I bought one of these on a whim when it was in a sale a couple of years ago. I've never used it properly but on the advice of people here, I would run it with a load every now and again to make sure it was working. What with moving house etc. it has not been used in a long time. I found it whilst tidying the garage the other day and cannot start it.
Is there anything I can try to resurrect it? The oil/petrol mix has been in there a while, should I pour that out and start again?
There used to be a product called, I think, "Damp Start" wich you sprayed into the air intake for situations like this. It seemed - from the smell - to be a highly combustable product - so it probbly got banned under some regulation.
Definitely. Two-smoke mix separates over time, apart from anything else, so you'll have some really oily fuel at the bottom and plain petrol at the top of the tank.
It's probably a bit gummed up in the carb, and maybe the pump diaphragm's gone hard or even torn. But it really shouldn't be hard to get going.
I find the jet in the carb of my (4 stroke) Honda generator gets gummed-up so, if I haven't run the gen for a long time, I need to clear the jet with a bit of wire or a small drill (smaller then the orifice, of course!). Changing the fuel is a good idea.
You occasionally see suggestions that fuel left to stand for long periods loses its ability to fire up (not sure whether that applies to petrol alone, or two-stroke mix, or both). It sometimes happens with garden machinery that's been left in a shed over winter, and then won't start in the spring. The explanation offered is that volatile components evaporate, resulting in greater difficulty in starting. I've never been very convinced by the explanation, but the fact of poor starting behaviour using fuel that's stood around, remains.
I'd drain out the old fuel, use some freshly made-up mixture and also flush the fuel line with it, clean the plug outside and in, bring the genny into a warmish place to dry out any condensation or damp that might have built up in the ignition system over time, and try again.
I get many old chainsaws brought to me, last one was a Husqvarna 136 which had been abandoned 5 years previously and the fuel tank was still 3/4 full. They normally start fine.
Main thing is the check for spark with plug out.
I often preheat the plug to burn any oil residue off. Then start as normal, up to ten pulls with choke on or until it fires then choke off and part throttle. If it fires then run on full throttle, as often any fuel that has seeped into the crankcase will have evaporated leaving the oil which needs burning off before it fouls the plug.
If the plug fouls heat it again
Holts easy start is still available from Halfords but only a whiff and it doesn't work if there is a fundamental engine problem.
I too use one of these little gensets and it can be a pig to start after storage but it always goes eventually. I'm told, but not tried due to the expense, to leave them with Aspen2 mix in the tank for easier starting.
You need to be careful. the original dampstart was just a fluid which repelled moisture, but later it also came as a film coating in a can to spray on ignition leads and terminals to stop the damp getting in.
I don't know this product you have, but it could be a good idea to drain the existing fuel out and put fresh in at least to get it going. I'm assuming its got one of those shoulder dislocating pull chord has it? Brian
If you have a gas blowtorch try giving it a whiff of gas. Just position the blowtorch so that the gas is directed at the air filter and turn it on. Then try the usual starting procedure. It should start and run just on the gas for long enough to pull the fuel through if there are no other issues.
Along with all the other good replies, I normally do the following:
Spray a bit of EasyStart into the inlet (if possible, remove the plug, spray in and replace plug if not) and see if it tries to fire up. If it does you know you have compression and ignition.
Then I'd pull the fuel pipe from the carb (if accessible) and with the fuel tap turned on, see if any fuel comes out. If it does then you might have to remove the carb float bowl / carb and clean it out. If it doesn't you may have a faulty tap, blocked filter or pipe. Whilst you may not get full performance with old fuel, as mentioned elsewhere I don't think it would stop a working machine (of the basic type) from running. [1]
I have used the above recently to start two otherwise unstartable machines. One was seized rings (2/ with no compression so wouldn't start with the EasyStart test) and the other was a 4/ mower with grunge in the tank / carb.
I have a 3KW 4/ (Honda powered) genny that would randomly start / run and that turned out to be a faulty coil.
Cheers, T i m
[1] I had an Indian built Royal Enfield Bullet 350 that had been left untouched for about 3 years. The petrol smelled more like paraffin but it did start and run (with a completely dry battery) with only a couple of kicks, once I had cleared the float jet.
I don't see anything wrong with that explanation. Petrol is a mix of hydrocarbons with different volatilities.
I would also remove the float chamber from the carburettor and clean it out (it may or may not be easier to remove the carburettor first). What happens in 2 strokes is that the petrol in the carb evaporates, leaving the two stroke oil behind as a sticky residue. As someone else suggested, may be worth cleaning the main jet too.
Check you-tube if you have never stripped a carb before, they are quite simple but when you remove the float, the spindle and the needle valve will drop out and disappear if you do it the wrong way.
My other favourite technique with recalcitrant engines is to warm up the carb with a hot air gun or a gas torch. Try not to melt the fuel pipe, but it is safe to get them quite warm to the touch (they get warm by conduction from the cylinder barrel in operation). Also OK to heat up the plug (removed) in an oven or with a gas torch. You can make this too hot to touch without gloves.
I have a cheapo that hasnt seen the light of day for over 5 years, would it be best to empty of everything and store dry? It was actually given to me but have never had to use ....but maybe one day.
Considering what you have said, I'd say 'yes, probably'.
I have a couple for the exact same reason. ;-)
I generally run anything that I'm not likely to use for a while dry. e.g. Turn the fuel off when it's running and let it run till it stops. That means there is no / little fuel left in the float bowl (if it has one) and it will be obvious when you use it next that the float has stuck open by the petrol pouring out. A float stuck closed is less obvious.
If you *know* you are going to lay a machine up for a long time then, especially if it has a steel tank you might drain all the fuel out and maybe swish some oil around the tank to coat it (if possible), to stop it going rusty.
You can keep some fuel 'ready' but in a separate container then it's easier to use it on something else and replace it with some fresh now and again (I'll use it in the kitcar when the tank is nearly full or about to fill up, even if it's a gallon of 2/). ;-)
The alternative approach that works with my lawnmower is to never turn the fuel off so that the float chamber never dries out (assuming fuel left in the tank).
As my lawnmower doesn't have a fuel tap this is quite easy to remember. ;-) Always starts on about the third pull every spring.
Damp start is a spray which applies a plastic like film coating to what it is sprayed at. was useful in the days of weak ignition systems to keep damp from causing HV leakage from grotty distributor caps and plug leads whose insulation was breaking down or another layer of insulation where engines got splashed regularly.
Spraying it into an air intake won't do anything after it much good.
Easy start is probably what you mean, One time I believe it was mainly Ether but improper use by druggies probably has seen the composition changed. Some used to say an engine got addicted to it and would not start without. Hand cranking with a handle needed extra care as premature ignition causing a kick back was more likely when using it.
Does it actually have a real carb / float / chamber? If so I think what happens is the float jet sticks closed (as it's forced closed by the fuel etc) and then the fuel evaporates out of the carb, leaving the residue to block stuff. If your carb doesn't stick closed and as there is still fuel in the tank you don't get that same residue issue as it always remains dissolved ?
I can't think of the last time any of my stuff hasn't started, even after being unused for some time, it's other peoples stuff I generally have to deal with.
But then I think some people have more 'mechanical sympathy / empathy' than others. ;-)
I was helping a mate with a small 2/ off road motorbike the other day. It had been played with by someone and the first thing he found was the piston had been fitted backwards (affecting the transfer port timing etc). After sorting that it would still fire up with a bit of EasyStart but still not continue to run. I pulled the fuel pipe off the carb and found a good fuel flow to the carb and slackening the float bowl drain screw also showed fuel there so it was more likely a jet. He took the carb off, gave it all a clean through (without finding anything particular), put it back together and it started ... what was then apparent is someone had wound the throttle stop / tickover up to summat pretty high! However, whist we were trying to start it I'd put my hand over the carb inlet and not felt much in the way of inlet vacuum. It was after he took the carb of when trying to get it to run properly he found a chunk missing from the carb to inlet manifold heat block. ;-(
I really love when I buy a second hand machine and find it is just lacking some TLC, rather than being fiddled with by someone who doesn't know what they are doing.
Or "Bradex Easy Start". They all contain ether to help starting. If you have a propane blowlamp, you can direct gas down the air intake to help starting.
Yes fresh petrol is best. There are volatiles in it to help starting that disappear if it is stored.
Also good to shut the machine down by turning off the petrol. The petrol in the hot carburetor loses the volatiles more quickly than in the tank.
Generally speaking, the only other thing that goes wrong in 2T engines is the spark plug.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.