# Coleman Powermate Maxa 3000 OHV Electric Generator



## ecac

Hi,
New to the forums and generators in general. I needed a small-ish type generator to power my electric log splitter for a few months. I bought a used Coleman Powermate Maxa for $80. Ran fine powered a few things. Thought it was a great deal. I noticed when looking that it may be missing something. I am not very "mechanic" oriented and cant seem to find a good picture or parts list. But right above the rubber primer there is a "lever and then a flat disk type thing. The machine starts up great, but notice that there might be a spring missing for these two things, as when I plugged my log splitter in and hit the power button it seemed to almost drain the generator where it was going to stall out but then picked up. I will see if I can attach a pic to show you what I mean and hopefully there isn't supposed to be something there, but I fear there does and not sure if it is a big deal or not. 

Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks!!


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## RonJ

Welcome Aboard. You will find folks on here with the knowledge to help you, or head you in the right direction. You mention the "flat lever" - I suspect it is the Choke and the Spring is missing. You didn't mention how many Watts your generator. You might go to the Coleman website and there you should be able to download a manual for your Model. Also, you might check out OEM Replacement parts for Tools, Appliances, Consumer Electronics and more | eReplacement Parts, they carry parts for a host of generators. Another good thing while there, they have a schematic of the area of your concern. From the sounds of it, you picked up a good buy - it works, just needs some TLC. Ron


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## Tom Burns




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## ecac

RonJ said:


> Welcome Aboard. You will find folks on here with the knowledge to help you, or head you in the right direction. You mention the "flat lever" - I suspect it is the Choke and the Spring is missing. You didn't mention how many Watts your generator. You might go to the Coleman website and there you should be able to download a manual for your Model. Also, you might check out OEM Replacement parts for Tools, Appliances, Consumer Electronics and more | eReplacement Parts, they carry parts for a host of generators. Another good thing while there, they have a schematic of the area of your concern. From the sounds of it, you picked up a good buy - it works, just needs some TLC. Ron



Thanks for the reply. Apparently this engine has no choke. It might be the throttle someone had said to me, they also said it might be normal the way it is which is what I am asking the masses who know this stuff better than I to help me with. The only manual I can find on this thing just has a parts list and I can't even see that piece on the list. I saw someone posted a Youtube video and will check that out.


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## ecac

Also this is a Coleman Powermate Generator with 3000watt continous 3750 peak... it has a Tecumseh 5.5 OHV HP engine....


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## thehandyman1957

Ok, so after looking at your picture I'm going to assume that that lever is coming from the actual generator winding area just between the generator and the motor correct? This is called the governor.

If so then you are missing some linkage here that goes from the governor lever to the throttle. The linkage controls the amount of gas your generator should give when put under a load. The governor lever is controlled by the amount of load that is being asked to produce. 

The more power being asked, the more gas it needs to give to the carb. Seeing your missing this piece, that is the reason it bogs down to almost dying when put it under a load. The windings are being put under a drag from the load being required and normally the governor lever gives this information to the carb to give more gas depending on the need of the load. Without it, the engine never gets the information that the generator needs more power to feed the load correctly and dies. 

Well, that's the simple version anyway. : )

Here is a simple video that shows what the lever should be doing.





And here is how it works in the generator


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## ecac

thehandyman1957 said:


> Ok, so after looking at your picture I'm going to assume that that lever is coming from the actual generator winding area just between the generator and the motor correct? This is called the governor.
> 
> If so then you are missing some linkage here that goes from the governor lever to the throttle. The linkage controls the amount of gas your generator should give when put under a load. The governor lever is controlled by the amount of load that is being asked to produce.
> 
> The more power being asked, the more gas it needs to give to the carb. Seeing your missing this piece, that is the reason it bogs down to almost dying when put it under a load. The windings are being put under a drag from the load being required and normally the governor lever gives this information to the carb to give more gas depending on the need of the load. Without it, the engine never gets the information that the generator needs more power to feed the load correctly and dies.
> 
> Well, that's the simple version anyway. : )
> 
> Here is a simple video that shows what the lever should be doing.
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgXTpVyphyA


Makes alot of sense. I am assuming I can by this Linkage and replace? Would this be an easy thing for me to do (somewhat handy) or is this something I have to take somewhere. And any idea on the cost this might be?

Thanks!


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## thehandyman1957

Yes, you could make it yourself with some heavy gauge wire but the crucial piece is knowing the length of the original piece and what type of springs it had if any. Without that information your kinda swimming in the dark.

Here is a better video with some better information that is closer to what your dealing with.





You will notice that when he first gets this thing going it does surge a bit. That's because there should be a small spring (sometimes surrounding the linkage and running with it) and sometimes hooked directly to the throttle from a plate to help settle that surging.


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## ecac

thehandyman1957 said:


> Yes, you could make it yourself with some heavy gauge wire but the crucial piece is knowing the length of the original piece and what type of springs it had if any. Without that information your kinda swimming in the dark.
> 
> Here is a better video with some better information that is closer to what your dealing with.
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR1CfvRNni4


Well I tracked down the manual for the engine and found this part - 36711 & 37111 Tecumseh Throttle Linkage

Wonder if this would do it? Thanks for the info and the videos. HUGE help!


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## thehandyman1957

Nope, that's not it. Yours is going to be a simple and short piece, probably no more than an inch and a half long with a S type bend on each side.

Just like this.
GENUINE Tecumseh 32698 Linkage Governor | eBay

Also, for those who might be interested, these guys are really good at teaching about small engines and in this video he does a really good job of showing the governor and how to adjust it. They do a silly skit to make things funny but they are really good at what they do. Well worth the watch.


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## ecac

Just an update:

I took this to a small engine repair place. They replaced the linkage but said the governor gear was junk. He said it would cost about double then wait I paid for it. Unfortunately seems like I was duped and got what i paid for. I used it today with my log splitter and it seemed to do good for smaller logs but on the bigger ones it didn't seem to have the power. Guessing because of this governor issue.

Question is - can a novice like myself who is pretty handy replace the governor gear myself (or can you just replace the whole governor?) or is this something best left to professionals and not worth getting fixed? Guess I got duped and got what I paid for! 

Thanks.


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## thehandyman1957

It's a big job as you have to remove the generator from the motor to pull the case apart. More work than it's worth really. Sorry to hear about your troubles. Perhaps you can find something better down the road.


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## ecac

thehandyman1957 said:


> It's a big job as you have to remove the generator from the motor to pull the case apart. More work than it's worth really. Sorry to hear about your troubles. Perhaps you can find something better down the road.


So here is the thing. For the log splitting I am doing it works decent for smaller pieces - when you hit the power button on the splitter the generator bogs down but picks up a little and when the wood hits the end most of the time it splits. But on a bigger piece it just seems like it is looking for more power and its not there. My new question is - Is there anything that I could rig to give it more throttle when the splitter is looking for more power? I am going to test my theory but I am guessing that if i give it more throttle when there is a big piece it will split it no problem. Unfortunately it is hard to do it myself because i need two hands for the splitter. So I have to find someone to come help me with it.

But I was thinking if there was some control arm or something I can rig so when it needs more throttle i can push and it moves the throttle lever that would be great. Thanks!


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## thehandyman1957

Technically you could, but you would also need a volt meter to see how much gas to give to keep it close to 120 volts. This would be almost impossible to do all at the same time. The bigger problem is that running it like you are, could very well destroy your splitter motor. Under voltage can damage motors just like over voltage can. I would not chance it. I'm sure your splitter is worth more than the generator.


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## Tom Burns

PowerSmart 3,000-Watt Gasoline Powered Manual Start Portable Generator-PS44 - The Home Depot


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