Snip....



"Don't know what made me think of this but I got a hairdryer, took offÂ*
the side cover of the Honda and blew hot air all around the carb area,Â*
being careful not to get the hairdryer too close. Â*Only did it for aÂ*
couple of minutes, pulled the starter cord and it fired up right away.Â*

Later that day, my next door neighbor couldn't start his identical HondaÂ*
either. Â*Acted just like mine had. Â*I told him what I did and he triedÂ*
it also. Â*After warming up the carb area briefly his also fired rightÂ*
up. Â*I suspect that whatever water was in the fuel (there's always aÂ*
tiny amount) froze in the needle area preventing fuel from flowing.Â*
Warming it slightly must have melted it and both mine and his have runÂ*
fine since."



In an emergency that could be tricky. That is...no power to operate the hair dryer.
Maybe I should get an inverter anyway...and make my boat battery earn it's keep.

On Sat, 17 Mar 2018 18:31:38 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 3/17/2018 6:14 PM, True North wrote:
On Saturday, 17 March 2018 16:25:06 UTC-3, John H wrote:
On Sat, 17 Mar 2018 11:04:33 -0400, wrote:

On Sat, 17 Mar 2018 10:01:36 -0400, John H.
wrote:

On Sat, 17 Mar 2018 09:41:34 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 3/17/2018 9:35 AM, John H. wrote:
On Sat, 17 Mar 2018 07:29:05 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 3/17/2018 7:25 AM, John H. wrote:
On Fri, 16 Mar 2018 20:19:16 -0400, wrote:

On Fri, 16 Mar 2018 12:59:36 -0700 (PDT), True North
wrote:

Mr. Luddite

- show quoted text -

"Don ... suggest you do another test for at least half an hour.

Start it up and let it run with the Eco mode "on" Â*and with *no*
load on the generator.

Reason?

You've suspected that it was flooding. Â*Running it under a
load may cause it to use all the gas the float and bowl can
deliver ... so it didn't flood.

Running it for at least a half hour ... maybe an hour to compare
apple to apples Â*will not draw anywhere near as much gas. Â*If the
float or something is screwing up it might flood again."



Just came in. I ?an the Honda for an hour on Econo Mode with no load.
When I first switched over to Econo Mode it almost stumbled for a second but then ran flawlessly. Hopefully I'm good to go. Thanks for the help.

Yup, lets just say there was something that needed "breaking in" ;-)
Since this thing is so cheap to run, you might as well run it a few
more times over the next couple of months to increase your confidence
factor. I still think running it dry and storing it that way is best
but if not, be sure you stabilize your gas. One of the things I like
about my old briggs is the gas tank comes right off with a quick
disconnect fuel line connector that shuts off the gas and 4 thumb
screws. When I am done, I can shut off the gas, run it dry and empty
the tank in my boat.

There is a youtube vid showing a guy who installed a petcock in the gas line of the little Honda.
Good idea. I wish Honda had done something like that. I suppose one could pour out the gas and then
let it run 'til dry. But starting it once a month or so is not that hard.



There *is* a way to drain the gas from the bowl, provided by Honda.

Yes, that's easy. But would more gas enter the bowl from the lines once that screw was closed up
again?


Yes. One guy simply put a clamp on the line from the tank to the bowl.


A baby vice grips might be worth throwing in the bottom.

They make a purpose built clamp just for doing this. I will look
around and see if I have a few. IBM gave us 2 in a kit for replacing
the radiators in water cooled machines. I used to have a bunch but I
am not sure where I would start to look ;-)
The problem with vice grips is the teeth on the jaws is tough on the
hose.
This thing was round with a thumb screw to tighten it up.
I think the perfect solution would be a 3 way valve with a stub of
hose that you could poke into a jug to drain the tank. If I was going
to install a valve, that is what I would look for.


This shows the petcock the owner installed in the Honda. Pretty good idea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQ5O7Phf7n0


My unit is a bit different. Directly under the carb and to the left of the air filter the hoses are wrapped in gray foam. Not sure if I can get at that lower bowl drain plug without removing the foam 'insulation' first. Must be part of the 'Cold Weather Technology'.



Don ... off that subject but I thought I'd pass on this experience again
that I had with the Honda.

Back in January following almost 2 weeks of unusually cold weather when
nighttime temps dropped below zero (F) and daytime temps never got above
about 12 degrees F, I decided to fire up the Honda to make sure it was
working because a snowstorm was heading our way. It wouldn't start no
matter what I did. I must have pulled on that cord a hundred times and
it didn't even burp. I took out the plug ... it looked fine. Made sure
it had gas, full choke and and vent lever on the gas cap was "on".
Still would not start.

Don't know what made me think of this but I got a hairdryer, took off
the side cover of the Honda and blew hot air all around the carb area,
being careful not to get the hairdryer too close. Only did it for a
couple of minutes, pulled the starter cord and it fired up right away.

Later that day, my next door neighbor couldn't start his identical Honda
either. Acted just like mine had. I told him what I did and he tried
it also. After warming up the carb area briefly his also fired right
up. I suspect that whatever water was in the fuel (there's always a
tiny amount) froze in the needle area preventing fuel from flowing.
Warming it slightly must have melted it and both mine and his have run
fine since.

It might have just been so cold the gasoline didn't vaporize properly.
If there any chance this was "summer blend" left over from your lawn
equipment?
They do blend it differently for cold weather. If you are running
E-10, water should be a non-issue unless you get so much it phase
separates.

On Sat, 17 Mar 2018 18:44:43 -0400, John H.
wrote:

How much you want for that hair dryer?

:)

The biggest flaw in that plan is if the power is off and the generator
won't start, where do you plug the hair dryer in?

On 3/17/2018 6:59 PM, True North wrote:
Snip....



"Don't know what made me think of this but I got a hairdryer, took off
the side cover of the Honda and blew hot air all around the carb area,
being careful not to get the hairdryer too close. Â*Only did it for a
couple of minutes, pulled the starter cord and it fired up right away.

Later that day, my next door neighbor couldn't start his identical Honda
either. Â*Acted just like mine had. Â*I told him what I did and he tried
it also. Â*After warming up the carb area briefly his also fired right
up. Â*I suspect that whatever water was in the fuel (there's always a
tiny amount) froze in the needle area preventing fuel from flowing.
Warming it slightly must have melted it and both mine and his have run
fine since."



In an emergency that could be tricky. That is...no power to operate the hair dryer.
Maybe I should get an inverter anyway...and make my boat battery earn it's keep.



The idea is to make sure it runs *before* a storm arrives with it's
potential power loss especially if you've had very cold temperatures.

On 3/17/2018 7:38 PM, wrote:
On Sat, 17 Mar 2018 18:31:38 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 3/17/2018 6:14 PM, True North wrote:
On Saturday, 17 March 2018 16:25:06 UTC-3, John H wrote:
On Sat, 17 Mar 2018 11:04:33 -0400, wrote:

On Sat, 17 Mar 2018 10:01:36 -0400, John H.
wrote:

On Sat, 17 Mar 2018 09:41:34 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 3/17/2018 9:35 AM, John H. wrote:
On Sat, 17 Mar 2018 07:29:05 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 3/17/2018 7:25 AM, John H. wrote:
On Fri, 16 Mar 2018 20:19:16 -0400, wrote:

On Fri, 16 Mar 2018 12:59:36 -0700 (PDT), True North
wrote:

Mr. Luddite

- show quoted text -

"Don ... suggest you do another test for at least half an hour.

Start it up and let it run with the Eco mode "on" Â*and with *no*
load on the generator.

Reason?

You've suspected that it was flooding. Â*Running it under a
load may cause it to use all the gas the float and bowl can
deliver ... so it didn't flood.

Running it for at least a half hour ... maybe an hour to compare
apple to apples Â*will not draw anywhere near as much gas. Â*If the
float or something is screwing up it might flood again."



Just came in. I ?an the Honda for an hour on Econo Mode with no load.
When I first switched over to Econo Mode it almost stumbled for a second but then ran flawlessly. Hopefully I'm good to go. Thanks for the help.

Yup, lets just say there was something that needed "breaking in" ;-)
Since this thing is so cheap to run, you might as well run it a few
more times over the next couple of months to increase your confidence
factor. I still think running it dry and storing it that way is best
but if not, be sure you stabilize your gas. One of the things I like
about my old briggs is the gas tank comes right off with a quick
disconnect fuel line connector that shuts off the gas and 4 thumb
screws. When I am done, I can shut off the gas, run it dry and empty
the tank in my boat.

There is a youtube vid showing a guy who installed a petcock in the gas line of the little Honda.
Good idea. I wish Honda had done something like that. I suppose one could pour out the gas and then
let it run 'til dry. But starting it once a month or so is not that hard.



There *is* a way to drain the gas from the bowl, provided by Honda.

Yes, that's easy. But would more gas enter the bowl from the lines once that screw was closed up
again?


Yes. One guy simply put a clamp on the line from the tank to the bowl.


A baby vice grips might be worth throwing in the bottom.

They make a purpose built clamp just for doing this. I will look
around and see if I have a few. IBM gave us 2 in a kit for replacing
the radiators in water cooled machines. I used to have a bunch but I
am not sure where I would start to look ;-)
The problem with vice grips is the teeth on the jaws is tough on the
hose.
This thing was round with a thumb screw to tighten it up.
I think the perfect solution would be a 3 way valve with a stub of
hose that you could poke into a jug to drain the tank. If I was going
to install a valve, that is what I would look for.


This shows the petcock the owner installed in the Honda. Pretty good idea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQ5O7Phf7n0


My unit is a bit different. Directly under the carb and to the left of the air filter the hoses are wrapped in gray foam. Not sure if I can get at that lower bowl drain plug without removing the foam 'insulation' first. Must be part of the 'Cold Weather Technology'.



Don ... off that subject but I thought I'd pass on this experience again
that I had with the Honda.

Back in January following almost 2 weeks of unusually cold weather when
nighttime temps dropped below zero (F) and daytime temps never got above
about 12 degrees F, I decided to fire up the Honda to make sure it was
working because a snowstorm was heading our way. It wouldn't start no
matter what I did. I must have pulled on that cord a hundred times and
it didn't even burp. I took out the plug ... it looked fine. Made sure
it had gas, full choke and and vent lever on the gas cap was "on".
Still would not start.

Don't know what made me think of this but I got a hairdryer, took off
the side cover of the Honda and blew hot air all around the carb area,
being careful not to get the hairdryer too close. Only did it for a
couple of minutes, pulled the starter cord and it fired up right away.

Later that day, my next door neighbor couldn't start his identical Honda
either. Acted just like mine had. I told him what I did and he tried
it also. After warming up the carb area briefly his also fired right
up. I suspect that whatever water was in the fuel (there's always a
tiny amount) froze in the needle area preventing fuel from flowing.
Warming it slightly must have melted it and both mine and his have run
fine since.

It might have just been so cold the gasoline didn't vaporize properly.
If there any chance this was "summer blend" left over from your lawn
equipment?
They do blend it differently for cold weather. If you are running
E-10, water should be a non-issue unless you get so much it phase
separates.



Could be. The gas was left over from the summer.

On 3/17/2018 7:41 PM, wrote:
On Sat, 17 Mar 2018 18:44:43 -0400, John H.
wrote:

How much you want for that hair dryer?

:)

The biggest flaw in that plan is if the power is off and the generator
won't start, where do you plug the hair dryer in?



Like I just mentioned to Don, the idea is to make sure it's going to run
*before* the storm arrives and there's a risk of a power outage.

It didn't happen again with the same gas but the temperatures never got
as cold as they had prior to that one time event. We had experienced
zero to 12 degrees for almost 2 weeks.

Same with my neighbor's Honda. Both have started normally since then.

True North wrote:
Snip....



"Don't know what made me think of this but I got a hairdryer, took off
the side cover of the Honda and blew hot air all around the carb area,
being careful not to get the hairdryer too close. Only did it for a
couple of minutes, pulled the starter cord and it fired up right away.

Later that day, my next door neighbor couldn't start his identical Honda
either. Acted just like mine had. I told him what I did and he tried
it also. After warming up the carb area briefly his also fired right
up. I suspect that whatever water was in the fuel (there's always a
tiny amount) froze in the needle area preventing fuel from flowing.
Warming it slightly must have melted it and both mine and his have run
fine since."



In an emergency that could be tricky. That is...no power to operate the hair dryer.
Maybe I should get an inverter anyway...and make my boat battery earn it's keep.

You would need a huge inverter to power a hair dryer. They are 1500
watts, or so.

On Sat, 17 Mar 2018 21:10:56 -0400, Alex wrote:

True North wrote:
Snip....



"Don't know what made me think of this but I got a hairdryer, took off
the side cover of the Honda and blew hot air all around the carb area,
being careful not to get the hairdryer too close. Only did it for a
couple of minutes, pulled the starter cord and it fired up right away.

Later that day, my next door neighbor couldn't start his identical Honda
either. Acted just like mine had. I told him what I did and he tried
it also. After warming up the carb area briefly his also fired right
up. I suspect that whatever water was in the fuel (there's always a
tiny amount) froze in the needle area preventing fuel from flowing.
Warming it slightly must have melted it and both mine and his have run
fine since."



In an emergency that could be tricky. That is...no power to operate the hair dryer.
Maybe I should get an inverter anyway...and make my boat battery earn it's keep.

You would need a huge inverter to power a hair dryer. They are 1500
watts, or so.

A hair dryer is really overkill. You could put a 60w light bulb under
the carb and cover it loosely with a towel. In a minute or so the carb
would be toasty. They make inverters that plug into a cigarette
lighter that will do that. For that matter you could use a 12v
headlight bulb and skip the inverter altogether.

On Saturday, 17 March 2018 19:14:30 UTC-3, True North wrote:
On Saturday, 17 March 2018 16:25:06 UTC-3, John H wrote:
On Sat, 17 Mar 2018 11:04:33 -0400, wrote:

On Sat, 17 Mar 2018 10:01:36 -0400, John H.
wrote:

On Sat, 17 Mar 2018 09:41:34 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 3/17/2018 9:35 AM, John H. wrote:
On Sat, 17 Mar 2018 07:29:05 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 3/17/2018 7:25 AM, John H. wrote:
On Fri, 16 Mar 2018 20:19:16 -0400, wrote:

On Fri, 16 Mar 2018 12:59:36 -0700 (PDT), True North
wrote:

Mr. Luddite

- show quoted text -

"Don ... suggest you do another test for at least half an hour..

Start it up and let it run with the Eco mode "on" Â*and with *no*
load on the generator.

Reason?

You've suspected that it was flooding. Â*Running it under a
load may cause it to use all the gas the float and bowl can
deliver ... so it didn't flood.

Running it for at least a half hour ... maybe an hour to compare
apple to apples Â*will not draw anywhere near as much gas. Â*If the
float or something is screwing up it might flood again."



Just came in. I ?an the Honda for an hour on Econo Mode with no load.
When I first switched over to Econo Mode it almost stumbled for a second but then ran flawlessly. Hopefully I'm good to go. Thanks for the help.

Yup, lets just say there was something that needed "breaking in" ;-)
Since this thing is so cheap to run, you might as well run it a few
more times over the next couple of months to increase your confidence
factor. I still think running it dry and storing it that way is best
but if not, be sure you stabilize your gas. One of the things I like
about my old briggs is the gas tank comes right off with a quick
disconnect fuel line connector that shuts off the gas and 4 thumb
screws. When I am done, I can shut off the gas, run it dry and empty
the tank in my boat.

There is a youtube vid showing a guy who installed a petcock in the gas line of the little Honda.
Good idea. I wish Honda had done something like that. I suppose one could pour out the gas and then
let it run 'til dry. But starting it once a month or so is not that hard.



There *is* a way to drain the gas from the bowl, provided by Honda.

Yes, that's easy. But would more gas enter the bowl from the lines once that screw was closed up
again?


Yes. One guy simply put a clamp on the line from the tank to the bowl.


A baby vice grips might be worth throwing in the bottom.

They make a purpose built clamp just for doing this. I will look
around and see if I have a few. IBM gave us 2 in a kit for replacing
the radiators in water cooled machines. I used to have a bunch but I
am not sure where I would start to look ;-)
The problem with vice grips is the teeth on the jaws is tough on the
hose.
This thing was round with a thumb screw to tighten it up.
I think the perfect solution would be a 3 way valve with a stub of
hose that you could poke into a jug to drain the tank. If I was going
to install a valve, that is what I would look for.


This shows the petcock the owner installed in the Honda. Pretty good idea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQ5O7Phf7n0


My unit is a bit different. Directly under the carb and to the left of the air filter the hoses are wrapped in gray foam. Not sure if I can get at that lower bowl drain plug without removing the foam 'insulation' first. Must be part of the 'Cold Weather Technology'.

I see on the Honda generator website they refer to Cold Climate Technology as some kind of breather heater. You can buy it as an accessory for about $80.00 Seems there was a problem with the breather hose freezing up so they came up with this 'fix'.

On Sat, 17 Mar 2018 20:15:40 -0700 (PDT), True North wrote:

On Saturday, 17 March 2018 19:14:30 UTC-3, True North wrote:
On Saturday, 17 March 2018 16:25:06 UTC-3, John H wrote:
On Sat, 17 Mar 2018 11:04:33 -0400, wrote:

On Sat, 17 Mar 2018 10:01:36 -0400, John H.
wrote:

On Sat, 17 Mar 2018 09:41:34 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 3/17/2018 9:35 AM, John H. wrote:
On Sat, 17 Mar 2018 07:29:05 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 3/17/2018 7:25 AM, John H. wrote:
On Fri, 16 Mar 2018 20:19:16 -0400, wrote:

On Fri, 16 Mar 2018 12:59:36 -0700 (PDT), True North
wrote:

Mr. Luddite

- show quoted text -

"Don ... suggest you do another test for at least half an hour.

Start it up and let it run with the Eco mode "on" *and with *no*
load on the generator.

Reason?

You've suspected that it was flooding. *Running it under a
load may cause it to use all the gas the float and bowl can
deliver ... so it didn't flood.

Running it for at least a half hour ... maybe an hour to compare
apple to apples *will not draw anywhere near as much gas. *If the
float or something is screwing up it might flood again."



Just came in. I ?an the Honda for an hour on Econo Mode with no load.
When I first switched over to Econo Mode it almost stumbled for a second but then ran flawlessly. Hopefully I'm good to go. Thanks for the help.

Yup, lets just say there was something that needed "breaking in" ;-)
Since this thing is so cheap to run, you might as well run it a few
more times over the next couple of months to increase your confidence
factor. I still think running it dry and storing it that way is best
but if not, be sure you stabilize your gas. One of the things I like
about my old briggs is the gas tank comes right off with a quick
disconnect fuel line connector that shuts off the gas and 4 thumb
screws. When I am done, I can shut off the gas, run it dry and empty
the tank in my boat.

There is a youtube vid showing a guy who installed a petcock in the gas line of the little Honda.
Good idea. I wish Honda had done something like that. I suppose one could pour out the gas and then
let it run 'til dry. But starting it once a month or so is not that hard.



There *is* a way to drain the gas from the bowl, provided by Honda.

Yes, that's easy. But would more gas enter the bowl from the lines once that screw was closed up
again?


Yes. One guy simply put a clamp on the line from the tank to the bowl.


A baby vice grips might be worth throwing in the bottom.

They make a purpose built clamp just for doing this. I will look
around and see if I have a few. IBM gave us 2 in a kit for replacing
the radiators in water cooled machines. I used to have a bunch but I
am not sure where I would start to look ;-)
The problem with vice grips is the teeth on the jaws is tough on the
hose.
This thing was round with a thumb screw to tighten it up.
I think the perfect solution would be a 3 way valve with a stub of
hose that you could poke into a jug to drain the tank. If I was going
to install a valve, that is what I would look for.


This shows the petcock the owner installed in the Honda. Pretty good idea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQ5O7Phf7n0


My unit is a bit different. Directly under the carb and to the left of the air filter the hoses are wrapped in gray foam. Not sure if I can get at that lower bowl drain plug without removing the foam 'insulation' first. Must be part of the 'Cold Weather Technology'.

I see on the Honda generator website they refer to Cold Climate Technology as some kind of breather heater. You can buy it as an accessory for about $80.00 Seems there was a problem with the breather hose freezing up so they came up with this 'fix'.

Are you talking about one of these:

https://www.babbittshondageneratorho...d-weather-kits

In order for it to work, the engine must be running.