O.T. log splitter

[Robert Zack]

i have a 6 year old black diamond 25 ton log splitter. researched it & found that it's made by YTL. it's not used that much so every time i need it it has fuel issues. i let sit after using it & neglected to run it out of fuel. fuel tank had 1/4" of gel in the bottom. cleaned the tank. issue solved. that time i ran it out of fuel before storing it. it would not start & ended up replacing the carb. this time around it's been idle for 6 months with a 1/2 tank of fuel that had sea foam in it. i've been starting it monthly. tried running it tody & it will only run at idle when fully choked. this is a 5 h.p. briggs CR-950 which i've learned is actually made by honda under a briggs license & is the same as GSX 200 honda. i'm currently letting it run itself out of gas & will check the lines & add fresh gas to see if that cures. anyone have any other ideas as to how to proceed?

 

[lha]

i have a 6 year old black diamond 25 ton log splitter. researched it & found that it's made by YTL. it's not used that much so every time i need it it has fuel issues. i let sit after using it & neglected to run it out of fuel. fuel tank had 1/4" of gel in the bottom. cleaned the tank. issue solved. that time i ran it out of fuel before storing it. it would not start & ended up replacing the carb. this time around it's been idle for 6 months with a 1/2 tank of fuel that had sea foam in it. i've been starting it monthly. tried running it tody & it will only run at idle when fully choked. this is a 5 h.p. briggs CR-950 which i've learned is actually made by honda under a briggs license & is the same as GSX 200 honda. i'm currently letting it run itself out of gas & will check the lines & add fresh gas to see if that cures. anyone have any other ideas as to how to proceed?

Always use non-alcohol gas. Keep it full of gas during the winter. I do this and all my stuff starts right up in the spring.

 

[Robert Zack]

it has standard premium in it. it's the only alcohol free fuel i can find close by. what's a pain about this is that a tree trimmer is taking down a huge hackberry for me today. if this dern thing was running i could have thrown some extra cash at him & had him split the biggest rounds. i'm 75 & i'm recovering from back surgery so i'm not allowed or able to be wresting those heavy pieces. i added some fresh fuel & it sounds a little better but still isn't running right. i'll pull the carb when i pull the tank. the last time the carb shut off & fuel bowl were badly corroded.

 

[Robert Zack]

just found another clue. while idling & running out of gas i put the air cleaner on it & it died. and so far i cannot locate a fuel filter.

 

[Btzj02]

just found another clue. while idling & running out of gas i put the air cleaner on it & it died. and so far i cannot locate a fuel filter.

I have had pretty good luck using google to search for "tune up kits" which usually include a fuel filter. Google the Engine, not the splitter. I too only use non oxygenated fuel but if your only choice is oxygenated fuel it will be OK for a six year old engine. When I put the log splitter away for the season I use a fuel stabilizer in the fuel, start the engine and run for about 5 minutes, close the fuel valve and let the engine run until it dies and then top off the fuel tank to minimize the air space in the tank. This has worked well for me.

 

[Robert Zack]

i lways turn off the fuel & let it run out of gas after adding a stabilizer, usually sea foam. the air cleaner stalling the engine makes me wonder whether the crankcase vent is blocked. the sir cleaner is new. it's cheaper these days to buy a carb than a kit. most carbs that i find come with fuel & air cleaners & sometimes a spark club.

 

[Pipestem]

I didn’t know sea foam could be used as a fuel stabilizer.

 

[Robert Zack]

according to the label it does everything but wash your tractor...cleans injectors & jets, stabilizes gas & diesel, quiets lifters, de-ices, & lubes upper cylinders. i try to buy a few cans when it's on sale cuz it's not cheap.
i'll be pulling the carb & gas tank shortly.

 

[Jim L WA]

It may be just dumb luck, but I've been treating all my gas with Sta-Bil for years. Never have had an issue.

 

[Robert Zack]

i've used stabil as well. in fact the last time i needed some bought stabil. once sea foam caught on it got pricey. starbtron came out a few years ago as well. i've heard people swear by it & some that say run away. it's like chevy vs ford vs dodge. whatever works for you, use it.

 

[Robert Zack]

the gas tank is off & the fuel line is clear. i had to stop because of a mother's day get together. tomorrow i'll pull & inspect the carb & crankcase vent but first i have to finish tweeking a guitar to get it ready to sell. it's worth 12K & i'm anxious to get it back to the owner.

 

[Robert Zack]

took the carb off. everything inside looks good. blasted it with carb cleaner & reinstalled it and now the motor will throttle up but stills needs to be run at 1/2 choke. plus when the air cleaner is installed the engine bogs down some. the air cleaner was installed with the last carb replacement so was on the motor for less than 4 hours in a dust free environment. still this air cleaner now looks to be obstructed. running with the crankcase vent tube disconnected made no difference. except for a screen on the fuel tank outlet their is no filter. they must be relying on the sediment bowl at the fuel shutoff. i ordered a new carb. it comes with a new air cleaner. i double checked this time cuz there are 2 versions of this carb. the only difference is the angle of the fixed gas line coming out of the carb. of course i got one with wrong angle. i ended up putting all the new parts into the old carb body. if the new carb doesn't fix it i'll put it in the shop. problem with that is 4 local shops have closed in the last 2 years. 2 of them after being around for over 70 years. 3 other major shops have shuttered in the previous 10 years. no one fixes things these days??? this put a backlog on everyone else. the average wait is over 2 months.

 

[Jim L WA]

Robert, have you given any thought to weak spark or loss of compression or vacuum? Wanting to run on half choke is a symptom of that. I don't know if you engine has points or E.I., but that could be causing trouble.

 

[Robert Zack]

my grandson has my compression gauge but this motor has less than 12 hours on it. in fact i use it so seldom that's once it's running i think i'll sell it. according to honda the ignition system is transistorized. how does one check that type of system out? i'll check on the honda gx 200 for other details. briggs has been useless.
my priorities changed this morning. my cherries are ripe & i'm in a race to beat the birds to them. a robin near landed on my arm while i was on the ladder this morning. we were eye to eye when it noticed me & nearly did a backflip getting a way. a grandson is coming to pick the higher areas. if it's not raining i'll get back on the splitter tomorrow. i have a 1957 Gibson J-45 guitar coming to the shop on thursday.

 

[HFJ]

according to honda the ignition system is transistorized. how does one check that type of system out? i'll check on the honda gx 200 for other details. briggs has been useless.

my guess is that it involves equipment that few of us own.

as for briggs, i used to love them, but their quality seems (anecdotally, to me and a couple of friends) to have taken a dive over the last couple of decades.

 

[Buffalo Pete]

Stabil keeps all of my small engines & antique tractors happy. I use RV (non-alcohol) gas in my really small engines (chain saw & weed wacker). Start these two up & dump the gas & let them die of starvation at the end of the season. Been doing this for 20 years for the fleet now.

 

[Robert Zack]

the new carb arrived. no help. will start with ether then it immediately dies. check the float bowl frain plug & it was full. so i put the old carb back on & it's running. then i noticed that i had nor hooked up a rod and spring to the carb which i'm assuming are tied to the governor. i do not have much experience with governors so i'm throwing in the towel & putting it in the shop. i just cut down a huge hackberry tree so once i get it split i'm selling the splitter. thanks y'all.