Country wrote the following:
I have an 8000 watt, or is that volts, generator that I have had for
over 10 years. It has a 16 HP Briggs & Stratton engine.

I was getting it ready for winter by changing the oil and filter and
found that the fuel pump had a leak. I had the gas turned off at the
gas tank and didn't know about the leak until I turned the gas on.
Glad I found that before I needed the generator in the middle of
winter.

There are two holes in the pump body but they never leaked before. I
took the old pump with me when I went to the dealer to get a new one.
The service guy said that there must be a diaphragm in there that
eventually shrinks and allows gas to get to those holes.

This generator has a fuel shutoff between the fuel tank and the fuel
pump. As long as I've had this thing I have shut the generator down by
turning off the fuel supply so the fuel pump and carburetor run dry of
fuel and shuts down and then I put it in the garage for storage until
I need it again.

I figure since the generator sits in storage for long periods if I run
all the gas out of the carburetor then it is not as likely to gum up
versus leaving the fuel pump and carburetor full of fuel to eventually
evaporate.

So is my thinking about that right? Or does it really matter at all?

David

I just shut off the generator and then close the fuel valve. Could it be
the diaphragm/gaskets dried out?
Since power failures are quite common in my rural area (power lines
running through roadside tree branches), I run the generator on occasion
just to get things moving before I really need it.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
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