This is a no-name generator driven by an 8 HP Briggs.

It's having speed fluctuations and I'm trying to figure out why. It seems
like the governor itself is creating them.

In this video it's running no-load and you can see the speed variations.
Sometimes it's worse than this. In the video I reach in and hold the
throttle and the variations cease.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi0yGna0oeM

The governor, of course, does not "know" the reason the speed has changed,
whether it's due to a load change or some other condition; it ups the
throttle when the speed drops and reduces it when the speed increases.

In this case there is no load. If the speed variations were due to, say,
the carb putting out an inconsistent mixture or some mechanical issue in
the engine I think the variations would be worse or at least unchanged with
a fixed throttle position. But here a fixed throttle = fixed engine speed.
Which leads me to believe the variations are being caused by the governor
itself.

On this engine I think the actual governor is a flyweight thing inside the
engine. There is a shaft emerging with a lever on it which is linked to
the throttle valve.

What is my next step here? Some people have said that the governor spring
can be very critical so I guess I'll get a new one to see if that cures it.

Anything else I should be looking at?

What is my next step here? Some people have said that the governor spring
can be very critical so I guess I'll get a new one to see if that cures
it.

Anything else I should be looking at?

It is called hunting. Usually the governor is not at fault. Can be caused
by a lean fuel mixture. I would probably clean out the carburetor first.

On 11/14/2010 9:11 AM, Steve Kraus wrote:
This is a no-name generator driven by an 8 HP Briggs.

It's having speed fluctuations and I'm trying to figure out why. It seems
like the governor itself is creating them.

In this video it's running no-load and you can see the speed variations.
Sometimes it's worse than this. In the video I reach in and hold the
throttle and the variations cease.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi0yGna0oeM

The governor, of course, does not "know" the reason the speed has changed,
whether it's due to a load change or some other condition; it ups the
throttle when the speed drops and reduces it when the speed increases.

In this case there is no load. If the speed variations were due to, say,
the carb putting out an inconsistent mixture or some mechanical issue in
the engine I think the variations would be worse or at least unchanged with
a fixed throttle position. But here a fixed throttle = fixed engine speed.
Which leads me to believe the variations are being caused by the governor
itself.

On this engine I think the actual governor is a flyweight thing inside the
engine. There is a shaft emerging with a lever on it which is linked to
the throttle valve.

What is my next step here? Some people have said that the governor spring
can be very critical so I guess I'll get a new one to see if that cures it.

Anything else I should be looking at?

I had the same problem with a B&S 16HP. I was advised to change the
oil in the engine. I did and the speed stabilized. I don't know why it
worked but it worked.

LdB

Pat wrote:
What is my next step here? Some people have said that the governor spring
can be very critical so I guess I'll get a new one to see if that cures
it.

Anything else I should be looking at?

It is called hunting. Usually the governor is not at fault. Can be caused
by a lean fuel mixture. I would probably clean out the carburetor first.

Or an air leak is another common culprit.

Can be worn carb bowl around the throttle shaft, loose carb to block,
etc., etc., ...

--

"Pat" wrote in
nvilleaccesscompany:



What is my next step here? Some people have said that the governor
spring can be very critical so I guess I'll get a new one to see if
that cures it.

Anything else I should be looking at?

It is called hunting. Usually the governor is not at fault. Can be
caused by a lean fuel mixture. I would probably clean out the
carburetor first.




could be water in the gas,too,or the motor doesn't like E10.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
localnet
dot com

On Nov 14, 11:27*am, "A. Baum" wrote:
On Sun, 14 Nov 2010 09:11:07 -0600, Steve Kraus wrote:
This is a no-name generator driven by an 8 HP Briggs.

It's having speed fluctuations and I'm trying to figure out why. *It
seems like the governor itself is creating them.

In this video it's running no-load and you can see the speed variations..
Sometimes it's worse than this. *In the video I reach in and hold the
throttle and the variations cease.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi0yGna0oeM

The governor, of course, does not "know" the reason the speed has
changed, whether it's due to a load change or some other condition; it
ups the throttle when the speed drops and reduces it when the speed
increases.

In this case there is no load. *If the speed variations were due to,
say, the carb putting out an inconsistent mixture or some mechanical
issue in the engine I think the variations would be worse or at least
unchanged with a fixed throttle position. *But here a fixed throttle =
fixed engine speed. Which leads me to believe the variations are being
caused by the governor itself.

On this engine I think the actual governor is a flyweight thing inside
the engine. *There is a shaft emerging with a lever on it which is
linked to the throttle valve.

What is my next step here? *Some people have said that the governor
spring can be very critical so I guess I'll get a new one to see if that
cures it.

Anything else I should be looking at?

Appears it's starving for fuel. Mine will do the same thing right before
it runs out of gas. Pull the carb bowel and clean the banjo bolt if it
has one. That's the fuel pickup. Or/and clean/replace the needle valve
and seat.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

How does it run under a real load, like a bunch of light bulbs or a
motor? THat is what really matters.

Steve Kraus wrote:
This is a no-name generator driven by an 8 HP Briggs.

It's having speed fluctuations and I'm trying to figure out why. It seems
like the governor itself is creating them.

In this video it's running no-load and you can see the speed variations.
Sometimes it's worse than this. In the video I reach in and hold the
throttle and the variations cease.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi0yGna0oeM

The governor, of course, does not "know" the reason the speed has changed,
whether it's due to a load change or some other condition; it ups the
throttle when the speed drops and reduces it when the speed increases.

In this case there is no load. If the speed variations were due to, say,
the carb putting out an inconsistent mixture or some mechanical issue in
the engine I think the variations would be worse or at least unchanged with
a fixed throttle position. But here a fixed throttle = fixed engine speed.
Which leads me to believe the variations are being caused by the governor
itself.

On this engine I think the actual governor is a flyweight thing inside the
engine. There is a shaft emerging with a lever on it which is linked to
the throttle valve.

What is my next step here? Some people have said that the governor spring
can be very critical so I guess I'll get a new one to see if that cures it.

Anything else I should be looking at?

Could be a normal 'no load' condition. Put a load on it and see if it
levels out.




--
LSMFT

Simple job, assist the assistant of the physicist.

dpb wrote:
....

Can be worn carb bowl around the throttle shaft, ...

That would be "body", not "bowl", sorry...

--

How does it run under a real load, like a bunch of light bulbs or a
motor? THat is what really matters.

About the same. I could post another video I shot with it running a 1200W
steam iron as the load and it's very similar.

"LSMFT" wrote in message
...
Steve Kraus wrote:
This is a no-name generator driven by an 8 HP Briggs.

It's having speed fluctuations and I'm trying to figure out why. It
seems
like the governor itself is creating them.

Could be a normal 'no load' condition. Put a load on it and see if it
levels out.


I have a 5 kw generator and it was speeding up and down with out a load.
Put around 500 to 1000 watts of load on it and it smoothed out. I drained
all the gas one year and put in fresh gas and it smoothed out a bunch from
what it was running without a load.
Maybe some water or just old gas was causing some of the problems.

Guess I'll order a carb kit. Again. I grew up with Tecumseh and this is
my only Briggs experience. I hope for their sake my experience is atypical
because it's been fairly annoying, primarily the carb.

On Nov 14, 9:11*am, Steve Kraus
wrote:
This is a no-name generator driven by an 8 HP Briggs.

It's having speed fluctuations and I'm trying to figure out why. *It seems
like the governor itself is creating them.

In this video it's running no-load and you can see the speed variations. *
Sometimes it's worse than this. *In the video I reach in and hold the
throttle and the variations cease.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi0yGna0oeM

The governor, of course, does not "know" the reason the speed has changed,
whether it's due to a load change or some other condition; it ups the
throttle when the speed drops and reduces it when the speed increases. *

In this case there is no load. *If the speed variations were due to, say,
the carb putting out an inconsistent mixture or some mechanical issue in
the engine I think the variations would be worse or at least unchanged with
a fixed throttle position. *But here a fixed throttle = fixed engine speed. *
Which leads me to believe the variations are being caused by the governor
itself.

On this engine I think the actual governor is a flyweight thing inside the
engine. *There is a shaft emerging with a lever on it which is linked to
the throttle valve.

What is my next step here? *Some people have said that the governor spring
can be very critical so I guess I'll get a new one to see if that cures it.

When I took a small engine repair course, the teacher said hunting was
when the governor spring stiffened up or loosened up. From what it
looked like, might be the case.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Pat" wrote in message
nvilleaccesscompany...

It is called hunting. Usually the governor is not at fault. Can be
caused
by a lean fuel mixture. I would probably clean out the carburetor
first.

I had a lawn mower, years ago. Wouldn't run very well on cheap junk
oil. Put in some good stuff, runs a lot better. Air cooled engines run
hotter.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"LdB" wrote in message
m...

I had the same problem with a B&S 16HP. I was advised to change the
oil in the engine. I did and the speed stabilized. I don't know why it
worked but it worked.

LdB

Steve Kraus wrote:
Guess I'll order a carb kit. Again. I grew up with Tecumseh and this is
my only Briggs experience. I hope for their sake my experience is atypical
because it's been fairly annoying, primarily the carb.

Well, the problem isn't unique to B&S; I've Tecumseh's that suffer the
same fate. But, first determine if there's your problem. You can
determine if there are air leaks by the spray solvent test, verify there
aren't any leaking gaskets, loose connections, etc. Parts w/o knowing
they're the right parts won't necessarily help (and if it were the
throttle shaft problem, there's nothing in the kit that'll help, anyway).

How old is the genset, what kind of run time?

--

On Nov 14, 6:28*pm, dpb wrote:
Steve Kraus wrote:
Guess I'll order a carb kit. *Again. *I grew up with Tecumseh and this is
my only Briggs experience. *I hope for their sake my experience is atypical
because it's been fairly annoying, primarily the carb.

Well, the problem isn't unique to B&S; I've Tecumseh's that suffer the
same fate. *But, first determine if there's your problem. *You can
determine if there are air leaks by the spray solvent test, verify there
aren't any leaking gaskets, loose connections, etc. *Parts w/o knowing
they're the right parts won't necessarily help (and if it were the
throttle shaft problem, there's nothing in the kit that'll help, anyway).

How old is the genset, what kind of run time?

--

Change the gas and clean the carb. Generators sit too much.

Stormin Mormon wrote:
When I took a small engine repair course, the teacher said hunting was
when the governor spring stiffened up or loosened up. From what it
looked like, might be the case.

Yeah, I think I will try a new spring.

dpb wrote:

You can determine if there are air leaks by the spray solvent test,
verify there aren't any leaking gaskets, loose connections, etc.

I do see a bit of gas seepage around where the carb bowl and top come
together. That's actually my main complaint about the carb and the reason
I bought a kit before. I've polished the mating surfaces, tried it with
and without Permatex. Sometimes it's better sometimes not. Right now, if
I turn on the gas flow and run it after a time I will see a tiny bit of gas
on the outside of the bowl. I have no issues with rest of the Briggs
engine but that carb...ugh.

How old is the genset, what kind of run time?

1992. Maybe 100 hours. A few good runs during blackouts and a lot of half
hour test runs.

I try to test run it periodically and turn off the gas flow to let it run
out of gas. I don't know if that drains the carb bowl or not. I change
out the gas if it's been in the tank a long time or just let it run out of
the tank. I sometimes use Sta-bil but not all the time; sometimes it's
better just to replace the gas and use it elsewhere.

Sounds like you're rebuilding the carb also. Best to do both. You
won't know for certain which it was. Carb jets or spring.... but at
least it will be repaired.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Steve Kraus" wrote in message
m...
Stormin Mormon wrote:
When I took a small engine repair course, the teacher said hunting
was
when the governor spring stiffened up or loosened up. From what it
looked like, might be the case.

Yeah, I think I will try a new spring.

I remember from some where, that consumer model generators are
designed for about 200 hours run time. Which is more hours than most
get. Mine got about 10 hours in the 10 years I've owned it.

In the box, with the generator, are a quart of oil and a spray can of
ether.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Steve Kraus" wrote in message
m...


How old is the genset, what kind of run time?

1992. Maybe 100 hours. A few good runs during blackouts and a lot of
half
hour test runs.

I try to test run it periodically and turn off the gas flow to let it
run
out of gas. I don't know if that drains the carb bowl or not. I
change
out the gas if it's been in the tank a long time or just let it run
out of
the tank. I sometimes use Sta-bil but not all the time; sometimes
it's
better just to replace the gas and use it elsewhere.

On Nov 16, 9:45*am, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
I remember from some where, that consumer model generators are
designed for about 200 hours run time. Which is more hours than most
get. Mine got about 10 hours in the 10 years I've owned it.

In the box, with the generator, are a quart of oil and a spray can of
ether.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
*www.lds.org
.

"Steve Kraus" wrote in message

m...

How old is the genset, what kind of run time?

1992. *Maybe 100 hours. *A few good runs during blackouts and a lot of
half
hour test runs.

I try to test run it periodically and turn off the gas flow to let it
run
out of gas. *I don't know if that drains the carb bowl or not. *I
change
out the gas if it's been in the tank a long time or just let it run
out of
the tank. *I sometimes use Sta-bil but not all the time; sometimes
it's
better just to replace the gas and use it elsewhere.

I let mine run the bowl dry. I put stabil in the gas and I just keep
a little gas in it so I can test run it every couple months. If I
have no call to use it for a year or so I drain all the gas in it and
put in a little fresh gas in for the next test run.

I know that fuel exposed paper gaskets can shrink when they dry. For
the most part they should swell back up when exposed to gas again.
Occasionally something might need tightening if something still
leaks. Those small carbs only have a few gaskets on them.

Depending on how and where it is stored it might be worth while to use
some of the marine engine store spray on it. It's basically a spay
oil used to store marine engines over the winter. You spray it down
the carb until you manage to stall the engine. Or shut it down while
it's flooded with oil if you can't quite stall it.

I spray ether down carbs to get things to start but never down the
spark plug hole. That really is a bad idea as the cylinder below the
rings is lubricated with spashed oil. Too much ether will wash by the
rings and leave the cylinder walls dry. It shoudl reoil pretty
quickly but there still is no reason to do it.