[Sparky6236]

Your first step should be making sure that you are properly following the start instructions. Make sure there is gas, oil level is correct, the starter switch is in the "on" position and that the gas line valve is open.

[OhioBuckeye]

Wish I lived there yet because I would come & fix it. If you do get it running, from now on start it every couple of months. Leaving anything that runs on gas should be ran every 2 to 4 months.

[WV1203]

Make sure gas valve is turned on.take gas cap off put rag around opening and blow into it easy a few times just enough pressure to force gas to flow .this has worked for me several times over the years just don't blow to much pressure so the gas blows back at you. Sounds silly but just did it a few weeks ago for someone .

[DStahulK]

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?

Make sure to check the oil level in the engine. If the oil level is low the generator will not start.

[ORJohnny]

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?

Assuming it’s a gasoline engine, and it’s only been sitting for a couple years with the same gas in it, drain the gasoline, even from the carb reservoir , and try a bottle of “Mechanic in a Bottle”. It will remove the shellac and crud. You can find it at Lowes or HD among other places.

Pour it the gas tank, attempt to start the engine a half dozen times, and the. Let it sit for a day. Drain this liquid and put fresh gas in, and presto! It should start .

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by CoachKandSportsguy

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

We no longer deal with it as we sold our northern home and moved to the Villages. It was an adventure. Our home built in 1948 had a 1,000 gallon buried oil tank. We had a long time plan. The tank though it did not leak, we knew it would be an issue when we sold. I was told by the EPA due to it's age the steel was 3/8 of an inch thick and it would not leak for several hundred years. Did not matter. We would need to warranty the tank to sell the house. Due to new windows added insulation, 1,000 gallons was two years worth of heating.
It took two years and I burned most of the oil. There was a government plan to get a cast iron,
quality, complete boiler for FREE. We converted to gas. We had to pay for the installation.
Far cleaner and the cost, reminder 9 years ago, for gas, was half as much as oil.

Far as oil burner being plugged up by fuel. There is or should be a filter before the fuel enters the burner. It is or should be replaced with an annual service. Like anything else there are people who do proper service and others who wipe off the filter hoping the paying customer does not notice it was not changed.

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by Sparky6236

Your first step should be making sure that you are properly following the start instructions. Make sure there is gas, oil level is correct, the starter switch is in the "on" position and that the gas line valve is open.

You reminded me. Many years ago I was away in college. Yup, wow that was many years a go. My dad was no dope. I got a call. They had a major snow storm and he couldn't get the snow blower to start. Hey, did you put gas into it-NO.

[DAVES]

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?

We of course do not know how big your generator is or what your husband has done. Any gasoline engine is first of all need lubrication. Is there oil in the crankcase? It needs fuel. Most likely gasoline. There are some that run on natural gas and others that run on diesel. Is there fuel in the tank? Newer gasoline engines often have a fuel shutoff-is the valve opened?
You need a spark to ignite the fuel. Take out the spark plug using the proper tools. This is NOT a vise grip sledge hammer job. Look at the plug. There can be carbon shorting out the plug. Connect the high voltage wire. Touch the spark plug to the metal of the engine. Pull the starter cord There should be a bright white spark. Do not hold the wire. It is a few thousand volts but low amps. IT DOES HURT. IF YOU MAKE THAT MISTAKE.

You should now know what the problem is. Almost any problem with almost anything look on the internet. You are not the only one with that problem, with that item and someone is out there to show you how to solve it. Fuel, plus spark plus compression, it will run.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Originally Posted by DAVES

Far as oil burner being plugged up by fuel. There is or should be a filter before the fuel enters the burner. It is or should be replaced with an annual service. Like anything else there are people who do proper service and others who wipe off the filter hoping the paying customer does not notice it was not changed.

You have no idea what you are typing about. After a three months, my filter was clogged with chicken fat, many homeowners experienced this which is why the fuel damaged city equipment, and he was targeted with lawsuits and other issues.

And more than once in a season, after they adjusted it, replaced the filter, but keep on typing your theories, especially after the company lost the lawsuit for same

[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by CoachKandSportsguy

You have no idea what you are typing about. After a three months, my filter was clogged with chicken fat, many homeowners experienced this which is why the fuel damaged city equipment, and he was targeted with lawsuits and other issues.

And more than once in a season, after they adjusted it, replaced the filter, but keep on typing your theories, especially after the company lost the lawsuit for same

Bummer, unfiltered oil used in a deep fryer being disguised as biofuel is criminal. Unfortunately, even the biofuel that is considered to meet all government specifications is garbage. It doesn’t necessarily clog the fuel filter, but it can destroy the seals in the oil burner and corrodes oil tanks from the inside causing them to prematurely fail. These problems were never an issue with regular heating diesel but are now showing up in great numbers with biofuel mandates. It’s a big problem for snowbirds who need to have a reliable heating source to keep their pipes from freezing while enjoying the winter in the Villages. We had to spend some good hard earned money to have our service guy rebuild our oil burner with new components that can withstand the mandated biofuel and are crossing our fingers that the crap won’t destroy our oil tank before we sell the home.

[OhioBuckeye]

Good point!

[cb1972]

two good suggestions already mention," make sure the fuel line is open (usually an inline valve)" , " shoot it with ether ( starting fluid)". So make sure the fuel line is open , remove the air cleaner cover and filter, spray a quality starter fluid into the carberator, try to start it. If it starts and stalls repeat until the engine continues to run. As mentioned its best to close the fuel valve and let the engine run out of fuel when storing the generator.

[Tnlady]

Thanks for all of your suggestions! Due to other things going on in our life, this issue has been put on hold. The generator has been run several times over the 3 years that we have had it. It has never been an issue getting it to start. He has previously tried several things that were suggested. Again, thanks!

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by coachkandsportsguy

you have no idea what you are typing about. After a three months, my filter was clogged with chicken fat, many homeowners experienced this which is why the fuel damaged city equipment, and he was targeted with lawsuits and other issues.

And more than once in a season, after they adjusted it, replaced the filter, but keep on typing your theories, especially after the company lost the lawsuit for same

kma

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by CoachKandSportsguy

You have no idea what you are typing about. After a three months, my filter was clogged with chicken fat, many homeowners experienced this which is why the fuel damaged city equipment, and he was targeted with lawsuits and other issues.

And more than once in a season, after they adjusted it, replaced the filter, but keep on typing your theories, especially after the company lost the lawsuit for same

Wow. "No idea what you are typing about." Clearly we had a better fuel supplier. We had a filter on our fuel supply. As stated we had a 1,000 gallon tank. Any fuel tank, normally has the fuel line above the bottom of the tank so unless you run the tank very low you do not pick up trash. WE NEVER HAD YOUR PROBLEMS and it has nothing to do wit original post.