[Tnlady]

We have a 3 year old Caterpillar generator. It will not start. Husband has done all he knows to do. Do you know someone who would come to our home to work on it?

[Keefelane66]

Originally Posted by Tnlady

We have a 3 year old Caterpillar generator. It will not start. Husband has done all he knows to do. Do you know someone who would come to our home to work on it?

If it's gasoline generator then you may not have put “Stable Gas Treatment” the carburetor jets are plugged with shellac/varnish from dried gasoline. Remove and clean or replace. Even though it's a Cat the engine is probably a Kohler or Briggs
Check Amazon for parts

[Kenswing]

Is it diesel, gasoline, natural gas or propane? Each can present with its own set of problems.

[shaboobie]

Wildwood Mower on 44 352 748 2305. They picked up and returned mine for $30 last year.

[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by Tnlady

We have a 3 year old Caterpillar generator. It will not start. Husband has done all he knows to do. Do you know someone who would come to our home to work on it?

If it’s been sitting for a long time with 10% ethanol gas in it than it’s almost certainly a gummed up carburetor. I don’t know of a small engine mechanic in the Villages that does house call work. You can almost certainly get an aftermarket carburetor for less than $50 and swap it out, but it’s a job that requires a fair amount of mechanical skill. I would check out shops that sell small engine equipment like lawn mowers and ask them what they would recommend. Not sure how big the generator is, but if you know someone with a pickup truck you should be able to put it in the bed and bring it to a small engine repair shop. Whatever you do, once it’s fixed always use only ethanol free gas in it going forward so this doesn’t happen again (you can get ethanol free gas at any WaWa for a little more per gallon). Best of luck.

[villagetinker]

Originally Posted by Tnlady

We have a 3 year old Caterpillar generator. It will not start. Husband has done all he knows to do. Do you know someone who would come to our home to work on it?

Normally I would offer to help, however I will be tied up for the next several weeks and will not be able to do this type of work. If your hubby is a DIYer, I would start with carb cleaner (or started fluid). I agree with some previous comments, the ethanol may have damaged some of the runner parts. You should be able to get a carb rebuild kit, this will have all of the necessary parts. Make sure this kit is computable with the current fuels. Also replace all of the fuel lines, and make sure there is dood fuel flow to the carb. Most of the time I find either dirt in the needle valve or the needle valve is stuck.
Hopr this helps.

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by Tnlady

We have a 3 year old Caterpillar generator. It will not start. Husband has done all he knows to do. Do you know someone who would come to our home to work on it?

Not a suggestion as to how to fix it...more like advice on how to prevent it from happening again.

We recently purchased a generator (Westinghouse 2500 watt inverter). I've been making a point of running it at least once a month for a couple of hours under load. I do all my own yardwork (mowing, edging, hedge trimming, etc.) and use electric tools exclusively, so it is not a problem to fire up the generator and use it for the yardwork. That way I know if the worst happens, I can rely on it starting. Machines are made to RUN. Buying anything that runs on gasoline and then letting it sit for month after month without using it under the misapprehension that by so doing you're keeping it new and pristine can be more costly than running it routinely.

[Michael G.]

I wonder what those combustible engine manufactures do to new engines when they leave their manufacturing plant.
Surly some of those new engines are stored for years then started.

Maybe these is a plus for electric engines in the future.

[Tom53]

Check the oil level, most portable generators have a low oil cut-off switch.

[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by Michael G.

I wonder what those combustible engine manufactures do to new engines when they leave their manufacturing plant.
Surly some of those new engines are stored for years then started.

Maybe these is a plus for electric engines in the future.

The problem is NOT the engine manufacturers, it’s the government imposing ridiculous mandates on the fuel they use to run on. Get rid of the ethanol and you get rid of many of the problems. Besides, there are people starving all over the world, so the so call geniuses decide it’s a good idea to burn corn? My oil burner service guy up north has also told me the horror stories created by the mandate to add biofuels to heating oil.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Originally Posted by tophcfa

The problem is NOT the engine manufacturers, it’s the government imposing ridiculous mandates on the fuel they use to run on. Get rid of the ethanol and you get rid of many of the problems. Besides, there are people starving all over the world, so the so call geniuses decide it’s a good idea to burn corn? My oil burner service guy up north has also told me the horror stories created by the mandate to add biofuels to heating oil.

Peterson in Worcester got hauled to court, for over bio-ing the diesel / heating oil and wrecked several pieces of city machinery. They were buying cooking waste oils etc for small pennies, and mixing it into the fuel and making a killing. My oil burner got clogged so many times rom their fuel oil so I finally switched to a minimal fuel oil company and their business is booming!

fuel oil burning specialist guy

[jswirs]

Originally Posted by Keefelane66

If it's gasoline generator then you may not have put “Stable Gas Treatment” the carburetor jets are plugged with shellac/varnish from dried gasoline. Remove and clean or replace. Even though it's a Cat the engine is probably a Kohler or Briggs
Check Amazon for parts

I have found that letting the engine run COMPLETELY OUT OF GAS, (when the engine stalls due to lack of fuel try to start it a few times), is better than adding fuel stabilizer. Also, using mid- grade octane on these small engines seems to help.

[Tjmorello]

I do my own small engine repair and can take a look at yours if you want. Let me know.

[me4vt]

Shoot it with ether!

[DaleDivine]

Originally Posted by Michael G.

I wonder what those combustible engine manufactures do to new engines when they leave their manufacturing plant.
Surly some of those new engines are stored for years then started.

Maybe these is a plus for electric engines in the future.

Sooooo, when the power goes out from hurricane or whatever, WHERE do you get the power to charge an electric engine??