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[Shackeng]

I have been donated a Kubota generator, which has probably run for 10 hours in its life, but has not run for about 5 years. Unfortunately the owner did not avail himself of the ingenious draining arrangement, and as a result the petrol evaporated leaving the usual tarry deposits in every jet and fuel way in the carb. I have scraped every bit out I can, and tried carb cleaner. As it will only run on half choke, I suspect there are still deposits in unreachable areas. Is there a known solvent which will remove these, other than sulphuric acid or similar?

[Nick W]

Cellulose thinners is good for this; it dissolves the deposits without damaging the part. Most will evaporate which makes cleaning up easier, although doing the job in a well ventilated area is necessary. It's also cheap, and easily applied with a brush.

[Seth]

What about trying fresh fuel?

[Kevin Wood]

A soak in thinners overnight then have a go at blowing the fuel passages clear with some carb cleaner is my bet.

You can normally trace the path of any passages and work out where the spray should emerge. Often, there will be plugs you can remove to expose the ends of the drillings if blasting from float bowl to jet doesn't work.

If it needs help the idle but runs OK on load, then look for blockages of the progression holes in the side of the choke that get uncovered as the throttle starts to open.

[Shackeng]

Thanks for suggestions. I should emphasise, the residue in some areas was absolutely rock hard, and very very difficult to scrape out even with a hard pointed tool or blade.