labdad
ArboristSite Operative
A can of Seafoam and a new sparkplug would be a good place to start. I'm new here so I probably wouldn't listen to me...LOL
Log splitter engine running rough
- Thread starter winland
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Not the only way to get water in his fuel, either, obviously.
Hunting and surging is common- many times water, mostly cause it doesn't burn.
And governor spring tensioned changed- for all kinds of reasons.
Absolutely true... but he wasn't talkin' like it's only happened once, or even twice.
His exact words were...
"With mine it is usually water in the float bowl even with E10."
He's talkin' like it happens on a regular basis... and he's running E10. Yeah, a fella' might buy a bad batch of gas with some water in it... I think that's happened to me once in 55 years, maybe twice. And yeah, a fella might forget to put the cap back on the tank in a rain storm... I can't remember ever doing that. And yeah, a gas tank sitting 1/4 full over winter will sometimes get water in it from condensation, but usually, unless it a awful lot, that will stay suspended in non-ethanol fuel and not create an issue... the ethanol in E10 forces it to separate out, so that is an E10 issue. And yeah, I suppose the kids may be pouring water in his splitter when he's not lookin'.
The only times I've repeatedly seen water in fuel tanks and float bowls of small engines is when the owner uses E10. Some people just won't believe you the first time, or the second... the third time they start to wonder, and the forth time they finally believe.
Ok, problem solved with the help from all of you.
I tried the most simple things first.
Emptied the gas tank and bought new 89 octane gas and added some Seafoam to the tank.
That did not help.
I then removed the bowl float and cleaned and replaced.
That did not help.
I then noticed that there was a strip of metal (cylinder heat shield) was slightly bent and just barely touching the governor spring.
I bent it to its original position, flat against the cylinder and presto....
Runs like new again.
thanks to all.
I tried the most simple things first.
Emptied the gas tank and bought new 89 octane gas and added some Seafoam to the tank.
That did not help.
I then removed the bowl float and cleaned and replaced.
That did not help.
I then noticed that there was a strip of metal (cylinder heat shield) was slightly bent and just barely touching the governor spring.
I bent it to its original position, flat against the cylinder and presto....
Runs like new again.
thanks to all.
Glad you got it fixed. I was kind of leaning towards the loose carb. Helped a neighbor a few years ago, had the same problem with her snowblower. Checked the carb, screws were backed halfway out.
Well judgeing from the amount of ethanol blend gasoline avaliable and in use by so many people just in autos and light trucks and the percentage of complaints that can actually be proven to be the result of blended fuel,no reason for it to be good advice.As for me and
the rest of people in NYS blended gasoline is required and no one I know is haveing a problem.
" Water in the float bowl because you're running E10" In the days before blended fuel and water in fuel was suspected a product known as"dry gas " was dumped into the fuel tank. Still readily avaliable.And the main main ingrediant- either ethanol, methenol or isopropal . Back before blended fuel came into being dry gas was in heavy use in the northern part of the US and most all of Canada. My father bought Crystys by the case.The stuff really worked.
"Water will stay suspended in non ethanol fuel" Nope ,water ,a small or large amount will end up at the bottom of the tank.Alcohal will absorb the water and allow it to pass through a carb. or injector,into the cumbustion chamber and out the exhaust as steam.
Woodchucker Ron
ArboristSite Operative
Good advice on the Seafoam. I use it in all my small engines that I know will be sitting awhile and hardly ever have fuel issues.
513yj
ArboristSite Operative
It gets a little more complicated than one might think. Water is polar, alcohol is polar due to the carboxyl side chain and like dissolves like. You want to use isopropyl or methanol for treating water in gas because of the way the molecules react with the H2O molecules as it is less volatile than ethanol because of the side chain interaction. Simply put dry gas is an "alcohol based product" and I'm fairly certain isopropanol or methanol would be the products and it should not be pure alcohol. The problem with any alcohol is it causes dry rot in rubber because of the way the molecules react to the molecules in rubber. The E in E10 is supposed to be treated to halt negative interactions with the fuel lines and components but as in any mixture heavier molecules sink to the bottom and I'd bet the tanks are not stirred before you pump the stuff out.
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I had carb issues one time on mine and after several years of dealing with it and constantly jacking with it.
I bit the bullet and sprung for a new one at a whopping $31.99 for a brand new carb.:msp_w00t:
If I had known how cheap and easy it was to change out, I would have done it in the first place and skipped all the headaches.:msp_rolleyes:
Dennis
I bit the bullet and sprung for a new one at a whopping $31.99 for a brand new carb.:msp_w00t:
If I had known how cheap and easy it was to change out, I would have done it in the first place and skipped all the headaches.:msp_rolleyes:
Dennis
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missedbass
ArboristSite Operative
I made the mistake of leaving fuel in the engine for while. Drained the fuel bowl and now shut the fuel valve and run the splitter dry when I'm done. No more problems.
Preston
Addicted to ArboristSite
I'm gonna get me some of that seafoam and see what that stuff is.
Possibly a stretched governor spring? I think that is the problem with my B&S splitter engine.
That B&S has a plastic intake tube that feeds it.. The carb / filter kinda hangs on it.. then goes across the motor.. P!@s poor design thing.. Also hard to find replacements, at-least from where I looked... This was the culprit of my " rough run". Mine is now tie- wired together until the replacement is found.. Starts now on one pull, runs as intended..
Replacement carbs have been in high demand and as with a lot of items short supply. If you call briggs with the engine block # they, in past , have been very helpful in parts. BUT briggs has gone through a lot of changes recently so I do not know where they are at.
Thanx for the reply,, I did a search on the box.. Where the replacements were un-available.. My carb was fine. My issue was definitely the intake tube that the carb was hanging on. Not sure of the brain surgeons notion on design of that nature for the carb and filter to be pressed / fitted/ o-ringed together with the vibration of the thing .. I remember the carb seemed to be available.. Not the intake tube. I was somewhat impressed with the extra o-ring, tie wire thing I did.. Call it a home improvement.. Same springs, same carb, etc.. Actually runs very smooth and at a lower rpm.
That strange performance written about on the previous post, for mine was air leaking from the connection of that tube to the carb. The carb was going to fall off literally. Maybe epoxy would be better. Sounds terrible, yet "thrifty".
Chi-Com sourcing, Briggs quality has suffered greatly over the past 10 + years. everything is made to a throw away standard with gold plated pricing.
I’m in NYS and have about 6 stations within 10 miles that sell non e gas . Prior to them selling it I had problems with storing my old cars not so much my small equipment because I would store them dry in a temp controlled environment.
The small engine repair shops around me run two to three week lead times because they are so busy . And most is fuel related issues . Because people don’t want to spend 79 cents more a gallon for non e
