DieselDave
Super Moderator,
Living in the far western part of the FL panhandle I didn't get too excited about Francis but did take the normal precautions. I haven't had my generator out in over 2 years so Sunday afternoon I told my wife I was going to unbury it and make sure it was ready just in case. She said I was going overboard and it was a waste of time. I really only wanted to make sure it was ready because I figure between Francis and Ivan I stood a good chance of needing it.
I knew I drained the tank before storing it so it shouldn't be too big a deal to bring it to life. Wait, what is this smell and why is my gas tank filled with something that smells like varnish? Yep, that's right, I didn't drain the tank, crap! I new remedial action would be required if I was going to have even the smallest chance of getting it running. I drained the tank, pulled the plug and sprayed a whole bunch of WD40 onto the top of the piston. I sprayed more WD40 into the carburetor, then changed the oil and added about 1 gallon of fresh fuel. I held my breath as I pulled the cord to start it. It started on the first pull. I was shocked. I let it run about an hour before shutting it down.
At 5:45AM today (Monday) I was awakened by a loud bang and then the absence of noise. The transformer at the end of my driveway took a lightning hit and it was fried. It wasn't even raining when it happened. I called it in and then laid back down. At 6:30, I still didn't have power so I decided to take us from DEFCOM 4 to DEFCOM 3. I got up, put on shorts and shoes and headed for the garage. I picked up my two five gallon gas cans and emptied the remaining two gallons into the generator. I took the cans and hopped on my riding mower to drive to the gas station. My mower holds 9 gallons so it's a nice emergency source of fuel. I filled up the cans and mower then came home and topped off the generator. I immediately went back to the station one more time to top off the cans. DEFCOM 3 complete.
At 7:15AM and still no power I decided to go to DEFCOM 2. I went back in the garage and pulled out all the heavy-duty extension cords. I ran them from the generator to the closest window of the house. I opened the window and piled them in the floor and decided what I was going to power if I had to go to DEFCOM 1. Once I decided it would be the window AC unit in the FL room, the frig, the small TV and DVD, two fans and one light I announced (to myself) DEFOM 2 complete.
At 7:40AM and still no power I decided the moment of truth had come. It was time to set DEFCOM 1. I went out to the generator and it started on the first pull again. I left it to warm up while I connected the cords to their assigned devices and then returned to the generator. I first plugged in the AC and went back inside to turn it on. AC OK. I went back outside and plugged in the frig. frig OK. I then plugged in the TV/DVD. TV/DVD OK. You get the picture. at 7:47AM, DEFCOM 1 was complete and we were fully operational.
I left for work at 8:20AM and the power was restored at 9:15AM.
This is when the problems started. My wife couldn't get the generator turned off despite me screaming at here on the phone how easy it was to do. Therefore, I had to come back home and do it myself, grrrr. When I arrived at the house I discovered the generator running roughly and the switch that turns it on-off, laying on the ground. I tried to push the on-off button back in without success. I used my multi-tool to pull the spark plug wire off the plug. Since I had the wire off I decided to run to the store and get another plug. I figured it might be fouled and that's why it was running rough. I found a plug at the second store, drove home and had it installed in 2 minutes. I decided to test the machine with the new plug and to my dismay I discovered the pull-start was pulling out way to easy and this was because it wasn't turning the flywheel. It wasn't turning the flywheel because the spines weren't lifting up. I disassembled the thing on the spot. I grew up working on lawnmowers at my Grandfathers Lawn Mower repair shop so I knew just what to do and it would take me 10 minutes. Believe it or not a lot has changed in the last 30 years and there were many more parts to remove than there were in the good old days. When I finally got it apart and discovered I needed a special tool I decided to improvise. I pulled out the WD40 again and soaked the top of the flywheel where this, can't remember the name, part was located. I then banged it about 10 times with my ratchet. Sometimes the best tool is a bigger hammer because that fixed the problem. I reassembled the parts and 40 minutes after starting I was done. We were back at DEFCOM 2 but everything was ready to go for the approaching bad weather. Our bad weather consisted of 15 minutes of sprinkles and 15-20 knots of peak wind gust. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy we were spared and can certainly empathies with the poor folks in south FL. I have been through 2 direct hits and it's horrible.
I will return to DEFCOM 3 tomorrow and likely stay there until Ivan passes. When the end of the season comes I hope I am telling more stories like this and none about my damage.
To all those with damage I send my best and hope you have a speedy recovery.
I knew I drained the tank before storing it so it shouldn't be too big a deal to bring it to life. Wait, what is this smell and why is my gas tank filled with something that smells like varnish? Yep, that's right, I didn't drain the tank, crap! I new remedial action would be required if I was going to have even the smallest chance of getting it running. I drained the tank, pulled the plug and sprayed a whole bunch of WD40 onto the top of the piston. I sprayed more WD40 into the carburetor, then changed the oil and added about 1 gallon of fresh fuel. I held my breath as I pulled the cord to start it. It started on the first pull. I was shocked. I let it run about an hour before shutting it down.
At 5:45AM today (Monday) I was awakened by a loud bang and then the absence of noise. The transformer at the end of my driveway took a lightning hit and it was fried. It wasn't even raining when it happened. I called it in and then laid back down. At 6:30, I still didn't have power so I decided to take us from DEFCOM 4 to DEFCOM 3. I got up, put on shorts and shoes and headed for the garage. I picked up my two five gallon gas cans and emptied the remaining two gallons into the generator. I took the cans and hopped on my riding mower to drive to the gas station. My mower holds 9 gallons so it's a nice emergency source of fuel. I filled up the cans and mower then came home and topped off the generator. I immediately went back to the station one more time to top off the cans. DEFCOM 3 complete.
At 7:15AM and still no power I decided to go to DEFCOM 2. I went back in the garage and pulled out all the heavy-duty extension cords. I ran them from the generator to the closest window of the house. I opened the window and piled them in the floor and decided what I was going to power if I had to go to DEFCOM 1. Once I decided it would be the window AC unit in the FL room, the frig, the small TV and DVD, two fans and one light I announced (to myself) DEFOM 2 complete.
At 7:40AM and still no power I decided the moment of truth had come. It was time to set DEFCOM 1. I went out to the generator and it started on the first pull again. I left it to warm up while I connected the cords to their assigned devices and then returned to the generator. I first plugged in the AC and went back inside to turn it on. AC OK. I went back outside and plugged in the frig. frig OK. I then plugged in the TV/DVD. TV/DVD OK. You get the picture. at 7:47AM, DEFCOM 1 was complete and we were fully operational.
I left for work at 8:20AM and the power was restored at 9:15AM.
This is when the problems started. My wife couldn't get the generator turned off despite me screaming at here on the phone how easy it was to do. Therefore, I had to come back home and do it myself, grrrr. When I arrived at the house I discovered the generator running roughly and the switch that turns it on-off, laying on the ground. I tried to push the on-off button back in without success. I used my multi-tool to pull the spark plug wire off the plug. Since I had the wire off I decided to run to the store and get another plug. I figured it might be fouled and that's why it was running rough. I found a plug at the second store, drove home and had it installed in 2 minutes. I decided to test the machine with the new plug and to my dismay I discovered the pull-start was pulling out way to easy and this was because it wasn't turning the flywheel. It wasn't turning the flywheel because the spines weren't lifting up. I disassembled the thing on the spot. I grew up working on lawnmowers at my Grandfathers Lawn Mower repair shop so I knew just what to do and it would take me 10 minutes. Believe it or not a lot has changed in the last 30 years and there were many more parts to remove than there were in the good old days. When I finally got it apart and discovered I needed a special tool I decided to improvise. I pulled out the WD40 again and soaked the top of the flywheel where this, can't remember the name, part was located. I then banged it about 10 times with my ratchet. Sometimes the best tool is a bigger hammer because that fixed the problem. I reassembled the parts and 40 minutes after starting I was done. We were back at DEFCOM 2 but everything was ready to go for the approaching bad weather. Our bad weather consisted of 15 minutes of sprinkles and 15-20 knots of peak wind gust. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy we were spared and can certainly empathies with the poor folks in south FL. I have been through 2 direct hits and it's horrible.
I will return to DEFCOM 3 tomorrow and likely stay there until Ivan passes. When the end of the season comes I hope I am telling more stories like this and none about my damage.
To all those with damage I send my best and hope you have a speedy recovery.
