I've loved having that old Homelite electric generator. WWII vintage -literally built like a tank (smae model used aboard old M4 Shermans), bought on the cheap 18 years back... always provided dependable AC on-demand here in the woods.
Well, the varnish finally defeated the carburetor --won't pass fuel anymore. So does anybody have a surefire trick for dissolving that old solidified gunk lodged in the carb's passages? Sure want to know. Plenty of life left in old gal.
briggi
Well, the varnish finally defeated the carburetor --won't pass fuel anymore. So does anybody have a surefire trick for dissolving that old solidified gunk lodged in the carb's passages? Sure want to know. Plenty of life left in old gal.
briggi
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Utah
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Re: Uncloging old generator carburetor
Tue, May 13, 2008 - 7:49 PMThe one gallon Barryman carb dip works good at loosening globs of dirty gook, but you'll need to completely dis-assemble the carb and remove any plastic and rubber since it will eat it alive.
Gumout spay carb cleaner has always worked good for me. Use the straw and blast it in all the jets and passages. Buy several cans and use it liberally. This is easier on plastic and rubber, but not so good on your hands.
Shop air and a rubber nozzle is good for drying out jets and passages, but be careful, if you blast in one hole, carb cleaner can shoot out another hole into your eyes - ouch!!
Look through the jets at a light to be sure they're clean. Even after all the cleaning, there still might be some crap in them.
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Re: Uncloging old generator carburetor
Wed, May 14, 2008 - 5:49 AMYah what he said: yank it and soak it.
If you have mineral spirits and some kero' mix 'em and soak it in that. Otherwise use a carb' cleaner mixture which will be petroleum distillates of various kinds. -
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Re: Uncloging old generator carburetor
Wed, May 14, 2008 - 9:06 AMThinking about this some-more... Can you find a rebuild kit for this carburator? If not, I'd be hesitant to completely take it apart, since any gaskets will probably be destroyed in the proccess.
It's sometimes possible to use a straight razor and carfully separate the parts, or even make a new gaskets, but that's a big PITA. You might be successfull if you just pull apart everything not sealed with a paper gasket and blast it with the gumout. -
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Re: Uncloging old generator carburetor
Wed, May 14, 2008 - 9:55 AMYes, that was a consideration because they don't make em anymore... and I was like, "what kind of card material can I hand-cut replacement gaskets out of?"
Yes, I agree with you both to use petroleum-base solvents, but wouldn't one have to physically penetrate inside the tiny tunnels with pipecleaners or something at some point... or would sufficient soaking over time do a complete residue dissolve? -
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Re: Uncloging old generator carburetor
Wed, May 14, 2008 - 9:59 AMMost performance automotive shops sell gasket material by the sheet. to make accurate holes go by a craft shop and pick up a leather punch. it will make your life easier.
JSin -
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Re: Uncloging old generator carburetor
Fri, May 16, 2008 - 12:45 PMspent shells also work well for gasket punches too. There are many sizes from .20" to .50" -
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Re: Uncloging old generator carburetor
Fri, May 16, 2008 - 1:18 PMI have in-workshop the gunk-out spray, the spent shells, the leather punch, the exacto, the (unecessary?)RTV silicone & generic red Permatex tube.... but yet to buy lipstick & cork sheet,.... and most of all, trying to find time to do it. Thanks all who have put in some great advice.
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Re: Uncloging old generator carburetor
Fri, May 16, 2008 - 1:43 PMSnowlover wrote:
>"spent shells also work well for gasket punches too. There are many sizes from .20" to .50""<
Great idea, thanks. Now I just have to find someone to empty a few rounds into...<I'm kidding folks I have not met anyone in the last couple days I wanna kill>
JSin
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Re: Uncloging old generator carburetor
Wed, May 14, 2008 - 4:24 PM**********but wouldn't one have to physically penetrate inside the tiny tunnels with pipecleaners or something at some point.********
Pipe cleaners have a wire core that can damage surfaces. As state it can also ream out an orifice.
Use rags, soft brush, cotton swabs, and time in the soak.
Thin Cork is always a good gasket material available in auto parts stores.
Careful making your own floats Some polymers will break down.
Odds are good that your floats are metal stampings soldered together. If they have leaked you can drain 'em, clean 'em, and re-solder 'em.
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Re: Uncloging old generator carburetor
Wed, May 14, 2008 - 12:05 PMSoaking is the trick but never use that Berryman shit. Just read all the EPA control numbers on the side. The smell is more potent than you can imagine and just cause they sell it over the counter doesn't mean that you can easily find a green way to dispose of it.
Yamaha makes a much friendlier carb dip we used around the mc shop. (Works way better too.) -
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Re: Uncloging old generator carburetor
Wed, May 14, 2008 - 3:18 PMI think if you repeatedly blast the innards with gumout, it will dissolve the varnish, assuming thats the only problem. The Holley on my '51 International had a pickled wasp in the float bowl. How it got there, I have no idea.
I'd be carefull with a pipe cleaner so you don't accidentally ream a jet or some orface to a larger diameter.
Also, does this carburator have any vacuum diaphrams? If so, it's probably toast and you'll need to find a rebuilt kit anyway. Give this place a call, it's a long shot, but they might have a kit:
www.carburetor.ca/
I must be strange, I think Barryman and Permatex #3 are among the best smelling stuff on the planet. -
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Re: Uncloging old generator carburetor
Wed, May 14, 2008 - 4:39 PM
I must be strange, I think Barryman and Permatex #3 are among the best smelling stuff on the planet.>>>
Well, there's no arguing taste. Sikaflex exterior caulk always makes me crave chocolate. -
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Re: Uncloging old generator carburetor
Wed, May 14, 2008 - 8:15 PMwhen you want a fast gasket get womens lipstick and an exacto, cover the face of whatever surface you want a gasket for then set it on the gasket material, press then carefully remove and the lipstick leaves a perfect print to trim with your exacto. -
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Re: Uncloging old generator carburetor
Wed, May 14, 2008 - 8:26 PMHow do people feel about gasket adhesive... Permatex or RTV silicone? -
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Re: Uncloging old generator carburetor
Fri, May 16, 2008 - 7:08 AMPermatex what? They manufacture all types. I'll use their Aviation gasket thinned down a little bit to hold a touchy gasket in place. But for the most part, those sealers in a tube are shadetree stuff: shouldn't be necessary for the most part. -
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Re: Uncloging old generator carburetor
Sat, May 17, 2008 - 1:58 PM> RTV silicone
Bad idea. It will melt with the gasoline and clog the jets of the carb.
Check this out
Restoring Carburetors - VJMOG website
www.vjmog.com/ftopict-1588.html
...Instead of soaking them in carb cleaner, use a cleaning product available at Home Depot, WalMart etc called Simple Green. I read this tip on another board, and have used it on half a dozen carbs since - WOW what a difference this makes! It is primarily a degreaser, but it made the carbs look absolutely OEM!! Even the goldish-colored (I forget what that treatment is called) bits like choke levers and choke plates came out looking like new!... (Pictures follow)
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Re: Uncloging old generator carburetor
Sat, May 17, 2008 - 3:26 PMYay! Simple Green ! My engine and mc degreaser of choice for years now.
And to
second Giovanni above.
In a carb specifically, nothing but fuel resistant o-rings and gaskets should be used. Nothing else is necessary.with the exception of pliable rubber intake/supply boots if the gennie even uses them.
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Re: Unclogging old generator carburetor
Sat, May 17, 2008 - 4:21 PMThanks for that SimpleGreen tip. No doubt the pictures show cosmetic beauty. I read the article linked... It sez: "It doesn't do a great job on hardened varnish that you sometimes get in bowls & passages & jets, but...." ... I quote from your article.
So far, it's still the strong solvents that are going to solve the varnish. .... mind the gaskets & seals.
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Re: Uncloging old generator carburetor.....Epilog one
Wed, May 28, 2008 - 11:46 PMLast week I did the following: removed Tillotson carb from generator, disassembled carb to smallest pieces, manually removed as much solidified varnish as possible using screwdriver blades from float bowl - bowlfloat inlet pinvalve - cover - airfilter screen - needlevalve - all orfices - all fasteners & screws. Then I found a dead 1960s spraycan half full of carb cleaner but no pressure so I snipped off the bottom and poured out the solution into a can and soaked all the pieces overnight in it. The brass fuel filter cylinder screen and the gravity pinvalve were the most gunked up and they are right at the fuel entry point to the floatbowl so maybe that's where the chokepoint was. The overnight soak seemed to leave all the parts sparkling and I could blow through all the passages freely. The gaskets are made of a thick red-brown composition card and removed easily. After drying everything, I reassembled and reattached the unit, I am working up my nerve to do a trial fireup of the generator.
More to come after I've pulled on the starter cord,... in Epiolog 2.... when I find some time to do this.
