane these days, my bike lift came in dang handy unloading a 200 pound generator by myself.

As luck would have it, I got it unboxed, assembled with the wheel kit, and then called it a night....and of course, my new generator was living a nice dry life in the garage...and the power went out this morning. :-/

Bruce's · 01-11-2017, 12:12 PM

Hey ,that's a Jeep delivery going on .Patriot if I am not mistaken .

2LZ · 01-11-2017, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruce's

Hey ,that's a Jeep delivery going on .Patriot if I am not mistaken .

Absolutely! The Jeep Patriot. BY FAR the most unsung vehicle ever produced. I love that rig.

Bruce's · 01-11-2017, 01:03 PM

i have owned two of them ,and the second one gave up its engine for my Dodge Journey .

01-09-2017, 10:13 PM	#1
2LZ Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Volcano, Ca Posts: 7,112	Generator FAIL! Ok...so we had a Stormagedon come through on the weekend. Last weekend, Mrs 2LZ and myself had everything prepped for the event. Plenty of propane for the HVAC, the pellet stove was loaded with extra bags on the side and we loaded the wood rack for the wood stove and got it all set up and ready. All it takes is an old guy to fart on a hot summer day and we lose power here in Volcano, so we prep for that too. I have an older but very nice Honda generator. Got it from Mrs. 2LZ dad when he replaced it with a new one. It's a smaller one but it runs the TV and keeps the fridge from spoiling. The two most important things, right? Have to watch the NFL playoffs, especially in lock-down. 4:00am Saturday morning, the power goes out. How did I know? Try breathing through a dead C-PAP machine. In your sleep, you can suck that hose all the way through your beak. Up I got....lit the wood stove, fired some boiling water for Mrs 2LZ and waited. A few hours later, power's still out. We decide we best get the fridge and TV plugged in. Fire the trusty Honda, good to go! After about 20 minutes, it's sounding funny. Revs up and down like the governor is floating. Then the TV went on and off. We unhooked that to save the electronics....and it didn't help. We stopped and re-fired it, it settled down for about 10 minutes then it started acting weird again. Yes, it has fresh gas and oil. At this point, we decided to shut it off and go to town for some supplies. The roads would be empty right? After town, we get back and go to fire the trusty Honda....and nothing! That SOB wouldn't start to save our lives! I pulled the plug and cleaned it. It looked normal, not flooded. Pulled the air filter, choke, half choke, no choke....nothing but a couple pi$$ed off people with wore out arms. Then it dawned on me....out of all the China motors in the garage that have yet to fail me, IT'S THE DAMN HONDA THAT QUIT ON ME! Fortunately, the power was only off for almost 13 hours and the fridge made it....barely. The ice in the maker was not happy though. So, I'm off to Harbor Freight to buy a new generator tomorrow. I know it will run. ;-) __________________ "Light a fire for a man, and you heat him for a day. Light a man on fire, and you heat him for the rest of his life." 2007 Suzuki DRZ400S (SM convert) 2009 Q Link XP 200 1967 BSA B25 250cc Starfire 2022 Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 2023 Royal Enfield Scram 411 1948 Royal Enfield Model G 350
	0

01-09-2017, 11:23 PM	#2
cheesy Moderator Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Elburn, IL Posts: 5,986	Where's the 'Unlike' button? __________________ Cheesy ______________________________________ 07 Hi Bird Enduro-Flown the Coop 07 Ural Gear Up 79 Honda CX500 77 VeloSolex 4600 V3 73 VeloSolex 3800 I'm making this up as I go.-Indiana Jones Telling me something 'is for my own good', is a fast way to a fat lip.-Me I don't even care about my own problems, why should I care about yours?-Quote on one of my favorite t-shirts
	2

01-10-2017, 12:55 AM	#3
BlackBike Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: George West, Texas Posts: 4,097	http://www.harborfreight.com/engines...arb-63088.html Probably best bang for the buck. That little compact quiet 2000watt is neat too __________________ ***************************************** 2015 Bashan"Blaze" BS250GY-31 (DB-07K-250) GONE 2017 Suzuki V Strom 650 XT "We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid." ~Benjamin Franklin~
	2

01-10-2017, 09:21 AM	#6
JerryHawk250 Moderator Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Houma, La. Posts: 11,723	This is what I got. I got it for $350 https://www.amazon.com/WEN-56475-Por...electric+start If you don't need 220v this is perfect. It runs 12-14 hours on a 4 gallon tank. Has a plug for my RV and use it for my mobile DJ buisness. and is small and portable. I have a main breaker lockout and a plug in next to my panel so I can feed one side of my panel for lights frig, freezer and heater if needed. Living in hurricane country we have lost power for weeks at a time. I will be putting a natural gas conversion kit on it so I don't have to worry about finding gasoline. __________________ 2024 Linhai 300 ATV 4x4 2023 Lifan Lycan 250 Chopper 2023 Venom Evader 2022 Lifan KPX250 2020 Kawasaki Vulcan S (Sold) 2004 Honda ST 1300 2016 Black Hawk 250 (sold) Keihin PE30 carb,125 main,38 slow.Pod filter,ported & decked head 10:1 CR,Direct Ignition Coil,15/40Sprockets,NGK DPR8EIX-9,De-Cat,Dual Oil Cooler,Digital Cluster 2016 Cazador180 XL 2014 Coolster150 JerryHawk250.com My YouTube Channel
	0

01-10-2017, 10:57 AM	#8
2LZ Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Volcano, Ca Posts: 7,112	Thanks for all the great responses gang! I'll have to check a lot of these out. We have a ton more bad weather coming, so I want to make sure we're covered. The worst part of this is that the generator has a little temporary doghouse on the back deck, so it was nice and dry. It was Mrs. 2LZ and I that were out there tugging on it in a deluge. You do that for an hour total and it has a way of wanting you to launch (what probably still is) a perfectly good Honda generator over the railing. Once I get a replacement, I'll tear this down, get it going and use it for a backup. I keep fresh gas in it and run it once a month, even during the off-season. I think it's spoiled......... __________________ "Light a fire for a man, and you heat him for a day. Light a man on fire, and you heat him for the rest of his life." 2007 Suzuki DRZ400S (SM convert) 2009 Q Link XP 200 1967 BSA B25 250cc Starfire 2022 Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 2023 Royal Enfield Scram 411 1948 Royal Enfield Model G 350
	0

01-10-2017, 03:32 AM	#4
Adjuster Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Deerfield Beach FL Posts: 1,410	I have the Predator 4000/3200. It starts first pull every time. The trick for me is to shut the gas off and let the carb run dry. /
	1

01-10-2017, 09:03 AM	#5
ben2go Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 1,335	I've run into this before. It's a carb problem for me. The jet clogs with the crap that dried fuel turns into. It's not varnish, like fuels from the past. It's like a concrete dust type crap, that's usually found in a carb bowl after the fuel dries out. When it gets wet with fresh fuel and gets sucked into the jets, it turns into a concrete like substance. Some genny carbs don't have replaceable jets, so a carb replacement is required.
	0

01-10-2017, 10:25 AM	#7
Sport Rider Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Mooresville NC Posts: 2,116	what model/size was the honda? I have this: https://www.walmart.com/ip/43310326?...&wl13=&veh=sem it will run the fridge and a couple lights with no problem. you can daisy chain two together for more power. and it doubles for my toy hauler power supply.
	0

01-11-2017, 11:32 AM	#12
2LZ Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Volcano, Ca Posts: 7,112	Well....and the answer is..... A new Predator 8750!....with wheel kit, a new 12 gauge cord, battery and trickle charger to keep the battery alive for the electric start. Of course, I went in armed with Super Coupons and a pair of 20% off's for the other items. Of course, not being Jack Lalane these days, my bike lift came in dang handy unloading a 200 pound generator by myself. As luck would have it, I got it unboxed, assembled with the wheel kit, and then called it a night....and of course, my new generator was living a nice dry life in the garage...and the power went out this morning. :-/ __________________ "Light a fire for a man, and you heat him for a day. Light a man on fire, and you heat him for the rest of his life." 2007 Suzuki DRZ400S (SM convert) 2009 Q Link XP 200 1967 BSA B25 250cc Starfire 2022 Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 2023 Royal Enfield Scram 411 1948 Royal Enfield Model G 350 Last edited by 2LZ; 05-26-2020 at 01:24 PM.
	2

01-11-2017, 12:12 PM	#13
Bruce's Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Sudbury ,Ontario Posts: 855	Hey ,that's a Jeep delivery going on .Patriot if I am not mistaken .
	1

01-11-2017, 01:03 PM	#15
Bruce's Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Sudbury ,Ontario Posts: 855	i have owned two of them ,and the second one gave up its engine for my Dodge Journey .
	1