Teardown: Harbor Freight Storm Cat or Tailgator generator review
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ย. 2024
- NOTE: I have compared this Stormcat generator to the new Tailgator brand generators Harbor Freight is selling and it appears they're the same. It looks like they're simply rebranding the Stormcat generators to the new Tailgator name.
Here I tear apart the 69381 Harbor Freight generator to see how well it's made. I paid $89 plus tax for this generator using a coupon.
This generator claims to produce 700 watts running and 900 watts peak.
Here’s a link to my video on the voltage problem I had with this generator:
• How to check and adjus...
Here’s a link to a video about the starter mechanism problem it had right out of the box:
• Harbor Freight Storm C...
We have used the th-cam.com/users/postUgkxOTeIs0vv4_9B5hsmnLsk9r930uDQLu_Y for probably 30 hours with our camper and it’s been great! The noise level is really only noticeable when running the AC and other appliances like the microwave, hair dryer, or coffee pot. It’s not huge like other ones and it has wheels so even at 90lbs, I can move it!
I'm always amazed at the number of parts and processes that go into a product like this for $89.
Naegling they have to spit out an insane number of these to keep the prices down. thats why you see so many of these under different names. there cheap but it beats nothing.
Really cheap parts....almost no labor costs, likely not very good working conditions either.......? 20 amp recept. allows just about any cord to be plugged in....
It costs the Chinese factory $20 bucks or less to produce one of these which seems unbelievable regardless of how long they last.
+scdevon It's really amazing just how far this meme has spread in such little time. Orange man bad.
These generators cost $125 now, I’m guessing due to the China tariffs.
Thanks for the video. I bought one 3 years back, added an hour meter to it; just crested 200+ hours and still going. Clearly not a commercial unit but doesn’t hurt to give it maintenance every once in a while. Wear a beer hat next time. 😏
Can you imagine how many generators are made like this in one year? Say what you want about these generators but for around 100 bucks, it's pretty clear that the quality is nice for the price point.
Thanks for the video, I'll keep running my little 1500 watt Coleman that I bought in 1995, no telling how many 100s of hours it's been used, oil changes and stabil has been a plus.
Best deal around for 89 bucks, I've had one for about 8 years now and all I've done is cleaned a little bit of metal out of the carburetor and replaced the spark plug.
Adam Batchelder interesting, thanks for sharing... How much have you used it?
@@chrisjones8741 well over 200 hours.
Adam Batchelder cool, thanks!
Here I am smashing my Briggs and Stratton because they never run right.
@@bryanmartinez6600 Don't leave gas in it during the off-season. 99% of the time it's old gas that gums up the carburetor. It doesn't matter what kind of small engine you have, you still have to maintain it. I find so many lawn mowers that people throw out just because the carburetor is dirty.
I was waiting for you to put it back together and start it. AVE style 😁
The bearing is not ONO, instead of that read aside OZO
-
OZO BEARINGS AND AUTOMOBILE PVT. LTD.Address :Branch Office: Sco 81, Second Floor, Sec-10A,
Gurgaon - 122001, Haryana, India
-
GOOD REVIEW, remember HF is not as bad as in the past
Cheers
Thanks for taking the time to tear that down and show us.
I saw those generators at Harbour Freight. I wondered about the quality.
Correction the fuel oil and air mixture lubricates the bearings before it is burned otherwise it would be carbon buildup in the lower crankcase but good video thanks
I have on that looks identical except it's blue and came from northern tool. Probably came from same supplier. It has been a good generator so far.
They put in a 20 amp plug because they got a good price on them
We're the only ones using those recepticles and there all made in China anyway. It probably was a good price. Minimum would be a 15 amp. And honestly a 15 amp outlet handles 20 amps just fine. They underrate them knowing people will hook a 12 gauge wire to the cheapest recepticle they can purchase. If you take one apart there's not much different in the . 60 cent 15 amp or $2 20 amp. Besides a nema 15-5 stamp. And they've had to idiot proof everything. Someone moves into a house doesn't know ahit about electricity but watches a TH-cam video or listen to Billy Bob and how to change that outlet that doesn work. They go shut off the main breaker bought the cheapest outlet and install it. If people houses started catching fire people would raise hell and blame the manufacturer. Your cheap outlets handle 20 amps all day. I use them wired to 10 gauge for extension cords I make. It cheaper to buy 12-2 or 10-2 and wire a recepticle box and outlet. My saw on some really tough wood can draw 30+ amps when it's about to bind or cutti g a not. Cheap recepticle has never failed of melted. 13 amp grinder pulls near 30 on start up as well. Always surprised me my saw never popped a 15 amp breaker. When my plug in meter is ahowing 30+ amps with bogging down Eventually putting some plastic loom around it for protection.
I am impressed that you can build and sail something like at for under a $100 dollars and still make a profit.
I have a lot of hours on my Storm Cat. Increase the fuel to oil ratio to 40:1 and make sure the recoil starter pawl is contacting the flywheel before you pull the cord and you will get a whole lot of service out of the $89 generator. I still have the original sparkplug in mine.
You have a great review on this generator. The only thing I can comment on is that the cylinder is cast iron and it will not be as smooth as the aluminum castings no matter who casts the parts. When my Storm Cat wears out or fails beyond repair, I will buy another one.
Changed spark plug and put a fuel filter on it when I got mine 3 years ago I have put thousands and thousands of hours of run time and then some on it and is still going today great compression runs like a champ and also have always ran it Rich from day on well worth the money
Yeah I agree. I have one of these and I use it quite often especially in the summer. Instead of a gas powered weed eater I put this thing on the back of my truck and use a 100 foot extension cord with an electric weed eater and it works flawlessly including not dealing with the smell of burning fuel or heat that you deal with with a gas powered weed eater. I also use it for my shop for misc power too. You cannot go wrong for $89.00
one thing that helps these 2 strokes is snow machine 2 stroke oil, it mixes better and haven't seen it settle out of gas as I have seen with some 2 stroke oil.
@John Davis been powering his meth lab 7 days a week for 12 hours per day and got 13k hours on her
An example of what I don't get about some Chinese products. They cheap out so much in some areas but do decent in others and if they just spent a touch more in some areas of the product design and sold it for slightly higher price, you would end up with a decent product. In this case, a better starting mechanism, better air filter, add fuel filter, better spark plug wire, and maybe better wire connectors and you might just have a fairly decent generator for maybe $110 retail price.
@John Davis He's full of shit. I have a Yamaha with an hour meter. I use it a lot and have right around 2000 hours on it.
Mine is wonderful use it all the time. Let it run for days on end.
I've seen guys modify the housing to allow the use of a socket on a drill to start the unit after the paw fails. I use the drill method all the time for trouble shooting. Don't want to waste my fight pulling, I need that for fixing.
I think the smaller guage wire is the exciter coil to allow generated current to be fed from this coil to the voltage regulator into the rotor. I think it uses residual magnetism at start up and then feeds current from the exciter winding to generate the magnetic field on the rotor. The larger guage is the coil for the actual voltage output. If I am incorrect, please call me out. Great video btw.
The closest I've seen so far.
There isn't any actual voltage regulator on this machine...
It's controlled via engine speed & governor.
The exciter coil amplifies the residual magnetism in the rotor via an AC capacitor, and returns it via induction.
The larger coil then outputs the voltage.
String winding ties are the standard way to do it. you'll nearly never see another way, even in extremely high end equipment
I thought they ran out of zip ties LOL!
we have one for the money its been great no complaints here.
I've had one of these for about. 5 or 6 years now. It's been a great little generator It will run a dorm fridge and I've used it to test a gas dryer . Follow the break in period though. I think it read "20 hrs @ 800 watts". Also, be smart and dont store fuel in it if you go without using it for months at a time.
Personal experience with three of these. Tl;Dr buy one.
Ive put well over a thousand hours into three combined, best lifespan was about 600hours in the newest version. Using parts from older two I was able to get another 100-120 hours before I broke the spark plug boot he mention. I'm amazed I didn't break that Sooner, it's an absolute weak point.
Absolutely the worst failure point is the gas tanks will CRACK. usually under the bottom seam on the starter side. I swapped the tank from an older one, which also cracked in the same spot. Huge problem since the spark arrestor, while on the other side, does get clogged and quite hot.
Certain generations have different problems that new ones don't. Older versions will cut the pull start cord due to rough edges inside started case.
Fuel line broke, but that was because i swapped the tank, not good but replaced it quickly.
As for load, was able to run TV, a couple lights, and a laptop while the geni was performing well, which it does for a reasonable amount of time. However be warned that the variable voltage can burn or electronics like laptop.
The big issue is that different production runs have specific failure points, so finding a good one requires a bit of luck.
For $90 it works great for emergency storm power, and can be used in short term for "low grade living."
Get an APC voltage regulator 1200 watt about $60
The voltage on generators is set high intenionally. It's assumed no one will be running these inside with devices plugged directly into it. They expect people to use extension cords. So generator's I have to they are set high to compensate for voltage drop.
Generators like these have been made for about 4 decades in about 50 to 100 ? ? 200? ? models and brands The design came from a Yamaha ET650 AND ET950 of about 10 years ago, before that the Yamaha ET600. The Yamaha specs for a ET650 are output 0.8 KvA Rated and 0.96KvA max. and often with a 12 volt DC 8.3 amp out to charge car and motorcycle batteries. The grandfather of all these was a Yamaha ET500 back in 1979 that was 0.5kVa rated, brushless too. It has a tank that looks slightly different, the later Yamaha's tank looks similar to todays clones. My Homier unit from about 2006 has the 12 volts 8.3 amp DC extra plug and wire/clamps to charge batteries, plus an AC voltmeter, came with an extra plug that I still have not used yet. The original Yamaha units had specs that were valid, todays clones are often marketing BS, the peak often fibbed. What the generator cares about is Volt Amperes, not watts. Thus a folks often wonder why these often may or may not run a 5000 BTUH AC unit. The amps running are often 4.5 to 6 amps but the locked rotor amps on the compressor is typically 25 amps. It is marginal. An AC unit that is undercharged with refrigerant draws less amps, plus cool ambient drops the amps too.
A volt ampere is a Watt. I appreciate the background, very informative.
@@guy9239 This only applies with textbook resistive load like a toaster or lightbulbs. With AC motors and transformers the volt amperes can be 1.5 to 6 times more than the watts. Thus folks size generators and wiring too small. The dorm fridge here with inside light on is 12 VA and 12 watts, with compressor and light on is 242 VA and 147 watts. The real load the generator sees is 242 VA. With a 2.0 KVA transformer in my shop the no load watts are 55.6, the volt amperes are 309. The ratio of the two is not one but over 5. Regards.
I add 115v hard start kits sppc5 ? to my 5000 btu ac units , and for me that is difference of using my AC unit with this generator or not ......it gives the needed boost on start up, then drops it off the circuit when running.................Erik
I could make use of this little fella. Paying $89 for it would be my way of saying thanks for making the effort.
Those jagged edges on the intake ports are why the cylinder is scored.
@@MaFTB the crankshaft bearings are lubricated by the intake fuel oil mix. Not the exhaust.
My comment is meant for the author. Sorry
@@MaFTB if you increase the size of the ports, you'ill gain more power at higher rpms. And when you do any kind of port job, you'id also want an expansion chamber exhaust to extract the most power. But since this runs at constant rpm, you'll likely LOSE power by doing that (2 stroke typically have very peaky power curves).
Have one. Never worked well. Won't run a corded drill. Excellent review
I bought two generators very much like this one, probably, earlier models, from an auction. Both were like new, but, defective with bad ignition coils. I bought two exact replacement coils from the Generator Guru and one of the new ones was bad, too. One generator, with a good coil, ran like crap, so, I threw it away! The other one, with the only good coil, runs and works as well as I would expect a $25 generator to work.
I understand why hf keeps these on the shelf it's because they must be dirt cheap to manufacture for them... I wish they would take that 69cc 4 stroke and rig that up into a generator and just stop selling this one. I've heard of nothing but issues people have had with these. That said in my experience the rest of their gas powered 4 stroke stuff actually isn't half bad.
the people should break them in properly and go much richer with the oil fuel ratio.
Hank, I agree on the four stroke engines. I have one of their small 1" pumps. I used it for a year to pump water for the steam engine on my sawmill. You can literally bet the homestead that it will start on the first pull 99% of the time. That engine would be perfect on this generator.
Adding more oil actually leans your air fuel mixture. So putting too much oil could be the reason it locks up.
sorry to rain on your parade but this is a Two stroke engine not a four stroke.
hows that, makes the fuel thicker so less of it can get through the carb? or what? cause more oil i thought would just make it smoke more which fouling plugs and worrying about carbon is better than it just burning up outright, i have never had a 2 stroke seize up on me or one have excessive carbon build up, they have lots of carbon just cause the burn oil by design but i never had it where carbon builds up, breaks off and slides up and down with the piston and i pour as much oil as i think is enough then i pour a little more
Great review. Just subscribed to your channel. I like the honest reviews and tear down videos. Good stuff man.
11:20 - That set screw tapped into the outer bearing race suggests they've had issues with bearings spinning in the journal on the housing due to poor fit/tolerance/quality. Hopefully they used bottom taps and that doesn't go through the whole race.
that looks like grease or something, you cant drill and tap a bearing race, its hardened. (well at least if you did it would have to be by the bearing manufacture before heat treating. and they would never anticipate this)
This generator is a Yamaha clone so poorly made parts can be replaced with Yamaha one's like the pull start also when starting make sure you take up the slack and pull it straight so the string does not rub against the edges of the hole
orange12v Good to know...
www.amazon.com/Femitu-Yamaha-Generator-Recoil-Rewind/dp/B005CRLPJQ/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1505986490&sr=8-5&keywords=et950
nice to know , Yamaha copy cat made on the run
I want it to rub against the hole 😂
@@thebuyingseller That's what she said.
Thanks for the video.
The markings on the carb looks like a Briggs sign. The 20 amp outlet was probably used cause of bigger generators. Would have liked to see exactly how motor to generator was connected together. Nice job on the tear down. Shame about the spilled beer...lol . Take care
I bet if one were to sell the individual parts, one would make significantly more than $89.
We're talking about cheap Chinese parts here. It would be hard to make that much selling them individually unless all the buyers were oblivious to quality and value.
You are probably right. Yes these generators are not the best quality but if they are properly broken in, change plug and boot to better quality, these things can last quite some time. For $99 on sale, you can’t go wrong.
Very informetive,the only mistake I know you made is the way the main bearings are lubricated by the exaust gases which could not be.They are lubricated but the intake gases.
How did you 'adjust' the voltage?
Voltage adjustment on these units is adjusted via an adjustment screw on the alternator housing, or via the governor assembly.
i have the same generator, but i have interesting problem. When the generator is stable rpm, my digital volt meter measures 230 volt to 0 volt then againg 230 volt. its always oscilation 230 t0 0, 0 to 230. When i try to measure freq. my avo meter getting crazy and shut down :(
@Jos i solve the problem. In my channel you can find it. "mini generator governor adjustment" is the video name. However if you want to connect a small powered device, you need to add extra dummy loads such as 300 watt halaogen projector etc. Becouse the governer cant stable adjustment to the engine rpm without enough load. So the generator engine works unstable and gives unstable voltage.
We had mandatory power outages from the power company due to their fear of high winds knocking down power lines and starting fires. They were nice enough to provide dates and times of the outages. We used frozen items from the freezer to keep the refrigerator cold, but after that. I used my $89 TailGator to power the full-sized, French door refrigerator through the night. WORKED GREAT!!! I use it for yard tools, garage tools, etc. Never an issue. Same spark plug, 50-1 fuel mix, 5w30 oil. I have had it for 3 years now. If it breaks, I got my moneys worth.
DO NOT use 5w-30 engine oil to premix 2 stroke oil. Engine oil has all kinds of additives that are great for lubricating 4 stroke engines but will burn and create ash and gum that will foul up a 2 stroke engine. Only use specialty low ash 2 stroke oil to premix with methanol free gasoline for your 2 stroke motors. Valvoliine makes an excellent 2 stroke oil I have used for over 30 years in outboard motors, chainsaws and weedeaters with no spark plug fowling or carboned up exhaust ports and mufflers. However over the last couple of years I have given in and buy the canned premix for my chainsaw and weedeaters. I find the fuel lines don't fall apart and the motors will start easier the next season after sitting up.
That motor is a 100 hour motor. Anything over that is a blessing
Got way over that on mine, mostly running angle grinders. Over 500 i would guess. Would i buy another one? Probably not....
Kenney Chappuis - Gotta mix 40-1 on the fuel. That's the secret. Mine is great
Some have reported in comments to another video that they ran them 24/7 for 30 days til failure, one a month for three months, that would give 720 hrs of run before failure....each....for roughly 90bucks, that's about 12cents/ hour life....not bad at all for the money!😊
It has a cast iron cylinder, barring any casting flaws or scoring from the get go and using correct fuel, I could imagine the engine itself outlasting the generator head easily. It's basically a detuned asian scooter engine.
Even if you were right, 100hrs for $88 ain't bad. Compare that to a Honda EU1000i that costs $799... is the Honda gonna give you 1000 trouble free hours? Maybe, but those oil changes and finicky carbs are a pain in the ass, the engine might last on a Honda as well, but in my experience working on generators as a side job, gennys all seem to die electrically before mechanically.
So, bottom line: For the basic user; replace sparkplug & squirt some oil in the cylinder before first start, add a fuel filter and better spark plug boot & you're done. Take care when starting so as not to break that plastic pawl. For the advanced user, all of the above, plus remove the head, mark the position of the piston crown at BDC, put a ceramic coating on the combustion chamber & piston crown, clean up those gawdawfully ragged cylinder ports, & add some scavenge ports in the piston walls w/ matching holes in the cylinder walls into the transfer ports (this is why you marked the BDC w/ a Sharpier earlier, so you can get proper placement..] and make a decent expansion chamber for the thing so it can actually pull a decent load when it's maxed out w/o stalling. Oh yeah, you'll probably have to fiddle w/ the jetting due to the new exhaust, but that's an exercise left to the reader... ;-)
honestly every gas engine should have a fuel filter. Saves a lot of annoyance in the long run.
makes it cheaper putting a fuel filter into our gas gallon then these. Unless we gonna drop some dust chips or something into the gas built into the motor.
If your job was to sell cheap generators you'd delete your original post.
It does have a fuel filter. It is inside the fuel tank.
Finally, someone did it. I have ben wondering if they are worth my time or not.
drifting1O1 if it has "hang yu" on it I'd say not.
I belive hang translates to F as in F yu
whos ben?
I just came across that video...
In order to get the rotor from the engine shaft you should do the following...
There is usually a hole with a thread in the engine shaft. So you should put a threaded rood, with a notch for a flat head screwdriver on top, through the rotor axle down to the engine shaft and thread it in for a couple of turns. The threaded rod length should be just about right so you can put the bearing screw back. That screw will press on the threaded rod ant therefore extracted the rotor from the engine shaft. For future use it's recommended that you make that rod from a higher grade steel.
I haven't tried it on this smaller 2 stroke generator but that's how it's done on the bigger ones.
Have you thought about comparing the difference with the part numbers 63024/63025 like you did the grinder.
Mine's gone dead while on load, without any warning signs. Had a good look round at the windings and capacitor, and reckon I have to look at the rotor diode and winding connections. This is a great video, many thanks. If I have trouble separating rotor and crankshaft, I'm going to undo the 10mm bolt just two turns and whack the head. (12:00 on the video). Any other tips most welcome!
The seal on the crankshaft, behind the ignition, isn't pushed in far enough 5:35. One of the lips of the seal is riding on the VERY edge of the tapered part of the crankshaft, as you can see at 20:14. These seals have two lips so it won't fail right away but eventually an air leak will develope here. An air leak of this seal will cause the engine to run lean and eventually overheat and melt the piston. Another problem is that the edges of the transfer ports, should be chamfered inside the cylinder, so that they don't catch on the rings 15:46.
The bearing ONO was actually named after Yoko Ono for her bearing one the Beatles split up. Great video.
Actually, if you look close and read vertically the letters look like CZC. Look that up Tool teardowns.
@@thomasconnell6919 I will pass.
Wonder if they use a 20 amp power socket so you can use a heavier extension cord, thus giving lower voltage drop or maybe they just ran out of 10 amp ones that day?
the 20 a outlets are just built better. no returns for s slightly better part
Chinese made 20 amp outlets are rated by momentary surge, never exceed 50% load for continuous use.
Mine had a filter in the gas tank above the shut-off valve.
I recommend disassembling cylinder head ,piston, in order to inspect and clean out any loose debris, iron filing, loose casting flash, even lint . Both carb, and exhaust ports may have something that can cause piston , and cylinder bore scuffing. Don't forget to check crank counter weights, and bottom of crankcase.
For what this thing costs I doubt a tear down to that level is worth the time. Just gas it up and run it. I have a similar one and use it during power outages. Had it running all night one night. Works well for basic needs. Mine has always needed starting fluid or I'd be yanking on that starter forever. A shot of ether and it fires up on the first pull. Might be the stock plug.
Have been using this generator to run the freezer in my garage for the past 50 years! Cant afford a defrost! Signed Walt Disneys grandson.
I love these Harbor Freight generators. One of the reasons why is that basically they're doing you a favor by giving you a generator that you yourself can improve and actually upgrade and even do the work of trying to get more out of it get it to be quieter and doing other kinds of mods for Price that's affordable to just about anyone.
and thank you for the wonderful tear down. Now I know exactly how I can probably use this for rather neat projects.
I have one that sounds like the end cap bearing is shot with a grinding sound. After sitting for a winter it doesn't want to start. Haven't took the time to figure it out, so it's just a $100 chunk of metal sitting there.
I saw another video where the no-load waveform is erratic, this is likely due to the 2 stroke engine RPM stability. It would help a lot if a good heavy flywheel was installed in that endcap.
I have owned one for a number of years, I have run mine for hundreds of hours with various loads. I changed the spark plug when it was new, and it’s always run great. It is a little cold blooded, but I’ve always got it started!
It still OhMazez me that all these machining operations can be made and also shipped from the far corners of the earth for only $89. I started buying the old blue Greyhound engines from Harbor Freight years ago. To my knowledge every one of them are still running strong. I've probably bought and installed a couple dozen of the 212cc engines from them. One was being torchered and came apart. One old man who is a block/brick Mason use to use Wisconsin engines on his equipment. Finally I talked him into Honda engines. Now he runs the Predator engines. He says the Predator engines is as dependable as the Honda.
Nice video! BTW the beer part was awesome. High Life is cheap but delicious, how do they make all those little bubbles?
Hey thanks for the video, what's the part number for the NGK plug please ?
Enjoyed the video. I'd like to see it reassembled and back in working order. Not that you did anything wrong, just some things just don't seem to work as well after a repair or tear down. Great stuff here, subscribed,also.
I noticed some of the same issues with mine. A borescope inspection revealed the same scoring in the cylinder after the first run even though I did lube it with a teaspoon of oil before attempting to start it. Subsequent inspections after a few hours of use, however, seem to indicate that it hasn't gotten any worse, which makes me wonder if it's an assembly issue. Additionally, mine was also set to 140V out of the box, and I had to adjust both the idle screw and governor to fix it. Periodic readjusting may be necessary as well. Anyone know if you can get replacement parts for this somewhere?
generatorguru.com has all replacement parts for these
cabmaker thanks
cabmaker sure does i had to order new circlips and a new needle bearing, a filter. because my generator was knocking it was the needle bearings sliding in and out on the rod I added brass shim washers to keep the bearings in the center but when I was trying to install the circlip it shot out and disappeared banggood.com has the whole top end kit that includes cylinder ,cylinder head,piston,piston rings,wrist pin,needle bearing,circlips
I bought one just out of curiosity and the price was $75 on sale. It's the green tailgator model #63025. It is the largest 2-stroke engine I have in my grounds equipment. Most of my smaller 2-stroke engine powered equipment do not use reed valves, the piston is the valve. Much simpler, fewer issues. If it works out well I would use it to run the chest freezer (2.13 running amps) during a power outage. I just installed a new Hardlines tach/hour meter on it. I have not run it yet but thought that it would be best to run it with a higher mix of lube for the break-in period from past experience. I already have a 18 continuous running amp 4-stroke generator my parents bought many, many long years ago and it still runs just fine. But limited to how much I can run with that. That generator (powered by a B&S 5 HP flathead Quantum engine) has 198 hours of service on it. Had to replace the 120 volt electromechanical hour meter on it. The new hour meter shows twenty something hours. What I would like to see is a cutaway of small engine mufflers and see if they really do consist of a catalyst. because some of those are ridiculously expensive to replace when they rust out.
Nearly all 2 stroke motors you buy these days are reed valve motors. Reed valve motors make more power and have a much broader power band. Piston port engines have a very narrow operating range and are used in applications that run at one speed, wide open like chain saws. They will not rev past their design range so you can't overspeed them if they lose load. That isn't always true with a reed valve motor.
@@richarddixon70 - Every new (2016 to 2020) 2-stroke engine powered tool I bought has the carburetor mounted to the side of the cylinder, not the crank case. That also includes many of my my Stihl brand power tools like my chain saw and trimmer/brush cutter. The piston skirt is the valve. There are NO reed valves in my Stihl power tools I have. I asked the Stihl certified repair tech & he said that 95% of all small 2-stroke engines DO NOT have reed valves, they use the piston skirt as the valve. It speeds up production and makes the smaller 2-stroke engines more durable with less down-time. Whereas thin metal reed valves tend to wear out over time, especially for higher revving small engines. The design also makes the engine more compact.
The only 2-stroke engines I have seen with reed valves are larger 2-strokes. Like my Tailgator generator (63 cc), motorcycles, snowmobiles and outboard motors. With one exception, a MTD Yard Machine string trimmer (31 cc) that was given to me. It is the most troublesome string trimmer I have. It does not run steady at high speed & dies at idle. The carburetor has been replaced with a new one and still will not run right. The curved shaped, ultra thin & delicate aluminum reed valve needs to be replaced every 10-15 hours of use. The Weed Eaters, Echo's and Stihl trimmers I have - neither one has a reed valve and they all run great from idle to full throttle and anything in between.
Aluminum gasket is used to prevent galvanic corrosion between dissimilar metals with aluminum head and steel block. Steel will kill aluminum so they sacrifice the gasket as the sacrificial anode.
You adjusted the voltage.??
Does that mean you adjusted the RPM
the difference in the sand casting and cold set castings both look
good I'm surprised to see the quality for this price the problem
here is the thin-wall casting and the poor iron used for the cylinder
scoring is going to be a biggest problem the price can make it a
winner
I believe the 2 different gauge wires used in the coiling is to allow a Transformer like effect inside the coil itself stepping up(or down) the voltage/current....
I could be wrong
No, it's the number of turns of wire that changes the voltage. Thicker/thinner wires just handle more/less current. Not sure why the two different gauges, but it can't be for different voltages.
It could be because this basic design is available with 12 volt output from different places
What kind of NGK spark plug do I need?
hello nice break down, can you give more details on the carburetor as I have the same generator. does it have hi & low adjuster? how do you adjust the idle properly? mine sounds like it's idling little low on rpm. thanks
The main problem I have with mine is I have to replace the cylinder and rings every 600 to 1000 hours of use... Not too aweful bad considering it inly costs about 15 bucks Max to do so and making your own gasket isn't hard. But by golly that piston scoring is ludicrous.
Panic The Scholar Knight. Where do you get parts sir?
The crankshaft and generator armature appear to be the same piece based on my own attempt to tear one of these down. The metal parts were fairly decent, but things like the engine ignition ancillaries are mostly duff (the winding on the ignition magneto was superfine copper which was glued in place, as were the 'fridge magnets' on the flywheel - it had all disintegrated.)
THIS GOES FOR EVERYBODY WHO OWNS THIS TYPE OF GENERATOR!!!!!!!!! I would suggest using 40:1 fuel mixture for this product to prevent scoring of piston and cylinder! Also 40:1 will be better lubrication for your crankshaft bearings and connecting rod bearings!!! Overall it will make your generator last longer!!!
I believe the different size wires on the windings are do to the larger being the primary and the smaller being the secondary windings.
Great video. Why the dislikes? Is that an alternator or a generator the engine is turning? I am looking for a 12VDC 15A generator.
Well .....
You can do a year down video and be critical over the ignition wire connection to the spark plug 0R ... you can spend $88.oo and run one at your remote hunting cabin and have electricity for the past 10 years. Best money I've ever spent ! I have encountered zero problems.
I also use it at home when the power goes out. It'll run the refrigerator, the TV and a couple LED lights off extension cords.
It will run the A/C and charge the batteries in the camper. We also take a small electric chain saw too.
I don't see how you can go wrong with one of these !
The thinner wire is the exciter voltage for the armature. It goes to a bridge rectifier to change to DC first. I have one of these generators. They are 2hp and capable of more power at higher rpm. This engine was not designed for low rpm of 3600. I don't recommend more than one load at a time. Removing one load will cause the engine to overspend and blow up the other load.
Wow....
It absolutely WAS designed to run for HOURS AND HOURS AND HOURS at 3600 RPM... that's why it does.
The windings are two different gauges because you have a primary and secondary winding. Alternating current flows through the primary and induces voltage in the secondary.
Almost...
Not directly.
The capacitor amplifies and regulates AC in the primary coils, which induces current in the armature.
You know the rest.
Really great job on this video! Thanks for all the time it took to make this video.
Check out James Condon's videos. You literally set the rotor upright and fill the bolt hole with water. Then use a shorter bolt and crank on it. Hydraulic pressure will push the rotor off the tapered crankshaft.
Excellent tear down instructional video!
I wonder if they chamfer the port or would reduce the scoring.
The 20a plug is used because a 15a would not last long under full load but a 20 at 15 would.
Did I miss something or were the ports in the cylinder not chamfered? That can cause several issues and with the poor cast quality small bits of cast iron could potentially break off and be like having sand particles in the cylinder
good eye. might be worth running a deburring tool around it eh?
12:39 this is likely because the AC 110V and DC 12V circuits use two different windings
I used my generator like this and a pole saw from harbor freight to cut tree limbs. They worked great together and it seemed to me that the generator didn't even work too hard running the pole saw.
It is not uncommon to find different size wires in a stator winding. Also you can't measure the wire size with the varnish insulation on the wires. Of course removing the varnish would cause the stator to fail. Also the welds on the lamination are there only to hold the laminations together, if they were welded better it would cause increased core losses and hot spots in the laminations causing stator failure. My experience with electric motors goes all the way up to 3500 HP industrial motors. The electrical end of this generator is not too bad. The thin housings are one way they save money.
Its a good generator, for the price, for running tools and lights, but it just variates in voltage way too much for more sensitive electronics like laptops. I have owned the Yangke brand, the Harbor freight blue brand, whatever that was called, and the PowerPro brand from Amazon, they are pretty much the same generator with a little variation in the electrical accessories. The Yangke yk950i has a built in inverter, but all other parts are the same. These generators are Chinese clones of the much copied Yamaha ET 900 design from the 80's. There are many different brands but they are all pretty much the same. They can be smoky at first, and they are very loud, but for the price its worth while to keep a couple in case of an emergency. Replacing the spark plug to a quality one is a good idea, and you may also want to adjust the fuel shut off valve, it is usually threaded too far into the fuel tank, which means that you will have some fuel left when the generator shuts off.
Laptops run on 12 volt converted from AC and that regulates it u can run them on anything. People and there fucking mouth.
@@DPelicanGaming easy there, fuckboi
@@DPelicanGaming you type with your mouth, fuckboi? Does the ball gag help or hurt your typing?
Where's the video of you putting it back together and starting it.?
Or is it sitting in a metal scrap yard?
The scoring is likely from debris in the crankcase or slag from the ports. Anyone who's experienced in building motorized bikes with the cheap Chinese 2 stokes will tell you that you should open it up and clean it before the first run. Dumping oil into the cylinder probably wouldn't have changed much.
So, you're saying 144VAC out of the box. But is that the output under load? If the voltage regulation is poor or nonexistent then the initial unloaded voltage has to be higher to accommodate the load match. If you lower the voltage setting in an unregulated power supply the current will be higher to in order to deliver to same power. If here is some for of current limiter in the circuit then peak power might be limited, the wires could get hot otherwise. So, how about the most critical part of the machine? The regulator/ power filter?
Under load and at idle. More info here: th-cam.com/video/SzvPjqNJlUs/w-d-xo.html
about the 20amp socket...i would guess that because instead of making many sockets with different types of loads ..example : 5 amp , 10 amp 15 amp 20 amp etc....it would be more cost effective to just make one size fits all...as the price difference would be so small ...so the same socket can be used with many generator models specially the big ones also it would save on parts stocking costs when it comes to making alot of these generators
You mentioned an external filter, well if you have room it's a good idea but have you checked the shut-off valve ? Most have filter screens on top in the tank . There is a place for lightweight cheep generator's .We all know the difference in a quality machine but sometimes we just need a little quickie setup and this can fill the budget.
is the top pistonring allready bit broken?
You definitely need to clean the fuel tank, mine had junk in it too and the carburetor low speed circuit was clogged. The generator was surging.
I recommend adjusting the speed based on frequency vs voltage with 500W load than adjusting by voltage. 144 is rather high but I wonder about your voltmeter picking up noise.
I haven't had an issue with the starter, so I don't know the fix for that.
I really wanted to see if there was an oil puddle in the crankcase since it's been run, the puddle is slung by the crank weights and if the puddle is too small for that then the mix ratio isn't enough.
I think these will run many hours.
Ozo Bearings & Automobile Private Limited is a Private incorporated on 11 June 2013. It is classified as Non-govt company and is registered at Registrar of Companies, Delhi
I just bought its replacement (tailgator) and for a $100, power was out for a day bc duke power sucks and does maintain their lines...... anyway it ran a light small window unit and a box fan, so right around the running watts for it did fine. The only thing is it doesn't like to start hot, once it's cooled down a bit starts on the first pull.
Also has the same cheap spark plug boot which fell a part not the end of the world I just put it back together.
I have one of these and the problem im having is it will fire up no problem but only run for about 5-10 minutes the shut off kind of like an overheat shut down or something and thoughts?
On one of mine, the crank seal on the gen side popped out of the relief it's driven into, while running under high load (beyond rated capacity). It quit running and of course wouldn't restart with the big air leak.
I got tired of pulling my generators cored to start it, I now use a socket on a cordless drill. Starts up every time, no pulling issues.
Change your spark plug !
The most important part of any two stroke is the rod bearings and piston, but not a word about them.
Black Rectangle Starter CAP = it's a Ceiling CAP. Used in Ceiling fans, Common Cap but I do not know Maker of this one....
Same style, but otherwise very different from a ceiling fan capacitor, since it has only 1 capacitor inside the case, rather than 3.
I still don't know how and where the stator (or rotor) get the power to get it magnetized and why they don't use strong permanent magnet just like friction bike dynamo?
The rotor maintains some residual magnetism once it's been energized. The residual magnetism makes the stator generate some power, which in turn powers the voltage regulator, which regulates the output voltage by controlling the current through the rotor through the slip rings.
@@davesherman74 thanks for your explanation
They use a 20 amp Circuit to accept heavier extension cords. Most people will use an extension cord. 20 Amp cords will have less voltage drop.
I have a geni like this in Australia, about 20 years old looks identical to this just better quality although mines only 600ish watts and has a 2.4A breaker in it
did you ever find out how to take the rotor out?
Bill Williams
thanks
First video I have seen of yours good stuff but that spilled your beer line cemented the sub lol