Storm Cat Generator will not start

[@ramadinsookhoo6141]

I had a pulsar 800 watt generator and it worked excellent. I sold it because it had some people who always wanted to borrow it so I asked to buy it from me since they wanted to use it more than me. Lesson never let people know what equipment you have because they will always want to borrow it from you and vex when you don't lend them it. Short story: never lend your equipment to anyone.

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

very well said

[@jaewilly1]

Sounds like a Trinidad thing bro

[@ramadinsookhoo6141]

@@jaewilly1 I believe it's just part of human behavior yeah. The sad thing is that these people are way older than me yet they don't like when someone younger is doing better than them. They put themselves in the position that they are in and yet they envying other people when they are doing better than them

[@benrobles752]

I have a B&S Storm Responder generator that i bought for Hurricane Ike in 2008. I didn't need it. I stored it w/o fuel in the carburetor and put about twelve hours on it after Hurricane Harvey. I used it during the ice storm rolling blackouts in Feb. of 2017 here in Texas.

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

how many watts is that one?

[@benrobles752]

@@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE 8250 starting watts 5500 running watts.

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

@@benrobles752 nice unit.

[@robertcabral1366]

Thanks for the video. I have one these generators under the Chicago brand. Your guidance has shown me how to get the most out of the generator, and how to properly maintain it. Thanks 🤓🖒

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

Glad I could help

[@someguy1719]

Considering the price of food these days, it really isn’t a bad idea to have one of these things around just as emergency power for a fridge. It will pay for itself in one outage, and because it is a two-cycle unit maintenance should be fairly easy.

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

You make a great point.

[@meTimetraveler]

LOL WILL NOT POWER A FRIG Only puts out around 6amps

[@glen3925]

​@@meTimetravelermini fridge

[@stuartsykes944]

We have a 780w generic version of this generator and it powers our sheep clippers beautifully, it's easier to take the clippers and generator to the sheep in different locations than bring them all back home.😎👍

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

nice, thank you for sharing that.

[@aldoclausi3955]

Exactly how I store my small engines after draining the fuel tank.

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

I think its the best way but there are some other options which might work for other people. Thank you Aldo Clausi.

[@noeluna5852]

I definitely need one. Texas winter storm was bad this February. Also hurricane season is approaching

[@adammosher5818]

If you want one of this type go to harbor freight that were they are and there cheap

[@noeluna5852]

@@adammosher5818 I’m looking to get a bigger one to run my house on.

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

completely agree with you.

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

Buy the biggest you're willing to deal with.

[@OldJoe212]

I have the Tailgator. Ran good for a 6 months. Now, it doesn't seem to get up to speed. Cleaned the intake jet on the carb. More work to do. My situation makes this a perfect choice for my sump pump. I use my 5500W for welding, so it's used quite a bit. I like to run it at least monthly, under load. Hair dryers are good for that. Anyway, thanks for posting.

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

Thank you Joe Atwork

[@daveschidlmeier6425]

Check the exhaust for carbon build up. It would make you to loose power

[@rubencano7022]

Appreciate the info and steps you take very well done

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

Thank you

[@davescheer5038]

Ok I just got one today for free a neighbor just put one out on the curb , it looks new and when I asked him he said it runs , will see I’ll get new gas tomorrow and try to get it started , 👍🏼

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

hopefully it works, thank you Dave Scheer.

[@SoirEkim]

I would consider carving an access port for the drain screw so as to now need to remove the pain in the *** panels. Poor design flaw. Easy fix. Great video. Much better than other regarding the same generator. I have the same issue with mine. Was gifted to me because it wont start. Great gift, right. 😐 Anyway, I’ll have to try what your suggest. Thank you.

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

that's a really good idea.

[@drewnimus]

Thank you! This video was exactly what I needed to get my Storm Cat generator working again. I have a much larger generator, but this is nice and portable for some outdoor events my wife organizes, and it's something I could let a friend borrow in an emergency.

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

no problem and thank you drewnimus

[@curiosity2314]

I have 2 a small 1500 watt version and a 4800, never used either and the 4800 has been around since 2013 the 1500 since 2018. This spring I will start them both and see what happens. I filled them both with royal purple 30W this spring 2021. I do have a carburetor convertor for the 4800 to add natural gas or propane as an option. I consider propane less efficient although less messy and a much longer life span as opposed to gas. I currently keep 5 propane tanks on hand. A natural gas line to the outside is in the plans this coming year.

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

That would be a nice setup to run alternative fuels.

[@65csx83]

Another interesting video. I've never seen gas that wouldn't combust. More surprising is that it was not all that old. No, I wouldn't have a generator just on the off chance of maybe possibly needing it. I now have 3 plus one little unit like the subject one because of power failures which have become more frequent and of longer duration. I've never given much attention to the oil color. I think that blue is very pretty and is not a color I've used.

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

I find that mixed gas is very difficult to judge it's age because of the oil, I was told that the Fuel had been in there for a while but A number wasn't given as to how many. I have some larger units but I don't have any smaller ones yet. I do plan on adding a few more to my collection. thanks 65CSX

[@65csx83]

@@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE Good quality 2 cycle oils contain fuel stabilizer. I don't overtly use fuel stabilizers. I queried the popular named stabilizer company and didn't care for their answers.

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

@@65csx83 Makes sense

[@thisisyourcaptainspeaking2259]

The gen side crank seal popped out on one of mine, it's a 20x30x7 oil seal. That makes for a huge crankcase air-leak, so it wouldn't start (of course) This was an earlier model, I don't think it was the correct material for gasoline/oil. I haven't had any problem (yet) with the crank seal under the flywheel but I think it's the same size. When adjusting the engine governor speed, I use a frequency meter shooting for 60Hz at about half load, using a 500Watt incandescent shop lamp.

[@jesterr7133]

I recently came into a buffalo tools 2000 Watt generator. It has a production date of March 15th 2005. It has never been out of the original packaging. It's 17 years old, and has never even had oil and gas in it. I'm looking forward to getting to that one and seeing if it will still run after all this time

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

nice, I hope it goes well.

[@jesterr7133]

@@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE Thanks to my Great Uncle being a hoarder, it will definitely be a unique challenge. How often do you see a machine that old with 0 hours on it? lol

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

not often at all.

[@TimZ007]

I got one of these I can't get it to run at all. Went to the carb it looks perfect really. It's getting spark. My dad even changed out the coil and it even has better spark. But it doesn't attempt to run at any point. The compression seems strong. I can put starting fluid gas the plug does seem kind of wet when you start cranking it but it doesn't ever attempt to start at any point. If it did I knew it would probably run. I was thinking maybe the crankshaft flywheel keyway slipped or something in the timing's off on the spark maybe. I probably should do a compression test just to see but it feels pretty good. I would think the minimum compression one of these would need to run would probably be around 60 lb. I will say the gasoline looked very clear in it. But I look down in the cylinder and I didn't see any scoring.

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

I would need a compression reading to confirm the health of the engine. Otherwise can you confirm that the choke is working like it should. Don't forget that after a couple of failed attempts to start it, the likelihood that the engine is flooded is very high.

[@francoisjones3093]

I have the Tiger 950 brand.Recently took it out of storage,cleaned the carb,fuel tank etc.Runs perfect!However i lost the governor arm.I can try to make one myself,but my question,what is the relation between the arm and spring,as it seems to me there is no need for the spring together from the carb to the governor?

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

the springs purpose to is to return the throttle flap to the open position, the job of the governor and its linkage is to try and close the throttle to control the engine speed, and not let it go past a certain setting.

[@francoisjones3093]

@@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE Still don't understand😉I will take a video and then forward to you.THANK YOU FOR YOUR REPLY👍😀

[@uMpzZ26e03]

I have similar generator and whenever leave it idle for a week or so, it won't start. When cleaning carburator it starts ok. It is used for powering small 220W submersion pump just occasionally used during summer. It is very annoying not having it ready when needed. I wonder if 4 stroke generator with separate oil and gas tank differs in that matter of maintenance and trouble from the 2 stroke one?

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

I would definitely consider giving the 4 stroke a try.

[@realflow100]

A near-silent option alternative to a generator is a large pure sinewave power inverter with some used car batteries or some large 100AH AGM batteries. Also can be used in-house since theres no emissions or exhaust fumes.

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

the price is too much, in comparison to this generator.

[@fishingwitheverett157]

Do you Ever log or write down all your compression readings from all or machines or any of them 🤔?

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

Not really. But I do have them on video of course.

[@joelgallagher9534]

I like how he took the cover off the front but didn’t have any wires to reconnect tried that today took me an hour thank God I took a photo of it

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

don't take the cover off, just move it over.

[@patrickboyd6486]

As they say its better to be safe then sorry I have a 5KVA gen because the last summer we had power out for 16 hours. It was like hell that day no power so no cooling or fridge.

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

Yes thats exactly the reason everyone needs some sort of a generator.

[@smallengines1018]

So what was so bad din the fuel that it didn't run?

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

it was simply to old to burn properly but it was hard to tell because there was also too much oil in the gas.

[@smallengines1018]

@@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE oh ok

[@greenalien8503]

Is running a 2 stroke engine dry to store it a good idea?, Since technically it's running with little to no oil as the carburetor starts to run dry.

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

I'm not sure, but once the mixed Fuel, stops, it doesn't mean the needle bearings run dry of the OIL, that was just there.

[@meTimetraveler]

i have one of these and it has a very weak spark. i checked the coil windings. main winding around 300v , trigger about 16v. i replaced the one potted component box, the only one left is the round potted component that the spark plug wire originates from. I think i am going to make my own CDI Ignition system

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

nice, good luck with the project.

[@jeffreyrowsey7732]

I have one i use to charge my solar system on cloudy days. Works awesome

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

thank you Jeffrey Rowsey

[@nicholasjones718]

Hello, nice video. Do u know the specifics of the capacitor that this generator use? Am interested to know like how much micro farad it is. U have to take off the fuel tank to find the capacitor under it. Thanks.

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

no I don't, and unfortunately this video was years ago and the generator wasn't mine to fix.

[@berttaunton2820]

My when run fine for 10-20 minutes then shut off. I sprayed carb cleaner in carb, it cranks right up & runs for the same period & cuts off. I also have to leave it 75% choked. It acts like it’s starving for fuel ? What should I do ? Thanks in advance !!!

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

I would consider replacing the carb.

[@jctoad]

See if it keeps running if you loosen the gas cap. The cap may not be venting properly. it causes a vacuum inside the fuel tank and the carb cannot get fuel. It's easy to try this before replacing the carb.

[@RussellBooth1977]

I don't know,I may never know when I'll need to use a generator particularly when I eventually move onto a 10 acre property & I can't run an extension cord to the far end of the property to use a power tool, welder, etc !

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

That makes sense. Is land there expensive?

[@franleck]

I find it too difficult to see the orange light in the spark checker. After the compression test, I pour some fuel in the cylinder to see if it starts.

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

Yes it is tough sometimes

[@lindaholland623]

This was very helpful. My dad gave me the exact generator when he got a bigger one.

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

thank you!

[@pep729]

I bought one of these from harbor freight about a year ago. Ran through the break in period and two full tanks no problem. It's been sitting for a few months now. Tried to start it today. No go. I got spark. New plug. Fuel lines are clear. Took the float bowl off. Everything looked ok. I'm thinking stale fuel. If I shoot some starting fluid in it'll run for about 3 seconds and crap out. 🤷‍♂️

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

unfortunately it's the jet that's blocked.

[@pep729]

@@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE Bingo. Pulled the jet today and cleaned it. She started right up. Thank you very much.

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

no problem

[@justjoshin5140]

@@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE does it only have one jet or is there more?

[@stevelascak5140]

You made a quick comment about not using ethanol gas. Does that make the unit more difficult to start?

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

yes it can but it takes times for it to do that.

[@nelsonjeldres1761]

I have identical generator,will not start, I noticed the pulley kick back, was working fine but after a day or two stop working,,please help.

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

can you go into more detail about the "pulley kick back"? I'm not sure what you mean by that. thanks.

[@christinamoneyhan5688]

Yes everyone that has freezer or refrigerators need one. You only have to run them once in awhile for a little time. The generator does not have to be constantly running. Do not open the doors needlessly. In cold climates one might want one to operate a furnace or a small enclosure with a small electric heater from time to time. Fuel storage now days with this junk the call gasoline is the biggest problem. The gasoline will not keep like back in the 70s or earlier. I rotate my gasoline every 2 weeks now and I live in a very dry southwest state.

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

all very good points. thanks

[@Patrick4959]

if i ever find a generator very similar to this one i ,d see if it,s worth fixing up.

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

you know for the price they're really not that bad.

[@Patrick4959]

@@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE for sure mate here in Australia we have or once had the type for GMC (Global Machinery Company) brand and they are very close by the make and model for these makes etc too.

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

@@Patrick4959 hey question for you. Would you use a propane powered 4 cycle trimmer?

[@Patrick4959]

@@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE hmm good question that maybe i have heard of this brand Lehr which makes them including leaf blowers grass trimmers and even leaf blowers and all too.

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

@@Patrick4959 that's the one. I have an opportunity to buy one and I'm questioning it.

[@daishaunholmes2298]

I have this one but the rope won't pull its kinda locked, anyone know how to fix that

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

take the spark plug and try pulling the rope.

[@antonliebetrau]

@@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE my rope snapped. so i made an inch diameter hole in the black metal panel, removed the plastic/spring mechanism for the rope, and now i electric start it with my cordless drill with a long rod and a socket on the end, as theres a nut in the middle of the engine which your drill attachment can click onto and once the engine starts, you just pull the drill rod out. works like a bomb!

[@DougLarsonVideo]

Thanks

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

No problem

[@ansebbianvonhessen7570]

If You put a few drops of gasoline through the sparkplug port and the engines fires but only runs for a second the problem is fuel starvation....95% of the time it is the pickup jet inside the carburetor bowl, flip the genny so it stands on the 2 rubber feet at the rear and unscrew the carburetor bowl with a 10mm socket or wrench....Once the bowl is off You will see a tiny brass jet....carefully unscrew the jet and clean it out with a thin wire....these jets builds up scale and a rubbery residue over night......Put it back and You will be in business....Don't muck about with sparkplugs ( gap is .020) and coils and so on , just fix the jet and You will be OK!

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

thank you Ansebbian Von Hessen

[@RedonRust]

I had the exact same problem, although now the gasket that forms a seal between the bowl and the carb is bad and needs to be replaced on mine.

[@TecumsehRulesbcserk]

I doubt that thing would be able to power a household refrigerator, not even a small Honda could do that. I would not recommend as a house backup, but maybe it can be good for camp outs.

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

it's really meant for lights, fans, and single outdoor power tools.

[@davidoakley5257]

I ran a 140 hobart mif to weld a broken gate. I use mine to mostly on a tree saw. Shutting off the gas stops it goingto the carb but gas will sit and plug jets. Spent 2 hours today pulling the carb and cleaning it. There is a screw on the side of the float bowl use that to drain all your gas.

[@sneakyplays101]

6:30 darn that carburetor bowl holds a lot

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

I know right

[@andrewslawncare135]

The fuel is off

[@electromech7335]

I have the sports man 1000 watt generator same as the tailgator. I used it 2days ago during an outrage to charge batteries then run a puresine inverter. I put it on my property line of the neighbor who likes to party alot so i blow my 2 stroke smoke into his yard during an outage. 🙄🙄🙄🙄

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

nice

[@richardkelley8153]

It's better to have it and not need it, then Need it and Not have it.

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

very well said!

[@aussiedave1962]

I don't think it's a bad idea to spend money on somethingwe may never need or use. If I sis, I wiuldn't have a first aid kit, fire extinguishers or any type of insurance. And yes, a little machine like this won't run a welder but at least it might keep your fridge going in the event of a power outage.

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

very good points. thank you aussiedave1962

[@frankroper3274]

That looks just like a tailgator 63 cc generator.

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

yes it does, I'm guessing it's a rebrand

[@mikespain8655]

A 1000 watt generator is basically a toy. Not reliable enough, and not enough wattage to power anything of substance.

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

I would only use it for lights and fans and recharging batteries

[@jeremycloud1973]

Waste of time buying this generator

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

These have a limited use, but for the right price, I'd buy it.

[@jeremycloud1973]

@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE $45

[@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE]

fair enough

[@jeremycloud1973]

​@@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGEawesome video in process of repairing one now