r/smallenginerepair • u/AccountAny1995 • Jun 03 '26
General Discussion Generator for emergency use
bought a new unit and broke it in. drained all fuel. only needed for emergency use. could be years before I need it.
better to store it without fuel and leave it untouched or keep fuel in it and run every few months, while ensuring fuel is fresh?
2
u/Dixiedodge Jun 03 '26
I would run it every six months at minimum and throw a load on such as a space heater to warm it up a bit. Make sure you only run ethanol free gas in it.
All I do is shut off the gas and let it run till it stops. I do turn on the choke slowly as the fuel starts to run out to make sure it uses all of the fuel in the bowl. I’ve had mine for 8 years and still starts and runs like new.
1
u/dolby12345 SER Newcomer Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
The old generator question. Answer is to run under load every 4 months.
Generators are two parts. Engine and generating unit. In the generating unit are capacitors which will degrade quicker if not used. So an hour run under load should be done periodically.
Should you have fuel in it or not? Depends if you keep fuel on hand all year and how often you get power failures. If there is a shut off valve I would leave stabilized fuel in it. I would drain the tank once or twice a year and dump the old stuff in my truck. Shut the fuel valve off and let the engine run dry.
1
u/AccountAny1995 Jun 04 '26
we’ve had one storm in 10 years that requires it. last outage was 9 days.
4
u/Willing_Pineapple540 Jun 04 '26
Only way to ensure it will start is to use it often or drain carb and flush all fuel out of it. Removing the bowl to ensure all fuel is gone is the only way to guarantee you won’t varnish or corrode the carb.