So I replaced the chipper blades in my HF wood chipper. I ordered a second set and couldn't believe how dull they were....brand new! I'll make a new thread on that adventure but the problem is, started up the chipper today and it was just running like dog crap. Really slow revolutions, would run for a little bit but with a huge drop in power and rpms. I'm not a small engine expert at all.......but it smelled like gas......and that meant it was probably flooded.....and the most common culprit was something to do with the float or needle valve on the carburetor..... Anyways, I was in the middle of needing to clean up a huge stack of branches from the storm.....I found that if I adjusted the fuel line shut off just so, it would run well enough that I could finish up. I tried changing the oil as well before running it and man, just look at the video. Looks real watery and thin......there's a swirling silvery substance in there....and if I had to guess I'd guess I had gasoline in my oil. So after I was done I unbolted the bowl for the carb and noticed that the inside of it was shaped to form with the float....and that it seemed off center to me..... I tapped the float up and down about 20 times.....the bowl looked clean, no visible debris, clean gas, and after I put it all back together, it ran with full power. When I was replacing the blades I didn't tilt the engine over - kept it upright and propped up on some paving bricks....Had to take off the chute in order to access the blades. I'm going to change the oil again before I use it again and see how it runs..... But if y'all could take a look at the video and tell me what you think..... I only have about 12 hours of runtime on this thing. Put an hour meter on it before using it. Hasn't been knocked over at all and has been stored inside my garage the entire time. I've only used fresh gasoline and only got it about a few months ago.....it hasn't sat very long as I've been really busy cleaning up lots of brush and collecting mulch for my composting adventures. Download the video to view it in hi-res....... Thanks in advance. Gasoline in oil video.
I can’t get the video to work but I would say you are on the right track with the needle/float. Is there a fuel shut of on the unit? If not I would put one on and close it before you are done using it letting the fuel in the bowl/line get burned up. Some will say this isn’t going to help but I have a shut off on all the small engines I can and it seems to help for me.
I have had gravity feed generator that ended up with fuel in the oil from a left open fuel valve. If your unit is gravity feed, I'll bet that is the problem! Change the oil, always shut the gas off and chip on!
Definitely gas in the oil...not good, but the bigger issue is the silver trail in the oil...that's metal from the engine...probably rod, maybe some cam, a lil piston/cylinder...it must have been ran with that gas in there for a while...and the oil film was "watered" down by the gas. I'd probably run it a bit then change that oil again. I'm a big believer in shutting fuel valves off on gravity fed carburetors...seen them leak internally like that, and also externally a thousand times...sometimes while transporting, sometimes just randomly while in storage. Sounds like its very possible that the bowl was interfering with the float operating correctly
Seen that before, too many times. As said if there’s no shutoff on the line put one on. Works wonders. I’ve had one for years on my moms sit down for exactly that reason. Machine runs fine otherwise. It would fill the crank case with fuel or the muffler. My wood splitter is just the opposite. Never use the shutoff and never let it sit with a dry tank. Different problem but problems nonetheless. Have you changed the oil before? You may be lucky and find that silver in the oil is an additive they put in new engines for break in purposes. Maybe
There is a fuel shut off and I have not been using it. I will from now on. I did get it to run for a bit with the fuel shut off slightly closed.....but it still didn't run well. I might have been smelling the gasoline for too long with the machine running to notice the gasoline smell in the oil! Yes, it is gravity fed as the tank is above the carb so I will shut off the gas from now on. Since I only had 12 hours in it and yes a few months of ownership, I didn't change the oil just yet. The manual says monthly or every 20 hours. I've used it probably around 6 times or so..... Yeah, the minute I pulled the bowl off and saw the asymmetry in the design I knew it was probably jammed up from the bowl being twisted out of position. That was the first oil change. I just changed the oil again this morning and now it looks like regular oil coming. Added some fresh oil with the drain plug still open to flush it out some more and I'll probably change it one more time after the next heavy use just to be safe. I started her up and it's running just fine now. Can you elaborate on why you don't shut off the fuel for the log splitter? I have a champion 34-ton splitter as well as a portable Briggs and Stratton generator. Should I shut off the fuel line on the generator? Thanks for all the responses. The first pic shows a bit of the fresh oil after draining the oil.
The only reason I don’t shut off the fuel on my DHT 28 ton splitter is because it taught me not to. LOL There’s a small metal sweep/spigot that the gas enters the carb from. The gas line is connected to it. Whatever that odd colored piece of metal is it doesn’t react well to oxygen/air and remnants of fuel. Gets a white crusty corrosion in it if air enters the system. First time I noticed it the machine was fairly new. Always shut off the gas on it. One day it wouldn’t run. No fuel. Tore the carb apart and everything looked good. It was that piece of metal. Last place I looked of course. No gas getting inside the carb. Cleaned it out with a thin wire and all’s good. Next time I ran it out of gas and left it empty. Few days later gas it up and it won’t start. Same piece of metal clogged with whitish corrosion. I leave the gas on now. Starts first pull almost every time.
Certainly seems that way, with all small engines, one way or the other they get effected. Splitters relatively new. You’d think they’d have this stuff worked out by now I have a litany of small engines that have fuel issues. One of the reasons I’m not religious about emptying fuel for storage. I’ve seen more dry out issues than wet issues. Sorta like when I was shooting rifles for accuracy. Most people try to force feed a barrel a diet they think should work. Much better to let the barrel tell you what it wants to eat. They’re like women, listen to what they want and the world turns much easier LOL
I would not worry about the silver in the oil because it was the first time it was changed and a bit of wearing in is to be expected on a new engine. I believe in shutting off the valve if it's there.
Thanks for the info. Makes sense. This also makes sense. I will have to hunt down some non-ethanol fuel around here. Thanks. I've shut off the valve on the generator now as well as the splitter. Gonna look at the manual and see what, if anything, it says for the fuel valve on the splitter.
