You just thought the carburetor was dry

[Richard22]

Now is the time of the year when many of us find ourselves doing routine maintenance on ATV's, UTV's, generators, and other equipment before storing them away and/or getting them ready for the summer season. Now I know opinions vary on how best to store small engines, but most agree the ethanol in gasoline was causes a lot of small engine problems. While I make it a point to use some type of fuel additive (Ethanol Shield is what I like best), I've also found the best preventive is to turn off the fuel and run the engine until it quits. However, the work doesn't stop there as I have found after having to clean the jets on a carburetor or two. It's the residual fuel left in the bottom of the carburetor float bowl that will dry over time and leave "crap" behind that creates problems. Thankfully, many carburetors now have drain screws that you can remove the completely drain the float bowl.

Here's a photo of the residual fuel that came out of my Kawasaki ATV earlier this morning when I was getting ready to store it for what could be several months. It appears somewhat dirty but that's what it picked up in my drain pan.

 

[Gr8bawana]

I don't think todays' gasoline goes bad as fast as these additive manufacturers would have us believe. They are trying to sell you a product after all.
I've left fuel in my chainsaw for over a year and never suffered any ill-effects. Same goes for my generator.
My '97 Ram 1500 sat for almost a year when I broke my ankle and it started right up.

 

[95tigerbill]

I try to run "recreation" gas if possible as it doesn't contain the ethanol. I also saw a tip on cleaning carburetors with Hoppes #9 that looked interesting.

For my generator I know for a fact that the fuel in the line gets nasty. If it has been sitting awhile I disconnect it from the carb and drain out a few ounces and it clears right up - then reconnect and it starts right up.

 

[mtmuley]

Just put Sta-Bil in anything stored. It's cheap and easy. mtmuley

 

[Wildabeest]

I’ve got a tri-fuel generator (gasoline, LP or natural gas) that won’t start on either the LP or gasoline setting. Would a gummed up carb cause it not to run on LP? I’m not sure how these tri-fuel things work.

 

[Nick87]

Just put Sta-Bil in anything stored. It's cheap and easy. mtmuley

Had better luck with sea-foam. Ymmv.

 

[Schutzhund]

I don't think todays' gasoline goes bad as fast as these additive manufacturers would have us believe. They are trying to sell you a product after all.
I've left fuel in my chainsaw for over a year and never suffered any ill-effects. Same goes for my generator.
My '97 Ram 1500 sat for almost a year when I broke my ankle and it started right up.

Injected fuel systems like your trusty Ram are essentially a closed fuel system and won't absorb moisture from the atmosphere the same way our carbureted systems will. The ethanol in the fuel absorbs water which is why carbureted systems are more vulnerable compared to modern fuel injection.

Another vote for stabil, I prefer the blue marine stuff.

 

[Schutzhund]

And sometimes you just get bad gas, this
Sat for about 2 months in a k301 I was working on. The gas was "fresh" when I filled the tank. Looks like phase separation to me.

 

[Mallardsx2]

If you are leaving ethanol fuel in a carb fed motor for more than a couple months, you are asking for troubles.

You’re never going to convince me otherwise as I have seen the adverse effects of ethanol fuel across literally hundreds of carburetors. Today’s gasoline is bad, when you can use non-ethanol.

I only run non-ethanol in carb engines and I start everything with an engine every month and let it run for 5 minutes.

No exceptions.

 

[Nick87]

If you are leaving ethanol fuel in a carb fed motor for more than a couple months, you are asking for troubles.

You’re never going to convince me otherwise as I have seen the adverse effects of ethanol fuel across literally hundreds of carburetors. Today’s gasoline is bad, when you can use non-ethanol.

I only run non-ethanol in carb engines and I start everything with an engine every month and let it run for 5 minutes.

No exceptions.

Same. Small engines seem to run way better on non ethanol as well.

 

[Mallardsx2]

If you really want things to run good use AV gas. That is some good stuff. I used to have easy access to it.

 

[duckhunt]

If you are leaving ethanol fuel in a carb fed motor for more than a couple months, you are asking for troubles.

You’re never going to convince me otherwise as I have seen the adverse effects of ethanol fuel across literally hundreds of carburetors. Today’s gasoline is bad, when you can use non-ethanol.

I only run non-ethanol in carb engines and I start everything with an engine every month and let it run for 5 minutes.

No exceptions.

I do the exact same thing.

 

[Hem]

Ethanol free for chainsaw, weed wacker, atv, zero turn. Plus sta-bil.

 

[Richard22]

I’ve got a tri-fuel generator (gasoline, LP or natural gas) that won’t start on either the LP or gasoline setting. Would a gummed up carb cause it not to run on LP? I’m not sure how these tri-fuel things work.

I would suggest posting your question on the DuroMax Generator page on Facebook. Lots of questions and answers can be found there.