wet genny

[Idle boater]

hi guys. sometime over the weeken while we were at our sons wedding and away from our boat. the EA decided not to pump the water out of the idle and into the Trent, consequently our mooring got flooded, my genny which is normally about three feet abone the waterline got soaked, GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

Needless to say it will not start, there is no spark from the plug, i have taken off all the panels that i can to allow it to dry, does anyone have any further suggestions. or will i need to take it to a specialist engineer to get it sorted.

Thanks in antisipation, Mike,

[Nightwatch]

Surely the EA ought to get involved if they have failed in their Duty of Care.

 

You need to help it get dry. Heating of sone form. Fan Heater blowing over it.

 

You may have water in the cylinders. Take the plug out and turn it over.

Edited November 25, 2014 by Nightwatch

[Sierra2]

Why specialist?

 

Make, model, 2-stroke, 4-stroke, petrol, diesel, lpg would be very useful information to know...

 

If there is an entry point into the fuel source for water through a breather or air intake then you need to dismantle the fuel container (especially if it's petrol), drain, wash with thinners or brake cleaner and dry thoroughly for a few days before reassembly. Same for the fuel lines and carburettor (if it has one). Replace the Air filter while you are at it. If 4-stoke, give an oil change now before trying to start and another once it's running and the oil is hot (assuming there is a crank case breather that water could get into)

 

The coil, HT lead and electrics will dry out with time if it's a pull start type.

 

Electric start with any kind of ECU will be a bigger issue and probably require spare parts.

 

I assume it wasn't running when the flooding occurred?

 

Best,

 

Chaz

[Idle boater]

Hello again sorry i have not replied we ran out of internet time, my genny is a Honda EU 20 i. I did get it dried out and it now runs ok, Starting is now a problem though, it still starts on the first pull as always bit only runs for 20 seconds or so, weather i leave the choke on or turn it off, it stops and the red warning light comes on.after a few seconds the red light goes off and i repeat the prosess. this happens up to 20 times before finally it stays on and runs like a good un.

I have used it quite a bit over the last week or so, so it has had about 15 liters of fresh petrol through it.

 

Any suggestions ?????? thanks Mike.

[Guest]

Hello again sorry i have not replied we ran out of internet time, my genny is a Honda EU 20 i. I did get it dried out and it now runs ok, Starting is now a problem though, it still starts on the first pull as always bit only runs for 20 seconds or so, weather i leave the choke on or turn it off, it stops and the red warning light comes on.after a few seconds the red light goes off and i repeat the prosess. this happens up to 20 times before finally it stays on and runs like a good un.

I have used it quite a bit over the last week or so, so it has had about 15 liters of fresh petrol through it.

 

Any suggestions ?????? thanks Mike.

My Yamaha behaves exactly the same if the oil is low. When I say low, it may only need a few cc's of oil to make all well, and the dipstick is not an accurate guide. Not sure why it keeps running after several attempts, but it does.

Edited December 2, 2014 by Guest

[Arthur Brown]

It needs to run long enough to get the oil hot for an hour -which should drive off any water, then you should top or change the oil. There will not be much in there! use it to fuel the fire if nothing else!

[Idle boater]

Thanks guys i will try that first thing tomorrow, i will keep you posted.

 

Mike.

[Guest]

Not sure if this applies to Honda gennies, but our ancient Yamaha burns multigrade oil off quite rapidly. If I use 4 stroke lawnmower oil it is fine (straight 30 I think.)

[Alan Saunders]

Aside from flooding contaminating the oil, a water dispersent like duck oil or WD40 is usually effective on HT ignition components. Small engines, especially electronically controlled, may require some dismantling to thoroughly dry them.

[Dinz]

My EU does this when oil is old/thick.

Temp lower and /or if level is low.

Fresh oil / oil change sorts it.

[NB Watersnail]

Another though about hard starting, if checking the oil doesn't fix it. I learnt the hard way that water and petrol don't mix. Water will sit below the petrol in a tank and caused me very similar problems with starting a motorbike when the filler cap leaked and let water into the tank. I'd suggest draining and thoroughly drying the tank and carb bowl. Hopefully then it will start as it used to.

[Arthur Brown]

Remember that this small engine will hold something in the order of 250ml of oil so 10cc will make a diference. Top up with a pump oilcan (Wesco or the like)

[Nige123]

my eu10 does this when low on oil.... I would drain & refill with oil 2 or 3 times.... doing this is about a grand cheaper then new generator.... ;o)

[Idle boater]

Once again thanks guys for your suggestions, this morning i faced the chilly weather and ventured out to look at the oil situation, upon inspection i decided it needed changing, i poured out the treacle like substance and topped up with fresh oil, the problem persisted and again i drained the tank of milky oil, i repeated this 4 more times before the oil stayed clear, Again i started the engine and the green running light came on, alas after about 2 mins the red oil light came on and it bloody stopped, it would not re start till the red light went off, about 15 seconds, as soon as it went off it started with one pull. but i had to repeat this process a further 8 or 10 times before it ran as normal.I let it run for a couple of hours and turned it off went back after 4 hours to re start it fairly confident the the clean oil had worked its magic, GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR it eventially ran smoothly on the 7 th try. anyone want to buy a genny lol.

 

Mike.

[Dinz]

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^{maybe some things towards the end of this thread may assist?}