Export thread

Recently my generator has started eating spark plugs. I can run it several times for a total of less than ten hours and when I turn it off, it will not start again until I replace the spark plug. The plug looks good when I remove it from the generator, I am using an NGK CR5HSB plug. What is going on with this generator????? Thanks for any insight.

Pic of the bad plug?

Next time you finish with the generator, turn the fuel off and let the engine starve
Modern plugs are not glazed because of the lead that comes out of the glaze
( you can still buy high lead table wear that will cause you to injest lead but no one worries about that )
If the plug is not hot enough, the unburned fuel deposits on the insulator so when you go to start the generator , the spark tracks down the side of the insulator in place of jumping the gap , so the old "wet plug syndrome" but the plug does not look wet .
If that works then either go 1 plug hotter or just keep on starving the engine off .
You will probably find that if you put your "eaten" plug into a hot engine it will work fine .

But don't worry too much because the new Californian battery powered generators will be out shortly

NORMKENN said:

Recently my generator has started eating spark plugs. I can run it several times for a total of less than ten hours and when I turn it off, it will not start again until I replace the spark plug. The plug looks good when I remove it from the generator, I am using an NGK CR5HSB plug. What is going on with this generator????? Thanks for any insight.

Click to expand...

Mine is doing the same thing... but i think it might have something to do with the fact that i have removed the heating element on the air intake from the combustion chamber. I cut the wires to it thinking it was just a waste of energy having a heating element when it's not needed. Have you by chance done the same? Someone on you tube did a video saying the NGK plugs were faulty but i tried an Autolite with the same results. I have 2 2000i's but only one of them is doing it... the other one which is an early model did not have the heater element and it has over 20,000 hrs on it and gets a plug change every 3 months. When i put one of those used plugs in the other machine it will run for 10 minutes and die... and that plug is now dead and will not work in either machine!

Put a real plug in it like a champion . We had a new 7042 cu inch waukesha delivered with NGK plugs and i was out there within the first 24 hours at 2 am replacing the plugs with champion and all was well .

SeniorCitizen said:

Put a real plug in it like a champion . We had a new 7042 cu inch waukesha delivered with NGK plugs and i was out there within the first 24 hours at 2 am replacing the plugs with champion and all was well .

Click to expand...

There is much more going on here than meets the eye... but i will definitely give the champ a go

or pulling the plug lets the flooded cylinder air out a little. Make sure the air cleaner and fuel filter are both in good shape.

bradleyo said:

Mine is doing the same thing... but i think it might have something to do with the fact that i have removed the heating element on the air intake from the combustion chamber. I cut the wires to it thinking it was just a waste of energy having a heating element when it's not needed. Have you by chance done the same? Someone on you tube did a video saying the NGK plugs were faulty but i tried an Autolite with the same results. I have 2 2000i's but only one of them is doing it... the other one which is an early model did not have the heater element and it has over 20,000 hrs on it and gets a plug change every 3 months. When i put one of those used plugs in the other machine it will run for 10 minutes and die... and that plug is now dead and will not work in either machine!

Click to expand...

Eats plugs ? yummy
So what is actually happening ?
Modern fuels are conductive at cylinder pressures so if they get the slightest bit damp with fuel may short out
Plugs will tell you why they failed and that will tell you what you need to do to rectify it
From what you are saying I would hazard a total guess because "eating" tells us nothing that the plug is one grade too cold