# B&S Generator Summer Storage Questions



## Clutch Cargo (Dec 10, 2018)

Hello All,
I purchased a new Briggs & Stratton 5.75kW portable last November. We had one short power outage shortly thereafter and in addition, I ran it under load for approximately 10 minutes each month through March. Each time its been run, I've shut it down by running the carburetor dry (per the manual). I've secured it for the summer by draining all of the E15 fuel out of the tank, but have the following questions:


1. There are 2.7 hours on the clock. Should I change the oil? The manual says change it after 5 hours of operation.


2. Should I leave the fuel tank cover cracked or open?


3. Is it advisable to use synthetic oil in an engine like this that runs so infrequently?


Thanks


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## RedOctobyr (Aug 8, 2018)

The engine is still breaking-in. I'd change the oil now, with conventional, to help get break-in metal particles out of the engine. I'd hold off until maybe 10 hours, before going synthetic. Changing the oil once more, with conventional, before that time, is not a bad idea. 

(Edit: always change the oil with the engine warm. It will drain more quickly, and if you've just shut the engine down, then more particles are still suspended in the oil, vs sitting at the bottom of the crankcase. So you'll remove more of them when draining it.)

I'd close the fuel tank. Synthetic oil isn't very expensive, with the amount that that these engines use. I use synthetic in my small engines, though there's a decent chance it may mainly get me peace of mind  

Using fuel stabilizer is still not a bad idea. Running the carb dry, for instance (rather than draining the bowl) still leaves fuel in the bottom of the carb bowl, which will degrade.


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## Clutch Cargo (Dec 10, 2018)

Thanks Red, I appreciate the input. Regarding fuel in the bowl, I would've expected it to evaporate.


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## speedy2019 (Jan 29, 2019)

sorry for butting in, but what is conventional and synthetic oil? What oil am I using and is it ok for new engines?? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Briggs-Stratton-100006E-4-stroke-engine/dp/B003DBQJNU/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3OQL6115J5IA3&keywords=briggs+and+stratton+oil&qid=1555295635&s=gateway&sprefix=brigs+%2Caps%2C194&sr=8-3


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## wml52 (Feb 21, 2014)

One other suggestion I would highly recommend is to avoid using any fuel that contains ethanol, I have replaced or rebuilt more small engine carburetors for folks due to the use of ethanol then I care to think about. It's amazing how fast the ethanol blended fuel goes bad. Personally I have a local station that carries non ethanol premium and use that in all my small engines in fact I have 2 Tecumseh 10HP engines manufactured in 1991 and 1994 that have never seen ethanol fuel and are still going strong. I would recommend trying to find a local station that has ethanol free fuel. To me it's worth a few extra $$$.


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## jkingrph (Sep 18, 2017)

wml52 said:


> One other suggestion I would highly recommend is to avoid using any fuel that contains ethanol, I have replaced or rebuilt more small engine carburetors for folks due to the use of ethanol then I care to think about. It's amazing how fast the ethanol blended fuel goes bad. Personally I have a local station that carries non ethanol premium and use that in all my small engines in fact I have 2 Tecumseh 10HP engines manufactured in 1991 and 1994 that have never seen ethanol fuel and are still going strong. I would recommend trying to find a local station that has ethanol free fuel. To me it's worth a few extra $$$.



What he said. I travel about 30 miles round trip to buy ethanol free gas, and generally start the fall season with 40-60 gal on hand. If I do not use my generators I run it through my lawn mower the next summer. I add a stabilizer, and some outboard motor oil to the tune of about a 1:400 concentration maybe 1:500, enough to coat the internals of the carb with a thin film and also to keep the tank on my big generator with a little oil in contact with the steel walls, hoping to prevent rust, which I have not seen any signs of in the 19 years I have had it. A couple of years ago I also picked up a couple of the little Honda EU2000 models and converted for propane. I only run my big 11000 watt model a couple of times a year, running carb dry as recommended, and run the little ones the same but no worries about running dry as I use them on propane, I will use gas on extended intervals to introduce a fresh film of oil. We had an outage a few weeks back and only needed a little electric for a couple of lights, so ran the small one on propane, probably about six hours. The next day I changed the oil, not that it was enough to be concerned with cost, only about 13 oz and using mobil 1 about $3. That gave about 7 hours total run on that one and there was still a little black on the magnetic dipstick I had installed.


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