"Pop`" wrote in message
news:fKuxh.819$384.787@trnddc05...
Toller wrote:
I have a 4 year old Honda EU2000i with about 200 hours of use. I
have done the proper maintenance on it.
I leave it with gas and gas stabilizer, and start it up for 5 minutes
once a month. When it gets hard to start I change the gas; that is
about once a year.

Tonight we had 2 brief power losses, and since it is 5 degrees out, I
thought it would be a good idea to warm up the generator. It wouldn't
start. I brought it in the house for a half hour, but that didn't
help. I changed the gas; that did the trick. As I understand it,
the most volatile parts of the gas evaporate, leaving something
behind that is inadequate to start the engine; is that correct? Is
there anything I could add to the old gas to revive it? Everything
worked out fine (no outage so far, and the generator finally started)
but I would hate to have to do this in the dark during a real outage.
(I mean, besides changing the gas more often...)
Thanks.

Are you adding the proper amount of stabilizer? Too much will make an
engine hard to start.
I fill the tank, use about half the stabilizer amount suggested, and
then start the machine every second weekend, third on occasion, more often
when the mood strikes. Have never had a problem with having to change the
gas, but it would be my first choice if I had serious trouble starting it.
I also keep a can of ether starting spray handy just in case. Seldom use
it, but it's worth a fortune when it is needed.

So maybe a little less stabilizer and starting it more often and let it
run until it warms up every couple weeks would help a lot.

I probably over do it a bit on the stabilizer; putting the amount for 2 gal
into a not quite full 1.5 gal can. I will cut back.

How is the ether used? Directions on the can presumably.