I have this old, neglected Coleman 4000W Generator under a tarp in the side yard. A friend gave it to me years ago, the frame was cut up, governor mechanism destroyed because someone had shot it with what looked like a .22… I epoxied the hole after splitting the generator away from he 8 HP Briggs and Stratton engine, replace the governor, flashed the generator, painted it as I reassembled it into a replacement frame, so now it’s a Coleman. I did start it, long enough to see it was generating OK, but the exhaust was right in my face, so i gave up on trying to tune it up until I could divert that exhaust with a 90º and add a small muffler to quiet it down.
Anyway, I’m thinking of maybe continuing this project, and tried, so far unsuccessfully to find a replacement for carbonation, maybe fuel induction like todays vehicles, but then I spited a rebuilt carburetor and am thinking that rather than rebuilding what I have, just replace it! Under $20, seems way too easy…
So what I thought was going to be more complicated, might be an easy fix, for nearly no cost… I don’t remember what the governor parts were, but very little of an investment, but it might be good to have around…
Is there an induction/injection replacement for older carbureted small engines? Do modern mowers, cultivators still use carburetors?
We have a regional technical high school near us that I volunteer at. They have an auto repair shop and the kids work on cars and other mechanical things. if you have one of these near you, might that be something to check out? The repairs generally cover cost of parts and you can donate cash if you want to compensate for the free labor.
That was meant to be induction/injection, autocorrect, I guess, took over.
Used to be autoshops in our local/public schools, over the years, they’ve all been quashed, and in todays computer centric cars and now EVs, Hybrids, I’m not sure they could finance it to get them restarted. Back in the '50s er had mets and wood shops besides the autoshop, all were well run, I enjoyed my time there, as did our Granddaughters, well at least the wood shop in a smaller, nearby town. yes, they did work on donor cars, sometimes repairs for family, friends…
(This is all here in NorCal, Sonoma County, CA) A LONG way from MA!
I’m not looking to have it done, have more than enough tools, space to handle it myself, but am interested in whether there is a more reliable system than carburetors. I had considered, long ago, a NG or propane conversion, but that takes away the portability, adds some maybe illegal NG access/use… It does need some wheels, but that I already have sourced the kits… Lifting it up into my F150 might need some planning or a neighbor’s helping hand…
I was hoping to find a DeWalt portable winch so that I could use the Lithium batteries, but came up dry… I do have manual winches if needed, but “Phone a Friend” seems simpler…
weco
More info - “The Briggs and Stratton 8 horsepower engine is a single cylinder, L-head style engine with a cast iron sleeve lining the aluminum cylinder bore area for maximum engine life. The engine has a bore of 3.12 inches and a stroke, or maximum movement of the piston, of 2.43 inches. The displacement of this engine is 18.6 cubic inches, or 305 cubic centimeters. It has an internal oil sump that holds 28 ounces of motor oil. In addition to these specifications the Intek 8 horsepower engine has an overhead valve system for cooler operation and reduced emissions, as well as a two year commercial warranty on all of the mechanical parts of the engine.”
Further digging has found this solution, however there are additional needs, such as battery to power its ECU, and a means to keep that battery charges, maybe a simple rectifier in the output side…
Prior post put the displacement at 305 cc, so at the top end of this unit’s range… Should be OK…
Reading their Installation manual, I like the wy they do explain every step in detail, what options there are, it sounds like they would be great to work with if there were headaches. However the deeper I went, the deeper it gats, it is a complex project, maybe more than I need to dig this deep. that original rebuild carb is looks a lot simpler… But I’m glad to have found this… If only my older brother Chris (RIP) was still around, I know he’d have dove into it…
Our Junior College system has been more of a vocational school from it’s early days, and there are apprentice programs in the trades, one younger family member is in an HVAC program in SF at the moment, but I can’t think of any other family member interested for now…
I’m not looking for a Tech/Trade school for anything, just looking for a simpler, reliable way to update that 4KW generator, nothing needing outside services, just poking around to see what might be available…
Further delving into this, I found various videos on adding a starter to the engine, really no need for a battery box, just use a Lithium jump starter to get it spinning, running, keep it simple… This fellow got the wrong ring gear, not sure, without going out in the rain, if mine needs the ring gear or if it’s on it, I remember there being a mounting, but will have to check. Starters are readily available from Amazon, like the carburetors, contactor… Beats yanking on that rope!
I understand that some projects are undertaken just because you want to. But I wonder, how much do you expect to use this generator? Is the cost and effort being put in - or contemplated - in proportion to the payback?
(When I bought my snowblower I made sure to get an electric start, one you plug into the wall. I always used it for the first several years. Now it seems like more bother to run an extension, and it starts pretty easily yanking on that rope.)
Hard to guess, I was going to just give it away if I came across an interested individual, last fellow was the fence builder my neighbor had do some work, but he didn’t have the time, interest to mess with it…
It was fun for me to originally do the repairs, clean it up, but life intervened, too many other things took priority… It’s possible a new carb and some fiddling with the exhaust to redirect and quiet it down could make it an easy starter…
I also have other stuff here I rarely use, particularly since we’re in the drought mode. that relatively new pressure washer hasn’t been run in at least 5 years… I used to clean the deck and concrete walkway, parking pad the trailer sets on as well as the sidewalk, driveways, but, running it all day, in these times isn’t going to happen… Same with the Yamaha M/C, it’s getting dusty, likely also needs a carb rebuild, tires, tubes, fork bushings and seals, oh and I haven’t registered or insured it for maybe 30 years, after taking it too my brother’s cabin in the Sierras… Someone. a nephew, questioned insurance, so I hauled it home, no problem. Let my own M/C license endorsement lapse too… Maybe it’ll be someones ‘barn find’ one day…
Too much ‘stuff’', some are useful, some more memories…
