Coleman Powermate will not start

[jensent]

My son came home with a Coleman Powermate Maxa 300 OHV powered by a Tecumseh OHH55 / 69069E. The generator is said to have low hours and appears almost unused. I think Tecumseh went out of busness about 2009. We see spark when the engine is turned over and the plug is grounded but it looks week. Put gas in the tank mixed with Seafoam. The primer wouldnt move fuel until it sat with the mix in the tank for 3 days. Finally the primer has started to function but the plug has stayed dry. Fuel will come out the air filter opening. There is no choke. I think it was stored with fuel in the tank. I have had some luck with this sort of problem with engines that sat with fuel in them for several years by letting them soak but it takes patience. Parts seem to be available.
If anyone has worked on one of these engines or similar, I am open to suggestions. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Tom

 

[Holiday]

You probably need to take the carb apart and give it a thorough cleaning.

 

[bubba3228]

I have a powermate and it would not start. I was in the process of taking the carb apart starting with the float bowl, in mine there is a small needle valve that was plugged, and some sediment in the bowl that I cleaned out. Reassembled and had luck starting it. Swore I would start it every month and let it run a bit, whoops missed last month and the month before... guess I'll fire it up today.
Good luck

Bub

 

[Clarkbug]

My son came home with a Coleman Powermate Maxa 300 OHV powered by a Tecumseh OHH55 / 69069E. The generator is said to have low hours and appears almost unused. I think Tecumseh went out of busness about 2009. We see spark when the engine is turned over and the plug is grounded but it looks week. Put gas in the tank mixed with Seafoam. The primer wouldnt move fuel until it sat with the mix in the tank for 3 days. Finally the primer has started to function but the plug has stayed dry. Fuel will come out the air filter opening. There is no choke. I think it was stored with fuel in the tank. I have had some luck with this sort of problem with engines that sat with fuel in them for several years by letting them soak but it takes patience. Parts seem to be available.
If anyone has worked on one of these engines or similar, I am open to suggestions. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Tom

The parts you need should be readily available from a small engine dealer or the internet. As Holiday and Bub have mentioned, I also think you should pull the carburetor apart and give it a good cleaning. Pick up a rebuild kit and a can of cleaner, lay out a clean place to work and have at it. Its not too difficult once you get the hang of it. Find the carb you have here, and check out the photos for help. (broken link removed to http://outdoorpowerinfo.com/repairs/tecumseh_carburetor_cleaning_repair.asp)

My other advice is that before you remove the low and high jet screws, count the number of turns it takes to GENTLY seat them. Meaning, tighten them until they just stop in the body of the carb. Then when you are done with the rebuild, you know how many turns out to adjust the screws, that gives you a good starting point.

 

[RSNovi]

Probably the carb jet is clogged up. This happened to me on a snow blower which I also think was a Tecumseh.

I worked for Tecumseh as an intern for two years. Their main products were AC compressors.