I bought the exact model at a flea market 30 years ago for $35.00, not making power. Took it home and found that somebody removed the brushes and failed to return them. I have used, loaned this generator several times in the past decades saving frozen meat in freezers to keeping a furnace running. They are loud and obnoxious but when one has a power outage they don't complain. Great video on a Coleman 4000 generator.
Agreed - loud, obnoxious, and gas-hogs! They plow through fuel, and those carbs have always been a pain to get perfect... But James sure works his magic on them!
@@earlwarren2265 I was told by a lawnmower repair shop many years ago that quiting the exhaust would just reveal all the mechanical noise. Same principle used on Hardley Ablesons to drown out all the mechanical noise from the outdated drivetrain
Great to have a RUclips channel. Dealers reach out and send you exactly what you need at cost. The rest of can't find what we need even at gouge prices. I needed a voltage regulator for a 15 year old Vanguard 20 HP. The dealer couldn't get it. He sent me to a bigger dealer who also couldn't get it. Remember when the manufacturers sent their manufacturing to China "for the consumers"? How's that working for us consumers?
This video is a testament to: 1] The value of knowing how to take care of your equipment [and then doing so] 2] The benefit(s) related to finding/watching James at work Keep'em coming James-these never get old or disappoint. 👍👍👍 200k+ coming soon.
I bought a similar one this summer from an older lady who was selling stuff from her late husbands barn. It was not nearly as good of condition as this one but it has a 5 gallon plastic tank and a low oil shut down. These were built like tanks. I was especially interested to see the testing to see how dirty the power was. I'm going to give it to one of my sons for emergency power. Thanks James.
Time and death likely now has concealed most of the history of these machines. Ag-Tronic was started by Dale and Orlin Watley, if I understand correctly, in the 1965, primarily as a manufacturer of slow moving vehicle signs. They may have entered the generator market when Ag-Tronic purchased assets of the bankrupt Chimera Corp early 1970’s. Coleman bought Ag-Tronic in approximately 1985 or 1986 to facilitate entry into the personal generator market. The early Colemans are dual-labeled Coleman Powermate and Ag-Tronic. I believe most or all were manufactured in Kearney, NE. After the Coleman acquisition, the company changed hands numerous additional times. Pramac purchased the assets in 2008. IIRC, Pramac provided significant access to documentation through it’s website for a while, and some of the web page addresses were still labeled with Dale or Orlin’s name. Orlin passed away in 2000, and Dale in 2017. My father purchased a 5kw Ag-Tronic as part of a group buy, consisting of possibly a couple semi trailer loads of generators in mid- Michigan 1985. I eventually received that generator in non-working condition due to storage issues. I combined it with parts from a later Powermate to replace the 1.5gal metal tank with a 5gal plastic; and utilized the Powermate chassis for mounting wheels. I also rewired the Ag-Tronic generator endbell to float the neutral; add circuit breakers; and replace the 6-15 (240v 15A) receptacle with a L14-30 (240V 30A) receptacle. I kept the Powermate endbell as a spare, after similarly rewiring it. The endbells are known as a high incidence failure point resulting from inadequate service of the bearing. If the bearing is not cleaned and re-packed, I believe they eventually seize, spin the outer ring, and destroy the endbell. That generator is still the primary standby power source for my residence.
I can understand why you got so deep in that newer generator. Sometimes they are worth doing if you don't have a lot of money in them. I pulled a 2021 Toro Personal Pace push mower out of the trash recently. Someone hit it with something. I got it running and the self propel system works, but it needs both right side wheels and height selectors, as well as a bail handle. That is a lot more work and money than I would normally put into one, but it is worth enough to make it worthwhile, and I will probably end up keeping it anyway, since it is nicer than anything I have ever owned before.
I bought one of these in 1993. When Helen hit us,it ran where a very new one let us down. It saved our frozen food for over a week. I got replacement parts for both. You are right the old things are way better than this day and age's things,which are made to fail. Seems greed as no limits. Liked and shared. All my best.
I just picked up this same generator a couple weeks ago for free! It’s in immaculate shape compared to this one you’re working on. Gas tank clean and dry. Oil is clean and in new condition. Haven’t fired it up yet or had a chance to tinker with it. These things were built to last. Thanks for the video. Perfect timing! I love your channel. Keep doing it!
Love those old generator videos. I have one of similar vintage (Not a Briggs though), that is all original and still runs and makes power. Unique thing about it is that instead of rubber feet it came mounted on short heavy duty springs. Keep the videos coming!
Our 96 model 5K kept us with water and running coolers for 4 days during the storm. It has a 10 horse I/C flathead and electric start I installed myself. Also with an externded run 5 gallon plastic tank. Kept us going several times when I got it in 2000. A blessed neighbor gave it to me when they moved. I also installed a wheel kit. It gets run dry, tank drained and oil changed after each crisis and checked every morning. I run diesel formula oil and the J-8 plugs were standard in Briggs years ago. Blessings
I have the same vintage Coleman, except 11HP, 5000 watt version. Same color, same frame, plus the wheel kit. It runs great. The longest I've run it is for 5 days. It doesn't smoke but I check the oil every 24 hours. It does like to use the gasoline but that's dependent on the load. All in all, a great machine. I've considered retrofitting a larger tank mounted above the engine on the frame. The existing tank lasts about 4 hours. Not conducive to a good sleep. 🙂
I saw a generator that was made just like that one it had a lot of carbon on the muffler which tells me that it was used on a house construction company to power up the equipment glad Jason brought it to you to get it fixed and running again Mr condon
James, those generators I believe were mainly used by carpentry contractors Or emergency power during storms. I was surprised the oil level was so low. In another video, you might explain the total harmonic distortion in relationship to modern equipment, specifically With the digital equipment that we are now using. And the relationship of less or more of the standard 60 cps. If you have already done this, I have missed it. That old generator looked brand spanking new and I had very high hopes. Very little time would be needed to check it out and get it running like new. Looks like I was right about that. For the other machine, swallowing a valve, there had to be a reason, your keen eye assembling the valve spring, and keepers really does you credit. thanks again for a great video and I look forward to the continuation of the champion.😊🇺🇸
My family has had one for 350lbs that was their primary job site power source. “Old Green” built a lot of houses. It spent it remaining yrs as a backup genny and is retired due to no compression and worn bearings.
I had the same identical generator only in red for about 20 years only it was red and didn't have the Coleman label. The trick to the low oil is to check the oil every 2 gas tank run out and fill as necessary. Beautiful machine and would start every time on the second pull. Always ran the engine out of gas as you did on the video and removed all gas from the tank after storing the unit. Worked everytime I needed to use it. Paid $500 for it new and sold it for $75, what a mistake. I did replace it with a wholehouse Generac and never which has run perfect for the last 15 years, but I still miss that little red generator. Thanks for the memories Jim.
James I wish I had one third of your knowledge on small engines. I sit for hours watching and learning from your videos. Thank you for sharing your experience with us. ❤👍👍👍👍
Well, you can get the knowledge. Just work with engines a lot. 😀 That is how we all build expertise in something -- we do "that thing a lot", whether it is engines or cooking or something else. You can do it.
I have one of these and it's a 1 pull start every time. I found it on Craigslist for $75 and it looks just as good as yours. I was told it was used only once during a big tropical storm that hit eastern P.a. I believe the guy was telling the truth.
Good Morning James Condon, from Michigan. I want you to know you have befor you one of if not the most durable aluminum block Briggs & Stratton engines. As you demonstrated by starting it without even looking at the spark plug and it didn't even emit a puff of smoke, it is very reliable. Speaking of sparkplug, the original spark plug would have been a Champion J-8. The J8 has been around for so long there are few records showing the date of original release. If you check the C-J8 has exactly the same characteristics and operating principals of the J-8, except that it is not as tall. It was originally designed for Chain Saw engines where compact size was important. It is recommended as a direct replacement. That said, so is the RJ 19 LM; Resistance, J series, (13mm, 1/2" reach) Lawn Mower . The RJ19LM has a resistance built into it for reducing RFI, which raises the voltage required slightly to jump the gap. But the early Briggs & Stratton had a very robust ignition system with plenty of power to use the RJ19LM. Chronologically C-J8 was introduced in 2004 and the Lawn Mower spark plug was introduced in 2010. FYI, In 1968 I had one of the very first all aluminum 7hp Briggs & Stratton engines. It was preceded by the 6hp, and your 8hp came along later. The 7 and 8 hp engines was easily recognized by the head bolt pattern. They had one additional head bolt where the gas tank mounted. I had my 7 hp Briggs on a tube frame racing Go-Kart and it was a real torquer motor. One of my best friends Robert, had one identical to it. We both had a 12 tooth #35 chain Mercury Clutch and 60 tooth drive axle sprockets on 4.10X3.50X6" Rear tires. Our Karts went 55 mph flat out and there was never a governor. We just ran them WOT/ FULL BLAST and were always racing each other. Being almost exactly the same weight, and both carts went the exact same speed. We were always looking for a way to break the stalemate by opening the exhaust to straight pipe, tire size changes and sprocket ratio changes. 6 to 1 yielded more get off the line, but lowered top speed. 4 to 1 was slow off the line and only made about 5 more mph but it just took too long to get there. So, 5 to 1 was optimum. We never tried bigger carbs, but I did toy with having a camshaft under cut for more lift, but the challenge to adjust the clearance was to much for me. I did eventually take my cylinder head into the High School Metal Shop room and mill all around the outside where the gasket seated and remove the thickness of the head gasket, which was if memory serves me well 0.0625" (1/16"). When I put that head back on my engine, my Kart would walk away from Bob's. But, I wanted more. So I crudely chiseled off the fins at a spot on the cylinder head over the Exh Valve and a little forward for another sparkplug. I paid the local hardware store to mill that spot off flat and drill a hole in it then thread it for 14mm. With 2 sparkplugs, I needed better ignition. So I used 2 car engine coils and a motorcycle battery to make spark for both plugs. When I put it all together my Kart got off the line quicker and went 59 mph. The double sparkplug idea was something I had seen on the AA/TF Dragsters, but of course I had no engineering into it, just duplicated the idea/ look. Two sparkplugs simply started the flame front in two places in effect advancing the ignition timing. No longer was I interested in longevity of a work horse drone for a lawn tractor or rototiller, I was using it as a Wide Open Throttle, High RPM unit for maximum output. I actually used to burn Sunoco 260 gasoline. It was Blue. *(we both did) So there is a testament to the durability and reliability of the Briggs & Stratton all Aluminum 7 hp/ 8 hp engine. Thanks for jogging my memory Jim. ben/ michigan
The Champion CJ8 was around well before 2004. They were used in most Briggs and Stratton lawn and garden equipment 6hp and under and some larger engines as well from at least the 70's. My Father purchased two rotary mowers and two rototillers during the 70's and all came with CJ8 plugs.
As always, thank-you! Yes to better quality. I might be out of sorts but your opening script grates on me a little. Ps many thanks both to Jason John: such 'Old School' Civility! Well done all!
Great work has always James. Got a Power mate like that 4000 watts still works great over 30 years old. I put a external gas tank on it. works great. Thanks for all the great videos.
I purchased a Coleman Powermate PM54-4000 back in 1992 and was planning it to run my well until the power company bring power to my property. At that time, I was building a home and the power had to run a transformer to get be power to my property but 1 thing they told me it would a couple of seasons before it would happen. The land I bought was about 1 mile from the nearest pole. Soon as I brought the generator to my lot to my surprise the electric was installed. I kept the generator for back up but never used it and still sits in my garage today. After seeing this video, I might put gas in it and try to start it.
Of all the gens you have repaired I'm liking this one, simplicity is a great thing, no features , little to break down. Actually, I would like Deisel with a gen head similar to that slapped on and that's it, no bells and whistles, well maybe some wheels...
Loved the video, James. It's good that you've found a dealer like John, who's willing to go the extra mile to help you succeed with Champion Engines. Looking forward to seeing the full video on that one. But, great job on this one. Thanks for sharing.
It is so impressive to see an old Briggs engine in action, and still going strong. Thank you for showing us this one! Because of my childhood, I was mostly accustomed to seeing Briggs & Stratton engines on lawn mowers and rototillers. I think they were also on the Rupp brand of minbikes. I'm sure they had much wider applications, I just didn't have experience with them outside of my small worldview.
I have three Coleman Powermate generators, and I agree. They are simple, well built and easy to work on but from watching your video's, they have fairly high thd.
I still have the 5 HP little brother I bought new in the 80's. Your video is inspiring me to take another look at it and possibly using it for charging my power station.
I just got a 1986 Generac S4001 powered by the same style 8HP Briggs and Stratton engine. Similar state to yours with low oil, slightly dirty carb. Took a gamble at $100 and fortunately it paid off when I got it to light off with a shot of gas and made power. I know I shouldn’t be surprised as it’s a B&S after all, but it’s still nice to see one light off like it was put away yesterday even though it sat for 20 yrs.
The original Generator must have been a treat to discover didn't need much work! The second engine . . . I learned about the valve keepers and the studs--something I'd never paid attention to, prior to your great work. Thanks, James!
Quick video? Lol, famous last words. 😂😂 I have one of these generators. They definitely don't like the choke. Mine uses a lot of oil too. Mine smokes like a freight train but runs like a top. Lol, I have to fill the oil twice for one tank of gas. What really surprised me is a complete rebuild kit is still readily available. Kudos to B&S.
I borrowed the same Coleman generator from my father in law years ago. Changed the oil before I used it. Ran about 4 hours then yeeted the rod out the side of the block. It was an 84 model I think.
I've worked on so many Briggs & Stratton flatheads. So simple and easy. However, many of them had points hiding under the flywheel. They sometimes needed maintenance, and they were hard to get at. This one appears to have the points under the flywheel.
As always, James, your post shows those of us that DYI our equipment how to maintain and keep them running their best. Waiting for an Onan 4k to come into your shop for a service and generator tune up. Keep posting. Tks Michael.
Loved the video. The editing was perfect. I'm glad you didn't just put out a 10min video, the prep of the other block was great. We probably know what to expect next week. Thanks for all of your hard work put into these videos.
These videos are fantastic to show customers why some power tools and especially generators are costly to appraise in advance and repair. Fixing the obvious faults as noted by the client only to find hidden defects once a load is applied just don’t add up to some non-practical owners. Your videos also demonstrate exactly why some things can only be fixed in sequence. Until an alternator can generate power, the load test can’f be carried out and without the load test, the viability of the engine isn’t always apparent. Well done on your tenacity too James. You don’t curse and swear anywhere near as much as me !!
Great to see that older machine in such good condition get the small amount of work it needed to come up to 100%. Since I am especially interested in engine rebuilds I enjoyed the beginning rebuild of the Champion machine, too. It was very thoughtful of John to make the parts available at cost. It probably would have taken much longer to get those parts otherwise. I'm having a bit of a struggle again and your videos truly make my life more bearable. Thanks very much, Jim.
I used a red version of the same generator at my old work site. It was always drained of fuel. And stored inside under the mechanic's work bench. When needed always 3 or 4 pulls to start. To stop it, the engine had a spark plug shorting bar. 👍👍👍👍
I had several of that exact model generator on a cattle ranch I managed. I bought them in the mid 70’s so perhaps they were not exactly the same. I used them most to provide power for the ventilation fans and lights inside of an old Tourmaline mine that we had on the property. We only let people into the mine that were friends of the ranch owner. Just a little side show for his friends from the city. I never had any problems with any of them at all. They just soldiered along hour after hour pumping out electricity.
Great to see a new video this morning. I have 2 of these in similar shape. They run good, but their output is not so pretty. Mine both have Tecumseh engines, one a10 up and the other a 5
The generator wisperer gives a 2-fer(well, almost anyway) Nice resfresh on the coleman and great save on the champion. James, like you, I always found it difficult to use the Colemans because of the single 120 volt outlet. I prefer at least double 120s a single 30 amp round and a 240 if it has one. Thats the minimum i would look for if buying one but certainly would not turn this coleman down. Thats a little gem. Thanks for the video and keep up the great work.
Still use mine. Fabbed up a car muffler, handle, and wheels. I call the tank due to it being big, green, heavy and LOUD! It can't take big current spikes anymore like a compressor plugged in, but it still keeps the fridge and freezer cool.
I have seen some nice old generators. Asked the guy he said he bought it for y2k when every thing was going down. I have a old winco generator with the 8 hp briggs. Does have a low oil shutoff. The generator has no circut breakers built with out them.
Since P=U^2/R, the power has dropped from 4300 watts to 3418 watts, when the voltage has dropped from 120 to 107 Volts. All provided that the resistance in the load is the same. It would have been interesting to see you use "Kill A Watt" to measure the effect.
I had one of the Coleman 4000 watt Powermate since 1989 (Hurricane Hugo). It has worked great. My advice is to either clean the carb and/or put Seafoam in the gas. It should start easier than that.
Supplying parts to the dealer that aren't available to the public sounds like a violation of right to repair laws. I had a company recently that was refusing to give me technical info I needed and I had to threaten to report them to the state authorities. They did cave and send me what I needed. So ridiculous that companies continue these practices. Anyway, rant over, I'm glad you got the parts you needed.
James, I had a bunch of lawn mowers, edgers, rotors-tillers from the mid 80’s through the mid 90’s and ALL of the small Brings and Stratton engines had either a J8 or CJ8 Champion plug. I do realize that the current spec is the RJ19LM or J19LM id it is not a resister plug, so I doubt it ,attest, but the CJ8 was probably correct
Back in the 70's & 80's, we used the very same gen-sets on fire trucks, for our "on-scene" generators. They were used for portable lights and ventilation fans. They ran flawlessly for many years because they were tested weekly and maintained by the driver engineers on the trucks. Loud as hell, but they were dependable.
I bought the exact model at a flea market 30 years ago for $35.00, not making power. Took it home and found that somebody removed the brushes and failed to return them. I have used, loaned this generator several times in the past decades saving frozen meat in freezers to keeping a furnace running. They are loud and obnoxious but when one has a power outage they don't complain. Great video on a Coleman 4000 generator.
Very nice generator video I have a 10hp Tecumseh power mate 5000watt generator they really made them to last
Put a car muffler on it, works great.
We did on ours years ago and it’s surprisingly quiet, you hear the tappets tick and generator head moan peacefully at night:)
Agreed - loud, obnoxious, and gas-hogs! They plow through fuel, and those carbs have always been a pain to get perfect... But James sure works his magic on them!
@@earlwarren2265 I was told by a lawnmower repair shop many years ago that quiting the exhaust would just reveal all the mechanical noise. Same principle used on Hardley Ablesons to drown out all the mechanical noise from the outdated drivetrain
That’s some great service from the Champion manager. And the secret sauce was the little bag of Honda parts. Sounds like a real mechanic.
Great to have a RUclips channel. Dealers reach out and send you exactly what you need at cost. The rest of can't find what we need even at gouge prices. I needed a voltage regulator for a 15 year old Vanguard 20 HP. The dealer couldn't get it. He sent me to a bigger dealer who also couldn't get it. Remember when the manufacturers sent their manufacturing to China "for the consumers"? How's that working for us consumers?
I have one of the exact same generators, had if for YEARS. LOUD yes but when it's needed it has never failed me.
This video is a testament to:
1] The value of knowing how to take care of your equipment [and then doing so]
2] The benefit(s) related to finding/watching James at work
Keep'em coming James-these never get old or disappoint. 👍👍👍 200k+ coming soon.
Yeah, and the care taken to resurrect these useful old machines. I mean James even sourced a colour-matched air cleaner FFS !!
Couldn’t think of a better way to start the morning than a James condon video!
Its 10.30PM in Australia
It’s 8:11am est
3:20pm in Finland
Its 5 o'clock somewhere.
Really awesome that the champion dealer was not only watching your video but also offered the parts at cost...major respect to John!
I bought a similar one this summer from an older lady who was selling stuff from her late husbands barn. It was not nearly as good of condition as this one but it has a 5 gallon plastic tank and a low oil shut down. These were built like tanks. I was especially interested to see the testing to see how dirty the power was. I'm going to give it to one of my sons for emergency power. Thanks James.
The THD was about average if not a little better then some of the newer machines sold.
Time and death likely now has concealed most of the history of these machines. Ag-Tronic was started by Dale and Orlin Watley, if I understand correctly, in the 1965, primarily as a manufacturer of slow moving vehicle signs. They may have entered the generator market when Ag-Tronic purchased assets of the bankrupt Chimera Corp early 1970’s. Coleman bought Ag-Tronic in approximately 1985 or 1986 to facilitate entry into the personal generator market. The early Colemans are dual-labeled Coleman Powermate and Ag-Tronic. I believe most or all were manufactured in Kearney, NE. After the Coleman acquisition, the company changed hands numerous additional times. Pramac purchased the assets in 2008. IIRC, Pramac provided significant access to documentation through it’s website for a while, and some of the web page addresses were still labeled with Dale or Orlin’s name. Orlin passed away in 2000, and Dale in 2017. My father purchased a 5kw Ag-Tronic as part of a group buy, consisting of possibly a couple semi trailer loads of generators in mid- Michigan 1985. I eventually received that generator in non-working condition due to storage issues. I combined it with parts from a later Powermate to replace the 1.5gal metal tank with a 5gal plastic; and utilized the Powermate chassis for mounting wheels. I also rewired the Ag-Tronic generator endbell to float the neutral; add circuit breakers; and replace the 6-15 (240v 15A) receptacle with a L14-30 (240V 30A) receptacle. I kept the Powermate endbell as a spare, after similarly rewiring it. The endbells are known as a high incidence failure point resulting from inadequate service of the bearing. If the bearing is not cleaned and re-packed, I believe they eventually seize, spin the outer ring, and destroy the endbell. That generator is still the primary standby power source for my residence.
I can understand why you got so deep in that newer generator. Sometimes they are worth doing if you don't have a lot of money in them. I pulled a 2021 Toro Personal Pace push mower out of the trash recently. Someone hit it with something. I got it running and the self propel system works, but it needs both right side wheels and height selectors, as well as a bail handle. That is a lot more work and money than I would normally put into one, but it is worth enough to make it worthwhile, and I will probably end up keeping it anyway, since it is nicer than anything I have ever owned before.
That's what you call an investment!
I bought one of these in 1993. When Helen hit us,it ran where a very new one let us down. It saved our frozen food for over a week. I got replacement parts for both. You are right the old things are way better than this day and age's things,which are made to fail. Seems greed as no limits. Liked and shared. All my best.
Fantastic... Looks like the old girl still has lots to give...
Have the same genny, my father bought it shortly after Hurricane Gloria, it still runs great.
I just picked up this same generator a couple weeks ago for free! It’s in immaculate shape compared to this one you’re working on. Gas tank clean and dry. Oil is clean and in new condition. Haven’t fired it up yet or had a chance to tinker with it. These things were built to last. Thanks for the video. Perfect timing! I love your channel. Keep doing it!
Love those old generator videos. I have one of similar vintage (Not a Briggs though), that is all original and still runs and makes power. Unique thing about it is that instead of rubber feet it came mounted on short heavy duty springs. Keep the videos coming!
Clever move of that Champion dealer.
Right!? I wonder how many Champion generators have been scrapped due to lack of parts availability.
Our 96 model 5K kept us with water and running coolers for 4 days during the storm. It has a 10 horse I/C flathead and electric start I installed myself. Also with an externded run 5 gallon plastic tank. Kept us going several times when I got it in 2000. A blessed neighbor gave it to me when they moved. I also installed a wheel kit. It gets run dry, tank drained and oil changed after each crisis and checked every morning. I run diesel formula oil and the J-8 plugs were standard in Briggs years ago. Blessings
I have the same vintage Coleman, except 11HP, 5000 watt version. Same color, same frame, plus the wheel kit. It runs great. The longest I've run it is for 5 days. It doesn't smoke but I check the oil every 24 hours. It does like to use the gasoline but that's dependent on the load. All in all, a great machine. I've considered retrofitting a larger tank mounted above the engine on the frame. The existing tank lasts about 4 hours. Not conducive to a good sleep. 🙂
Darn USA going out of Daylight savings time! Had to wait an extra hour for my fix!
I saw a generator that was made just like that one it had a lot of carbon on the muffler which tells me that it was used on a house construction company to power up the equipment glad Jason brought it to you to get it fixed and running again Mr condon
James, those generators I believe were mainly used by carpentry contractors Or emergency power during storms. I was surprised the oil level was so low.
In another video, you might explain the total harmonic distortion in relationship to modern equipment, specifically With the digital equipment that we are now using. And the relationship of less or more of the standard 60 cps. If you have already done this, I have missed it.
That old generator looked brand spanking new and I had very high hopes. Very little time would be needed to check it out and get it running like new. Looks like I was right about that.
For the other machine, swallowing a valve, there had to be a reason, your keen eye assembling the valve spring, and keepers really does you credit. thanks again for a great video and I look forward to the continuation of the champion.😊🇺🇸
My family has had one for 350lbs that was their primary job site power source. “Old Green” built a lot of houses. It spent it remaining yrs as a backup genny and is retired due to no compression and worn bearings.
35yrs
Two repairs in one video 😉😉
The small engine professor. Another awesome class. Nice going, James. Thank you.
I had the same identical generator only in red for about 20 years only it was red and didn't have the Coleman label. The trick to the low oil is to check the oil every 2 gas tank run out and fill as necessary. Beautiful machine and would start every time on the second pull. Always ran the engine out of gas as you did on the video and removed all gas from the tank after storing the unit. Worked everytime I needed to use it. Paid $500 for it new and sold it for $75, what a mistake. I did replace it with a wholehouse Generac and never which has run perfect for the last 15 years, but I still miss that little red generator. Thanks for the memories Jim.
James I wish I had one third of your knowledge on small engines. I sit for hours watching and learning from your videos. Thank you for sharing your experience with us. ❤👍👍👍👍
Well, you can get the knowledge. Just work with engines a lot. 😀 That is how we all build expertise in something -- we do "that thing a lot", whether it is engines or cooking or something else. You can do it.
I had one like it on my service truck and it was and still is a good generator 😊 I kept it covered up and serviced it every month if I ran it
I have one of these and it's a 1 pull start every time. I found it on Craigslist for $75 and it looks just as good as yours. I was told it was used only once during a big tropical storm that hit eastern P.a. I believe the guy was telling the truth.
Good Morning James Condon, from Michigan. I want you to know you have befor you one of if not the most durable aluminum block Briggs & Stratton engines. As you demonstrated by starting it without even looking at the spark plug and it didn't even emit a puff of smoke, it is very reliable. Speaking of sparkplug, the original spark plug would have been a Champion J-8. The J8 has been around for so long there are few records showing the date of original release. If you check the C-J8 has exactly the same characteristics and operating principals of the J-8, except that it is not as tall. It was originally designed for Chain Saw engines where compact size was important. It is recommended as a direct replacement. That said, so is the RJ 19 LM; Resistance, J series, (13mm, 1/2" reach) Lawn Mower . The RJ19LM has a resistance built into it for reducing RFI, which raises the voltage required slightly to jump the gap. But the early Briggs & Stratton had a very robust ignition system with plenty of power to use the RJ19LM. Chronologically C-J8 was introduced in 2004 and the Lawn Mower spark plug was introduced in 2010. FYI, In 1968 I had one of the very first all aluminum 7hp Briggs & Stratton engines. It was preceded by the 6hp, and your 8hp came along later. The 7 and 8 hp engines was easily recognized by the head bolt pattern. They had one additional head bolt where the gas tank mounted. I had my 7 hp Briggs on a tube frame racing Go-Kart and it was a real torquer motor. One of my best friends Robert, had one identical to it. We both had a 12 tooth #35 chain Mercury Clutch and 60 tooth drive axle sprockets on 4.10X3.50X6" Rear tires. Our Karts went 55 mph flat out and there was never a governor. We just ran them WOT/ FULL BLAST and were always racing each other. Being almost exactly the same weight, and both carts went the exact same speed. We were always looking for a way to break the stalemate by opening the exhaust to straight pipe, tire size changes and sprocket ratio changes. 6 to 1 yielded more get off the line, but lowered top speed. 4 to 1 was slow off the line and only made about 5 more mph but it just took too long to get there. So, 5 to 1 was optimum. We never tried bigger carbs, but I did toy with having a camshaft under cut for more lift, but the challenge to adjust the clearance was to much for me. I did eventually take my cylinder head into the High School Metal Shop room and mill all around the outside where the gasket seated and remove the thickness of the head gasket, which was if memory serves me well 0.0625" (1/16"). When I put that head back on my engine, my Kart would walk away from Bob's. But, I wanted more. So I crudely chiseled off the fins at a spot on the cylinder head over the Exh Valve and a little forward for another sparkplug. I paid the local hardware store to mill that spot off flat and drill a hole in it then thread it for 14mm. With 2 sparkplugs, I needed better ignition. So I used 2 car engine coils and a motorcycle battery to make spark for both plugs. When I put it all together my Kart got off the line quicker and went 59 mph. The double sparkplug idea was something I had seen on the AA/TF Dragsters, but of course I had no engineering into it, just duplicated the idea/ look. Two sparkplugs simply started the flame front in two places in effect advancing the ignition timing. No longer was I interested in longevity of a work horse drone for a lawn tractor or rototiller, I was using it as a Wide Open Throttle, High RPM unit for maximum output. I actually used to burn Sunoco 260 gasoline. It was Blue. *(we both did) So there is a testament to the durability and reliability of the Briggs & Stratton all Aluminum 7 hp/ 8 hp engine. Thanks for jogging my memory Jim. ben/ michigan
The Champion CJ8 was around well before 2004. They were used in most Briggs and Stratton lawn and garden equipment 6hp and under and some larger engines as well from at least the 70's. My Father purchased two rotary mowers and two rototillers during the 70's and all came with CJ8 plugs.
I think you are the only youtuber to use that sparkplug gapper correctly. Details like that is what makes you one of the best teachers in the field !
As always, thank-you!
Yes to better quality.
I might be out of sorts but your opening script grates on me a little.
Ps many thanks both to Jason John: such 'Old School' Civility! Well done all!
Same engine I had on my 1980s TroyBilt Horse. Great engine.
Great work has always James. Got a Power mate like that 4000 watts
still works great over 30 years old. I put a external gas tank on it.
works great. Thanks for all the great videos.
I purchased a Coleman Powermate PM54-4000 back in 1992 and was planning it to run my well until the power company bring power to my property. At that time, I was building a home and the power had to run a transformer to get be power to my property but 1 thing they told me it would a couple of seasons before it would happen. The land I bought was about 1 mile from the nearest pole. Soon as I brought the generator to my lot to my surprise the electric was installed. I kept the generator for back up but never used it and still sits in my garage today. After seeing this video, I might put gas in it and try to start it.
Of all the gens you have repaired I'm liking this one, simplicity is a great thing, no features , little to break down. Actually, I would like Deisel with a gen head similar to that slapped on and that's it, no bells and whistles, well maybe some wheels...
James I’m glad you had an easy project this time. But those ones that challenge us and keep us busy sharpen our skills. 😃
Couldn't agree more on this machine, looks simple, looks easy to maintain and most, importantly looks rugged. Great video James.
I am surprised that there is no valve seal on the exhaust valve. Nice video!
Good Morning ! A man just gave me this Gen. Now I have an idea of what to do. THANK YOU. TAKE CARE..
I think you were overdue for an easy one. Good to see an old green Powermate running again.
Great find James a real time capsule those old Briggs are amazing , the only thing it really needs now are wheels and a pull handle.
Loved the video, James. It's good that you've found a dealer like John, who's willing to go the extra mile to help you succeed with Champion Engines. Looking forward to seeing the full video on that one. But, great job on this one. Thanks for sharing.
It is so impressive to see an old Briggs engine in action, and still going strong. Thank you for showing us this one! Because of my childhood, I was mostly accustomed to seeing Briggs & Stratton engines on lawn mowers and rototillers. I think they were also on the Rupp brand of minbikes. I'm sure they had much wider applications, I just didn't have experience with them outside of my small worldview.
Sometimes older is better....Great video!!! Thanks
I have three Coleman Powermate generators, and I agree. They are simple, well built and easy to work on but from watching your video's, they have fairly high thd.
I still have the 5 HP little brother I bought new in the 80's. Your video is inspiring me to take another look at it and possibly using it for charging my power station.
I just got a 1986 Generac S4001 powered by the same style 8HP Briggs and Stratton engine. Similar state to yours with low oil, slightly dirty carb. Took a gamble at $100 and fortunately it paid off when I got it to light off with a shot of gas and made power. I know I shouldn’t be surprised as it’s a B&S after all, but it’s still nice to see one light off like it was put away yesterday even though it sat for 20 yrs.
That 8hp Briggs engine, they must have made millions of them...
Good job nice older generator you don't see them that nice
Thanks for the reply
anything build with metal and no plastic parts is by definition BETTER....!
I also can't tell you how refreshing it is to see a machine this clean and well-built.
No plastic in sight says it all. Not made with Chinesium.
The "green machine" soldiers on!! Runs great, & works like it should!!
Love the surprise of 2 videos in 1! I'm always impressed with your ingenuity and problem solving.
The original Generator must have been a treat to discover didn't need much work! The second engine . . . I learned about the valve keepers and the studs--something I'd never paid attention to, prior to your great work. Thanks, James!
Your wedding bands look a lot like mine and my wife's. Nice.
Great genny there James, look forward to that other engine being restored 😊
Quick video? Lol, famous last words. 😂😂
I have one of these generators. They definitely don't like the choke.
Mine uses a lot of oil too. Mine smokes like a freight train but runs like a top. Lol, I have to fill the oil twice for one tank of gas. What really surprised me is a complete rebuild kit is still readily available. Kudos to B&S.
You always seem to saved the old classic generators
I borrowed the same Coleman generator from my father in law years ago. Changed the oil before I used it. Ran about 4 hours then yeeted the rod out the side of the block. It was an 84 model I think.
The oil was probably all burned after 3 hours
Love the simplicity of it and the very open frame design.
I have watched thousands of dyi videos. I've never seen anybody explain the keepers. Nice touch
Thanks John. You really come through for the channel.
I've worked on so many Briggs & Stratton flatheads. So simple and easy. However, many of them had points hiding under the flywheel. They sometimes needed maintenance, and they were hard to get at. This one appears to have the points under the flywheel.
Had a magnetron sticker on the blower housing.
As always, James, your post shows those of us that DYI our equipment how to maintain and keep them running their best.
Waiting for an Onan 4k to come into your shop for a service and generator tune up.
Keep posting.
Tks Michael.
I bought a similar generator at an auction for $25 (not generating) outlet was wired wrong. Works great and has electric start!
Loved the video. The editing was perfect. I'm glad you didn't just put out a 10min video, the prep of the other block was great. We probably know what to expect next week. Thanks for all of your hard work put into these videos.
These videos are fantastic to show customers why some power tools and especially generators are costly to appraise in advance and repair. Fixing the obvious faults as noted by the client only to find hidden defects once a load is applied just don’t add up to some non-practical owners. Your videos also demonstrate exactly why some things can only be fixed in sequence. Until an alternator can generate power, the load test can’f be carried out and without the load test, the viability of the engine isn’t always apparent. Well done on your tenacity too James. You don’t curse and swear anywhere near as much as me !!
Great to see that older machine in such good condition get the small amount of work it needed to come up to 100%. Since I am especially interested in engine rebuilds I enjoyed the beginning rebuild of the Champion machine, too. It was very thoughtful of John to make the parts available at cost. It probably would have taken much longer to get those parts otherwise. I'm having a bit of a struggle again and your videos truly make my life more bearable. Thanks very much, Jim.
I used a red version of the same generator at my old work site. It was always drained of fuel. And stored inside under the mechanic's work bench. When needed always 3 or 4 pulls to start. To stop it, the engine had a spark plug shorting bar. 👍👍👍👍
I had the same generator about 20 years ago. Great unit it was just heavy as hell.
Suck fuel like nobody is looking too...
@ true story
I had several of that exact model generator on a cattle ranch I managed. I bought them in the mid 70’s so perhaps they were not exactly the same. I used them most to provide power for the ventilation fans and lights inside of an old Tourmaline mine that we had on the property. We only let people into the mine that were friends of the ranch owner. Just a little side show for his friends from the city.
I never had any problems with any of them at all. They just soldiered along hour after hour pumping out electricity.
Great to see a new video this morning. I have 2 of these in similar shape. They run good, but their output is not so pretty. Mine both have Tecumseh engines, one a10 up and the other a 5
Excellent video gotta love the sound of those old flatheads
The generator wisperer gives a 2-fer(well, almost anyway)
Nice resfresh on the coleman and great save on the champion.
James, like you, I always found it difficult to use the Colemans because of the single 120 volt outlet. I prefer at least double 120s a single 30 amp round and a 240 if it has one. Thats the minimum i would look for if buying one but certainly would not turn this coleman down. Thats a little gem.
Thanks for the video and keep up the great work.
THKS + CHAMP - JOHN
I don’t think James has ever had one this easy!
Thanks for posting James
that engine is very tight great score
I have one of those with a Tecumseh on it. They are great robust machines for sure. Awesome job Jim! Thanks!
great friend and thanks for sharing your win James
Thanks viewer John 👏🏻 👏🏻 👏🏻
Still use mine. Fabbed up a car muffler, handle, and wheels. I call the tank due to it being big, green, heavy and LOUD! It can't take big current spikes anymore like a compressor plugged in, but it still keeps the fridge and freezer cool.
I have seen some nice old generators. Asked the guy he said he bought it for y2k when every thing was going down. I have a old winco generator with the 8 hp briggs. Does have a low oil shutoff. The generator has no circut breakers built with out them.
That's the earliest First Start I think I can remember from one of James' videos
That Champion machine is an oldie but a goodie!
What a beautiful machine! I enjoyed watching it and also look forward to the second machine episode. Great video Jim
Since P=U^2/R, the power has dropped from 4300 watts to 3418 watts, when the voltage has dropped from 120 to 107 Volts. All provided that the resistance in the load is the same. It would have been interesting to see you use "Kill A Watt" to measure the effect.
No way a Kill A Watt can handle that much power. Mine melted down measuring a 1800 watt heat gun.
@@JohnSmith-qi9qs Just take one at a time. And add up in the end.
Thx for showing ways to reuse items like old milk jugs as oil catch pans.
As always with your videos. A plethora😊 of information.
I had one of the Coleman 4000 watt Powermate since 1989 (Hurricane Hugo). It has worked great. My advice is to either clean the carb and/or put Seafoam in the gas. It should start easier than that.
Another Briggs & Stratton flathead returned to life! How pleasant!
Supplying parts to the dealer that aren't available to the public sounds like a violation of right to repair laws. I had a company recently that was refusing to give me technical info I needed and I had to threaten to report them to the state authorities. They did cave and send me what I needed. So ridiculous that companies continue these practices. Anyway, rant over, I'm glad you got the parts you needed.
What a machine. It was built a year before i left school to go in the Air Force.
"this is going to be a quick videos" * goes to look how much longer the video has left* still a 54min video. hahaha. Great video as always
I enjoy these models as the old flathead B&S is what I grew up with and learned to repair.
Great video, that generator is in excellent shape for it's age, just can't beat a good old Briggs flathead, very nice work James!
They are my favorite engine
James, I had a bunch of lawn mowers, edgers, rotors-tillers from the mid 80’s through the mid 90’s and ALL of the small Brings and Stratton engines had either a J8 or CJ8 Champion plug. I do realize that the current spec is the RJ19LM or J19LM id it is not a resister plug, so I doubt it ,attest, but the CJ8 was probably correct
@@NETWizzJbirk I think you'reright about the Champion C8 plug. All the old engines used the C8.
@@tomgraham8622 That they did.
Back in the 70's & 80's, we used the very same gen-sets on fire trucks, for our "on-scene" generators. They were used for portable lights and ventilation fans. They ran flawlessly for many years because they were tested weekly and maintained by the driver engineers on the trucks. Loud as hell, but they were dependable.
Isn’t it amazing how much better small engines do when somebody just turns off the fuel and runs the carburetor out before storing them away?
In and out of the office, took me 5 hours to watch this!