My 69381came with a F7tc spark plug and so far runs good and no leaks I just got it for 40 bucks it has been running non-stop for 6hrs and I still have a little over half tank of fuel , on all of my 2-cycles I run rich instead of 2.6ounces of oil mix I use 2.8 . Been running my Sthils and Husky saws for 30or so years sometimes a little more smoking if not a good oil
I never had 2 stroke success till I found amsoil saber. I have a farm with no electricit. I have been running my storm cat continuously. It is now quite like a Honda
Mine has 25-hours thusfar. Judging by what I've read, if they make it past 20 hours they tend to go for hundreds. I've talked with one guy that has 900, another with over 1600. My leaf blower was also rated at 50 MTbf, yet it has over 500 hours run time. Mfgs always grossly understate actual durability. Plus, a 2-cycle engine is very basic. Once they make it past break-in, if properly maintained, they should last years. The meter I purchased has a 3-year battery life. If the little generator is still running strong in 3 years, I'll have a log of how many hours to add to a new meter. As I live in the deep-south I need to change plug temperature ranges in peak summer months. Because of that I'm removing spark plug caps more often than normal. I don't know if you've removed yours yet, but one time is enough to justify the few bucks for the NGK cap. I put them on all my scooters. Good investments. All total I have less than $106 in the generator. Affordable 25-hours so far :)
***** Thanks for the link. On this generator I only have 26-hours runtime. The 60+ hours (77:28 at the moment) is on the two generators I'm running the durability tests on (I have videos of these on my channel). Neither have had anything done to them outside of checking the air filter and other basic requirements in the instructions. The sealed bearing lubrication is not official, but is noted by many online as being important. When one of these test generators dies I will make a video of that process and upload it. Venting the gas cap isn't really required on these because the seal on the cap isn't tight enough, at least on the ones I have owned, to create any vacuum or venting issues. I hope this info helps out!
One additional note: I said that I didn't do anything aside from air filter and other instruction required maintenance. I forgot to add that on the 2 test generators that I did change the spark plugs at 4-hours because the 60338 test generator started knocking. I knew that due to the poor quality and general distaste most have for the Torch spark plugs that come in these generators that someone would point to it as a cause of failure, so I eliminated that from the equation.
The gen side crank seal popped out on one of mine, it's a 20x30x7 oil seal. That makes for a huge crankcase air-leak, so it wouldn't start (of course) This was an earlier model, I don't think it was the correct material for gasoline/oil. I haven't had any problem (yet) with the crank seal under the flywheel but I think it's the same size. When adjusting the engine governor speed, I use a frequency meter shooting for 60Hz at about half load, using a 500Watt incandescent shop lamp.
I use Hardlines tach/hour meter on all of my small engine equipment, if the equipment doesn't already have an hour meter. This not only shows RPM's and runtime, but also how many starting attempts it too to get my Tailgator running. Plus it shows the peak rpm as well. I have no problems with the original spark plug (F5TC) and mine doesn't smoke at all using 40:1 mix, which all of my 2-stroke engines use. I use a Valvoline TC3 synthetic 2-stroke oil.
It's well worth buying the extended warranty for it, i bought one, and because I have no electricity I use this everyday, and surpass 14 hours each day, i have found they they typically make it about 2 and a half to 3 month's, and then they die out or things start breaking internally, at that point you clean all the gas out, and bring it back into harbor freight and exchange it for another one, free of course because it's not your fault if you run it correctly, that it breaks down over time, and with the extended warranty you can take it back every time you have an issue, and just get another one, but i would like a nice how to video on how to modify it with a bigger gas tank, that way I get more run time from it, and I won't have to go out to fill it every 4-7 hours depending on what your running off it.
Josh Small you could use an external fuel tank much like those used for commonly for small fishing boats and then use a small 12v fuel pump and wall wart power supply to move fuel from the tank, then just remove the stock tank and plumb the fuel line from the pump directly into the carburetor.
After seeing how poorly built these are from tearing one down (loose fasteners, awful reed seal) I would recommend light tear down/ check over before even using. Especially the reed valve thing, leaked bad, lapped it with fine sandpaper and it sealed 100%. This alone would probably give you much better service life IMO.
Wow, you're going all out with that generator. For myself, I'd wait for the spark plug cap to go bad on mine before replacing it. I think mine has _maybe_ 3 hours tops on it. Never performed the break-in, but never drove it hard either. I might consider an hourmeter for my big generator, but since that is used so infrequently as well, chances are the battery in the hourmeter will go dead next time I need to look at it. I hope your hourmeter has non-volatile memory for the hour count. By design, it should, otherwise it's like rolling back an odometer. Not to scare you, but I don't know about the MTBF of that 2-cycle engine. Another RUclipsr I watch has a Craftsman leaf blower, 2-cycle, and the book states then engine has an MTBF of 50 hours. That's right, the engine was designed for 50 hours of runtime. And it died. He fixed it by replacing the piston rings. I thought that amount of runtime was very short, if the same short lifetime holds true for these generators, 25 hours for the break in can be a good percentage of its life.
Mr Holmes I believe the fifty hours you are talking about is the emissions compliance period not the actual lifespan of the engine come on man you should know this I thought you had one of these?
The G@#%& spark plug boot on my brand new generater came apart the 1st time I took it off to replace the spark plug! Now I have a new plug and I've been running all over town trying to find a NGK boot or ANY boot that I don't have to buy a whole set of wires and cut the caps off and crimp one of them back on. I'm about tempted to take the POS of back to the shop. Where did you find the NGK boot? Thanks!!!!
The factory supplied spark plug boot is pretty cheesy, it was the first item that failed when I was changing the plug ,I am a real cheapskate so I reattached the spring contact an took a spare bread loaf wire tie , stripped the paper off down to bare wire an wrapped it around spring a 1/4 starting from longest to shortest puncher area very tightly then twist ends together, works very well!!!!
My storm cat is running but not producing power. I have been using it at our tale gate to run tv it has been working great . It looks like intermittent power flashes of light. What can I do ?
I still can't find an NGK plug anywhere at the auto parts shops, repair shops, nowhere. I found a replacement plug at Ace that has the little cup but I've already ruined two of them trying to squeeze the newly attached cup gizmo through the end of the boot. I need a SCREW ON! What size, model # or other identification do I need for the right plug-there are numerous different ones on ebay and amazon. Thanks a heap!! THANKS EVERYONE, I FOUND ONE!!!!
KeyCentral Hey, Thanks a heap for the offer, but I just got back from a lawnmower place and they gave me one of those spring things that goes inside the boot. He showed me how to attach to the spark plug wire and push it through the boot. I installed it as he said, filled her up, and she's outside running right now!
Lewis Correia If you have already tried to adjust the voltage up and it's still that low then I would think there's something wrong in that would be more than an adjustment to fix. Is it still within the 90-day return window?
I'm using it continuously right now. Problem is tank size. I would like it to run all night also it runs out of gas at half a tank. It won't drain the tank.
I occasionally go camping in my rv. I cant justify spending $500 or more on a gen I wont use that often. Is this safe for me to plug my rv into and run a few small electronics like a led tv and charge some phones and a marine battery? If its dirty ac power is there a way to clean it up?
I wouldn't recommend this generator for electronics. It doesn't have an inverter. It's very dirty energy. You may want to look into the Sportsman 1000 watt inverter generator. Sams Club has them for under $200.
Be sure to report back with periodic hour counts. 24/7 will quickly add up to some excellent long-term durability numbers. If you don't mind sharing - what are you doing that requires it to run 24/7?
Those coil springs they use from the factory are horrible. If you can't find one locally there is a seller on eBay that has them very cheap. Thanks for commenting!
awesome thanks i rarely use it but power was out about four days ago and it ran a 39" tv fan dvd player laptop light and 2 cell chargers for five hours.
Ted May I occasionally go camping in my rv. I cant justify buying an expensive $600 plus gen if Im not gonna use it often. Is this gen good for running an led tv, charging cell phones, maybe a laptop? Even though they are sensitive. I plan on connecting my rv into this small gen. I wont be running anything too intense.
They are repairable, but I think most people find that getting a new one at $88 is the best deal. I have over 400 hours use on one, so they do great for the money - when you get a good one.
My eagle river version of this worked about 10 hours and would not run again. Carb was good but i found the reed body/reed seal to be terrible! lapped the reed body against a surface plate and got it so good that it didn't leak one bit. also deleted the head a cylinder gaskets! Took exhaust off to see if it could be opened up a bit and was surprised to see a catalytic converter inside, separated the can a found the converter welded in backwards! I am curious if this was intentional (failure mode) or a mistake, or dose it even matter. Cut it out and stitched the can back together. Tuned it up and it runs like mad! Now to see how many hours I get before the next failure.... Mind you I was about to toss the damn thing, but after this it's a good little unit- so far... Mainly use it run block heaters on equipment, pulls the 1000W element just fine. Once the engine is heated up it maintains temp, not overheating. We will see...
Up here in Canada on Amazon one of these generators cost $ 250 bucks. What a poor deal, I wonder if anyone knows a cost effective way of getting one of these generators in Canada ?
I Hate those stake type wire ends that they use on Chainsaws Etc they always come loose and no spark I try and use the Aluminum crimp ones with the spike But the NGK is the best you can use
My 69381came with a F7tc spark plug and so far runs good and no leaks I just got it for 40 bucks it has been running non-stop for 6hrs and I still have a little over half tank of fuel , on all of my 2-cycles I run rich instead of 2.6ounces of oil mix I use 2.8 . Been running my Sthils and Husky saws for 30or so years sometimes a little more smoking if not a good oil
I never had 2 stroke success till I found amsoil saber. I have a farm with no electricit. I have been running my storm cat continuously. It is now quite like a Honda
Amsoil is good stuff.
Mine has 25-hours thusfar. Judging by what I've read, if they make it past 20 hours they tend to go for hundreds. I've talked with one guy that has 900, another with over 1600.
My leaf blower was also rated at 50 MTbf, yet it has over 500 hours run time. Mfgs always grossly understate actual durability. Plus, a 2-cycle engine is very basic. Once they make it past break-in, if properly maintained, they should last years.
The meter I purchased has a 3-year battery life. If the little generator is still running strong in 3 years, I'll have a log of how many hours to add to a new meter.
As I live in the deep-south I need to change plug temperature ranges in peak summer months. Because of that I'm removing spark plug caps more often than normal. I don't know if you've removed yours yet, but one time is enough to justify the few bucks for the NGK cap. I put them on all my scooters. Good investments. All total I have less than $106 in the generator. Affordable 25-hours so far :)
***** Thanks for the link. On this generator I only have 26-hours runtime. The 60+ hours (77:28 at the moment) is on the two generators I'm running the durability tests on (I have videos of these on my channel). Neither have had anything done to them outside of checking the air filter and other basic requirements in the instructions. The sealed bearing lubrication is not official, but is noted by many online as being important. When one of these test generators dies I will make a video of that process and upload it. Venting the gas cap isn't really required on these because the seal on the cap isn't tight enough, at least on the ones I have owned, to create any vacuum or venting issues. I hope this info helps out!
One additional note: I said that I didn't do anything aside from air filter and other instruction required maintenance. I forgot to add that on the 2 test generators that I did change the spark plugs at 4-hours because the 60338 test generator started knocking. I knew that due to the poor quality and general distaste most have for the Torch spark plugs that come in these generators that someone would point to it as a cause of failure, so I eliminated that from the equation.
The gen side crank seal popped out on one of mine, it's a 20x30x7 oil seal. That makes for a huge crankcase air-leak, so it wouldn't start (of course) This was an earlier model, I don't think it was the correct material for gasoline/oil. I haven't had any problem (yet) with the crank seal under the flywheel but I think it's the same size.
When adjusting the engine governor speed, I use a frequency meter shooting for 60Hz at about half load, using a 500Watt incandescent shop lamp.
I use Hardlines tach/hour meter on all of my small engine equipment, if the equipment doesn't already have an hour meter. This not only shows RPM's and runtime, but also how many starting attempts it too to get my Tailgator running. Plus it shows the peak rpm as well. I have no problems with the original spark plug (F5TC) and mine doesn't smoke at all using 40:1 mix, which all of my 2-stroke engines use. I use a Valvoline TC3 synthetic 2-stroke oil.
don't use tcw3 oil that is for boat motors not air cooled engines
It's well worth buying the extended warranty for it, i bought one, and because I have no electricity I use this everyday, and surpass 14 hours each day, i have found they they typically make it about 2 and a half to 3 month's, and then they die out or things start breaking internally, at that point you clean all the gas out, and bring it back into harbor freight and exchange it for another one, free of course because it's not your fault if you run it correctly, that it breaks down over time, and with the extended warranty you can take it back every time you have an issue, and just get another one, but i would like a nice how to video on how to modify it with a bigger gas tank, that way I get more run time from it, and I won't have to go out to fill it every 4-7 hours depending on what your running off it.
Josh Small you could use an external fuel tank much like those used for commonly for small fishing boats and then use a small 12v fuel pump and wall wart power supply to move fuel from the tank, then just remove the stock tank and plumb the fuel line from the pump directly into the carburetor.
After seeing how poorly built these are from tearing one down (loose fasteners, awful reed seal) I would recommend light tear down/ check over before even using. Especially the reed valve thing, leaked bad, lapped it with fine sandpaper and it sealed 100%. This alone would probably give you much better service life IMO.
Wow, you're going all out with that generator. For myself, I'd wait for the spark plug cap to go bad on mine before replacing it. I think mine has _maybe_ 3 hours tops on it. Never performed the break-in, but never drove it hard either.
I might consider an hourmeter for my big generator, but since that is used so infrequently as well, chances are the battery in the hourmeter will go dead next time I need to look at it. I hope your hourmeter has non-volatile memory for the hour count. By design, it should, otherwise it's like rolling back an odometer.
Not to scare you, but I don't know about the MTBF of that 2-cycle engine. Another RUclipsr I watch has a Craftsman leaf blower, 2-cycle, and the book states then engine has an MTBF of 50 hours. That's right, the engine was designed for 50 hours of runtime. And it died. He fixed it by replacing the piston rings. I thought that amount of runtime was very short, if the same short lifetime holds true for these generators, 25 hours for the break in can be a good percentage of its life.
Mr Holmes I believe the fifty hours you are talking about is the emissions compliance period not the actual lifespan of the engine come on man you should know this I thought you had one of these?
The G@#%& spark plug boot on my brand new generater came apart the 1st time I took it off to replace the spark plug! Now I have a new plug and I've been running all over town trying to find a NGK boot or ANY boot that I don't have to buy a whole set of wires and cut the caps off and crimp one of them back on. I'm about tempted to take the POS of back to the shop. Where did you find the NGK boot? Thanks!!!!
Yeah, the factory plug boot is a failure waiting to happen. I had to order my NGK boot from an eBay seller.
Were you able to find a boot? If you have a local scooter/motorcycle shop they'll almost certainly have a snap on boot.
The factory supplied spark plug boot is pretty cheesy, it was the first item that failed when I was changing the plug ,I am a real cheapskate so I reattached the spring contact an took a spare bread loaf wire tie , stripped the paper off down to bare wire an wrapped it around spring a 1/4 starting from longest to shortest puncher area very tightly then twist ends together, works very well!!!!
My storm cat is running but not producing power. I have been using it at our tale gate to run tv it has been working great . It looks like intermittent power flashes of light. What can I do ?
I would take a look at the connectors on the back of the socket panel. One may have worked itself loose.
I still can't find an NGK plug anywhere at the auto parts shops, repair shops, nowhere. I found a replacement plug at Ace that has the little cup but I've already ruined two of them trying to squeeze the newly attached cup gizmo through the end of the boot. I need a SCREW ON! What size, model # or other identification do I need for the right plug-there are numerous different ones on ebay and amazon. Thanks a heap!! THANKS EVERYONE, I FOUND ONE!!!!
PM your address. I have a spare NGK boot you can have.
KeyCentral
Hey, Thanks a heap for the offer, but I just got back from a lawnmower place and they gave me one of those spring things that goes inside the boot. He showed me how to attach to the spark plug wire and push it through the boot. I installed it as he said, filled her up, and she's outside running right now!
+M. Edwards Great to hear!
I wonder what brand spark plug cap he used...
I checked the connections on the socket they are all connected. I plugged in a mixer and a drill they both ran but very slow. What else can I do?
Have you hooked up a voltage meter to see what the output is?
it's running at about anywhere from 70 to 80 or so. I let it run for a little bit while doing it.
for comparison the wall socket was about 120...
Lewis Correia If you have already tried to adjust the voltage up and it's still that low then I would think there's something wrong in that would be more than an adjustment to fix. Is it still within the 90-day return window?
it's not within the warranty but it's only been used maybe 65 hours total.
how do I adjust the voltage?
Lewis Correia this should help
ruclips.net/video/HuCDwhbGxUE/видео.html
I'm using it continuously right now. Problem is tank size. I would like it to run all night also it runs out of gas at half a tank. It won't drain the tank.
nice. i did similar mods. put on an hour meter and used auto lite 65 plugs. runs great
They're the perfect modifications to these little generators.
I occasionally go camping in my rv. I cant justify spending $500 or more on a gen I wont use that often. Is this safe for me to plug my rv into and run a few small electronics like a led tv and charge some phones and a marine battery? If its dirty ac power is there a way to clean it up?
I wouldn't recommend this generator for electronics. It doesn't have an inverter. It's very dirty energy. You may want to look into the Sportsman 1000 watt inverter generator. Sams Club has them for under $200.
I am running mine 24/7 now. What I need is a bigger gas tank. I also use amsoil saber so mine is as quite as a Honda
Be sure to report back with periodic hour counts. 24/7 will quickly add up to some excellent long-term durability numbers. If you don't mind sharing - what are you doing that requires it to run 24/7?
yes i got this generator but its missing a spring goin to the carb anyone have a picture of wat it looks like?
you will need that the first time you try to pull it off hot spring pulls off going to get one of those for mine
Those coil springs they use from the factory are horrible. If you can't find one locally there is a seller on eBay that has them very cheap. Thanks for commenting!
awesome thanks i rarely use it but power was out about four days ago and it ran a 39" tv fan dvd player laptop light and 2 cell chargers for five hours.
Ted May I occasionally go camping in my rv. I cant justify buying an expensive $600 plus gen if Im not gonna use it often. Is this gen good for running an led tv, charging cell phones, maybe a laptop? Even though they are sensitive. I plan on connecting my rv into this small gen. I wont be running anything too intense.
its perfect for that. will run it with no problem. just keep a new spark plug in it when storing it and you will have no problem
I'm interested to know what the failure mode is on these. Are they repairable?
They are repairable, but I think most people find that getting a new one at $88 is the best deal. I have over 400 hours use on one, so they do great for the money - when you get a good one.
My eagle river version of this worked about 10 hours and would not run again. Carb was good but i found the reed body/reed seal to be terrible! lapped the reed body against a surface plate and got it so good that it didn't leak one bit. also deleted the head a cylinder gaskets! Took exhaust off to see if it could be opened up a bit and was surprised to see a catalytic converter inside, separated the can a found the converter welded in backwards! I am curious if this was intentional (failure mode) or a mistake, or dose it even matter. Cut it out and stitched the can back together. Tuned it up and it runs like mad! Now to see how many hours I get before the next failure.... Mind you I was about to toss the damn thing, but after this it's a good little unit- so far... Mainly use it run block heaters on equipment, pulls the 1000W element just fine. Once the engine is heated up it maintains temp, not overheating. We will see...
Up here in Canada on Amazon one of these generators cost $ 250 bucks. What a poor deal, I wonder if anyone knows a cost effective way of getting one of these generators in Canada ?
Do you have Harbor freight in Canada? $100 US I think. Bought mine on a pallet sale at a box store for $70.
250 is a painful ripoff!!
Also pull cord wants to brake. So I pull it gently
Yep. That's a plastic pull start mechanism hiding under the metal shroud, so yanking like there's no tomorrow will quickly lead to a failure.
Don't pull it hard on compression stroke.
You could have placed that Tach/Hour sensor wire any place along the HV Coil Wire. Out of sight.
Where do you get an hour meter?
+Robert York eBay or Amazon
I Hate those stake type wire ends that they use on Chainsaws Etc they always come loose and no spark I try and use the Aluminum crimp ones with the spike But the NGK is the best you can use
Agreed!
put a kill-o-watt meter on it. will show you way more
Replace cheap pull ropw, install fuel filter and replacechep fuel line... DONE