28ton Huskee Splitter does not run...

[RR4406PAK]

Brand new Huskee 28ton with Honda engine.
Bought it in 03/2008.
Worked great the first year.
Stored it for the summer of 2009. Used Sta-Bil in the gas for storage.
Took it out yesterday for the first time and would not start.
If I spray gas into the carb it fires right up and runs absolutely perfectly for a second then dies. It will not stay running.
I drained the gas and put fresh gas in there... nothing.
I made sure gas is flowing to the carb by taking the fuel lines off and verifying flow... nothing.
Why won't this Honda piece of crap run?
Again, this engine is so brand new it is still shiny and perfect in every way.
The only thing I have not done is take the damn carb right off the engine and take it all apart.
I should not have to do this with a brand new engine.
Anybody else have problems with these junk Honda's?
I could understand if I did not store it right but what the heck?

Very frustrating when you are all ready to split and spend 4 hours working on a brand new splitter that should work.
This sucks.

 

[lone wolf]

i got a honda runs super it has got to be the carb pull it apart and look for corrosion or gum or dirt. if you cant fix it that carb should be cheap to replace.

 

[RR4406PAK]

I can't believe these Hondas are so fragile and temperamental that I have to dismantle the whole carb.

I've had Briggs & Stratton engines I have used and abused for years that just kept on running. I didn't even maintain them properly and they just kept chugging away.

Now this dumb perfectly razor clean and maintained Honda takes a dump after a year??? Un :censored: believeable.

 

[lone wolf]

before you rip it apart are you overlooking anything fuel turned on ,try fresh gas ?

 

[RR4406PAK]

before you rip it apart are you overlooking anything fuel turned on ,try fresh gas ?

Roger that.
Checked and triple checked...

 

[ericjeeper]

First off..

I will welcome you to the forum. We here, are a family oriented group. Cussing will not get you a whole lot of extra help here.
Ok How did you add the stabil? Did you add it then run it for 5-10 minutes? Or did you just pour it into the tank and think it would magically work its way into the bowl on the carb?
Sounds to me like your float bowl is gunked up.

 

[lone wolf]

Roger that.
Checked and triple checked...

startswhen you put gas in so it must be the carb i would say maybe drop the float first and see if you have water.

 

[lone wolf]

hey let us know how it goes ok

 

[cuttinscott]

You Treated your fuel BUT did you shut the valve off and drain the carb??? If you left fuel in your carb your carb will need cleaning............ You need to shut off the fuel valve and run the engine till the carb is empty or drain the bowl. The fuel that sits in the bowl WILL VARNISH when the air from the float chamber vent hits it!


Scott

 

[RR4406PAK]

Thanks for the welcome and accept my apology for cussing, but this is profoundly frustrating. And yes I let it run for 5-10 minutes after I put the Sta-bil in there as the instructions state.

The fuel was shut off after running the Sta-bil through the system, but I did not empty the bowl.
Isn't the Sta-bil supposed to prevent the varnish?

 

[lone wolf]

Thanks for the welcome and accept my apology for cussing, but this is profoundly frustrating. And yes I let it run for 5-10 minutes after I put the Sta-bil in there as the instructions state.

The fuel was shut off after running the Sta-bil through the system, but I did not empty the bowl.
Isn't the Sta-bil supposed to prevent the varnish?

im thinking thats what caused it to happen did the same thing to my generator you may be better off leaving the gas in the bowl but thats a whole new debate.

 

[lone wolf]

im thinking thats what caused it to happen did the same thing to my generator you may be better off leaving the gas in the bowl but thats a whole new debate.

did you run the engine with the fuel shut off till it stopped that will drain the bowl.

 

[RR4406PAK]

I really doubt I'm going to see varnish in there when I take it apart.
In my past experience varnish takes a really loooong time to accumulate that much where is takes the engine out and prevents it from starting.

I will let you know what I find.

 

[lone wolf]

I really doubt I'm going to see varnish in there when I take it apart.
In my past experience varnish takes a really loooong time to accumulate that much where is takes the engine out and prevents it from starting.

I will let you know what I find.

water or float could be stuck is all and now im thinking your in new york its cold out could be frozen maybe

 

[cuttinscott]

The Bowl is vented and the ethanol in the fuel draws moisture into the carb and nature takes over and stuff starts growing and clogging passages.


Scott

 

[lone wolf]

The Bowl is vented and the ethanol in the fuel draws moisture into the carb and nature takes over and stuff starts growing and clogging passages.


Scott

stupid people putting etanol in our gas. i had better luck leaving all my carbs wet you drain all yours?

 

[avalancher]

Like a few of the other guys, I would venture a guess that the float is stuck or the jet is plugged up.Doesnt take much to plug up the jet,either in carp in the tank or a few months sitting around for varnish to build up.
You can try and tap on the side of the float bowl to see if the float is stuck.Use a wooden mallet or chunk of wood, careful not to damage the float.Often a little tap is all it takes to free up the float assembly.My old rototiller with a briggs is notorious for this each and every spring no matter what I do to it.Drain the fuel, leave it full.Put stabil in it,leave it out.Still the float sticks and a gentle tap gets it going again.

From what I understand,Stabil helps to minimize varnish build up, but its main claim to fame is it minimizes the fuel from going bad or losing its octane and burnability.(is that a word,burnability?)

 

[oneoldbanjo]

I have been through this a lot with equipment -mostly from friends that know I used to work at a mower shop and want me to help.

When the fuel is left in the float bowl the gasoline portion evaporates and pretty soon the only thing left behind is ethanol. The ethanol reacts with the aluminum parts and gums things up very quickly.

Your Honda is not to blame....it happens with anything that has an aluminum carb or float bowl. The concentrated ethanol that is left behind is also very hard on rubber parts.

Take the carb off, clean it well, blow out the small passages and make sure everything is clean - then put it back together with fresh fuel. If you are using it occasionally Sta-Bil is fine.....if you are not going to be using it for more than three months drain the tank and run it out of fuel. It is far easier to get one running that is empty than it is to get one running that is full of old fuel. Sta-Bil has some merit - but it is not capable of extending the life of this crummy gas for very long.

 

[RR4406PAK]

What you say makes a lot of sense.

I guess I'm depending on Sta-Bil too much.
Draining is definitely the way to go.

 

[MarylandGuy]

All great replies. But my guess like Scott suggested is water in the float bowl. Honda typically has a drain bolt you can take off on the bottom of the carb. I'll bet if you capture the fuel instead of draining it on the driveway, you will find water bubbles. Probably a bad batch of fuel at the end of last year.