5000 W Generator Maintenance

I have a Coleman 5000 W generator with a Subaru engine that I bought at Sams right before hurricane Gus approximately 2 years ago....the bad news is that since our power was restored I put it up (under shed cover) and it has just sat there.....not good I know...now, I want to check it out but know there may be some things I need to do before pulling the crank rope....for instance...I know I have to drain and replace the gas and oil....also the fuel filter, spark plugs and air filter...but do I need to run some type of cleaner thru the engine or pour a little oil into the cylinders....it would be a lot simpler for me to take it to a small engine mechanic but after checking the yellow pages I don't have a clue where to take it....any advice would be appreciated....

You don't, necessarily have to change everything. It just depends on how much run time was on it the last time you used it. I would probably just change the oil and oil filter if it has one. Then check the air filter. If it is clean you are okay on it. The spark plug should be okay. Drain the old gas out, change the fuel filter, and refill the fuel tank with fresh fuel and some type of fuel preservative. You may also want to take the bowl off of the carbeurator or drain any old fuel out of it if it has a drain plug. Then, after all of that work, a little pray might not be a bad idea either. LOL. Good luck with your project. PS. From now on, crank it and run it for about 15 minutes every month and you shouldn't have any trouble out of it.

I have a portable generator I got as a result of Opal when I lived on the FL panhandle. Mine has sat for extended period of times as well. Best thing(s) to do is make sure the kill switch (if it has one) is off, or disconnect the spark plug wire, then pull the rope several times to lube things up again, drain the old gas, put some fresh gas (just a little bit to warm the engine up and put some stabil or other gas stabilizer in this warm up amount) and start it up to warm it up for a few minutes, you can let it run out of gas if desired, then drain the old oil, and put new in. If you don't many hours on it, no need to change the fuel filter unless it is clogged up. Check the plug but its probably ok as well. I put stabil,etc., in the warm up gas as you never really empty the carb/fuel lines completely, so this helps in these areas, You can start it back up and let it run some more but I usually just pull the rope a few times to circulate the oil good and put it back in the corner for a while.

I would start by seeing if it wants to start. I wouldn't so much worry about the oil until you get it up and running. It will probably not start on a few cranks. You will most likely have bad fuel and consequently, a dirty carb.

Start by taking off the carburetor bowl and draining all of the bad gas from the gas tank (to be poured on an ant pile).
***Note the color of the gas, if it's rusty, you'll probably have to replace the gas tank as well as the fuel lines. This will save some time if noticed first.

Clean the carburetor bowl with carb cleaner and a rag.

When you take off the bowl, there should be a vertical shaft running up into the carburetor. In this is the main jet. (Where a vacuum effect draws gas up and into the main carb. chamber) Using the straw on the carb. cleaner can, give a quick spray up into the jet to clear out any clogs that may have formed and remove any other obvious grime.

It may be necessary to take off the air filter to fully access more of the carb. if the bowl looks extremely dirty.

Put the bowl back on, fresh gas, and try to fire it up.

Hope this helps.

Just drain the gas and put in fresh gas and change the oil, start it up and let it run 30 minutes with some things plugged into it to put a load on the it..........I have 2 generators and start them about once every 2 months or so, I plug in my big shop fan into them to put a load on them, let them run 30 minutes at a time and then shut them off.........so far, no troubles and they start by the second pull of the rope.........another thing I do, is close the valve on the fuel line and let it run, when it starts missing/running out of gas, I kill it.....keeps the carb practically empty........

I would start by draining the old gas, that's only if you didn't have a stabilizer in it, then add some fresh gas to the tank. And give it a shot. The oil would depend on how much run time you had on it before it was stored.. If it only ran a few hours on that oil change, I wouldn't worry with it. I would think the spark plug would be fine. Alot of times when they lose their spark, it's because the flywheel got rusty, but if it's been covered and out the weather then that shouldn't be a problem either. Good luck with your project.. I am gonne have to check our out too.. We haven't started it in about the same amount of time as you.

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.. I am gonne have to check ours out too.. We haven't started it in about the same amount of time as you.

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Me too. I tend to forget until Hurricane season starts!

Any results on the generator starting up?

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Originally Posted by Ultralite

Any results on the generator starting up?

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Well, Tropical Storm Lee forced me to get the generator up and running....we were without power from 2 AM saturday morning to 10 AM saturday.....I was afraid it would go back out and I would miss the LSU game but it stayed on.....so saturday was spent draining the old gas out and installing a new plug.....after a few squirts of ether into the air filter and 5 or 6 pulls it started OK....also picked up 2 new wheels at Harbor Freight....now just got to change out the oil, add stabil to the new gas and it is good to go....