Help New Generator Problem

P

PhaRO

New member
I'm frustrated. Today I went out and replaced / bought some new equipment. A small gas pressure washer, 50 gallon tank and a smaller generator. I have a 5000 watt 10hp now that works fine but is loud as hell and too big. Since I am adding a pressure washer back to my set up and moving to a larger tank, I wanted a smaller generator to free up some space.

I purchased the proforce generator from Pepboys (yellow one 3125 max, 2500 continuous). First one (New in box) was returned due to a fuel leakage problem in the carb. Got a display model in exchange and can't get it started. I didn't really mind getting the display provided it works. I've had two generator over the last 10-12 years and have had very few problems. Just to make sure I'm not doing something wrong here is what I've done.

Added gas (about 1galllon)
Added Oil (correct weight and I filled it until it started coming out, basically wouldn't hold anymore. I filled it on a level surface). I assume you are not supposed to tilt it on it's side and fill it up. My other generators just filled until ran out on a level surface)
Push the button on the left to on (top part of switch is depressed).
Turned fuel valve to open position.
Moved the choke all the way forward. Forward being towards the on off switch and were the choke diagram is. If you were looking at it from the side it would be to the right.
Pulled until exhausted.
I've tried moving the choke switch around. Pulled spark plug wire off to make sure it was firmly on. I still get nothing. It has not once tried to start. Any help? If I have to return this one, I'm not too keen on trying a third and will have to put my old one back into action until I can buy a different one (preferably a Honda). This will cramp my setup.
 
Well good news. Last night it got too dark and I tired of using a flashlight so called it a night. This am I went out front and checked a few things. Removed air filter to see that the choke was really moving. Pulled off fuel line to make sure gas was moving. Everything looked fine. I left one screw off the air filter mount to let more air come in. Not sure if that did any good but after a few pulls it started. I let it run for about 10 minutes and added a load. Everything seems to be working fine. Stopped and started it a few times and worked fine. Now going to finish mounting it to the truck.
 
Glad to hear you have had no problems. So far I'm pretty impressed. I paid roughly $240 which is $60 less than my first generator (10 years ago) and half what the one I bought 3 or 4 years ago cost. It's extremely quiet. My 10hp Briggs and Straton was insanely loud. This one though I can barely hear with my vacuum turned on and I have a quiet vacuum. I used it a few times today and it worked exactly how I wanted it too. Possibly it had been sitting for a while and was just hard to start. My other generator I got from a customer that had it sitting in storage for a couple years. That one took me over 30 minutes to start. Once it started it was never a problem to start.
 
Looks like you're doing fine so disregard this if all is well. I noticed you said you filled the oil until it started coming out the fill hole. I help my father and repair small engines as his "retirement" business, I've been fixing them for over 10 years. I don't know what kind or size the engine is but generally if you've filled it that full you've got too much oil in the crankcase. On a horizontal shaft engine a rule of thumb is that if the oil is to the bottom of the oil fill plug's threads it's got plenty (16 - 18 oz.). I know you can get more than a quart in there I've seen people do it. A problem of this nature will eventually cause a blow-by problem and cause either a rich condition (foul plug) or start to smoke. It can also make them run sluggish as the crankshaft is immersed in oil rather than just splashing it. Most small engines from Briggs to Honda (5 h.p. and less) take only about a pint of oil. Like I said if your situation is different toss this post.
 
GearHead_1 said:
Looks like you're doing fine so disregard this if all is well. I noticed you said you filled the oil until it started coming out the fill hole. I help my father and repair small engines as his "retirement" business, I've been fixing them for over 10 years. I don't know what kind or size the engine is but generally if you've filled it that full you've got too much oil in the crankcase. On a horizontal shaft engine a rule of thumb is that if the oil is to the bottom of the oil fill plug's threads it's got plenty (16 - 18 oz.). I know you can get more than a quart in there I've seen people do it. A problem of this nature will eventually cause a blow-by problem and cause either a rich condition (foul plug) or start to smoke. It can also make them run sluggish as the crankshaft is immersed in oil rather than just splashing it. Most small engines from Briggs to Honda (5 h.p. and less) take only about a pint of oil. Like I said if your situation is different toss this post.
Click to expand...

When I first got mine, I experienced it not starting, and when I called for tech support, they said you are supposed to fill it up with oil until you see the oil overflowing...otherwise it won't run and I've actually noticed this to happen.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top