I have a 13,000 Watt portable generator that a keep fueled (treated) and I run a 10 minute load cycle every 3-4 months. Last year a purchased a Honda 2200i companion for camping trips, outdoor use, etc. It came with a full tank (1G) of aircraft fuel from the hardware store I purchased it from.(which happens to be adjacent to a muni airport)

My question is whether it is safe to store it long term with no fuel in it all? Will this lead to rust or corrosion in the tank itself?

Appreciate any feedback.

As long as the tank is completely fuel, typically no rust issues.

What typically causes the rust issues is the condensation in the tank from the the gap of some fuel and the tank itself.

Avgas has superior shelf life and then it's full if you need it. If you haven't used it in a year, dump the gas in your mower to mow the lawn and get a fresh tank in the generator.
If it has a fuel shutoff to the carb, you may want to close it and run until it stops.

Hmmmm. I thought those fuel tanks are plastic…

owning a few honda baby gens. leaving gas in the tank should be ok, as other stated.
for storage, i always drain the carb. leaving fuel in the carb for months at a time, may make it a bear to start up or give you other issues. there is a little screw/plug to drain it. worth the few minutes prior to putting it away. (or fuel cut off and run like mentioned)

cycling gas out of the generators is up to you. any gas shouldnt stay in there for years.

quote:

Originally posted by Graniteguy:
I have a 13,000 Watt portable generator

Holy moly! How big is that thing? I have a 9,400 watt, and I thought it was huge. I cannot imagine a 13K.

Yes, use the fuel shutoff and run it dry. Carb float bowls are vented. If left long enough, all of the gas in the tank will flow into the carb and evaporate. Whatever was in the gas that didn't evaporate will be left behind in your carb. I found this out the hard way this year with a go kart I bought used about 6 years. I left gas, probably ethanol, in the tank. The tank was completely empty when I tried to start in June. Taking the carb apart, I found the float and bowl coated in black plastic and 2 days later the plastic tank was cracking in 10 different places. It seems whatever I left in the tank, ate away at the tank, and left what it ate away in the float bowl as it evaporated.

Also, check your oil for water, it will look milky if there is water in it. I changed the oil in both of our 22kW whole house generators in Michigan before I left. One had water in the oil from condensation inside of the engine. Apparently, the 10 minute self-check it does every two weeks isn't enough to get the oil hot enough to evaporate the water. Being aircooled, unless it's under load, the engine will never get hot enough in Northern Michigan. The other generator had no water in the oil because in the process of shutting it down so it wouldn't start while I was changing the oil, I tripped the utility disconnect, which put the house on generator power while my wife was cooking breakfast. I just let it run until after breakfast, but that was enough runtime and load to burn eliminate any water in the oil.

I think I would store it either empty or totally full of stabilized, ethanol free fuel. The leaded AVgas probably won't hurt anything, but it's a waste of money going forward.

quote:

Originally posted by Perception:
I think I would store it either empty....

That's how I store all my small engine tools. They only get ethanol free fuel when in use, and then are drained, run dry, and stored empty. So far I've had no problems with this practice.

This is what I do with my 2,000 watt Kipor (made in China) inverter generator which typically only gets used once or twice a year during power outages lasting eight hours or more.

I use a turkey baster (not the one from the kitchen) to siphon out as much gas as I can and then run it until it stops.

I then dump in three or four ounces of white, stove fuel and run that until it stops.

After that, I store it inside in the basement.

I only use gas treated with Sta-bil in the generator. But the white fuel just makes sure I don't have any regular gasoline in the lines anywhere.

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:

quote:

Originally posted by Perception:
I think I would store it either empty....

That's how I store all my small engine tools. They only get ethanol free fuel when in use, and then are drained, run dry, and stored empty. So far I've had no problems with this practice.

This is what a I do except I add Sta-Bil to the gas.

If you're going to use leaded aviation fuel, you may also want to consider aviation oil for the engine, as that's designed to deal with/ suspend the lead combustion byproducts.

Probably better off just using stabilized gasoline and keeping the tank full so you don't get condensation in the tank.

I have a Honda EU2000i generator that I stored without fuel for more than 10 years. When Hurricane Irma came through and it ran for three days without an issue. My only issue was the air filter needed replacement as it began to disintegrate over time. This generator will work as designed running ethanol-free fuel and stored properly by draining the tank/carburetor bowl afterwards.

I don’t try to run small engines dry anymore. With many you don’t get all the fuel out anyway, besides the carb can be some in fuel lines & such. Then with a generator, having no fuel defeats the purpose of being ready for use.

My normal for intermittent use is the 91 octane , non-ethanol fuel. For longer storage I run in 100 LL aviation fuel. That’s usually near 100%, depending it may be 50% or more with the 91 octane.

There is no reason to use stabilizers with 100LL.

I would never use aviation oil in the crankcase of a small engine.

I have a DR Field & Brush Mower I bought new in 1996, still going strong. My Honda 2000 watt generator usually has 100LL in the tank. If not used I run it once a year.

The little bit of lead in 100LL hasn’t been an issue with plugs. We all have our methods, this is a few of mine.

I keep my generator full, and use fuel additive. When shutting it off, I turn off the fuel valve & let the carb run out. When I need the generator, I want it ready to use.

In the winter, I start all my equipment, tractor, chain saw, generator, etc., every Monday morning & let them run for a while. This is the stuff that I'll need in weather emergencies & I want to know it's going to work.

ethanol free and Sta-bil or Star-Bright additive, fill the tank, put in the additive and run it for 5 to 10 min, that way its in the carb and lines.

Start them up every month or two...