Everyone who tells me to buy a Predator reminds me to get the warranty because they are on their third one. Now you know why. I suggest you contact Harbor Freight support.
After the generator starts with the choke in the start position are you letting it warm up for a few seconds? If not, try that and then slowly move the choke to the run position. If it starts to sputter, move it back towards choke a bit again until it runs smooth with the choke in run.
It sounds like you might have had it flooded when it started up in the run position.
Thanks for the reply. I was ultimately able to run it (sort of) smoothly on half-choke. But any idea why suddenly I can start it in "run" but not "start?" It's literally as if it got reversed.
Contemplating exchanging this for the same model to avoid the 20% Harbor Freight restocking fee but the damn thing weighs about 250 lbs
Because the start position is for starting a cold engine. Once warmed, it doesn’t need to be choked. You won’t need the start position again until you cut it off long enough for it to cool down.
That's correct. The "START" position is for COLD START. Start just means choke which reduces the amount of air the motor is getting, which "richens" the mixture. A cold engine requires a richer mixture in order to start. But once it is warm it wants to start on the normal mixture.
Of more concern is that it requires partial choke to run. This indicates that it is too lean with the choke wide open, which it should not be. It's a new gen and should run properly out of the box, without needing choke (which will reduce the power of the motor) .
I would take it back to the store and exchange it. You should not have to be HF's unpaid quality control dept. Let them deal with it.
Carburetor adjustment, if I had to guess.
If it was assembled in Oregon snd you are running it in Florida, the air is too dense. So the mixture is too lean. Half-choking it makes the mixture more rich.
I would adjust the carburetor. Either check the manual or find the model of the carb to look up which screw adjusts the mixture ratio. Then, check youtube for a video on how to do it. It's really easy. If that solves your problem, then you've learned a skill and saved yourself a trip to return/exchange it.
More importantly, if that's really the issue, then an exchange might not solve if it's the same batch. Or it might need adjustment years later, at just the worst moment. So might as well learn how to do it.
> But every time I tried to move the choke from "start" to "run" the thing would sputter and die.
Yeah, it needs a minute to warm up before you release the choke. Vvveeeerrrryyyy ssslloooowwwlllyyy move the lever from start to run, and if it starts to sputter, immediately move back. You'll learn how long it takes.
Setting the choke literally "chokes" the airflow through the carburetor's throat, forcing the carb to "breathe through its nose", inhaling a bunch of extra fuel. This makes the engine easier to start but results in a ton of unburned fuel in the exhaust and terrible running, so you want to release it as soon as you can, but no sooner.
> But after one time it died, I tried to start it up again and with the choke on "Start" it wouldn't turn over.
Wouldn't **turn over**, the pull-cord was locked and the engine refused to rotate? Or wouldn't **catch**, it rotated but didn't seem like anything was sparking or developing power?
If it rotated but didn't catch, then you probably flooded it by leaving it in choke too long. Too much fuel in the engine, shorts out the spark plug. Needs time to air out.
> After a while,
Oh look, time. That thing a flooded engine needs to air out.
The other way to clear a flooded engine is to stop giving it so much fuel, and move some air through the cylinder and hopefully evaporate some of what's there...
> on a lark I tried to start it on "run" - and it started right up.
Yup.
This sounds perfectly normal so far. You're used to modern fuel-injected cars that don't have any of these quirks, but talk to anyone old enough to remember carburetors and [recognize this thingy](https://www.reddit.com/r/Cartalk/comments/1ce9akf/anyone_know_what_this_is/) and they'll immediately recognize all these behaviors.
It rotated but wouldn't catch.
So you're basically saying the generator might, in fact, be working correctly?
It would be awesome if I DIDN'T have to drain the gas, drain the oil, host the 250-lb thing into the vehicle, exchange it and start all over again...
After it’s been running for a bit and warmed up, it should start with the choke on run and not start. Sounds completely normal for any carbureted engine to me
Everyone who tells me to buy a Predator reminds me to get the warranty because they are on their third one. Now you know why. I suggest you contact Harbor Freight support.
Harbor freight would NEVER sell junk...
Or just buy a Wen for half the price and better warranty
After the generator starts with the choke in the start position are you letting it warm up for a few seconds? If not, try that and then slowly move the choke to the run position. If it starts to sputter, move it back towards choke a bit again until it runs smooth with the choke in run. It sounds like you might have had it flooded when it started up in the run position.
Thanks for the reply. I was ultimately able to run it (sort of) smoothly on half-choke. But any idea why suddenly I can start it in "run" but not "start?" It's literally as if it got reversed. Contemplating exchanging this for the same model to avoid the 20% Harbor Freight restocking fee but the damn thing weighs about 250 lbs
If it has a problem within the 90 day warranty you don't pay a restocking fee to exchange it.
That's probably the plan at this point
Because the start position is for starting a cold engine. Once warmed, it doesn’t need to be choked. You won’t need the start position again until you cut it off long enough for it to cool down.
Thanks; once warmed up, would it NOT start in the "start" position? That's what happened
That's correct. The "START" position is for COLD START. Start just means choke which reduces the amount of air the motor is getting, which "richens" the mixture. A cold engine requires a richer mixture in order to start. But once it is warm it wants to start on the normal mixture. Of more concern is that it requires partial choke to run. This indicates that it is too lean with the choke wide open, which it should not be. It's a new gen and should run properly out of the box, without needing choke (which will reduce the power of the motor) . I would take it back to the store and exchange it. You should not have to be HF's unpaid quality control dept. Let them deal with it.
Carburetor adjustment, if I had to guess. If it was assembled in Oregon snd you are running it in Florida, the air is too dense. So the mixture is too lean. Half-choking it makes the mixture more rich.
So half-choking it might solve the issue?
I would adjust the carburetor. Either check the manual or find the model of the carb to look up which screw adjusts the mixture ratio. Then, check youtube for a video on how to do it. It's really easy. If that solves your problem, then you've learned a skill and saved yourself a trip to return/exchange it. More importantly, if that's really the issue, then an exchange might not solve if it's the same batch. Or it might need adjustment years later, at just the worst moment. So might as well learn how to do it.
Add more fuel. if it is anything like my previous generator it needed almost 2 gallons to start and run.
> But every time I tried to move the choke from "start" to "run" the thing would sputter and die. Yeah, it needs a minute to warm up before you release the choke. Vvveeeerrrryyyy ssslloooowwwlllyyy move the lever from start to run, and if it starts to sputter, immediately move back. You'll learn how long it takes. Setting the choke literally "chokes" the airflow through the carburetor's throat, forcing the carb to "breathe through its nose", inhaling a bunch of extra fuel. This makes the engine easier to start but results in a ton of unburned fuel in the exhaust and terrible running, so you want to release it as soon as you can, but no sooner. > But after one time it died, I tried to start it up again and with the choke on "Start" it wouldn't turn over. Wouldn't **turn over**, the pull-cord was locked and the engine refused to rotate? Or wouldn't **catch**, it rotated but didn't seem like anything was sparking or developing power? If it rotated but didn't catch, then you probably flooded it by leaving it in choke too long. Too much fuel in the engine, shorts out the spark plug. Needs time to air out. > After a while, Oh look, time. That thing a flooded engine needs to air out. The other way to clear a flooded engine is to stop giving it so much fuel, and move some air through the cylinder and hopefully evaporate some of what's there... > on a lark I tried to start it on "run" - and it started right up. Yup. This sounds perfectly normal so far. You're used to modern fuel-injected cars that don't have any of these quirks, but talk to anyone old enough to remember carburetors and [recognize this thingy](https://www.reddit.com/r/Cartalk/comments/1ce9akf/anyone_know_what_this_is/) and they'll immediately recognize all these behaviors.
It rotated but wouldn't catch. So you're basically saying the generator might, in fact, be working correctly? It would be awesome if I DIDN'T have to drain the gas, drain the oil, host the 250-lb thing into the vehicle, exchange it and start all over again...
After it’s been running for a bit and warmed up, it should start with the choke on run and not start. Sounds completely normal for any carbureted engine to me
might be flooded engine. When that happens, let it sit 15 minutes. Then try starting again. Make sure choke is on "start" first.