After reading the letter from Joe Scheuerman (“Fickle Generator”) in the June issue, I was reminded of a similar incident that happened to me with my generator and the solution I came up with.
I had put my 28-foot Itasca Sunrise up for the winter and when I tried to start the generator in the spring it wouldn’t start. When I took it to the repair shop the mechanic said he had to clean the gum out of the carburetor caused from the light ends evaporating out of the gasoline left in it over the winter.
My solution to this was to purchase a gas tank selector valve for a pickup truck and install it in the line to the generator. I installed the selector switch alongside the generator starter switch on the kitchen vent fan housing. I attached a short piece of hose from the other input of the selector valve and attached an in-line fuel filter on the other end of the hose to keep the dirt out of it.
Now when I lay the motorhome up for the winter I just start the generator and flip the selector switch to draw air through the hose instead of gasoline. I allow it to run until it runs out of gas and I’ve never had any trouble with it since.
Dan Kanarr l Alpena, Mich.
Thanks for writing, Dan. Some coaches have shut-off valves to the genset, but for those that don’t, this is a solution that could prevent problems after storage. Still, add fuel stabilizer to the main gas tank, as modern fuels deteriorate rapidly.
— Ken Freund
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