What have I found?

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What is it

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I bought this generator from an elderly guy that wanted it out of his garage. He purchased it new many years ago and claims it has never been started. By looking at it, I believe him.
He told me he put gas in it about 25 years ago but with a dead battery, he never got it started. The gasoline in the tank smells like hell and has turned to varnish but not rusted at all. I can turn the crank by hand up to the compression stroke.

Other that cleaning the bad fuel out, is there anything else I should do before attempting to start this monster? I've searched online and can't find anything on this generator. Maybe I should give it to a museum.

Thanks for any info--
 
You'll probably need to thoroughly clean, maybe even rebuild the carburetor if it had gas in it. I would also change the oil before starting it. It also wouldn't be a bad idea to remove the cylinder head and check for corrosion and make sure both valves open and close fully. While you're there, lightly oil the cylinder wall so it doesn't start dry and will also make it turn over a little easier. If the generator has any grease fittings, give them a shot or two.

Once you get the fuel system (tank, lines and carburetor) cleaned up, when you try to start it, go easy on the starter. Don't crank for more than 10 seconds at a time and let it cool for a minute or two before you try again.
 
With my old generator I usually start it up every several years, takes a while before the generator actually starts putting out juice. Has to self energize or something, so don't give up on it if it doesn't put out power for a while. Seems like there is a some info on how to energize it on a web site somewhere. Those old generators will sure put out their rated output too, and then some.
 
What is it said:
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Thanks for all the advice! Here are the data stickers. Anyone know what year this was made.
Click to expand...

Well so far I found an owners guide for the Kohler eng. ..... no luck so far on the generator section, will try further though ......

http://www.wfmfiles.com/download/Kohler_Owner's_Manual_Single_Cylinder_K241_K301_K321_K341.pdf .. click to open

Oh ... if you do get it running, be sure to let the unit run for several min. to stabilize itself BEFORE trying o put a "load" on the generator.
 
What is it said:
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Thanks for all the advice! Here are the data stickers. Anyone know what year this was made.
Click to expand...

Kohler serial number puts it at 1980
 
-----IT's ALIVE!!-----

Thanks everyone for the help! You're a great bank of knowledge!

So here's what happened so far; I gave it a new battery. I removed the carburetor (not an easy task due to the position of the bolts) and cleaned it. The carb was a real dirty mess.
The float bowl was half full of tar. Carb cleaner, a tooth brush and a lot of persistence got that clean. More carb cleaner with compressed air through the jets and the rest of the carb body, and back on the block it goes.
Next was cleaning the fuel tank and flushing the lines with thinner. I drained the crank and gave it some new 10-30 oil. it was a cold oil change so I'll do it again after it's had a chance to get hot. I pulled the spark plug and put a shot of WD-40 down plug hole. With the spark plug on it's wire but resting on a head bolt, I cranked it. Absolutely no spark. A VOM told me I have 12 volts to the coil but no continuity at the points. I did the dollar bill trick on the points and it worked. With the plug sparking and back in the hole, a shot of ether down the throat (the engine's, not mine LOL), I hit the starter, fiddled with the choke and that beautiful piece of American history came to life. Even the light bulb I had plugged into it lite up. WOW, I love the sound of that engine!

The engine sounds tight and solid but it's surging. The governor is swinging back and forth so I played with the mixture screws. The main jet screw works as it should but the idle jet screw has no effect. I'm guessing I still have some gum in the carburetor. I see Amazon sells carb rebuild kits for that engine as well as some knock-off carbs. Unless you guys have other suggestions, I'll try an after market carb and see if that solves the surge.

Thanks again for the help. I'll keep you up to date--
 
 
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