Starting a Generator After Long Storage – How to Get Your Generator Running Again

From our series of tips and tricks on petrol inverter generators – this time: fuel problems. Why won't your petrol generator start any more, or why does it keep revving up and running rough? It's autumn. The generator you used over the summer for your hobbies – your allotment, camping or parties, for example – is neatly stored away in the garage or cellar. After the short, cold days are over, you want to use your inverter again. Suddenly the unit behaves completely differently from what you're used to. The petrol generator that ran perfectly last time won't start, or it runs very rough and the engine keeps surging up and down.

Fuel and Carburettor

The cause of this problem is the fuel. Petrol generally loses its volatile components very quickly – as the saying goes, the good gases are the first to go. In other words, small quantities of petrol quickly lose their ability to ignite. This depends, of course, on the amount of fuel, but also on how much air reaches the petrol. Petrol keeps indefinitely in a tightly sealed container – but when stored open, it only stays usable and ignitable for a few months. In our case, this means that the residual fuel sitting in the carburettor of the inverter generator evaporates relatively quickly, and you have to pull the recoil starter more often to start the inverter. With FME generators with an electric starter, starting is of course much more convenient. But even then, you have to keep trying to start the engine until the old, non-ignitable petrol has been cleared out of the carburettor and fresh fuel has flowed in. If the fuel sits in the carburettor for longer, it first evaporates and then even begins to absorb moisture from the air. This is because petrol always contains a certain proportion of so-called biofuel. As a result, the carburettor becomes gummed up with deposits. At that point, the carburettor has to be opened and cleaned. We will explain how to clean a carburettor in our videos. How often old petrol has been left in the carburettor – and above all for how long – determines how badly it is clogged.

Cleaning the Carburettor

Most carburettors just need cleaning. However, some are so heavily contaminated that they have to be replaced. That said, cleaning or replacing a carburettor is a relatively quick and simple job. In such a case, the problem lies with today's fuels rather than any shortcoming of the generators. There have also been attempts to get around this issue with fuel injection systems, but the problem exists there too – and it is much easier to clean a carburettor than a petrol injection system.

The Solution

To prevent the carburettor from gumming up, we recommend simply closing the fuel tap the last time you run the generator, so that the carburettor and fuel lines run dry. Alternatively, you can open the drain screw on the carburettor and let the remaining fuel drain out. If you prepare your generator like this for a longer period of storage, you won't have any fuel problems and will be able to put the unit back into service quickly and easily.

Here is a quick summary of what you need to bear in mind regarding the fuel.

- Run the carburettor dry or drain the petrol via the drain screw on the carburettor - Close the fuel cap and set the vent to “OFF”.

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