Log splitter engine running rough

[winland]

I have a 6.5 hp B&S engine running my log splitter.
B&S # 120602-0182-E1

It has run fine the past few weeks, but now has started to constantly rev fast, slow, fast slow.
Checked and cleaned the air filter.
It still has plenty of power to split the logs, but I know this is not right.
Any helpful suggestions

 

[Whitespider]

Drain that bad fuel out of your splitter, dump it in your wife's mini-van, change oil in the splitter, buy fresh fuel for it... and avoid ethanol blends if at all possible.

Oh... and make sure all the carb/intake screws/bolts are tight.

 

[GVS]

Drain that bad fuel out of your splitter, dump it in your wife's mini-van, change oil in the splitter, buy fresh fuel for it... and avoid ethanol blends if at all possible.

Oh... and make sure all the carb/intake screws/bolts are tight.

All good advice except avoiding ethanol blends.The only gasoline avaliable to me is 10%.11 gas fueled engines on the place and 2 or 4 stroke they all start and run just fine.Another thing to check is the spring and link from the governor to carb.is not binding.

 

[Swamp Yankee]

If you haven't already,

Get a can of carb and choke cleaner and spray it directly into the carb while the engine is running WOT. Be sure to spray the outside of the carb as well to make sure any and all grime and dirt are removed. Often this is all that's required to correct a surging condition.

Take Care

 

[jwilly]

With mine it is usually water in the float bowl even with E10. Remove the bowl clean it, drain the tank and refill

 

[zogger]

With mine it is usually water in the float bowl even with E10. Remove the bowl clean it, drain the tank and refill

^^^ that right there most likely. Or trash in the carb. Or both.

 

[Whitespider]

All good advice except avoiding ethanol blends. The only gasoline avaliable to me is 10%. 11 gas fueled engines on the place and 2 or 4 stroke they all start and run just fine.

Why is the advice to "avoid ethanol blends if at all possible" not good advice??
Just because you haven't been bitten by ethanol problems yet, don't mean the advice ain't good.

With mine it is usually water in the float bowl even with E10.

The reason you get water in the float bowl is because you're running E10.

 

[513yj]

All the above as well as if you can do it pull the carb completely off and clean it out. That symptom can be common when corrosion gets built up in the fuel bowl and in the tiny holes in the bottom of the carb as well as the jet area.

 

[513yj]

Why is the advice to "avoid ethanol blends if at all possible" not good advice??
Just because you haven't been bitten by ethanol problems yet, don't mean the advice ain't good.

He probably is meaning he cant get ethanol free gas. I gotta drive a ways to the Mobil because the citjunkgo and beepeepee pants gas stations close to me don't have it. Never stopped at the admiral but they don't have diesel and I like the Mobil diesel better too.

 

[Whitespider]

He probably is meaning he cant get ethanol free gas.

That ain't how I'm reading it...
He's saying there ain't any reason to avoid E10 because he fuels 11 engines with it, and hasn't had problems... it ain't that he's been lucky, he just ain't been unlucky yet!

 

[rmotoman]

Another thing to check would be a loose carb.

 

[513yj]

That ain't how I'm reading it...
He's saying there ain't any reason to avoid E10 because he fuels 11 engines with it, and hasn't had problems... it ain't that he's been lucky, he just ain't been unlucky yet!

I thought it sounded like it was all that was available like it is at most place these days. I do agree with you here, as I have cleaned a blue million carbs and replaced another million fuel hoses from that stuff. If you are correct, I'd recommend he ought to go buy a powerball ticket.

 

[saxman]

I have a 26 ton Brave with a 8 HP Briggs Intek. It recently started cutting out under load, it would start and idle great but would stumble when placed under load. I first thought of dirt or water in the float bowl. I removed and cleaned carb and found no problem. Just for giggles I replaced the plug and it ran fine, the electrode didn't look bad, I guess it burned up internally. Do the cheap and easy stuff first, I tend to over-think things sometime

Steve

 

[Whitespider]

I would never say never... except to say I'd never say it :msp_biggrin:
But a bad plug won't cause a surging RPM issue... yeah, misfire issues (cutting-out), but not a surge.

And although it may come to pulling the carb apart, I wouldn't do that until I tried the simple and obvious first, i.e. fresh, clean fuel and oil... K I S S.

 

[avalancher]

I think you have gotten some good suggestions so far, only other thing I would suggest is before pulling the carb for a clean out I would dump half a can of Seafoam in the tank and run it for an hour or so and see if that clears things up. I have gotten away many times with this and avoided spending a few hours and carb kit simply by running a cleaning agent trough the fuel system and clearing out the water and other soluble trash out.

 

[blades]

other little items gas cap vent partial plugged, collapsing fuel line or just rotting out on inside from fuel

 

[half]

surging B/S

I would check the plug, Briggs dont like a big gap, I would go about 20thou they seem to like that

 

[ppkgmsy]

My old splitter runs rough after it sits awhile, or sometimes for no good reason I can identify. It's almost always the float. I'm luck it has an adjusting screw, so it's a quick fix.

 

[zogger]

I think you have gotten some good suggestions so far, only other thing I would suggest is before pulling the carb for a clean out I would dump half a can of Seafoam in the tank and run it for an hour or so and see if that clears things up. I have gotten away many times with this and avoided spending a few hours and carb kit simply by running a cleaning agent trough the fuel system and clearing out the water and other soluble trash out.

Seafoam or mechanic in a bottle.

With that said, dropping a float bowl and swamping it out is pretty fast and easy.

 

[TonyK]

If it is surging than it might be the governor spring has come off.