Junked DuroStar Generator | Is it Junk or Will it Run Again?

Paid the scrape price for this Durostar generator. Is is scrap? Lets find out.
Generator Model: Durostar DS4000S
I no longer use Harbor Freight Super Heavy Duty Degreaser in my ultrasonic cleaner. Harbor Freight changed the recipe. The bottle previously stated "NON-CORROSIVE". Now it says "CORROSIVE", "do not user on Aluminum". It now damages most carburetors.
Visit My Amazon Store:
www.amazon.com/shop/jamescondon
Airbox: www.ebay.com/itm/263323223735
Form A Funnel: amzn.to/3QeKIqe
Fuel Valve: amzn.to/3Mh3cFD
Kill A Watt: amzn.to/3QdSfpe
Oscilloscope: ADS1013D amzn.to/45LyF9B
Squeeze Bottle: amzn.to/3s4Z18M
THD Multimeter: Amprobe ACDC-52NAV amzn.to/3Sg234Y
Ultrasonic Cleaner: amzn.to/3ShS5jl
If you want to donate to the channel, you can use the KZbin "Super Thanks" feature or via PayPal: www.paypal.com/paypalme/james...
#DuroStar #GeneratorRepair #SmallEngineRepair #SmallEngine #DIY #Fixed #Troubleshooting #HowTo
Alternator, Bad Gas, Bad Petrol, Broken Air Box, Clogged Carburetor, Dripping, DuroStar, Engine Will Not Start, Fixed, Fuel Petcock, Fuel Valve, Generator, Hertz, How To, How-To, Leaking Gas, Load Test, Old Fuel, Repair, Sine wave, Small Engine, THD, Total Harmonic Distortion, Troubleshooting, Will Not Run

[@methods-SE]

Dude is an inspiration. I emulated his methods and ways to success on 3 generators already! BEFORE - Broken for 15 years AFTER - Working good as new Super grateful not just to him but to those who contribute

[@jcondon1]

Nice work!

[@nsayer]

Honest question: Do you think it's better that it had 15 years less wear or did sitting for 15 years cause more harm?

[@methods-SE]

@@nsayer In my experience machines that remain in service are more desirable than machines that sit. This is true in automotive... When things sit the seals dry out, the aluminum starts to oxidize, The steel starts to rust, The fluid start to separate, The plastics and rubbers start to crack... Me? I would rather have a generator with 15 years on it than a new old stock. BUT... I'm also willing to replace the bearings, Hone the cylinder walls, inspect the cam lobes... So... It really depends on what level of skill you want to develop. This KZbin Master Will show you how to completely rebuild an engine! ... Me? I'm just learning how to clean carburetors

[@jeremytuomisto5721]

I always find small engine repair interesting. I work on huge engines every day. This is a breath of fresh air. Very interesting. I’ve been binge watching your videos ever since I found your channel!

[@AndrewLee-cg6uk]

bought one of these about 6 months later a hurricane came thou knocked out power for 3 days... this thing rocked kept my TV fridge a fan... my computer going.... life is good i still got her run her every so often good machine imo

[@mrobi5797]

Great find James. It's amazing how much stuff people throws away that could still be used by others. You certainly help in recycling those generators. Thanks for the video.

[@Chris-yy7qc]

Because less and less people are able to do stuff themselves. And technicians are often expensive.

[@Mikesorrento3344]

Unfortunately, Durostar generators really do belong in the dump. They are exceptionally cheaply made Chinese generators that are highly unreliable. If you must buy one, resist the urge to buy new. Buy one with at least 100 hours on it and you should make it to 300 hours before failure. I have a generator repair business and Durostar generators are pure crap.

[@swallowinn4410]

Hello James Another very successful salvage. You have demonstrated our throw away society perfectly. " (WHY REPAIR WHEN WE CAN BUY A NEW ONE)" If the under 40 age group really want to make environmental changes they need to go away from the disposable society and back to products lasting 40-50 years. I give you a thumbs-up every time you bring back a repairable land fill destined unit. Keep up the good work.

[@SHO1989]

totally agree. I'm old enough to remember when one always tried to repair TVs and appliances. We expected things to last. Now it's all disposable. Really a shame.

[@ronaldbrown5745]

It will stay disposable as repair $ is high ( if you can find a repair shop) and replacement cost is relatively low, this might be why this unit was relegated to the scrap yard. The cost of this unit is low compared to a higher quality generator, so it’s disposable. Repairing this generator is beyond most modern humans skill set.

[@bertgrau3934]

The tip on the Idle screw is very good. I cleaned the carburetor on my Predator generator and screwed the Idle a tad too far, wouldn't go to "Fuel Saver " mode. I knew right off what I did wrong. Was able to back off the Idle screw without removing the carburetor. I've worked on more than a few small engines, still make some mistakes. I know I'm old that's why I forget. At least I knew why it acted up.

[@GreyRockOne]

I love finds like this, you can fall into a bucket of you know what and come out smelling like a rose... love it!

[@anthonyelectric6045]

Wish I had dump yards around me like that. Wow what a surprise 👍 finally an easy fix.

[@AW-Services]

You know when it's a Thursday when James publishes another great video 👏

[@user-gx9zm4bm6g]

Thanks James for listing replacement parts on your webpage. I have a wheelhouse 5500 generator that had a bad gas tank shut off. I replaced it with a new one, but it failed (leaked) within a couple of months being only used 3 times. You have listed a metal gas tank valve that fit the bill perfectly for a permanent repair.

[@jeffreyandreas7514]

Great job as always! Really enjoy your videos and appreciate your knowledge and patience!

[@chrisanderson4799]

Nice fresh driveway James. Looks great!

[@octaviofigueroafigueroa9794]

Thank you for mentioning the torque you use in non key áreas. Also I learned that we must use oil in that kind of filters!

[@brianwood5220]

Very lucky find. Thanks for sharing.

[@PeterDurrant]

Nice and straight forward James for a freebie. Brilliant methodical approach yet again. Thanks for inspiring us all to recycle and save👍

[@jesterr7133]

I taught myself to work on small engines and turned it into a side business simply by working on things and watching videos on KZbin. It is amazing to me that people still throw machines with minor issues like this away. It would have taken less than ten minutes of research for the previous owner to have been able to learn how to test the machine and determine what the issue was, and another five minutes to find a video showing them exactly how to service the carb. I can't believe that things like this still happen.

[@norsk54472]

Yes, so true

[@P_RO_]

This video helped me- I'd forgotten to get a new fuel valve for my generator, and the parts link appears to be exactly what I need. Thanks James 👍

[@martyb3783]

Great video and great find! It always amazes me how little effort people will put into getting something working, instead, just throw it away. Nice work!

[@Kuzzzzman]

Thanks James, another great educational generator video. One of the easier ones that's came into your shop.

[@SHO1989]

Always enjoy these videos bringing junk back to a useful state. I have ro admit, when I see this is going to be 35 or 60 minute repair video I wonder if I'll get bored but i never do. Amazing how a small engine repair video can keep my attention and even go by faster than I thought. Says a lot when these repair videos are more engaging than most 30 to 60 minute highly commercial videos.

[@YukonHawk1]

Damn good deal for 20 bucks and some of your magic brought it back to life. Excellent video as always.

[@davidchisham]

I have learned so much watching your great videos . Thanks

[@johnclyne6350]

That was a quick fix! Your friend has a good small generator to run power tools. Thanks for the great content. 👍🏻

[@jameshedrick605]

Nice work as always. This reminds me that i need to service my generator. I find it kind of funny watching you work on a generator and working on my chainsaw at the same time

[@davidmonteil6340]

Great job James! You really made that carb. (even the formerly very rusty bowl) look great and I admire your professionalism and patience. No corny music needed with an engine repair artist like James at work. "Quiet, professional at work:" works for us just fine with your videos. Thanks again buddy! Top notch work.

[@coolguy21420]

That was one of the best breakdowns of a carburetor that I’ve ever seen. Nice work!

[@Rein_Ciarfella]

Doesn’t matter how many videos I watch, I always learn something, even if it’s a very small thing like attaching a fuel line to the intake of an engine-mounted carb to determine if the needle is stuck. Very neat, Jim! I assume if the carb took a fair amount of fuel then you might have just tried to get it to fire.

[@tonym6920]

Very informative as always James, thanks for the vid! 👍👍.

[@johnallen8680]

Good video ! Hope the part 2 gets made

[@ronsafreed2400]

this is why i dont leave nothing of mine in the rain,,i see a lot of people leave there tractors out in the rain,,and rust to death..i was raised poor,,and i respect something new,,haa,,its not everyday i get something new...course theres people that have money,,,and they think,well if it breaks down we will get a new one..i been there iv heard it...some trash is a poor mans dream..you do good work James bringing these back to life..love watching and learning new things..

[@johnpangis9399]

I have been using newspapers for the past 19 years to make a funnel when changing oil on my 2004 Toyota Tacoma. Seeing James use the Form-A-Funnel was the perfect solution. My Form-A-Funnel arrives this coming weekend. Thanks for the tip, James! Great channel!

[@jayjudd6518]

❤ Always learning from this guy.

[@Look_What_You_Did]

Must be a slow learner...

[@christophermarshall5765]

Runs great!! Jason can be confident it will be a good unit.

[@petergdk]

Love how you revive so many lost machines. That is true environmentalism :) BTW - i bought one of those 2000w camping immersion heaters for my ultrasonic. Mine is 10 liters, so the small 300W hearing element would take forever to get it up to the 60 degrees C i use it at. But with the 2000w heater, it takes only 10 minutes. Had made it so i use it a LOT more. I reuse my solutions and put them in 10 liter sprinkler jugs after each use. So now i have one for carbs (non corrosive aluminium safe), one for oily stuff like chainsaw chains and bike parts, one for Evaporust (work REALLY good in the ultrasonic) and one for finer stuff like jewelry and glasses. I am a big fan of your channel.

[@kengoodwin5906]

I wish you had made this video 2 weeks earlier!! A friend has this exact generator. His air box was also broken. I bought a metal replacement off of Amazon. It was a lot more than $18.50. Wish I new it was a Honda / Predator Clone. Also didn't think to look for the air box part number on the back. Great info as usual!

[@deannajoseph]

Thank you James, good video

[@andrewgrace4410]

Great find guys 😊

[@larrykelly2838]

Great little generator.

[@SunkistSquirt]

Another great one. Thanks James!

[@alevans51]

Excellent approach.

[@MrBooMY3]

I just picked up a $100 non running Firman 3650 watt 120v only gegerator. Bought the same ultrasonic cleaner you have. Cleaned the carb 2x 15 min and reamed out the jets and emulsion tube. Replaced a few gaskets and the bowl and she runs like new! Ty for giving me the courage to try myself!

[@Dustin_the_wind]

Thanks James.

[@theking-bh9ph]

I feel confident I can get my working again as of now it won’t start, thanks

[@robertmailhos8159]

Even if the engine was probably not working out at least you got a parts machine that is equipped with a hopefully good a.v.r and power head nice save of a $200 to 300 dollar 💵 generator.all for the price of $20 plus the air filter box plus the air filter

[@wildefox1478]

It's amazing what people throw away, just needed a carb clean and an airbox and this generator lives again, nice work James! The first week of October every year the area where I live has a fall cleanup week where the city picks up bulk garbage people want to get rid of, I always go around and look for mowers and other gas machines. I scored 6 push mowers and a Simplicity Broadmoor lawn tractor powered by a 16HP Briggs Vanguard vtwin, 2 of the push mowers there wasn't anything wrong with them, they fired right up. The riding mower only needed a new battery and it started right up, just craziness.

[@jcondon1]

Nice! Our town used to do the same thing twice a year. Would always find some treasures. Unfortunately the town did away with that a few years back :(

[@Rein_Ciarfella]

Thanks for the heads up in the description about the Harbor Freight cleaner. I had recently heard about this issue but it was unconfirmed. Now I’ll give that one a pass as I work my way down the list of solutions to use in the ultrasonic. Right now I’m trying out Dawn, and so far so good. My test is threefold - does it clean and degrease, does it discolor/corrode aluminum, does it discolor stainless or chromed metals. I want a clean carb that looks as close to new as possible.

[@lavina58]

Awesome job (expert for such motors) 🙌👍👌😊🍀

[@99tombstone]

Nice repair plain and simple fix

[@AZVIDS]

Another excellent video and repair👍

[@calvarybuilders5689]

It's a good call to replace bad parts, yet would like to see you repair some also, like the fuel petcock. 🙂

[@rodneymiddleton9624]

Another one saved!! Thanks!!

[@robertsimmons3556]

Another Phoenix out of the ashes! Good explanation of THD!! Good post!

[@danielmoose1273]

Excellent Video(!!!) 🙂 ... Informative, Thorough, And Presentation Was Pleasant. Thank You For Posting.

[@ronsbeerreviewstools4361]

Very good educational and entertaining video, good post, cheers !

[@liljoeii6091]

Nice generator Thank you for the video

[@arthurbiringer5676]

Another perfect job!

[@Happy357mag]

It's amazing what people throw away.

[@rongoodrich1541]

I like your video. I just bought 2 generator last week . I fixed one it needed new carburetor and put back together. The guy said it was out of time and backfiring thru the carb. I checked the valves and Exhaust valve was OK. But the intake was tight. I reset the valves and put new carb on and all back together and she runs and makes power. Just got to get a killalot meter to set the speed. The other one he said doesn't make power. But I'll need to get it running first to check it out . Has spark and compression. But wrong carburetor onit . So will get a carb if everything else checks out ok . Thank you for your video. R.w.goodrich disabled veteran

[@sdwputnam]

Great Job.

[@michaelp3076]

James I love your videos they always seem to have just enough info but not too much. I would love it if you could do a short video about the tools you use. I see you have an ultra-sonic cleaner and you use various greases (like the red one) block honing tool and valve lapping tools and paste. it would be nice to know what brands you use and how good they work for you.

[@r8118830]

I do not recall a generator repairr in which the THD was ever this bad. The gennie needs a health warning on it. Like THD at full load exceeds 30%

[@jcondon1]

It’s definitely one of the worst I can remember.

[@petercolquhoun2086]

What causes the THD to be bad? Poor generator design or the engine not running perfectly smooth?@@jcondon1

[@DemolitionManDemolishes]

@@jcondon1 Looking at the waveform Ive noticed that the generator is clipping at +/- 196V, which for sure generate a good deal of distortion. Makes me wonder if AVR is damaged too, and changing it would improve THD.

[@kanwaljeetsahota6316]

learnt the checklist ...thnxxxx

[@randywheeler3236]

Thanks for another excellent video.

[@Brian60646]

James - Another great video. What happened to your new LOAD TESTER? Was hoping to see you test this generator with it.

[@gerardb.ducoudray8881]

I like the way you use 'fresh ingredient' every you 'soup!'

[@terrellscaife2411]

Yeah, I definitely need some help with my generator

[@riverdog8796]

Another great vid. Love watching them. You inspire /teach me to get out there and tinker. Where do you find these clone carbs? Tons of sites but which do you use? Thanks. Keep up the good work!!!

[@jcondon1]

I buy my Honda clone carbs from Amazon. Hipa when available, otherwise any will work.

[@johnhiggins9838]

With distortion that high, I would like to see what the scope would display connected to the brushes. A comparison between a genny with a very low THD vs this one. Most curious indeed!! I can think of other locations to look at with the scope. Thus getting a possible solution to clean up this high THD.

[@2packs4sure]

I fully expected you to build a special fixture to hold those wheels, de-rust and repaint them and maybe do a nice pinstripe or ghost flames,,, oh well..... :)

[@brunolagace1135]

A lot of those carburetors have a small screen filter after the inlets tube. Every Powermore engine carburetor from MTD do have those screens filters.

[@johnnybgoode6466]

James, you need to have Hearts' song "Magic Man" playing in the background, as this is another occasion when you have worked wonders from the scrap yard....

[@ericwilliams952]

Anytime, I have a bad gasoline carburetor I swap them out with a new HEPA dual fuel, propane, carburetors love those

[@benjamincresswell3713]

OK James Condon. Another expert salvage. In my own world, I go ahead and drill out the main orifice .O01" or maybe .002". I have number letter & fraction drills but sometimes I am not able to "find" the matching diameter drill bit, hence I go up to the next size to cancel the surging. It only takes a second w/ a micrometer to figure it out and I've never had a surging or "choking" engine from too much fuel. I believe the fuel is sometimes to blame. Between the engine mgr & my fuel, I believe there is a discrepancy to overcome sometimes. So for emergency use I believe I'm doing well. ben/ michigan

[@ouch1011]

I need to move to one of these places where people leave usable, valuable stuff on the side of the road and people can salvage things from the “dump.” Neither one of those things happen anywhere near where I live!

[@michaelmathews295]

I've used Krud Cutter in my ultrasonic with good results.

[@barrygrant2907]

Not a good generator for home use maybe, but fine for running lights and hand tools out in the field. Drain valve and airbox, a little carb TLC, and it's a runner. I wonder if the airbox was broken by someone trying to remove it from its tight place. I might have bowed the frame back out a bit where it was dented.

[@williambikash6645]

On generators that don't idle set the idle to 110 volts with no load. Just hold the throttle against the screw with a warmed up engine and just the volt meter hooked up. It helps to moderate wild surging until the engine warms up. Can't think of any disadvantages.

[@mikehotchkiss8975]

Is the cause of the thd the powerhead or maybe just the avr. Great video as always

[@mikerossman9863]

While you have the oil drain plug out it’s a good time to add a pipe nipple and a valve to get it past the frame. And no they don’t vibrate enough to bust off. Done it to many of mine and never had a problem.

[@zodzod9378]

Lovely james ! Little john from the UK

[@davidjones1393]

NICE

[@rossnolan2883]

Wow 🤩

[@jonathanlitz2018]

One time i worked on a Coleman generator that was sitting for a long time. I drained the bad gas that stinks, inspected the fuel filter, and replaced the Tecumseh carburetor

[@estorey1465]

another great video, thanks. BTW, what is the cleaning solution you use in you unltrasonic cleaner?

[@user-ui4iv8dz3w]

When the lift was going down I thought the purge was happening. 😂

[@offgridmangogrower]

I hear a harmonic on the starter assembly….I just replaced a predator that made more noise than its replacement….a plastic panel was oscillating against the tank…I inserted a piece of leather and it was about 1/2 the noise….I also take a stellite dish and bounce the noise away….

[@kiplandingham322]

When replacing the carb bowl, should the drain plug be facing in a certain direction? Another great video as always, thanks.

[@dposer10]

You need to get that mixture screw out and clean that passage too. Its gonna be under that plate on the side of the carb between the two posts where the carb goes on the engine. If you don't clean that the carb WILL run lean, all jets in the circuits add up to the carbs fueling, take one away and its lean then.

[@MrKeithsplace]

Thanks James, another great save, although I’d never use that one on the house, that sign wave was ugly, maybe job site for power tools and lights only, not sure I’d even plug a tool charger into that. Could you reply what the scope brand and model is your using?

[@jjyemg2397]

Awesome James. Can you discuss examples of sensitive electronics in a future video? I watch everything you post.

[@user-jn6cp8fn8b]

I think the "sensitive electronics" thing is a bit outdated from the early days of consumer electronics. Today nearly everything you buy will have a wide input range switch-mode power supply that will happily accept 100V-250V at 45-65Hz and anything in between. Unless you are into antique electronics chances are you will not have anything sensitive in your home. The greatest concern with generators for a modern home is undersizing them and not having enough surge capacity to properly start motors in refrigerators, freezers, furnaces and the like.

[@jjyemg2397]

Thank you. Well pumps, electric ovens and water heaters usually are the biggest culprits when it comes to too much load on a generator.@@user-jn6cp8fn8b

[@g2theb584]

Just a thought....maybe you could put a video out in regards to THD and some of the best you've seen vs worst? I'm interested in knowing more about that aspect.

[@I_M_Nonno]

Simple Green HD pro purple according to the manufacturer is the same formula as Simple Green Aviation. Both are safe on aluminum. The pro purple is half the price.

[@williamjones4483]

The OCD in me would have had the bottom of that tank cleaned before I installed the new fuel shutoff valve. Also having the extension cord coiled may be causing some issues with unwanted inductance. Cords that carry alternating current should never be coiled or bundled up.

[@waynestefinashen239]

Saw on Saturdays live stream with Ken and Stella that you had an aluminium dissolving issue when using the Harbour Freight HD degreaser. Same thing will happen if you use SuperClean which totally dissoved an aluminium carb bowl when i did a test against GreezOff whish is totally aluminium safe and Spray Nine which also appeared safe but did some damage when left for a long period of time. You could see the Super Clean reacting within a short period of time just like the HD degreaser you were using. Note all these tests i did were at full strength not diluted. Not sure GreezOff is ok to use in an ultrasonic cleaner with heated solution, we basically stay with diluted Zep Orange mostly water and Zep Orange to the bottom of the basket without issues.

[@williampugh6699]

In a future video could you show how you attach your scope to the generator?

[@stephensklein6952]

The wave form looked more like Grand Teton than a sine wave. Wow. Doesnt look like that genset saw any ethanol either. Probably what saved the carb.

[@thatdellguy]

I got that same one in 2012 but its a Champion brand.

[@artpeck9272]

I guess the older I get, the more suspicious I get. Have you ever considered that these cheap-but-easy-fix units might be stolen? Why would someone dump a generator that just needs a little love? 🤔 Probably ok, you know the source. Another great video! My wife says I now have no excuse for not fixing the mower or generator.

[@hamop3]

Love it. No excuses now my friend Art

[@rickmurphy8125]

Great job!!! What oil do you use when you change oils?

[@ricdenali4213]

I know you showed those rims a little love off camera.