I think it's time to get my genset running already. It's a Kohler CKM21-RV. It cranks good but wouldn't fire. I cleaned and tested the fuel pump and all is good up to the carb. I took off the air cleaner housing and dropped some fuel down the carb throat and it pops off right away.

No big surprise since the genny hasn't been started for 2 years, the carb is completely varnished over. I pulled the carb and it was so plugged up the float bowl wouldn't drain after removing to plug. The brown fluid in the bowl didn't resemble anything close to gasoline. Also the o-ring on the shut-down solenoid has crumbled to nothing.

Can a shadetree mechanic rebuild this carb without too much trouble or should I leave this to a pro? This carb seems rather simple compaired to my Kawa KZ1000 CV carbs and I do OK with those. Any advice is always appreciated.

quote:

Originally posted by Bones:

Can a shadetree mechanic rebuild this carb without too much trouble?

Sure. Go for it.

If you PM me with your e mail address, I can send you some .pdf Kohler publications that might help.

Bones, Compared to the KZ1000 carb that old thing is just a metered leak.... You can handle it!!! GO FOR IT!!!

@Bill h, thanks, PM on the way.

@Patch1st, metered leak...thats classic, lol

quote:

Originally posted by Patch1st:
Bones, Compared to the KZ1000 carb that old thing is just a metered leak....!

On the farm, we had an old engine that had a metal mesh wick in the intake port which was kept wet by fuel which was gravity metered through an orifice. That was the carburetor. It started on gasoline and ran on either kerosene or distillate.

quote:

Originally posted by Bones:
It's a Kohler CKM21-RV. It cranks good but wouldn't fire.

Is this the same as a 7CKM21-RV? Does your generator have a K582 Kohler 23 HP Engine? What does your tag say for engine size?

quote:

Originally posted by Bill N.Y.:
Is this the same as a 7CKM21-RV? Does your generator have a K582 Kohler 23 HP Engine? What does your tag say for engine size?

It's a different unit. The manual says it's 42.18 cu. in, 9.9 horse, 2 cylinder.

Bill,
Could you send me any info on the 7cm21 Kohler? Also, I spent some money getting mine to run. It still lopes some and I have to work that out. If you need leads on parts, I'll dig up my invoices. I ran across a very knowledgeable gentlemen in Arkansas who sells parts for Kohler. He was a Kohler dealer rep for I think 30+ years....really knows his Kohler gensets....he helped me a lot. Thanks, K&E

quote:

Originally posted by K&E:
Bill,
Could you send me any info on the 7cm21 Kohler?

Sure. Glad to. Just PM me with your e mail address.

It would help to know what limits your server has on how much I can send you at one time.

quote:

Originally posted by K&E:
Bill,
Could you send me any info on the 7cm21 Kohler?

Did it come through OK?

quote:

Also, I spent some money getting mine to run. It still lopes some and I have to work that out.

Give it some fuel laced with Red Line Cleaner. Play with the adjustment on the springs and screw eyes on the carb linkage. Set the freq a little high so it settles down with a load. Be sure all the linkage is clean and lightly lubed.

quote:

If you need leads on parts, I'll dig up my invoices. I ran across a very knowledgeable gentlemen in Arkansas who sells parts for Kohler. He was a Kohler dealer rep for I think 30+ years....really knows his Kohler gensets....he helped me a lot. Thanks, K&E

Yes, please, and Thank You. A good source is always good. I might need a couple parts soon.

Bill,

Sorry to take so long to reply. Thanks for the manuals and I'll get the contact info on the Kohler rep in Arkansas. I had a difficult time finding parts as these units are 25+ years old. Mine only showed about 200 hours on the meter. Once we got it running, it sure sounds nice...can tell the 200 hours is correct...It's "loping"...doesn't run smooth...I figured just a governor adjustment or something simple..Thanks, K&E

I have all my parts on order. I hope to have everything by the weekend. Special thanks to Bill for sending those manuals. It makes it so much easier ordering parts when you have part numbers.

After waiting a few more days for backordered parts, they arrived yesterday. Got the carb all cleaned and new parts on. She runs like a champ! My AC is working great too. Now just a quick oil change and it's off to the Rockford Airfest tomorrow(with AC and coffee in the morning). Next project, why is the frige blowing a fuse. More details to come.

I got the parts online from Partstree.com. They had fair prices and shipping was fast. All the parts were genuine Kohler too. 2 thumbs up.

Thanks to all that help out.

Does your genset have a fuel filter on the front of the unit? My Kohler does and it clogs up about every 20 hours so I put a larger filter in front of it.
That worked.

My genset didn't have any inline fuel filter when I got it. The fuel line was too short and I couldn't pull the drawer out without taking the fuel line off the pump. Adding an inline filter was a simple way to add 2 feet of fuel line so I could pull out the drawer without disconnecting the fuel line. I also used this short line in a gas can heavy on Seafoam to clean out any trash I didn't get after rebuilding the carb.

The only adjustment that I changed was the main jet. The manual said to screw it all the way down (CW), then turn it out 2 3/4 turns (CCW). I ended up turning it back down about a half turn and it ran perfect.

I ran the genset about 30 mins on Saturday at the Rockford Airfest without an issue. Well except for the dom batts are shot. The batteries are 2 years old and never got used. Problem is the previous owner left the coach plugged in all the time. They had a 30 amp hookup on their house. When I brought the coach home the batts were bone dry. I filled them up and charged them but they don't hold a charge for more than a day. I'm going to try some EDTA in them just to experiment since these batts are probably shot. The genset starter uses the house batts to start so they get low and I can't start the genny.

A question while I'm thinking about it, is there a way to hook up a tach to the genset? How do I know I'm running at 1800 rpm?