7 year old generator that I've never started - still good?

[mazeroth]

I bought a 13 HP 6,000 watt King Craft generator about 7 years ago and it's sat in my garage ever since. I've never put oil in it...nothing. Is this baby as good as the day I brought her home or is there going to be some damage that took place sitting that long? I would assume they tested the engine with oil upon building it, drained it, so there would be some residual oil coating everything. But what do I know?

Thanks!

 

[jlee]

I would put some oil in the cylinder(s) and slowly turn it over by hand a few times, change the oil, put in fresh gas and fire it up.

 

[KillerBee]

Definitely drain the gas if it has been sitting that long ..if it starts right up congrats//
if not check out carb jets -may need cleaning

Oil ..idk ...can't hurt to drain it and refill

 

[LTC8K6]

I would put some oil in the cylinder(s) and slowly turn it over by hand a few times, change the oil, put in fresh gas and fire it up.

That's exactly what I'd do.

It's never had oil in it, so I guess you can skip the oil change.

 

[pcgeek11]

Post # 2 and # 3 are right on. The worst you would have would be the Carb getting corroded internally and the Piston rings seizing.

Just for information purposes: If you plan on letting an engine sit for extended periods. Remove the spark plug(s) and inject some oil into the Spark Plug hole(s) and rotate the engine a couple of times without firing it up. Then reinstall the plug(s).

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Post # 2 and # 3 are right on. The worst you would have would be the Carb getting corroded internally and the Piston rings seizing.

Sort of. The order of operations could be a bit better.

Disconnect the fuel line from the carb first. Drain carb. Doing this first will keep you from possibly further clogging the carb. Then pull the plug and put some oil down the cylinder. Crank it over a couple times. Might as well check for spark while the plug is out by grounding and watching for arc. Drain and replace fuel. Hook fuel line back up. Fire it up.

 

[pcgeek11]

Good points. ^^^

 

[jlee]

Sort of. The order of operations could be a bit better.

Disconnect the fuel line from the carb first. Drain carb. Doing this first will keep you from possibly further clogging the carb. Then pull the plug and put some oil down the cylinder. Crank it over a couple times. Might as well check for spark while the plug is out by grounding and watching for arc. Drain and replace fuel. Hook fuel line back up. Fire it up.

If it's never been used, the carb should be empty.

 

[mazeroth]

Yes, this puppy has never been used. I took it out of the box, attached the handle and wheels and it's sat in the corner ever since. Any electrical outages we've had since I purchased it were very short and didn't warrant hooking this beast up.

 

[Doougin]

If you've never put oil or gas in it, it should be fine. just put oil and new gas in it and give it a go.

 

[pcgeek11]

And you should start it at least a few times per year and allow it to run a while to warm up. Load the generator up some also. If you don't it will fail when you need it most.

 

[LTC8K6]

Yes, this puppy has never been used. I took it out of the box, attached the handle and wheels and it's sat in the corner ever since. Any electrical outages we've had since I purchased it were very short and didn't warrant hooking this beast up.

I would just put a little oil in the cylinder then take take the spark plug wire off, and slowly turn the engine over a few times. If it turns freely and feels okay, and you can see a spark, then put oil in the crank case, and fuel in the fuel tank, and see if it starts up.

I would use new oil, not the 7 or 8 year old bottle of oil that it came with.