Inverter Generator Only Runs With Starting Fluid

Inverter Generator Only Runs With Starting Fluid | Step By Step DIY Repair

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3 жыл бұрын

Inverter Generator Only Runs With Starting Fluid | Step By Step DIY Repair
If your generator won't start and only run on starting fluid you more than likely have a carburetor issue. Follow along as I show you a quick way to get it running properly again without an expensive repair bill!
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Watch my video on how to fix a generator with no compression;
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Why your generator might not be starting;
• Generator Won't Start?...
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Пікірлер: 262

@donyboy73 3 жыл бұрын

Watch my video on how to fix a generator with no compression; www.youtube.com/watch?v=gK_LP... Watch my video on how to replace a generator carburetor; www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGih0... Why your generator might not be starting; www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzOiH...

@shsechas 3 жыл бұрын

Although I don't own a generator. I still watch your videos because you have helped me in the past and you deserve the support.. Your videos are surely worth the watch. Thanks!

@charlesspera9839 2 жыл бұрын

Right on the money. Great step by step tutorial.

@rverro8478 3 жыл бұрын

Indeed. Old gas will pull that trick on you. Thanks Don, for sharing.

@zoellar11 Жыл бұрын

I have watch plenty of "how to" videos over the years and this one ranks in the top three. Steady and simple video of the components and the work, simple explanation and great tips for people like myself who have mininum knowledge of small engine and their repairs. For me, I purchased a Westinghouse IGen 2500 last year, ran it once for about 30 minutes, let it run until it died (all gas out of the system) and stored it for a year. Yes, I know, I shouldn't let it sit for so much time. Several days ago, I tried to start it again with no luck. I pulled and pulled ...and pulled, no luck. It did start one time.....then five seconds later when I switched it from CHOKE to RUN, it died....and would not start again. I found your video which gave me the confidence (hey, I can do this) but this morning, before I was getting ready to remove the air filter and carburetor boot, I tried it to start it one more time....and on the second pull, it started and ran just fine. I"m ready for the next time it gives me trouble......Thanks again, A GREAT VIDEO!

@randystrand908 3 жыл бұрын

Excellent. Appreciate your video shots as you work and the clear way you speak to explain what you are looking for and what you are doing. THANK YOU

@jimurrata6785 3 жыл бұрын

All the waving around is making me seasick.

@Gordon_L 3 жыл бұрын

Years ago when my mother was still alive my folks asked me to look at their ride-on mower which would not start and would cough and backfire when being cranked . 17hp Intek , I pulled the carby bowl gave it a quick clean ( it wasn't dirty ) , pulled the flywheel to check the key ( it was fine ) , eventually became suspicious of the fuel which smelled petroly but maybe not quite right . I decanted a small quantity into a glass and an equal quantity of fresh petrol into a second glass and set both out in the sun . 24 hours later the fresh fuel was evaporated , the fuel from the mower was still mostly there . My dad had put diesel into the fuel tank on top of the remaining petrol . Seeing that yellow fuel at 7:15 reminded me of that troubleshooting episode from back then . Sometimes ( often ? ) the answer is very simple , you just have to find it :-)

@squatfreak1184 Жыл бұрын

Got a hurricane coming my way next week I’m trying this trick tomorrow!

@bigbear7456 3 жыл бұрын

You are an excellent teacher besides being a good mechanic. I look forward to your videos each week as I have learned a great deal from you. Thank you for taking the time and effort to make these videos.

@Techno_Nomadic 3 жыл бұрын

When using torch tip wires to clean jets remember the wires are steel and the jets are brass. Start with a smaller wire and work up. If you try to force too big a wire into the jet you could make a burr in the brass. The jet size can be fussy and a burr in there may undersize the hole or cause turbulence in the fuel flow.

@alexrivet1732 2 жыл бұрын

@@garny3766 Tubers? Don has been fixing stuff for a long time and has saved my countless hours of scratching my head fixing stuff. As mentioned the smaller jets are for EPA not the life or performance of the engine.

@JoSt5646 6 ай бұрын

@@alexrivet1732So... Does this mean if we remove the EPA jets... We actually get some real performance?

@alexrivet1732 6 ай бұрын

@@JoSt5646 I wouldn't say straight up performance gains. Too rich or too lean compromises power. But I'd rather be a little rich than lean.

@BrucesShop 3 жыл бұрын

On more mini generator that doesn't start. ARGH!!!!! Great explanation Don. You videos are the best.

@gordbaker896 3 жыл бұрын

Well done Super Don. Those are great Milwaukee drills too. Great Editing. Ethanol cause no doubt.

@tc3603 3 жыл бұрын

Nice vid Don. Great problem solving and diagnostic skill as always

@circuitbreaker9001 3 жыл бұрын

Had a generator like that but it was a Honeywell model. It would run but if you stopped it, it would not start. What I found out after reading the manual it stated to have the fuel tank full. Filled it up and it started. Found out it needed tank full to get the gas to flow to make it start. Bad design in my mind. Though I would share this

@tyroneclarke1666 3 жыл бұрын

Always enjoy watching your videos. I find them interesting and learn heaps too. Cheers 🇦🇺

@paullemay3218 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing this procedure. Greatly appreciated. 🇨🇦❤️

@samuelvelez1643 16 күн бұрын

DUDE: YOU'VE SAVED MY LIFE HERE; I JUST GOT A FIRMAN PORTABLE GENERATOR, AND IT'S EXACTLY THE SAME ENGINE AND I HAD QUITE SOME HEADACHE TRYING TO START IT UP. JUST SAW YOUR WONDERFUL VIDEO AND UH I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT TO DO WITH MY PORTABLE GENERATOR..... THANX A LOT FOR YOUR VIDEO

@kevinbyrne4538 3 жыл бұрын

You do beautiful work.

@richardstrada212 3 жыл бұрын

Another informative video for us DIYers. Thanks Don.

@MikeD-ne6ie 3 жыл бұрын

Great video Don! Clear instructions and expert knowledge, you are the best! Thanks for sharing!

@biggaspirit1 3 жыл бұрын

Nicely described and fulfilled thanks.

@roygoodlaxson9681 3 жыл бұрын

Very Good and Instructional. I enjoyed the video!

@tomrector8608 7 ай бұрын

Best small generator DIY repair that I've seen in a long time. Thanks!

@raynaldgodin3314 3 жыл бұрын

Good job Don, it's amazing that this kind of problem occur on a brand new machine.

@michaelchance9405 3 жыл бұрын

I really liked this video; I can work on this power unit after watching you go thru the steps! Thanks so much!

@jas350 3 жыл бұрын

Great diagnostic. Pretty quiet also. Thumbs up..

@suppaman12 11 ай бұрын

Hello. I have a Westinghouse i2500. It’s somewhat similar to this. I had same symptoms. I followed your steps and after 3 hours, I had her running again. Thanks so much for the guide. You’re the man👍

@joshbrucksch 3 жыл бұрын

Another great educational video, many thanks!

@CFProton 3 жыл бұрын

You always use great analytical technique to diagnose the problem.

@carlmiller1034 3 жыл бұрын

Great tips Don. Excellent video and repair. Never really work on any generators (inverters), so great to see how they are assembled. Thanks again.

@nashguy207 3 жыл бұрын

Great video with some great tips as always!!

@watermanone7567 3 жыл бұрын

Very good video Dony. Thanks

@donpizzo8963 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks again for more tips. Sending this channel out to more friends.

@donyboy73 3 жыл бұрын

thanks Don

@ronwatson4902 3 жыл бұрын

Don. How lucky can a guy be. I've got a Generac doing the exact same thing and now I can fix it. You just made my day. Thank You!

@SuperKwame1 3 жыл бұрын

As always Dony you are making us mechanics!

@garyrichardsjr7645 Жыл бұрын

Excellent Video! So clear and so well demonstrated! Thank You!!

@shawnfinley5827 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Dony your videos are very informative.👍

@francisstorry6753 2 жыл бұрын

Watch you for a long time ! You are THE MAN !

@hondavtrvic 3 жыл бұрын

Great video Don. I have a Honda EU20I similar size I will be definitely bookmarking this video. Keep up the great videos.

@lyles637 3 жыл бұрын

your videos are always awesome!

@1hjehje 2 жыл бұрын

A great repair. Thank you for the video.

@mr1pearl 3 жыл бұрын

Made that job easy nice work as always Dony !

@YukonHawk1 3 жыл бұрын

It really amazes me that people who buy these gensets NEVER put in fuel stabilizer. It's one of the golden rules of engine maintenance. Great video.

@hortyist1 2 жыл бұрын

Would you agree that using non ethanol fuel is easier with the same result? Or, does non ethanol require stabilizer as well?

@JoSt5646 6 ай бұрын

@@hortyist1I'm here with this exact problem - generator not starting - runs off starter in the intake only. I ran cali-crap gas and when the power to the house came back... I continued burning off the rest of the remaining fuel... Ran it dry (no load attached). Then for good measure poured some Tru-fuel in and ran it for ~5min-10min. Stored the generator. 3 months later we go to use it and we have this problem. So I'm not sure what these engines are so finicky about. I'm damn near ready to get a dual fuel one that runs off propane and/or regular unleaded.

@skipproctor8979 3 жыл бұрын

Great vid Don! I'm getting those torch tip cleaners today. Been using slick bread ties up til now. They are no serrated. Best, Skip

@stellarproductions8888 3 жыл бұрын

The most common failure in small engines, is varnish in the carburetor. Although, I sure as heck wasn't expecting that from a brand new generator! I am thinking maybe the guy had bad gas in his can, and poured it into the generator, and it wouldn't start on that. People need to remember to use fresh gas. And if your not going to be using the gas for several months, make sure you stabilize it. Excellent work as always Don!

@gkinchla5193 3 жыл бұрын

Great info as always!

@harrisonp3727 3 жыл бұрын

Nice, thanks Dony.

@paulkillough3672 3 жыл бұрын

You no you're a pretty smart guy and I appreciate all your video's man.thsnks

@edwardgalindo9607 3 жыл бұрын

Always watch your videos. I use a torch tip cleaning tool also but never thought about cutting off the non serrated tips. Thanks

@adnacraigo6590 3 жыл бұрын

You are a great teacher.

@Tigeronminibike Жыл бұрын

Solid video! Good order of troubleshooting steps,nothing extra, right to the point.

@12345678989814 3 жыл бұрын

I have a Ryobi 2300 watt that I bought when I got it it had less than 30 minutes of run time on it wasn't even broken yet and I got it used from a guy in the little side jet was what was stopped up it was surging clean the carburetor out and got it running like it should I got a fairly expensive generator for 290 bucks because it needed a jet cleaned out

@EgressMan2006 2 жыл бұрын

Great video! Easy to follow, very well done. It will be my go-to sight from now on.

@donyboy73 2 жыл бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

@kevinkauffunger4328 7 ай бұрын

Thank you! I’ve been struggling with a Northern Tool Powerhorse inverter that’s identical to this. Your video saved me time & money.

@seastacker8582 3 жыл бұрын

Nice work as always. I’m fortunate to have a station that sells e-0 locally. I also stabilize it when new. I hate those all in one switches since I like to shut fuel off and let the carbs run dry in generators and such.

@sistakee1090 3 жыл бұрын

Another great video!

@eyeba69 2 жыл бұрын

Amazing!! I completely forgot that little hole!! I cleaned all the Jets on the carburetor of my generator, on the fuel bypass and everywhere that I could think of but it would only start with the starter fluid, so I decided to ask google and it brought me here! That was the reason I couldn’t get it to start after cleaning the carburetor, anyhow, thank you so much for this great video!!

@seanbrenton55 3 жыл бұрын

My Hyundai 2000 (much older)turned out to be the spark plug, replaced with an ngk and it didn’t flood/foul anymore. It is still very sensitive to stale fuel and long periods of downtime. The compression release seems a bit too effective too. But with regular maintenance, it is a great unit to have around. Great vid as always Don!

@hphillips7425 3 жыл бұрын

I look forward to your videos I always learn something 👍🏻

@jeremybrain5774 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing Don . I’ll be looking for some torch tip cleaners.

@thebangshackjasonhadley5387 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for this video. I'm not a mechanic, and through this video I was able to successfully fix my generator. I really appreciate the assistance

@Denniejones 10 ай бұрын

I know this is 2 years old but I’ve looked for months and it never came up until today. The layout of my gen is almost exactly like this one. I was having big problems understanding the half written instructions on mine for removing or cleaning carb, jets and filter. This was so amazing and showed me exactly how and what I needed to do. Fingers crossed I too do nor have to remove entire carb! Thanks a million!!

@tjdoyle9780 2 жыл бұрын

Dude, i cant even believe it. I inherited a small 2 stroke genny and it would only fire up with starter fluid then die. I did so much stuff to that thing that i gave up and was assuming it was just dead. I cleaned out each jet (which i hesitated to do cause carbs always seemed so touchy to me) and it ran like i just bought the thing. Thank you so much for sharing this!

@Slyder2828 3 жыл бұрын

I had this problem on my Honda..bad gas sitting in the bowl..now I run the gas out to stall the unit then drain the bowl..no more problems😎👍

@FritzAdler Жыл бұрын

Saved my bacon on my Westinghouse! Yellow fuel and a plugged jet.

@jamesdrew8569 3 жыл бұрын

Excellent!

@stans5270 3 жыл бұрын

To remove the carb without removing all the housing, you can remove the studs [by double nutting the studs] and remove the studs with the carb if needed. The carb should just slide out. When storing my generator, I remove all the gas, run it empty, and then put a quart of stabilized 100% gas and run it for 5 minutes. That would be a video idea Donyboy. It will save a lot of people when they try to start them when needed.

@65csx83 3 жыл бұрын

I never 'store' my generator. Unlike a lawn mower or string trimmer, a generator can be needed in an emergency so I always leave a few quarts of gas in the tank. Periodically, if I haven't used it, I drain and replace the gas.

@ebachy 2 жыл бұрын

In this case, do you suppose the gas sat in the generator for a long time, or it was old in a gas can before being put in the generator? I have never seen any gas look that discolored. I usually drain/dump gas from my power tools and run them 'dry' for any period of disuse...but generators seem to be hard to manage that way... Is it recommended that the fuel be drained as shown in the video if not regularly used? I usually just keep them topped off to minimize air/moisture reacting with the gas and vents on caps close... I guess time will tell!

@ebfromwyoming4118 3 жыл бұрын

wow sir great job thks

@BearE9090 8 ай бұрын

Great tip about the eco mode for checking a dirty carb. Thanks

@douglarson5843 11 ай бұрын

This video made my repair happen. Thank you Dr.

@luuk-out-below9804 3 жыл бұрын

Good one!

@CrazyCanuckFitness 2 жыл бұрын

Excellent 👌. Thank you

@kellonpitts2650 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for the info, it's much appreciated.

@shermankearns200 3 жыл бұрын

Great job the idle jets are so small but you had the best job of making it a functional generator for the price of your knowledge

@theresahofstetter1339 9 ай бұрын

This is a very helpful video. What you have here matches my Wen 56200i exactly.

@norcoauctions 3 жыл бұрын

don the master.. thank you don for sharing

@drewthornton4684 3 жыл бұрын

Hi Don Have a good weekend

@donyboy73 3 жыл бұрын

thanks Drew, you too!

@tigpinky1147 Жыл бұрын

Excellent information!

@jjbode1 3 жыл бұрын

Useful, thanks

@robfahy3839 9 ай бұрын

Thanks. This helped me solve my problem.

@winstonclarke9221 3 жыл бұрын

Great Video Donny✌, I, learn a lot from this one, dave missed out on this video,

@queenstownkid 3 жыл бұрын

awesome video should hit 100k views ..thanks don

@joshuakoppeis6146 Жыл бұрын

Very helpful stuff! Ive got a generator (3 years new) has about 30 hours of run time... not starting up now. Might need to watch all your videos! lol wish me luck...

@green-zone36 3 жыл бұрын

Another great video. Thanks so much.

@donyboy73 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching!

@leandrocervantez9014 Жыл бұрын

Thank you so Much.. this video helped me, although it was a different brand and the setup was a tad bit different it still helped out tremendously. I watched other videos of my brand and none of them were as simply put as yours is. you got a subscriber for life

@donyboy73 Жыл бұрын

Great to hear!

@TheFiredragon52 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks ever soft spoken knowledgable Donyboy

@royzach8519 3 жыл бұрын

Love your videos and learn so much from them! Could I also use a mini/micro drill bit in a pin vise to clean a curburetor jet removed from the carburetor?

@brianbanks3044 3 жыл бұрын

it's amazing that a relatively new machine wouldn't run on older gas or the jets would clog up so quickly...i wonder if he got it running with some starter fluid and ran some carb cleaner if it would have cleaned out the jets eventually...something like techron or seafoam???.....i have started snowblowers that sat all summer with gas in them and once they got running after that first start , they ran all winter long...maybe I just got lucky...also, I don't own a generator myself but always want to learn so Great job Don...thanks for your time

@woodlandburl6648 3 жыл бұрын

Great job. Thanks!

@donyboy73 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching!

@MrKnacker74 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! I cleaned everything but the jet in the bowl. Generator hasn't ran in 10 years and the old fuel evaporated and left sediment in there. Good as new.

@deanmoore3776 3 жыл бұрын

Nice job

@randi740 2 жыл бұрын

Great Job!

@whoryder 2 ай бұрын

Did exactly what you said on a Harbor Freight 2000 which looks exactly the same on the inside and it started right up. Got the torch tip cleaner from ace hardware. Thanks a lot

@gdub629 10 ай бұрын

Great video!

@jordancoomer4191 2 жыл бұрын

Ask your guitar/string player friends for their old used strings. I've used them for years for cleaning carb jets. The 2 plain steel strings are useless, but the wound strings have are almost identical texture to the jet clearing tool in this video!

@adamb1671 Жыл бұрын

Great idea !

@MariaGonzalez-ei1pv 2 жыл бұрын

Great job.

@chisel83 3 жыл бұрын

Good video thanks Dony. I wonder if fresh fuel alone would have done the trick?

@smacmoyle Жыл бұрын

Thanks a million. This generator is basically the same as the Northern tools 2300 watt generator. The jet in the side was completely plugged. I cleaned it out and it started on the second pull.