Generator won’t stay running

[Kia girl]

Ok so I have a ryobi 2300 Bluetooth generator. It is surging on and off a lot and then it just dies. I am wondering if anybody has any ideas on what could be wrong? I have new gas in it. It has fuel stabilizer in it also. I know nothing about generators so I wouldn’t know where to begin with it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


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[bullfrog]

How long had the old gas with stabilizer been in the tank and how much new gas did you add compared to what was aready in there? Did you dump the old gas out of the tank and fill with fresh gas or just add to what was there? Also make sure there no load on the generator while you are starting it. Usually surging as you described is caused by lack of gas. Small engines have small passages that are easily gummed up. A little Gumout spray carb cleaner can do wonders. Does it have a manual choke? Is any black smoke coming out of the exhaust?

 

[Kia girl]

How long had the old gas with stabilizer been in the tank and how much new gas did you add compared to what was aready in there? Did you dump the old gas out of the tank and fill with fresh gas or just add to what was there? Also make sure there no load on the generator while you are starting it. Usually surging as you described is caused by lack of gas. Small engines have small passages that are easily gummed up. A little Gumout spray carb cleaner can do wonders. Does it have a manual choke? Is any black smoke coming out of the exhaust?

The gas was just added and the old gas is less than a month old that was almost empty. I put no load on it when starting up. Everything is unplugged. I have only been running a 200 watt heater on it to take the chill out so nothing is over loading it. Yes there is a manual choke. It does seem like it isn’t getting any gas. The generator is fairly new and was purchased in November. There is only about 12 hours on it. There is no black smoke coming out either. I can get some of the spray but where would I spray? I have no clue where things are under the plastic casing except the oil.


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[tx2sturgis]

Ok, back up.

Is this a brand new generator with new fresh gas? If so did you add oil?

Or is this something you bought off craigslist or somewhere else for cheap?

What elevation are you at?

Did it do this from the beginning or just started doing this on the last fill-up?

Clues like this help us figure it out.

 

[Kia girl]

Do you have the auto-idle turned on? If so turn it off and try. If you unplug the load does it do the same? Fairly new or lots of hours. Has it been in storage?

Guy

Yes the auto idle was on. It is New. Only 12 hours on it and bought it in November. It shuts off even with nothing plugged in. I did try that already.


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[Almost There]

This is going to sound really silly but is there an air vent on the gas cap and is it open.

I had the same thing going on with one of my Honda generators and was doing some serious head scratching until I realized that I had closed the air vent for travel and hadn't opened it back up again. The generator would surge, surge and then eventually die.

 

[Kia girl]

This is going to sound really silly but is there an air vent on the gas cap and is it open.

I had the same thing going on with one of my Honda generators and was doing some serious head scratching until I realized that I had closed the air vent for travel and hadn't opened it back up again. The generator would surge, surge and then eventually die.

I don’t think so. I know I never closed anything. I just added gas and then put cap back on and then it started doing this. Worked great 2 nights before that.


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[bullfrog]

Try loosening the cap but keep an eye on it because if it is full the fuel may vibrate out while running. Try dumping out all the fuel spray a little Gumout carb cleaner in the tank then add some fresh fuel and see what happens. You should let any spilled fuel dry before startng.

 

[Kia girl]

Try loosening the cap but keep an eye on it because if it is full the fuel may vibrate out while running. Try dumping out all the fuel spray a little Gumout carb cleaner in the tank then add some fresh fuel and see what happens. You should let any spilled fuel dry before startng.

Can you over fill it? If so could that cause this to happen.


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[Kia girl]

Try loosening the cap but keep an eye on it because if it is full the fuel may vibrate out while running. Try dumping out all the fuel spray a little Gumout carb cleaner in the tank then add some fresh fuel and see what happens. You should let any spilled fuel dry before startng.

is this the carb cleaner?



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[jimindenver]

I am going to suggest Seafoam additive to the gas. It is used to clean out carbs. It may help to spray some into the throat of the carb.

What may of happened is by leaving a small amount of gas in the generator, it may have varnished in a short time. Fresh gas would have diluted it in the tank but not the carb bowl. You could try draining that so that fresh gas is in it too.

 

[Kia girl]

I am going to suggest Seafoam additive to the gas. It is used to clean out carbs. It may help to spray some into the throat of the carb.

What may of happened is by leaving a small amount of gas in the generator, it may have varnished in a short time. Fresh gas would have diluted it in the tank but not the carb bowl. You could try draining that so that fresh gas is in it too.

The gas I added was from the same gas can. Should I let the generator run completely empty for now on before I even add more gas? I am new to all this and lost. This is only the second fill up for the generator. Can I use the seafoam if I already added fuel stabilizer? I still have about 3 gallons of gas in the cans with the stabilizer already in it.


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[rayrey]

I do not know about Stabil and Seafoam together. Might be worth a search.

The best time to run it dry is when it is going to be stored without use for a while. That keeps the gas from being in the carb and drying up leaving varnish. Some generators have a fuel vale that can be used to shut off it off by starving it for fuel without draining the tank too. Doing so allows me to store the gas in the tank between uses but not the carb. I would drain the tank too for truly long term storage.

 

[John TF]

I can only guess , not enough info , is that there was some trash / particles in the gas [ for the can , or anywhere ? ] and affecting the carb .
Removing the float bowl , making sure to collect any gas / etc. to look for particles , sometimes that all you may need to do .
Next , always use a filter when filling generator / this is common with chain-saws , typically they come with new .
Next , are you a chemist , quit mixing all these chemicals , when you do not know what the different types are going to react / or not , as an example - do not but any type of fuel stabilizer in fuel [ unless you know that the fuel in an engines tank is going to sit for long periods - like close to 1 yr. ] then use what is recommended - oz. per gal. ?
I know for a fact that depending on what fuel lines are in a product , Sea Foam can desolve some types of fuel lines .
So basically you really almost never need any kind of fuel additive , I've been in the auto repair bis. for over 40 yrs. --- more problems from additives //// then not using any !!!
If any motor driven item is going to sit for long at least 6 +++ months , just run tank empty .
Last is , it is near new , it may have a fault - take back to where you bought for service / warrantee .

 

[bullfrog]

Yes that is spray Gumout. It is flamable and will run your generator just like gasoline but burns a little hotter and evaporates quicker. I often use it inplace of starting fluid when engines have set for long periods of time or I think there may be a fuel delivery problem as well as to clean. Running the fuel system dry after use is always best and buying smaller amounts of gas is almost always better than stabilizer.

 

[tx2sturgis]

 Running the fuel system dry after use is always best and buying smaller amounts of gas is almost always better than stabilizer.

And if you can find non-ethanol gas and run that in the generator, the fuel will stay fresher, longer.

 

[Kia girl]

Ok so I am in New Mexico and will be in Arizona in a few days. I am hoping when I get there maybe somebody that is there and knows about this could help me out. Thank you for all the advice but I am clueless on this I would say.


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[Kia girl]

Oh well, we gave it a try, good luck. If someone there finds the problem be sure to post the fix so that others can learn from your experience.

Guy

I will post it if I find the problem and if I don’t then I will be visiting Home Depot. Thank you very much for the help.


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[o3dave]

My Honda generator has a low oil level shut off. If the oil is low OR if I don't have the gen sitting level this affects the oil level also causing it to shut off. Just another thing to check. I concur on only running NON ethanol gas in all engines that sit a lot such as these.

 

[Kia girl]

My Honda generator has a low oil level shut off. If the oil is low OR if I don't have the gen sitting level this affects the oil level also causing it to shut off. Just another thing to check. I concur on only running NON ethanol gas in all engines that sit a lot such as these.

Mine isn’t completely level. It is on my hitch carrier. I will try to unlock it and put it on the ground and see if that is the problem. Thank you


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