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Regular
Posts: 79
Location: iowa | My fuel gage says I have gas in my built in generator tank but the generator kept starting and dying like it was out of gas. It would not surprise me if the gage was incorrect because the generator has ran along time with out me adding gas. I went to put gas in today and it would only take 10 gallons. Fuel kept over flowing out the tube and it was also coming out the overflow valve on the top of the tank. It is a 95 degree day so it would expand some but I would not think it would come out the top of the tank that easily. I got home and got the generator started after a lot of priming so I feel being out of gas was the issue. I did a conversion on the size of tank to get an idea of how many gallons it should hold and I come up with about 34 which to me seems feasible. Just wondering why I could not get it to take more gas than 1/3 of the tank. Any ideas. |
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Expert
Posts: 2957
  
Location: North Carolina | Check your calculations. 10 gallons for a horse trailer is reasonable. 35 gallons is a lot of gasoline to carry. @ 6 pounds per gallon = 204 pounds |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 402
Location: Valentine, NE | Filter or fuel pump issue? Or how about the vent to the fuel tank being plugged. Any of these could cause these symptoms. Is the tank above or below the generator and if below, how much? A lot of roof mounted gens need a boost pump if drawing from a tank in the mangers. Good luck.... |
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Expert
Posts: 3853
Location: Vermont | Originally written by hosspuller on 2013-08-28 1:20 PM
Check your calculations. 10 gallons for a horse trailer is reasonable. 35 gallons is a lot of gasoline to carry. @ 6 pounds per gallon = 204 pounds Not to mention a HUGE potential fireload...:( |
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Expert
Posts: 3802
Location: Rocky Mount N.C. | Doll... Where is your fuel tank located? Is it on the roof or built in on the left side of the trailer mounted underneath or in a manger area..? Make of genset and make of trailer?? |
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Veteran
Posts: 178
Location: Richmond, Ky | 35 gallons would be a very big tank for a genset, if you do have indeed a 35 gallon tank i would be looking into an in-tank filter that as the filter "stops up" the level of fuel needed to run increases. Farm tractors use this kind of filter sometimes. Good luck |
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Regular
Posts: 79
Location: iowa | The generator is under the gooseneck. The tank is under the trailer. It is 22"x60"x7" and sits between the frame. It takes up as much room as the holding tanks. I took my measurements and got cubic inches and found something online to convert to gallons. I literally run it for days at a time sometimes and it runs for ever so I think it has a higher capacity than 10 gallions. It has a fuel pump that pumps the fuel up to the generator. I also replaced the fuel pump about 3 years ago. The vent tube did have a kink in it after I had the tank pulled but I fixed that. I will double check it again. If it is blocked should it have taken the 1st 10 gallons so easily? Oh and the gage says I have just under 1/2 tank. Can't remember what I had before but I think it was around 1/4 tank.
Edited by china doll 2013-08-28 5:21 PM
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Regular
Posts: 79
Location: iowa | It is a 2002 Sundowner. The generator is a 2800 Onan all was factory installed |
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Veteran
Posts: 203
Location: Lander WY | ...... It is 22"x60"x7" and sits between the frame. It takes up as much room as the holding tanks. I took my measurements and got cubic inches and found something online to convert to gallons. I literally run it for days at a time sometimes and it runs for ever so I think it has a higher capacity than 10 gallons............ With those measurement you have a 39 gallon tank ..... |
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Regular
Posts: 79
Location: iowa | Originally written by Bhill on 2013-08-28 6:43 PM ...... It is 22"x60"x7" and sits between the frame. It takes up as much room as the holding tanks. I took my measurements and got cubic inches and found something online to convert to gallons. I literally run it for days at a time sometimes and it runs for ever so I think it has a higher capacity than 10 gallons............ With those measurement you have a 39 gallon tank ..... |
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 Veteran
Posts: 259
Location: Topeka Ks | I picked up on you saying it started after a lot of priming. I would suspect the pump. I'm guessing the pump on or near the genset which means the pump has to lift fuel 30-40". I would consider adding a second pump at the tank as close to the fuel outlet as possible. Personally, I have had good luck with the Faucet cubes. Fuel delivery can be a nightmare. |
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Regular
Posts: 79
Location: iowa | Originally written by justgurn on 2013-08-28 10:58 PM
I picked up on you saying it started after a lot of priming. I would suspect the pump. I'm guessing the pump on or near the genset which means the pump has to lift fuel 30-40". I would consider adding a second pump at the tank as close to the fuel outlet as possible. Personally, I have had good luck with the Faucet cubes. Fuel delivery can be a nightmare. It started with a lot of priming after I ran it out of fuel. It does typically take some priming after it has sat for a while also. It is delivering fuel fine after I put gas in the tank but I am having a ventilation issue getting the gas in the tank. I do believe it ran out of fuel as I ran it several weekends 16 hour days over the summer and I had not added fuel. |
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Regular
Posts: 79
Location: iowa | still trying to figure out why the tank is not taking fuel. This has been an ongoing issue. Last year I pulled the tank and replaced the vent valve thinking I might have a bad valve. When that didn't solve the problem I found the kinked line near the fill neck and cut the kink out. So I tried again to get gas in it and no luck. It just keeps shutting off the pump and spewing out no matter how slow I go. I should have approx. 8 gallons in a 40 gal tank. It seemed to take the first 6 gallons ok and then after that I had issues. So today I pulled off the cover to check the lines by the fill neck, they were not kinked again and they looked fine. This generator runs for ever so I rarely have to put fuel in it but this has been an ongoing issue. |
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Expert
Posts: 3853
Location: Vermont | If the filler neck runs horizontal for a fair distance...current commercial fillers sense that the tank is almost filled...falsely of course, had this problem with an old pickup converted to a dump truck...:(The work-around was to fill the tank with hand cans... |
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Regular
Posts: 79
Location: iowa | Originally written by PaulChristenson on 2013-10-20 4:21 PM If the filler neck runs horizontal for a fair distance...current commercial fillers sense that the tank is almost filled...falsely of course, had this problem with an old pickup converted to a dump truck...: (The work-around was to fill the tank with hand cans...  Thank you |
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generator fuel tank capacity/questions
