How to drain carburetor on Honda 2000 -- short video

[profdant139]

Believe it or not, there are folks who do not know that they should drain the carb on a generator before putting it away for a long time, and folks who do not know how to drain it. (I was one of those folks, until my local mechanic took pity on me. It cost me a couple of expensive trips to the shop before he decided to derail the gravy train.)

If you have access to ethanol-free gas, you can probably stop reading -- it does not gum up the carb like ethanol does. And if you use your generator every week or so, stop reading -- you do not need to drain the carb, since frequent use also prevents carb problems.

But I am here to tell you from painful personal experience that even if you "exercise" your generator every month (by running it under load), and add Seafoam (which is great stuff), you can still gum up the carb if you do not drain it.

I did a search on Youtube for "Draining the carburetor bowl on a Honda 2000" and they displayed a lot of long videos on carb maintenance (taking it apart and so forth). There was nothing short and simple.

So here we go -- maybe call it "carb draining for dummies like me!" (Do we need a separate "tech impaired" forum, and leave the real tech forum to the experts??)

Short video on draining the carburetor on a Honda 2000

[SaltiDawg]

profdant139 wrote:
...

If you have access to ethanol-free gas, you can probably stop reading -- it does not gum up the carb like ethanol does. And if you use your generator every week or so, stop reading -- you do not need to drain the carb, since frequent use also prevents carb problems....

Also, if you have converted your generator to run on either Propane or NG, certainly stop reading.

[2oldman]

What I didn't know.. and I've not seen in the manual, is that the ignition switch is also a fuel shutoff. Provided it's completely OFF.

Doesn't do a lot of good to drain your carburetor and then have gas from the tank fill it up again.

[profdant139]

The Honda manual is actually quite good (or so I am told), but many others are astonishingly badly written by folks who are clearly not native speakers of English.

I have often thought that there is a market for "manual re-writers" who could help companies avoid warranty claims, liability suits, and support calls by clarifying the manuals. But apparently there is no such market, or else it would have happened already.

[2oldman]

Hehe.. yeah, the manual is an amazing piece of literature. Of course real mean don't read manuals. And if they do they second guess it... or just do what their buddies do.

[profdant139]

Steve, read the MANUAL??? Heresy!

Here is how it's done: First you have to stumble around in the dark, possibly injuring yourself or damaging the equipment. Then watch long rambling youtube videos posted by similarly ignorant folks. Then post an embarrassing question on this forum. Then call customer support and sit on hold for an hour.

You only read the manual as a last resort, and then never admit it in public. 😉

[steveh27]

The manual is your friend. It clearly explains what to do for storing for different time periods and has diagrams on draining the carb. I follow those to the letter and have had no problems.

[JimK-NY]

Whenever I buy a cans of gas, I add Sta-bil. Then I use the gas in lawn movers, snow blowers, etc. When I take off in the RV, I typically start with pretty fresh gas that has always been treated. My Honda is 7 years old and runs without any problems.

I try to run my generator for at least a few minutes every month or so. I think that is better than letting it sit unused for many months. At a minimum it dries out an moisture in the unit. It also means my generator is ready to use if I need it due to a power failure or other reason.

Anyway, thanks for the video. I had no idea it was that simple to drain the gas. There may come a time when I do want to put the generator in long term storage.

[wa8yxm]

WHen I used portable generators I just drained them the easy way

Plug in 1500 Watt heater and fire that sucker up

Eventually the carb bowl drained and the engine stopped. Since the heater is nothing but a big resistor it don't mind the weird power when the engine stopps and even if it did.. Well 10 bucks.

[MitchF150]

I always use Sta-bil in my gas cans, so that's what goes in all of my gas operated things.. Never any issue with any of them, even if they sit for a year..

If I have any gas left in my cans after a year, I dump it into the truck gas tank and get fresh gas with the Sta-bil in them. (then fill up the rest of the gas tank with fresh gas)

Actually, it's about time I do that now.. Thanks for the reminder! 😉

Mitch

[westend]

Thanks, Dan, for posting that handy little video.
It's probably just me but I wouldn't drain the bowl and then dump the gas back in the tank. There is a possibility of getting some nasties back into the fuel system.

[profdant139]

One follow-up comment -- you can see in the video that the generator is raised up off my workbench on 4x4 blocks of wood, so that I have room to slide a cup under the drain tube to catch the drips.