Archive through February 25, 2007

[rbedell]

In recognition of my 582nd post...

 

[dfrisk]

GLEN, Craig - The 8 quart tank that was on the K321 I bought a couple years ago was soldered together from three similar tank sections and the odd or third section only had small slots between it and the main tank cavity for fuel to run through. The tank was old & rusty inside and was cracked and when the tank blew apart when I was pressure testing it I was happy to not have to reuse it. There were some pretty deep pits half way through the steel. The new tank Son & I are going to make will be a bit larger in capacity, We're shooting for 12 quarts!

 

[tgeirnaeirt]

Roland,
My 782 does have a fuel filter installed and the fuel shut off valve is open. If it is the fuel pump how can I test whether or not it is functioning properly? What problems do the fuel filter cause to the system? It was on the tractor when I bought it and ran fine until I let it sit for close to 2 years.

 

[ljerickson]

"p.s....if i have a gas tank that is all dented, i have in the past with sucsess, hooked up an air line to the tank and pop the dents out, works pretty slick, just don't use full air pressure (use a regulator)...."

Glen, you're scaring the heck out of me! If there's an accident and the tank fractures, you've got a rocket with ragged sharp edges flying around.

There are plenty of ways this can happen too. Just for one, if regulator the gets a piece of dirt in the orifice, the regulator will leak line pressure into the tank.

Just remember, that to move one of those bumps you've got to cause the metal to yield which means that the stress level is pretty high, somewhere close to fracture. If there's a crack from forming or some funny heat treatment due to welding or soldering, you could easily be there.

You know, I haven't had a nightmare about this since I retired (I had some design responsiblity for pressurized components), but I'm afraid I might tonight.

Please don't try this at home folks!

Lee

 

[rwilke]

Terry G. & Roland B.,
Regarding the 782 'no gas flow' issue... Is there a screen inside the tank where the pickup is located? I know that sometimes there is and they can get gummed over & plug off....

Roland B. & Paul D.,
Thanks for the additional thoughts & advice regarding the construction & use of a 'U' tube manometer. Both of you fellas said you use them in your work - so would you say that they are a good / accurate tool to use to assess the condition of a running Kohler -or- just better than nothing?

Thanks! Ryan W

 

[rbedell]

Terry G:

You can simply test the fuel pump by removing the fuel line hose at the Carb. As the motor turns over, you should be able to see fuel spurt out the end of the hose.

Now, if there is a fuel filter, it can be plugged with debris or even frozen water. You could install a small section of bypass tubing to eliminate the filter for a test also.

Bottom line, the Carb is NOT getting gas. Just have to figure out why.

 

[rbedell]

Ryan W:

YUP...they are extremely accurate.

 

[tgeirnaeirt]

Ryan,
I emptied my 782's tank of about a 1/4 tank of old gas and it drained out fine. When I looked in bottom of tank did not spot a screen just what looked like a white plastic tube comming up from the shut off valve. Guess I will check the fuel pump first and then move onto the carb.

 

[rbedell]

Terry G:

Here is what the Tank Shut Off Valve w/screen looks like.

 

[tgeirnaeirt]

Roland,
Thanks for the diagram and tips!! Will start trying to sovle problem as soon as I can get home from work!!