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Tool Talk Discussion Forum

Gas air compressor

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Mike S

03-10-2006 06:16:48




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I have this Sears Gas powered air compressor. 5hp Briggs engine on it. I have to squirt a little ether in it to get it to crank and then it runs just great after that. I choke it and pull on it til my arms goes numb, but the little ether makes it fire right up. What do I need to do to this engine to get it to crank right? It is an upright engine, horizontal crankshaft with the carb that sits on top of the gas tank. I had the same engine on a log splitter and it never had this problem. Any clues?

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Bruce, too!

03-13-2006 06:59:49




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 Re: Gas air compressor in reply to Mike S, 03-10-2006 06:16:48  

There is another major cause of this problem, which no one has suggested:

An exhaust valve which is not seating properly. .....This can be caused by a burnt valve, or a worn valve guide. ....This is a very common area of failure on B&S aluminum engines.

How does the EXHAUST valve cause this problem??? .... The intake valve is open while the piston is moving downward in the cylinder, creating the vacuum ncessary to siphon fuel from the gas tank. If the EXHAUST valve is not seating properly, vacuum is lost, causing hard/no starting.

Using ether gets the engine started because the combustible mixture is already vaporized, and gets into the cylinder with much less vacuum needed. ....Once the engine is running, the exhaust valve spends less time on its seat, so less vacuum is bled off, and fuel is siphoned. ....Eventually, it will not stay running or have no power as the valve problem progresses.

A blown head gasket will have a similar effect, but is far less-common than exhaust valve failures on a B&S engine.

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MidMiGene

03-11-2006 10:45:44




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 Re: Gas air compressor in reply to Mike S, 03-10-2006 06:16:48  
A couple more likely problems could be,

1. - The intake pipe has lossened up on the engine and creates a vacuum leak.

2. - the carb style may slip onto the intake pipe and is sealed with an o-ring. sometimes the o-ring will shrink and again create a vacuum leak.

Everything else could be at fault also, but with a vacuum leak, nothing is going to work correctly.



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Vern-MI

03-10-2006 12:54:01




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 Re: Gas air compressor in reply to Mike S, 03-10-2006 06:16:48  
You got some good advice so far. If you look at the flywheel shroud you will find soeme model numbers. Then go to the referenced page and pick out the corresponding carb diaphragm kit that you need. You will see that the diaphragm has little "U" shaped flapper valves that get stiff and lazy with age. when that happens the carb doesn't pick up the gas quite as easily as it did when new.

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TopCat

03-10-2006 11:27:15




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 Re: Gas air compressor in reply to Mike S, 03-10-2006 06:16:48  
All of the above mentioned items are well worth checking into as a possible cause of the problem my offer is that when starting a small air cooled engine, is to use a good carb cleaner instead of ether as it won't dry the oil off of the cylinder rings causing unnecessary wear to the engine as will ether



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the tractor vet

03-10-2006 09:38:03




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 Re: Gas air compressor in reply to Mike S, 03-10-2006 06:16:48  
Replace the diaphram as they get a bit hard and do not pump like they should have the same problem with my snowblower , one of these days i'll fix it .



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Catskill Pete

03-10-2006 10:20:21




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 Re: Gas air compressor in reply to the tractor vet, 03-10-2006 09:38:03  
When you go to get the new diaphram make sure you have the serial number from the engine [B&S number] or better yet take your old one with you.
The 5hp Briggs used 2 different diaphrams in the last few years. I have to replace mine about every 2 or 3 years.



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salser

03-10-2006 07:54:48




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 Re: Gas air compressor in reply to Mike S, 03-10-2006 06:16:48  
Mike,
oldfarmtractor and old are probably one the right track. Some, but not all of those engines have the check ball in the fuel pickup tube. Usually though the check ball gets jammed because of plastic shrinkage and causes the engine to start but then die under load because the float bowl is going dry. If I were you I would replace the fuel pump diaphragm first - those parts are only a couple of dollars and are quick to replace. However, a diaphragm problem would more likely show up by the engine killing under load. If the problem is the choke you should be able to take the air filter off and see that the choke plate is closing or not closing, so you can rule that out quickly. Unfortunately, if the problem is the check valve it's probably not worth trying to fix -at least on my engine the dip tube was not removable from the carb (I guess you could cut it and braise a new one on but that seems like more trouble then a can of ether). You should be able to check if it is a fuel pickup problem by manually filling the float bowl - my recollection is that with some small tubing you ought to be able to fill the float bowl from the gas cap. If you do that and it starts fine then it's either the check ball or the fuel pump diaphragm. Since the engine runs fine after you use ether it doesn't sound like your carb jet is plugged, but it never seems to hurt to hose the thing down with a bunch of carb cleaner to make sure you don't have a goo ball plugging up the works somewhere.

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Charles (in GA)

03-10-2006 06:57:02




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 Re: Gas air compressor in reply to Mike S, 03-10-2006 06:16:48  
I think this is the design where the fuel is picked up from the tank and transfered to a shallow tray in the top corner of the tank, from there it is vacum drawin into the carb. In any case, bad pump diaphgram, pickup tube that has fallen out or is loose, the ball check valve mentioned earlier, bad gaskets..... .. This thing demands that everything be perfect to operate, but will run like a top after that.

Charles

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old

03-10-2006 06:52:15




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 Re: Gas air compressor in reply to Mike S, 03-10-2006 06:16:48  
You may have a few things wrong. The check ball as one of the other guys said. A choke that isn't working right. Or the gasket/diapram that goes in between the tank and the carb any one or all of them can be your problem



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Coloken

03-10-2006 06:47:44




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 Re: Gas air compressor in reply to Mike S, 03-10-2006 06:16:48  
A little bit better grade of gas maybe? Fresh gas.



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oldfarmtractor

03-10-2006 06:40:25




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 Re: Gas air compressor in reply to Mike S, 03-10-2006 06:16:48  
I believe there is a ball check valve in the bottom of a tube that goes into the tank. If that is leaking, the tube will lose its prime.



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