About 4 years ago I bought a generator at Costco. And then I had my house wired with a transfer switch. At 9,500 starting watts, it was large enough to run my central A/C and much of my 1,200 sq ft home. I tested it at the time with a propane hook up, knowing that it would be better to keep the gas tank dry because who knew how long it would be before I actually needed to use it.

Fast forward to this week and Hurricane Ian. I am in a new, larger home, no hard wiring into the house. But I can at least make coffee for my wife, keep the fridges cold, power the TV, etc. I pull it out of the garage after the storm and put it out back. I pour some gas in the tank, flip the power switch and it turns over and fires right up. It's loud as all get out, but so what, we'll have some creature comforts.

I go inside and am looking out through my glass doors and I see liquid going everywhere. My mind is confused for a moment, cause it is not raining that hard and I positioned the generator so that it was just under an overhang and not in direct rain. I then realize it must be gas leaking from the unit.

This is the unit. Gas is leaking from behind the black box on the left.



You have now moved to the left of the previous view. You can see the side of the black box. The gas is leaking out of the black cylindrical unit.



You are now back at the original position, only this time at ground level, so that the bottom of the cylindrical unit is visible. The gas is pouring out of the hole shown by the arrow.



The cylindrical unit does have a rubber hose running from the gas tank to it. And then another rubber hose running from the black cylindrical unit to the black box (which has the choke at the top). Both of those hoses and connections are just out of view in the last pic, just above the hole.

It appears to me that this hole is either supposed to be plugged. Or that it is missing a hose. But if that is the case, I am not sure where it is supposed to run to. And there are no loose, dangling or other visible hoses. So if one is missing, it is missing completely.

I have emailed the company, but am waiting on a response. I suppose the saving grace, I bought this at Costco, so I can always return it, even 4 years later.

Found this…recall

https://www.wtsp.com/article/n...f5-982f-94a20a0e9da4


Mentions gas leaking from carbon canister

Recall on that generator?
Description:
This recall involves FIRMAN P03615 generators. The gas powered portable generators are yellow and black and are equipped with remote start up to 165 feet away. The model number P03615 and date code 10/2018, 11/2018 or 12/2018 are printed on the white nameplate on the generator’s fuel tank. Serial numbers range from 4829200012 through 4833913602 and are printed on the white nameplate on the fuel tank.

Well, it's not on the recall above. Model number is H07552 Rev 1. Date of manufacture 05/2018.

You may have a stuck carburetor float that is causing fuel to overflow into that canister.

中國狗屎

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
中國狗屎

That's what I was thinking too.

Without looking at it live that looks like a evap carbon canister (they are usually rectangular) but I have seen round ones. 1st question I got to ask was the gas tank over filled?? It should show in the manual how far up you should fill gas tank. Typically around 1 1/2" - 2" from top of fill port.

It may also be a bad float needle and seat or the float level it to high.

quote:

Originally posted by holdem:
Well, it's not on the recall above. Model number is H07552 Rev 1. Date of manufacture 05/2018.

Well, being it’s leaking from the same canister, I’d suspect it may be a “similar” issue.

There is a phone number to call..

Some quick googling says it happens on other models, call, and Firman will correct issues.

I’d bypass that until after the emergency. In the future, it’s good practice to test your generator to be sure it runs AND makes power. Don’t let an emergency be your test.

I have a similar model I use for field testing but on LP, pretty sure yours is dual fuel. Can you just run it on propane, pretty sure the LP is valved in downstream from the carb.

quote:

Originally posted by Jelly:
Without looking at it live that looks like a evap carbon canister (they are usually rectangular) but I have seen round ones. 1st question I got to ask was the gas tank over filled?? It should show in the manual how far up you should fill gas tank. Typically around 1 1/2" - 2" from top of fill port.

It may also be a bad float needle and seat or the float level it to high.

It's an 8 gallon tank and I poured maybe one gallon of gas into it out of a 5 gallon can, so no, it certainly was not overfilled.

quote:

Originally posted by Patriot:

quote:

Originally posted by holdem:
Well, it's not on the recall above. Model number is H07552 Rev 1. Date of manufacture 05/2018.

Well, being it’s leaking from the same canister, I’d suspect it may be a “similar” issue.

There is a phone number to call..

Some quick googling says it happens on other models, call, and Firman will correct issues.

I did call them, but for the life of me, at the time, I could not find the model number. It's kind of hidden, and not where they said it should be. So they gave me an email and I sent them pics. Figured that would be easier than trying to explain over the phone. I'll update when I hear back from them.

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
I’d bypass that until after the emergency. In the future, it’s good practice to test your generator to be sure it runs AND makes power. Don’t let an emergency be your test.

I did test it. Albeit with LP. It ran just fine and powered my central AC unit.

quote:

Originally posted by stoic-one:
I have a similar model I use for field testing but on LP, pretty sure yours is dual fuel. Can you just run it on propane, pretty sure the LP is valved in downstream from the carb.

I probably could have. In my old house, I had 3 20lb LP containers. In my new house I have a buried 120 gallon LP tank. It powers the pool heater, fireplace and grill. So I had no need for the 20lb tanks any longer. I gave them away. I think I still have one, but I do not even know how much gas is in it.

I could tap into the underground tank with the right connectors and hoses, but of course I never bought those. Because before the storm, I was going to get rid of this thing. I had never used it other than the one test run. The new house isn't wired. And even though this thing is big, it will not power my new place.

And since the power came back on about 3 hours after this problem occurred, I did not get desperate enough to attempt LP.

Dunno anything about that generator, but in high school I worked in a garage that on top of general maintenance also did LNG conversions. The boss refused to do a dual fuel conversion. When pushed he explained to the customer that what would happen is the customer would love the LNG and never use gas until some years later when they were stuck in East Bunjam and there was no LNG to be found. They’d fill the gas tank and continue on their way and them call him when their car caught on fire from the fuel leaking out of the carburetor since all the seals dried up and shrunk from the years of dry gas (air & LNG) running through the carb with no gasoline to keep them moist. Dunno what seals may have dried up on your generator after four years with no fuel in the tank, but seems a possibility.

Just had to replace a fuel selector switch on a Honda quad (much older, came with the ranch in 2000). I figured it for a rotten hose, but no, it was the valve. No issue in the off or reserve position, fuel dumping on the ground in the on position.

You may have to investigate or hire a mechanic to do so. It could be one (or more) of several things. Dry gaskets, rotten hoses, mouse chewed hoses, a manufacturing defect, ?

quote:

Originally posted by holdem:

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
I’d bypass that until after the emergency. In the future, it’s good practice to test your generator to be sure it runs AND makes power. Don’t let an emergency be your test.

I did test it. Albeit with LP. It ran just fine and powered my central AC unit.

Since Propane at that point isn’t a liquid, it probably was leaking but not seem.
Anything made somewhere that begins with “peoples republic” should make you cautious.

quote:

Originally posted by bigwagon:
You may have a stuck carburetor float that is causing fuel to overflow into that canister.

Agree with this. The bowl is too full and overflowing. Is the oil level ok or high?

Edit - fuel out the evap canister is weird - but shouldn’t it be also routed to filter housing?

This reply will probably not be very helpful, sorry. If you got it from Costco take it back, a buddy of mine had that one or a very similar one and it was a pile. Loud, unreliable, inconsistent, sometimes it would start, sometimes not, with nothing different. He took it back, got a refund and put it word a Honda that is very quiet, and starts every time. Again, sorry for your loss.

He bought it 4 years ago and you suggest he take it back?