Ethanol

[Mark Page]

My neightbor was having problems getting his generator started and eventually put it in the shop. They told him it was the ethanol fuel and to drain it after every use and to have fresh fuel available.
I run ethanol in my Honda when it's all I can get and have never had a problem.
Is there an additive he can use to overcome his problem. I don't think fuel stabilizer alone will do it.

 

[brokenot]

If your generator and your neighbor's generator are both compatible with ethanol according to their manufacturers, then your neighbor's "repair shop" needs to explain why yours works and your neighbor's doesn't.

Unfortunately, there are a whole lot of repair shop employees that have "glommed onto" the ethanol myths perpetuated. Sometimes it's easier than *real* thinking and effective diagnosing, I guess.

Fresh fuel is essential, they got that part right. The kicker is, owners don't need to take their equipment in to a shop to be told this. Proper storage procedures, (including "dos and don'ts" about storing the equipment with fuel in it), are right there in the literature the manufacturer supplies the consumer with.

Most of the time, all it takes is draining the carburetor bowl via the handy drain screw to get some fresher gas to where it needs to be...i.e. the inlet to the main jet. If there's no handy drain screw, loosen the bowl to drain it. Smell the fuel as you do so. As soon as it stops smelling like turpentine and starts to resemble a gasoline odor...you're done and the engine will start. That simple two minute procedure is what you're paying for at the small engine shop when your stuff won't start. It just didn't cost you $50.

 

[Baby Grand]

Stabil. The marine stuff in the green bottle.

 

[mcgyve]

Ditto with the green stabilizer. I work on boats and it is no myth, all the dealers up here in my neck of the woods are struggling with this problem. As for generators, run 'em every 2 or 3 weeks if you can, even with stabilizer. This slime/stuff is microscopic at times and the jets and components look clean but they're not