Newbie - generator question

[mi99amigo]

Hi all, I am a new owner getting ready for my first winter with a generator. While I am familiar with winterizing the water lines with my previous travel trailers, I have never had a generator before.

1. Now that the night time temps are below 30, I have no luck starting the generator. The manuals says there is an automatic chock. Is there any tricks to starting the Generac Guardian? I have plenty of gas in the tank. I am not aware of any fuel shut off - is there one?

2. I plan to run the generator every 3 weeks or so (if I can get it started), through out our New England winter. Do you all have any advice about taking care of the generator in the cold months? Will it even start at -25??

Thanks for your help!

[Randy Wilson]

Chris, my experience has been that Generac generator must be run frequently. If not, it takes a lot of cranking to pump enough fuel to get it going. This is even more of a problem in cold weather. However, there is an outside starting switch that you access by opening the generator compartment and removing the generator cover. It is on the right side as you face the generator. My memory is that you activate the switch for ten seconds. This will apply the choke and prime the engine to permit a quick start for those times when it hasn't been run enough. This is much better than cranking too long since that can damage the starter motor.

[Steve W]

Chris. Live in the Sacramento Valley in Northern CA, so we do not have your extreme temps. I do have a future son-in-law who is a large airplane/helicopter mechanic and who has an RV with gen. I was trying to start my gen in our BFT awhile back and was holding down the outside primer button for the prescribed ten seconds & getting nothing but a starter grind and the odor of gas. He suggested I back off, let everying settle and then try using the primer button for no longer than 8 seconds. Viola, I now have a generator that starts when I ask. I was flooding the carb. Further, whenever the gen has not been run for a while, I always start it from the outside. Anyway, I will simply pass this on as added info.

Steve W

[Trisha]

I usually try to (first) start the genset without priming, if it has been less than a week since I used it. If it doesn't start quickly (andI mean less than two secs max), I prime (inside the coach usually) but NEVER longer than 5 seconds. I'm too impatient. Never had a problem after 4-5 secs priming. Never even tried to prime it longer than that.

4-5 secs does it. I count outloud. any gas engine is easily flooded. Even in COLD MN, with Feul Injectors, I never touch the gas pedal....back in the days of carbs we used to pump too much. I have watched (and scolded ) my mom because she couldn't break the habit of pumping the gas to start the car. Sadly I think she's damaged it...I have weird results when starting this one.

I am from the feul injected generation and we don't touch the gas. A quick tap and I do mean quick, maybe if it's 25 below zero and you've already had trouble. But batteries are a bigger bugaboo than gas delivery as a rule.

But now that I've added my usual $3 worth...anyone know if a person would put feul additives (ie Heet-isopropyl) if the temps drop below 20 below? I've had a feul line freeze on a car... it was nearly 50 below. Or would I just want to leave things alone until it warmed again?

I suppose I need a north dakota or Canadian or someone from MN or somewhere equally up-north with some way-below-zero experience on this one.

[Trisha]

I mean feul not fuel. Or visa versa. Visa versa in fact. Oops.

patricia