Generator fueling

[210craig]

Hopefully I don't embarrass my self. On large momentums where you are mostly confined to truck stop fueling. How do you fuel your generator? By red 5 gallon can? If so, how many do most momentum users carry?

 

[Calnca]

A fair percentage of truck stops have "rv" stations that typically have both diesel and gasoline.

If you can make it to/through the normal pumps at Pilot, Loves etc you have both

 

[FT4NOW]

Flying J has an RV lane which has gas. Near us, Maverik stations have truck/RV lanes with gas.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[arhayes]

Hopefully I don't embarrass my self. On large momentums where you are mostly confined to truck stop fueling. How do you fuel your generator? By red 5 gallon can? If so, how many do most momentum users carry?

I usually find a convenient gas station to refuel the genset and refueling system (I have a 30 gal tank for each). I always keep my gen tank full, and carry about half a tank in the refuel cell. I pump from it to top off the genny tank if needed.


Alan

 

[jjbbrewer]

I make special trips to fuel my gas tanks. After dealing with several problems with ethanol laced fuel, I only put pure gas in my RV.

https://www.pure-gas.org/

In general engines with carburetors (most generators, most dirt bikes, ATVs, SxS, lawn mowers, chainsaws, vintage Mustangs ) don't much like ethanol fuel. Plus it's less stable & hygroscopic and can create some really gross deposits if enough water gets in.

My new 349M came with tanks filled from the dealership, which I appreciate, but over this winter I'm pumping all of that out and putting it in my wife's Volvo. She thinks I'm being nice, but I'm just trying to keep from having to pay to have it disposed of.

 

[grandseahawk]

jjbbrewer makes a very excellent point, totally agree!

I have both of my 30 gallon tanks with ethanol-free fuel now as well. I think they call it Blue Fuel in Utah, and maybe some other areas. If you're not traveling to Kalifornia, you will find it fairly plentiful and much cheaper that in California or even Oregon with their high gas and sales taxes, and horrible roads, lol

I had been using the RV pumps at truck stops like others and putting Sta-Bel fuel preservative in my tanks. Then storing my rig(s) for 3-4 months... the result was not good. Even with Sta-Bel (which I'm not even sure actually does anything) the fuel was still dark brown and I ended up getting rid of what I had left. Sta-bel also requires an occasional mixing of the fuel which is hard to do when your rig sits for a few months.

Definitely recommend the ethanol-free fuel.

 

[jjbbrewer]

A couple more thoughts here ..

My previous toy hauler has/had one 30 gallon tank. I usually would burn through 4-5 tanks full per RV season (~7 months here in CO) between racing, dirt riding, and running the generator. My favorite wintertime fuel preservative is Seafoam. At the end of the season, I'll dump some in the tank and run the generator until I'm pretty sure the mixture has made it into the carb.

Since doing that, I haven't had any springtime generator start up problems or yucky fuel coming out of the tank.

Of course, YMMV.

 

[FirstAscent]

I’ve actually had decent luck filling the tanks on my 381M at your typical gas stations. You just have to look for the ones with easy entries and exits and pumps facing the right direction to where you can pull through. I’ve even used google maps to scout out potential gas stations, especially if I’m in a small town with no truck stops relatively close

 

[Dive Bar Casanova]

Transfer with 5 gal containers or take advantage of RV lane truck and travel stops.

 

[Just Krusen]

I have had good luck getting into Wawa, Race Track, Gas Town & smaller stations. Local Valero has a non ethanol pump on the side that's easy to get to.

 

[RoyBell]

I almost wish they had diesel sets in them for this reason alone.

 

[jjbbrewer]

For those who can't or don't want to use non-ethanol fuel, this stuff works great for getting the resulting crud and corrosion out of your carb bowl, jets, needle, etc.

This and non-ethanol fuel are the results of a past "learning opportunity" with my old generator.



https://www.berkebileoil.com/instant-gum-cutter.html

 

[nomadlife]

Don’t forget to add some fuel stabilizer like seafoam among other advantages; takes forever to drain the 30/60 gallons on generator and fueling bikes.

 

[jjbbrewer]

Don’t forget to add some fuel stabilizer like seafoam ..

Absolutely! Good suggestion.

 

[Johnrb]

For those who can't or don't want to use non-ethanol fuel, this stuff works great for getting the resulting crud and corrosion out of your carb bowl, jets, needle, etc.

This and non-ethanol fuel are the results of a past "learning opportunity" with my old generator.

View attachment 32453

https://www.berkebileoil.com/instant-gum-cutter.html

Another good product for cleaning the fuel system is BG44K.

 

[sgrol60]

Another good habit is to run the fuel out of the generator when done using it. I put in a fuel pump kill switch, turn it off, turn off breakers, and let the generator run out of fuel and stop. Then I open the carb drain to let out the few drops remaining. Or, just drain carb when done. Already replaced carb once and that was after exercising regularly (but not draining carb).

 

[210craig]

Could you elborate on the kill switch? Sound like a good idea. The carbs on those things are super touchy.

 

[sgrol60]

Could you elborate on the kill switch? Sound like a good idea. The carbs on those things are super touchy.

I wired in a toggle switch inline with the fuel pump power. Drilled a hole in left hand gen housing and the switch sticks out on the outside of the enclosure. Turn it off and generator will run out of gas. I also had a lot of problems getting fuel to the generator since the pump is pulling from a long distance to the tank. I deleted the factory pump and installed an aftermarket pump near the fuel tank. Pumps push much better than they suck. Have had no problems since.

 

[jjbbrewer]

I deleted the factory pump and installed an aftermarket pump near the fuel tank. Pumps push much better than they suck. Have had no problems since.

Amen to that. I had my Onan fuel pump die in the middle of a weekend where I needed my generator. I was able to get an aftermarket electric fuel pump (Mr. Gasket, I think) at a local auto parts store and was back in business in just a couple hours.
That was probably 7 years ago and it's been working great ever since.