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Clear file bowl

nowing75

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2009
Messages
898
Location
coatesville indiana
seams I suck as a small engine mechanic. Having problem with one runing lean and wondering if anyone has Sean a clear fuel bowl for a Honda to tell if Float height is correct wile runing?
 

Birken Vogt

Charter Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2003
Messages
5,305
Location
Grass Valley, Ca
I don't think float height is that important so long as the jets are fully submerged. I would rod out the jets again with a fine wire.

You can check float height more or less by removing the bowl and operating the float with a finger.
 

check

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2012
Messages
800
Location
in the mail
Most of those kinds of problems are ethanol gas related. Congress decided we needed corn sugar in our fuel systems a few years ago and no none warned us of the consequences. Ethanol gums up fuel systems pretty bad and it only takes a few weeks of sitting to do it. Sometimes you can get by with running some Sea Foam in it, otherwise as Birken Vogt said, clean out the jets.

As a preventive measure, I only run non-ethanol gasoline in engines that may sit more than a month. If non-ethanol is not available in your area you could use aviation gasoline.

Adding fuel stabilizer to ethanol gasoline extends the life a few weeks, but I would not trust it to sit over the winter. For periods of 5 months or more, I use both non- ethanol gasoline and fuel stabilizer (like PRI-G).
 

Hobbytime

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 21, 2016
Messages
709
Location
usa
I use the marine fuel stabilizer( blueish color) and it seems to work fine for keeping all the small gas engines un gummed from sitting over winter..I must have a dozen pieces of gas engine equipment floating around, that sits for months at a time...bigger problem is all the small silt that ends up in the float bowl and ends up in the needle and seat, either clogging or holding open the needle...biggest help is installing small inline fuel filters just before the carb and after the gas tank...
 

Birken Vogt

Charter Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2003
Messages
5,305
Location
Grass Valley, Ca
I run regular pump gas in all mine and never seem to have troubles. The ones that have this problem are usually the ones who never start it for several years and allow the entire tank of gas to distill into the carburetor. Which would give troubles with or without ethanol.
 

nowing75

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2009
Messages
898
Location
coatesville indiana
I thought the clear bowl would be good for diagnostics to to make sure that you had enough fuel flowing to the bowl I know you wouldn't be able to leave it on there but in a situation like that it would rule out a couple things pretty quick
 

kshansen

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2012
Messages
11,129
Location
Central New York, USA
Occupation
Retired Mechanic in Stone Quarry
Hi nowing75, here's an idea drill and tap a spare bowl retainer bolt and fit a small elbow with a piece of clear hose and tape to side of bowl. that way you will be able to see the fuel level and still run the engine
Mark
That is basically how many motorcycle carbs are made.

Some people who do lots of carb work on bikes have a stand made up that holds the carbs at the same angle they are when on the bike and it also has a small take mounted to the top to supply the gas. this not only lets them check to see if both floats are set to the height but also to leave fuel going to cabs over a period of time to confirm the valves are not leaking just a little which while it might not effect the way the motor runs would fill up the cylinder over night if the fuel valve on tank was left on.
 
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