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From: Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.tech
Subject: Re: rec tech mower
Date: Sun, 13 Apr 2025 00:09:23 -0700
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On Sat, 12 Apr 2025 07:45:49 -0500, AMuzi <am@yellowjersey.org> wrote:

>On 4/12/2025 1:05 AM, John B. wrote:
>> On Fri, 11 Apr 2025 21:58:01 -0700, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>
>> wrote:

>>> You might have a "gel" problem, where old gasoline and fuel stabilizer
>>> form a gelatinous goo that plugs up the carburetor.  I suggest you
>>> avoid fuel stabilizer or cycle your mower gas through your automobile
>>> every 6 months or so.  Carb cleaner will soften the gel, but is
>>> difficult to remove from the passages, jets and emulsion tube from the
>>> inside of the carburetor without using an ultrasonic cleaner.

>+1

Thanks.

>Ethanol is food for bacteria which make a biofilm goo in all 
>the hard to reach passages and ports.  The extra water from 
>condensation only speeds that process.

Thanks.  I didn't know that.  

A friend bought a new Generac ix2000 inverter generator just in time
for the CZU fire in Aug/Sept 2020.
<https://www.google.com/search?q=generac%20ix2000&udm=2>
Fortunately, he was not in the burn area.  I think he used the
generator for about 3 weeks, until utility power was restored.  After
that, the generator just sat in an outdoor shed for 3 years with the
gas tank half full and fuel bowl probably full.  Despite my warnings,
he didn't want to drain the fuel system.  Instead, he decided to add
some random amount of fuel stabilizer.  Bad idea.  My guess(tm) is he
added too much stabilizer.  When he finally got around to test
starting the generator in Summer 2023, it wouldn't start, even with
starter fluid (same an carb cleaner).  That's when I got involved.
Just one problem.  It was a month after I had hiatal hernia surgery
and I really didn't feel like doing the work.  So, he let it sit (full
of old fuel) for another year.  I snooped around the fuel system, with
a borescope, and found every place where water might collect had a
layer of gel.  Most of the fuel lines had either become ossified or
softened to gum.  Moving any of the lines cause them to leak.  The gas
tank had a nice new crack in the bottom.  The fuel bowl and gas tank
contained some awful smelling gasoline on top of a thick layer of gel.
The fuel bowl was also badly rusted.  I estimated about $250 (2024
prices) in parts to replace almost the entire fuel system with cheap
non-OEM parts.  My guess is about 10 hrs labor or 20 hrs if the owner
helps.  It's now a little less than a year later and I'm still waiting
for the owner to buy the parts.

So, why did I mention this generator?  Because it had an unusually
large amount of gel in the fuel system.  It hasn't been that humid,
but the generator was stored outdoors with only a fitted plastic
covering to keep the rain out.  My guess(tm) is he poured twice the
recommended amount of Sta-Bil in the tank.  Maybe more.  

Meanwhile, the owner has a camper with a Champion (forgot the model
number) inverter generator, which was also stored outdoors.  The
camper is shared by about 5 family "investors", who share the
maintenance on the camper, pickup, solar panels, and generator.  The
solar panels and LiFePO4 battery have largely eliminated the need for
a generator, but since the camper leans slightly without the
generator, it comes along as ballast.

In the past 4 or 5 years, no sign of any gel or rust in the Champion
generator.  Each "investor" has their own idea of how to take care of
the Champion generator.  Not a problem because I established the rules
and wrote the regular maintenance checklist.  In trade for herding the
family investors, I get to borrow the pickup truck for occasional
visits to local dump.  The checklist includes "no fuel stabilizer" and
"rotate fuel through one of the vehicles every 6 months"[1].  At 6
months, the fuel system does not need any stabilizer and the rotation
gets rid of the water.  If time permits, we decant the fuel into a
suitable container (2L soda pop bottles) and remove as much water as
possible from the bottom with a syringe.


[1] The Generac is a 2 stroke and therefore requires some oil in the
gas.  The Champion is a 4 stroke, which does not require oil.



-- 
Jeff Liebermann                 jeffl@cruzio.com
PO Box 272      http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Ben Lomond CA 95005-0272
Skype: JeffLiebermann      AE6KS    831-336-2558