3 Abandoned Predator Generators - Will They Run?

These Predator generators were left behind at an off grid house. The new owner of the house wanted them gone. So I bought them for $60 each. They were advertised as non running. Will they run again or will they be parts? Lets find out.
Generator Model: Item: 63086
Generator Model: Item: 63970
Generator Model: Item: 63967
Governor Spring: 19113
I use Harbor Freight Super Heavy Duty Degreaser in my ultrasonic cleaner.
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#GeneratorRepair #SmallEngineRepair #SmallEngine #Troubleshooting #WillItRun
301cc, 302cc, 420cc, 63086, 63967, 63970, Bad Rings, Blown Conrod, Blown Engine, Blown Head Gasket, Connecting Rod, Conrod, Cracked Block, Engine Teardown, Fixed, Generator, Governor Droop, Governor Spring, Hertz, Honda Clone, How To Remove a Rotor, How To, How a Governor Works, How-To, Insulation Test, Load Test, Low Oil, No Compression, Ohms, Predator Generator, Resistance Test, Small Engine, Smoking Engine, Stator Removal, Stator, Stuck Engine, Thown Rod, Troubleshooting, Valve Adjustment, Valve Stem Seal, Volts

[@notprovided2823]

My family and I really appreciate your calm voice and matter of fact way of reporting of what you see or what you surmise. The fact that you can have successes or failures without using vulgar language makes you one of our top subscriptions. Thank you for communicating like a gentleman.

[@Farm_fab]

Jim, I worked for a home builder that used generators and air compressors to power their jobsite, and they changed the oil in them every week, no fail. This is one of the things that preserves the life of portable equipment of this type.

[@lewiemcneely9143]

Old Briggs books said every 20 hours run time.

[@BlackCharger-xd4zx]

I love you all you love you all love you love love you all love you love love you all love you love love you all love you love

[@BlackCharger-xd4zx]

I just don’t know how much she loves you and love her love you all love you love love you all love you love love you all love you love love you all love you

[@carllockpick6179]

Certain people, just ignore maintenance.

[@benjurqunov]

Wow ! Another Trump supporter...

[@martyb3783]

Using hydraulic pressure to remove the rotor is the coolest trick I have ever seen!

[@draperj7597]

I had to go back to see this, somehow it got past me. But i have to agree, it is one of the coolest tricks ive ever seen as well.

[@bubba6945]

yes it works but oil or grease is easier to seal off than water but whatever works

[@wades623]

Using some sort of liquid is pretty common for pulling primary clutches on snowmobiles. If you don't there is a good chance you'll bend or break the tool

[@DMS20231]

Yep that was amazing.

[@nikknm08]

That was pretty interesting, another thing I learned working on Generac standby Gens per disassembly instructions, it tells you to sacrifice old long rotor screw/bolt, cutting off the hex head and a small bit length, cut a slot to screw it back into the engine shaft so it allows you to screw in larger bolt into rotor shaft end to put force against engine shaft(thro old screw) and brake rotor free from engine that way. All warranty jobs that require that type of disassembly came with replacement long screw/bolt.

[@nobodyimportant6141]

Working for Honeywell for 23 yrs makes me appreciate your excellent troubleshooting skills. You also have the best videography on youtube.

[@jcondon1]

Thanks

[@royhedrick8099]

When a machine has been stored outside like that it is possible moisture can be throwing your readings. To be certain the armature is bad we used to cook the parts at about 200degrees in an oven for about an hour and recheck. Quite often they would check fine after that and worked well.

[@fromagefrizzbizz9377]

Even without that, I would usually expect multi-mega ohm readings to frame are simply dirt on the slip rings with a bit of conductivity. Once you have the power head off and a chance to wipe/dry the slip rings, check 'em again.

[@tihspidtherekciltilc5469]

You're the only other person that's mentioned what I've done for decades.

[@shanesgettinghandy]

@TIHS PID the REKCIL TILC Hah, your name is cracking me up...😂

[@tihspidtherekciltilc5469]

@@shanesgettinghandy !!!sknahT

[@majord.532]

@@shanesgettinghandy 🤣

[@jeepstermario9912]

you are wonderful instructor, your passion to teach is greater than most of my instructors in trade school I ever had or in the field. Great job and great content.

[@DWerk]

Super help to a lot of DIYers. Great job - thanks.

[@chrismarshall4523]

I've been a mechanic for over 20 years and never saw the technique with water pressure. Brilliant!!!

[@mjg263]

Having multiple parts when you need them is probably worth more than the unit itself anyway. Good stuff!

[@ouch1011]

So wait, the previous owner of the house went through 3 generators in 5 years? That’s insane. Either they did zero maintenance on those generators and ran them dry, or they’re junk (or both).

[@christopherhardie1050]

I've had a predator generator for over 10 years now and it still starts up with 5 pulls.

[@andyhamilton8940]

I agree with your valve seal decision. The head is at such an angle that any residual oil would run back to the pushrod galley and not puddle around the seal.

[@AntonioClaudioMichael]

Nice work explaining how the governor works with the engine block that is open from the top so you can see the governor

[@kenjohnson5498]

Anytime i use a predator engine i always go through and re-torque everything i can before using it. They have a terrible QC dept evidently. The 301 and 302 cc are the same linkage and spring set up so you can order for a 301 and it will work on the 302.

[@cheapcookies]

As mentioned many times below, by others, it is *not* the valve stem seal. The oil ring is not doing its job controlling the amount of oil it should have anymore and the 2nd ring is not scraping adequately on downstroke, the excess oil is ending up between the top and second lands of the piston. As the engine warms up, there is enough metal expansion to minimize the problem and visible oil smoke. When it cools down, the excess oil pushed to the top is pooling in the cylinder after shutoff. (Take a borescope peek when it's cold and look at the small puddle on the piston's bottom side). On cold startup, out the exhaust it goes. The solution is new rings, hone the cylinder and break in the rings over several cold-hot cycles. And as you always do anyway, change the oil in 5-10 hours. I have a Firman (Chinese Honda clone engine) with exactly the same problem and am debating on ringing it or living with it. The Chinese (usually Honda clone) engines are not proving themselves, as evidenced by the shortness of their engine life and plethora of problems that arise after a year or so of use, regardless of the load/how often they are run. The real Honda/Subaru Robin/ and even older B&S engines hardly ever suffer these problems, in my experience. I blame the inconsistency of Chinese steel for the short life of their products. They are meant to make it past their warranty expiration and that's about as far as they make it.

[@GunfighterWyo]

Moral of the story is to purchase a generator with a known brand name engine, Honda, Robin, Kohler, B&S, or other known good brand. The knock offs are changed just enough to avoid patent and other infringements lawsuits. They are just like the gonna pop Chinese trailer tires.

[@jonminer9891]

Hello, James. Both those generators have spent a lot of time with Mr. Dante. Not sure how far they descended, but suffer they did. Thanks for sharing! Stay Healthy!

[@rich10849]

Your skills are totally amazing James. Your ability to record and edit videos makes you want to watch them and your knowledge covering what you're demonstrating makes you glad you watched them.

[@mrlister2000]

In the last 6 months I had 3 new generators replaced! The first Power King needed the bushes and AVR replaced after 2 months! The the same unit threw an earth point and the dangling wire kept arcing to the frame, causing a burning smell. The company replaced that with a 8kw Wolf generator and that one lasted 3 weeks before the engine seized. The replacement Wolf arrived and that last 4 months before that snapped the top off the valve. After speaking with theretailer it turns out the previous machine had done exactly the same but that valve snapped and dropped in to the engine killing it. I've had that one refunded and bought a P1 powered by a Hyundai 16hp engine, 8kw, from Amazon. Yesterday after 4 hours of running time, not continuous, in the sweltering UK heat, the engine refused to start up on my next job! Glad to report this morning it fired up with no issues. I wouldn't mind if the generators were going all day every day but they are used around 4 hours per day in total, but not continuously as I travel from one job to the next fitting tyres. My very first Wolf professional generator was still going after 5.5 years but i decided to get a new one as I can't afford to be without power, and thought getting a new one would last me at least another few years. Worst decision I ever made as I sold this unit and its still going strong powering a mobile catering van at the weekends for 8 hours per day! I love your videos by the way. You are very methodical!

[@wildefox1478]

It's a shame the first 2 generators had junk engines but at least they had lots of good parts and saved some other units, at least you were able to save one of them, nice work James!

[@tristanschaper281]

One of your best videos!! That trick to hydraulically impact the bolt to pop the gen free, is genius! I never thought of that. Awesome job!!

[@jeremiahjorenby2275]

Fun fact (and I know this sounds counter intuitive, but it works) the closer you put the spring to the governor shaft, the more sensitive/responsive the governor will be. The only way I learned this was from a Onan NHC service manual. Since then I've been moving tons of governor springs on my equipment to the hole that is closest to the governor shaft. The usual side effect is some mild surging, but under a heavy load that goes away. So if you're having issues with frequency droop, give this a try.

[@generessler6282]

There are a few past videos where he does this.

[@tacomas9602]

That helped me set up the PTO generator to run smoothly on my garden tractor. Thanks for your random comment !

[@beaviswashere8009]

I would buy/make a spring tension meter to compare springs for the governor. The strength is affected by the spring material, which is hard to judge by eye. Yes springs are a pain when they are used like this and kind of "look" the same. Probably not worth it, but would be fun to see ! Thanks for all of your videos!

[@KensSmallEngineRepair]

Changing the moment arm length probably helped as you said Jim, affecting sensitivity

[@adamdnewman]

Would be a neat tool

[@generessler6282]

Good idea. I'd think you could rig something simple that dangles the spring vertically, then hang calibrated weights over it. Some kind of ruler and pointer to measure the stretch.

[@davidelliott5843]

Luggage scales do the job for heavier springs. Lighter strength tension scales will be available.

[@matthewcarpenter596]

Fishing scales would probably work too

[@kennethgroves6552]

Clearly abused by their previous owner. Nicely done. I love purchasing items like this and resurrecting them. I purchased a Champion 3500w Generator for 50 U.S. Pesos. After replacing the recoil rope, a valve adjustment, oil change & cleaning the main jet. It has purred. Never failing me. Champion could have done a better job on the governor. (As in a buffer.) At no load it likes to hunt a little. That is only a minor annoyance. When loaded, it runs at a constant speed. I expect too much from a Chinineseium product. The AVR is accurate it holds 122 VAC at around 59.7 Hz. I have also worked on Predators, which are ok, IF MAINTAINED AND NOT ABUSED. Anny way..... Nicely done Sir. Happy Holidays.

[@jcondon1]

The hunting is just because it is jetted a little lean. Pretty common these days with new machines.

[@chuckmayerchak3071]

James I really enjoyed your video. Those two engines had some severe carnage! I must say I was a bit disappointed that you didn't go a bit further on the smoking generator. At least a leak down test. Also removing the crankcase vent from the air filter while running would show evidence of blow by. Valve seals can often be had by valve stem diameter. A good NAPA store could possibly match something for you??? To me the way that engine clears up after a few minutes I would highly suspect valve seals and or guide problems. I would think an oil ring would keep on smoking. I also realize even a good preditor generator may not be as valuable as a so called name brand??? I also wonder if a small dose of "snake oil" although I'm not a big fan may help swell those valve seals and free a stuck ring if that was the case?? Again not criticizing your decision I'm only throwing out my thoughts. Keep the great videos coming!

[@markmoran9716]

Thanks James, you always provide great videos.

[@QuanntumAI]

Your ability to record and edit videos makes you want to watch them and your knowledge covering what you're demonstrating makes you glad you watched them.

[@courtneykensington8190]

I really appreciate how much detail and explanations you give with each video 😊

[@mrobi5797]

Wow. Fixing 4 other generator with 3 used one. Pretty good value. Funny how destiny made you select first, the two that seem better, but were not repairable, and the worst looking one (third one) was the one fixable. Also, great job at cleaning it. It shows attention to details. Keep the good work, we need people like you in this world.

[@wrangler6977]

One man’s junk is another man’s treasure. Looks like you made out alright w/ the purchase of these three.

[@robertmorin6495]

Fun watching you sort through these. Glad the parts could help with other machines.

[@goofe.washington953]

At around 1:20 or so, the explanation of how the governor works, as it interplays with the spring and maintains equilibrium, was the best I’ve ever heard. Excellent.

[@goofe.washington953]

Correction: that’s 1:1:20, not 1:20.

[@goofe.washington953]

I give up - Correction #2: that’s 1:20:00.

[@JDLarge]

Parts is parts! I’m psyched for you seeing that having junk to begin with you’ve still come out on top. I know it’s a balance but you definitely pulled a win out of these three scores. Thank you for the tutelage sir, you’re one heck of an instructor! 👍🏼👍🏼 from this guy! Looking forward to your next challenge!✌🏼

[@mikewilson8594]

I learned one thing from this video. I'll stick with my Honeywell Generators, at least for now. That's what we ran on our firetruck and rescue vehicles when I worked there.

[@randybobandy9828]

How is that what you learned? You're making your assessment of the generators quality on 3 abandoned generators that probably had a few thousand hours on them and weren't maintained properly? Predator generators have a great reputation for being inexpensive and very reliable.

[@jeffclark2725]

We have OffGrid homes around my area also a good source for spare parts,can really rack up the hours on a machine, Good find for all the spare parts

[@martinwalters3457]

Yes I learned more about gen. Today then in trade school . Thank you for showing me step by step and explaining each step. Anyone can follow you and fix their gen

[@haneyoakie14]

Nice work and well worth my time watching you save the one and donor part to save 4 more (so far). As always, your in-depth explanations and your sharing your thought process provides the greatest strength of your teaching for us, the viewer. I always appreciate your candor, like when you include your trips down the dead end roads and the things that fool you, because we will travel the same path and have the same problems. I learn more from my mistakes than I do from my successes and I am happy you share your challenges with us. Thank you for top notch content.

[@lewiemcneely9143]

My old Onan smokes like that but clears up after a bit as well. You did good fixing the 4 but that's what it's all about. BLESSINGS!

[@krzysztofsoja5301]

Hello. I had similar problem with excessive smoking on the engine startup with my lawn mower. I was worrying about rings or valve stem seal failure. It turns out there was a little bit too much oil in the crankcase; somehow oil has been pushed through the breather to the airbox causing really bad smoking at startup. I removed around 50ml and it fixed the problem for good. Actually I was surprised with excessive oil level, because when changing oil I removed every last bit of old one (changed when hot plus I've added cleaner so it was much thinner than usually). Hint for me was the spark plug - was covered in residue suggesting engine is burning excessive amount of oil and inside of the airbox - covered in oil. It was such a relieve not to have to disassemble the engine to fix the problem 😄

[@carllockpick6179]

Make sure fuel is not getting into the oil.

[@NotThePulla]

I've been loving watching through your videos man. Great production quality, you do an awesome job of educating the viewer throughout the process of each troubleshooting tactic, you had to have been a teacher at some point or had some incredible educators, or you just have a natural ability to concisely talk through your process. I cant get enough, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge, Ive only scratched the surface but wow ive learned so much about generators thanks to you.

[@TerryLawrence001]

I love the list of search tags you added to the end of the description! All that in one video! Wow

[@arthurbiringer5676]

Great video! You really know your way around these gensets. And yes, I’ll watch it to the end!

[@hirampritchard5588]

Wow, ratchet straps, PB Blaster / WD 40 all that was needed was duck tape and the trifecta of in house repair work would have been achieved. Once again I learned something. Thanks

[@johndost3087]

Thanks for your thoughtfulness and logical troubleshooting I was able to epair my own generator. It's a relatively new Westinghouse wd9500df and from new only ran 48hz. As it turned out the adjustment screw bracket for the run speed and govenator had a weld broken. To make a long story short, the other weld broke while trying to straighten the bracket out. I then drilled two holes and put in screws and washers then bent the bracket straight. Then backed the screw out and started the engine. With my kilowatt adjusted to speed to 60.5 hz which held solid under load. Again thanks for your great videos. Keep up the good work.

[@ddblairco]

another great video, I was looking forward to you powering your house when the power went out. I was a little disappointed when it came on so quickly. keep up the great work, thank you.

[@stuckinthe60s69]

Nice to see you "de-bugging" a generator. Ants in the GFI is something new. Whoever ends up with that generator needs to have a good stock of oil on hand. No wonder it had a low oil light. Always enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work!

[@tarstarkusz]

It's hard to imagine how it would save any money to not repair the pole and instead burn gas every day for 5 years. Unless he has a large battery bank to save the power, this thing will just burn gasoline all day and night. Even when gas was somewhat cheaper, that is still not a good option.

[@sungbyun3224]

Thank you so much for explaining the purpose of the governor. I always wanted to know the purpose of it and how it tries to reach that equilibrium. Please continue to teach as you make these repairs for us newbies. Thanks again for the wonderful videos you are making. I can watch your video all day.

[@erichandyauto]

I've always thought and felt that Harbor Freight makes throw-away tools. You use the tool for as long as it lasts and then just throw it away. Seeing that repair parts are not available for this engine, your video reiterates my conclusions. Thank you so much for sharing.

[@AndrewTa530]

Thanks for your videos! Many decades of information being conveyed.

[@BBDragon66]

Very thorough and much information can be drawn from this video. Thanks!

[@kenwheelock2740]

amazing that you know all of this, engine, generator head......thanks for showing this really appreciate it

[@percival23]

There is just something hysterical about a guy who fixes generators to say: "Hey ...the power just went out" Thanks for that James.

[@billrimmer5596]

Almost a million views. Since I discovered your channel, I have been binge watching. What a wonderful family man u r. And what patience u have!! Does the wife help with camera and editing? Anyhow, I have about a billion more to watch. Thank u, and keep up the great work!!

[@krg038]

Great videos. New generator, Changed the oil after first 5 hr run. Just like you said that swirl of silver was there. Thanks for all your tips and knowledge sharing.

[@Channel-gz9hm]

That's impressive to destroy that many generators in such a similar manner. Makes me lean towards operator error (stupidity). It's pretty unlikely to be anything else.

[@neilmorten6416]

I agree, most likely an "ID 10 T" error code

[@JonnyMac351]

Probably ran them out of oil

[@carllockpick6179]

It takes about 30 minutes, to change oil, spark plug, and air filter, no excuse. People must have money, to throw away.

[@coreybabcock2023]

@@carllockpick6179 I got my wen 3800 running so well bought it for 300

[@Wa_g3]

@@carllockpick6179 ugt

[@stephenbridges2791]

I would think that amount of smoke is a ring issue. It is difficult to imagine how that much oil would pool and stay around the intake with it being that high up. If it were blown through the crank vent across the seals it would still be a ring issue. Good to see you not lose a lot of money on two and a half basket cases.

[@Chris.Y.054]

Jim, Thanks for another informative video. She was a long one this week. See ya next Thursday!

[@tihspidtherekciltilc5469]

In 99 I lost my rusted but trusted 79 Ford pickup to hurricane Dennis trying to get home with the generator we borrowed from the company we worked for because our beer was getting warm. At the time we could only carry light items as the wind was at 100mph plus and sand hurts at that speed. Overnight the ocean had flipped the truck so there were tools buried everywhere including the generator which I really didn't want to have to pay for. The morning of the third day the wind and ocean had calmed enough that I could and did take the old diesel work truck we also borrowed out to recover the generator and whatever else we could get quickly as water was still coming over. Long story short it took three days of soaking the parts of the generator in reverse osmosis water to get the salt and corrosion out not to mention sand sand and more sand. I got it working and was told that they were going to sell it off for $50 anyways as it was old and leaked oil. Sold. I still have it too and sand still vibrates out when running.

[@fayiznalu8411]

Excellent save for $60.00👍

[@steveheld8869]

love your channel! I'm a carpenter not a mechanic but I was able to fix my lawn mower (Craftsman T1600 with a briggs) after watching you. Bent aluminum push rod. Thanks

[@mbazzy123]

Thank you for the governer and spring relationship and function. I have never really understood the mechanism of action with these components well done !

[@donutz1]

👏👏That was awesome James! Great Job on explaining everything so clearly. That water pressure release was insane!! Cant wait to try that one, and so good to know I need ALOT of tape to make it happen. I much prefer your methods and techniques over my old crush ... "theres your dinner". Thank you James for not yelling at me. 🤫

[@tonythompson7448]

You got your money back on just the starter charger coil an flywheel James you didn't go wrong for sure

[@brianwood5220]

Great job James, you're saving so much from going to land fill. Thanks for sharing

[@johncourtneidge]

As always, James, excellent work. Most enjoyable. Thank-you!

[@jeffjohnsisland5551]

Five years off grid due to owner being unable to repair power poles is amazing. I wonder what the cost of gas, maintenance and generators was for the five years compared to the cost of repairing the power poles. Generating off grid electricity via fossil fuels isn’t cheap compared to utility cost.

[@s3dghost]

Same thought running through my mind...

[@pehden]

3 generators later lol

[@markheintz1878]

Many years ago my electric company was charging 500 a pole and so much a foot for the wire. I can't remember exactly on the wire but it was high. It stopped me from buying many different parcels I looked at back then.

[@Rubberfoxy]

@@markheintz1878 is there no insurance in the states??

[@yohanathandowns9057]

Of course there is ​@Rubberfoxy

[@jameskenney5623]

Lookup Vice Grip Garage and try an Italian tune up on the smoking machine. There a good chance it'll come around again. For $4 it's worth a shot.

[@sgtJOOSEcapeS]

Great day for upload 😊... today Will be a great day... morning 🌄 Sir

[@er1073]

James hey you got your monies worth an got 4 generators to sell and a bonus learned even more valuable information. Thanks for sharing old smoky might last for years like this. Ed

[@octaviofuentes7781]

I WATCHED the entire video very entertaining content thanks for sharing my man looks like you have some good knowledge on this things keep up the good work

[@davidtimmermann7226]

I like videos like this because i can learn a lot about the products with more assured honesty than what I'd find in regular product reviews.

[@geoffreyhall7843]

thanx for the tutorial on the generator (and most engines) governor components. Well described and informative.

[@rstephe]

Nice. Way to reutilize as much as possible. Saving money fixing them means you can save money to those who need them.

[@RC-fu6hg]

Great video! 👍 it was longer but it was worth it. I was amazed at the damage on the 2 bad units. And surprised the other one ran so good with all those hours on it.

[@MacGyver-1]

I hope nobody gets an idea that these generators are complete junk from this video, these actually are worth the price when comparing them to any other of the Chinese Honda clone generators from Briggs, generac, Honeywell, lifan, and many others. Proper break-in and oil changes keeps these running well for at least 1500 to 2k hours. The first two probably never had an oil change since new.

[@jimthesoundman8641]

Well, he must have bought at least four over five years. If we suppose he was running them 24/7, then he was getting about 11,000 hours out of each one before failure. Probably never changed the oil at all and that lead to the failure on each of them.

[@jcondon1]

The original owner definitely got his moneys worth on these. It does not take long to run up thousands of hours on a generator when living off grid. These are meant for temporary emergency power and not expect to last much more then 1500 hours or run 24x7. But they can last a lot longer if properly maintained and a little bit of luck. I wish that had an hour counter. It would have been interesting to see how many hours they had on them.

[@5toolman6]

@@jcondon1 Well at least you solved the mystery where the bearing race came from.

[@chuklee7523]

I have two of them. They run great. Change the oil every 50 hours.

[@4Him4u2]

…and, were probably run for hours and hours every day, being off-grid.

[@passenger6735]

An excellent description of how the governor system works. Thanks. I know you can't source parts but it's MUCH more likely to be the rings rather than the valve stem seal. A quick re-hone with one of those attachments that fit on a drill or criss cross pattern yourself with some fine sandpaper to bust the glaze, and a re-ring will put many useful hours back in the engine.

[@James1095]

Those Harbor Freight engines are so cheap, it's probably easier to just buy a whole engine to get parts. Might talk to some of the guys that build go kart racing engines too, they often start out with a brand new engine and replace a whole bunch of parts right out of the box with aftermarket upgrades so they have stock parts left over.

[@andrewgrace4410]

Great work James, thanks for the governor explanation 😊

[@stiggywatts4258]

Thank you James, yet another brilliant and informative video.

[@tombauer7330]

Excellent video, James. Thank you.

[@AZVIDS]

Awesome “marathon video”! Cannot believe both those cases were cracked open like that. 3:1 gennie conversion with lots of extra parts👍

[@jr7003]

James, you are amazing! You should are a great teacher! You know what your doing and can explain it!

[@mrpetit2]

Awesome way to spend 1 hour and 49 minutes 😁😄👍

[@AntonioClaudioMichael]

Looks brand new even though it had been outside its entire life

[@siegfriedjunghans]

Hey James, thanks for the great videos. I watch every video of yours and I can only thank you for the wealth of knowledge you impart in them. I myself am a lover and collector of all kinds of emergency generators. You have my full respect for your knowledge and your human and friendly nature. Many greetings from Germany 😊😊😊

[@bobmcnelis3648]

Never had internet much luck with blaster or Wd. Mystery oil has been my go to, since then. Love your channel, I’ve learned a lot from you Steve!!

[@bobmcnelis3648]

Damn spell check!

[@Dr.-Smart]

i have the feeling when the engines were bought , they might have not gotten a proper "burn in" run , instead just ran out of the box without much attention paid to it and perhaps that caused his almost similar damage to all three generators

[@OakesProject]

I agree. Looks like they were ran until they were out of oil and grenaded. Notice the 3rd engine was low on oil. BTW, how much oil did you have to pour in that one to top it off James?

[@matt_1984_]

i'm betting so. Predator is the "cheapo" harbor freight brand, the 6500s are going for about $700 bucks. I could see someone thinking "oh, i'll just run it till it dies then get a new one" or it had poor quality control from the factory...

[@michaeltarasenkoop2389]

It’s amazing that most all generators are of the same configuration as to the lay out of the generator from the end of the power head as if they are all the same make !

[@michaeltarasenkoop2389]

why would he live off grid for 5 years ? The generators cost more than the power from the grid ?

[@m9ovich785]

Thanks James. The 3rd one is the best of the 3 and you almost let it get away LOL Mike M.

[@imouse3246]

You should take a borescope with you when you check out 'new' acquisitions. 😅

[@JsRazza]

Finally. I always suspected which state you were filming from. Now after your drive, confirmed! Hello neighbor!

[@aat2853]

Although I don't have generators, I'm learning so much from your videos, basically how to use different tools. That alone worth $$$ to me, as I didn't have anyone to show these things.

[@AntonioClaudioMichael]

Great to see you back at it hmm some predator generators wow only 60 bucks

[@anthonyrespass3090]

James thanks for the video I learned a lot listen to most of it while fixing the chicken yard good night and God bless

[@bobadam7021]

I have seen race car engines put a window in a block and do less damage then that. I have never seen a small engine block obliterated to that extent. That was an impressive failure. I really wish you would have said what you were asking for the smoker. How about running something like seafoam or B12 through it, maybe there is some carbon on the oil ring and it sticks until it warms up. I bet the combustion chamber is as bad as the other two so getting some of that carbon off can only help.

[@jimbrown9885]

I always appreciate your inclusion of HF mid and prosumer lines.

[@butler386]

Glad you were able to make other generators run with the parts machines. To bad for those engines though. Makes me wonder if they guy just ran them to low on oil for to long and they were damaged beyond repair. Great video at any rate. Thanks for the videos.

[@venenareligioest410]

Major, epic video! Superb, thanks James 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@sourkraut6248]

One of the best vids I've seen on yotube ..... I was like my dog watching a squirrel.....

[@troyyarbrough]

At 1:03:10 when it said "no more smoke" my first thought was "Yeah, it's out of oil." lol

[@poppydogz]

Wow a marathon on Generator video's, cheers James 🍻

[@sherischneider2390]

My husband uses a 4' air nozzle to blow dirt and leaves off before bringing most things in the shop. That keeps the shop cleaner and makes inspection and repairs easier. It gets a lot of dirt off without the potential problems of pressure washing them. He got the idea from a manufacturing plant the shot-peened all metal brought into the shop. That minimized the smoke and weld contamination from the oil and scale on metal sheets and other metal. PS; Great video. Thanks

[@jaredfisher5047]

Excellent video, my back up generator is a predator from HF and it runs great. I fire it up every few months and let it run and change out the oil as well. It is also garage kept so it still looks brand new years later. But I'll be able to refer to this video to diagnosis any potential issues. Thank you!

[@Barracuda48082]

Awesome work James. You are a pro no doubt. Thumbs up everytime.