Propane Generator - hard starting question

[aczlan]

I have a 10k electric start generator that starts after approx. 3 seconds of cranking. Earlier this year I used it and I turned off the LP and let it run until it quit, to see what would happen.
Generally I would leave the LP on and just switch the key off and then shut the LP tank off.
But then the next time I needed to run it, it cranked and cranked and cranked. It finally started after a dozen or more 5 second bursts of cranking. Now I just shut it off and then turn the LP off. Makes no sense to me why it does that but it does.

You have to have vacuum for long enough to bleed all of the air out of the expansion chamber, otherwise its just putting out air (or a weak air/propane mix), not enough to start a motor on.

Aaron Z

 

[Rocky J]

I have a 10k electric start generator that starts after approx. 3 seconds of cranking. Earlier this year I used it and I turned off the LP and let it run until it quit, to see what would happen.

Generally I would leave the LP on and just switch the key off and then shut the LP tank off.

But then the next time I needed to run it, it cranked and cranked and cranked. It finally started after a dozen or more 5 second bursts of cranking.

Now I just shut it off and then turn the LP off. Makes no sense to me why it does that but it does.

I think it is like a garden hose that has been drained of all of its water, when you first turn it on it has to fill the hose before it comes out the end, so pushing the primer button just drains the air out of the hose and allows it to fill with Propane vapor, The Regulator is a on demand type and use vacuum to open the valve inside of it , so cranking the engine builds vacuum and opens the valve and with time does purge the air out of the hose and it starts, the primer button is just a rod that manually pushes on the diaphragm inside of the regulator and opens the valve. The longer the hose from the tank the bigger the pain it can be.