How to Clean Your Generator's Carburetor

This is a generic guide for cleaning the carburetor of any WEN product that uses a carburetor. Most WEN carburetors follow the same basic design.  If at any point you need assistance, have questions, or want to order parts, call WEN customer service at 1-800-232-1195, M-F, 8-5 Central Time, or email techsupport@wenproducts.com.

If replacing any parts, use only genuine replacement parts purchased from WEN Products. Use of replacement parts not sold by WEN Products will void the product’s warranty and could lead to decreased performance or injury.

TOOLS NEEDED

• Carburetor cleaner (can be purchased online or at a local hardware store)
• 10mm combination wrench or socket (an adjustable wrench can be used if your carb has a different nut size)
• Smaller-sized flat head screwdriver
• Needle-nose pliers
• Thin-gauge wire or needle

ENSURE THAT THE ENGINE AND MUFFLER ARE COOL BEFORE BEGINNING ANY MAINTENANCE OR REPAIR WORK. FOLLOW ALL SAFETY PROCEDURES LISTED IN YOUR OWNER’S MANUAL. USE COMMON SENSE. AVOID INJURY. DUE TO GASOLINE FUMES FROM THE CARBURETOR, CLEAN YOUR CARBURETOR IN A WELL-VENTILATED AREA.

REMOVING THE CARBURETOR

1. Make sure that the fuel-flow valve is turned off. See the manual of your specific product for how to turn off the fuel-flow valve.
2. Drain the carburetor by unscrewing the drainage screw. See the manual of your specific product for how to drain the carburetor.
3. Disconnect the fuel intake line from the carb. Some fuel lines will have a spring clip; use the pliers to move the spring clip off of the intake port and remove the fuel line. Other fuel lines us a small Phillip’s head hose-clamp.  If the fuel line is stuck, use a flat head screwdriver to pry the fuel line from the fuel port.
4. Using a 10mm socket wrench, unscrew the through-bolts that hold the carburetor to the engine. If unsure of which bolts need unscrewing, see the exploded view of your specific product manual.
5. If your carburetor has spring and wire tensioning cable, use a pair of needle-nose pliers to gently remove the cables.
6. Gently but firmly pull the carburetor off of the through-bolts. Disconnect any other drainage tubes that may be attached to the carburetor.

CLEANING THE CARBURETOR

1. Unscrew the bottom bolt of the carburetor bowl. Figure 1 shows the typical location for the carb bowl bolt as circled in red.

2. Remove the bowl from the carburetor body. Note that there may be gasoline in the bowl. If the bowl is dirty, use carb cleaner and a wire brush or hand cloth to spray the bowl and wipe it clean.  

3. Remove the plastic float from the carburetor body by removing the pin circled in red in Figure 3. This pin should be loose and easy to remove. Once the pin is removed, take the float off of the carburetor.

4. Using a flat-head screwdriver, remove the main carburetor jet nozzle circled in red in Figure 4. This nozzle can also be located on the side of the main stem, as circled in red in Figure 5.

5. Spray carb cleaner into the aperture from which the carb nozzle was removed. Carb cleaner should flow freely into the carb chamber.  A thin piece of wire or needle can be used to dislodge any debris from the nozzle aperture.  This same process can be done for the fuel inlet and intake port circled in green in Figure 4, and the carb jet nozzle. The carb jet nozzle is shown below in Figure 6.

6. Spray carb cleaner into the two ports circled in green in Figure 7. If the carb cleaner does not flow freely through the ports, use a thin wire or needle to help dislodge gunk and debris.  

7. Re-assemble the carburetor by reversing the disassembly steps previously listed. Make sure not to lose the seal on the carburetor bowl screw, as seen in Figure 8.

RE-ATTACHING THE CARBURETOR

1. Re-attach the carburetor to the engine. Slide the carburetor back onto the through-bolts. Check the carburetor seals for damage.  If seals are damaged, new seals should be purchased from wenproducts.com or from contacting WEN Customer Service.  Firmly tighten the nuts on the through-bolts.
2. Re-attach the spring and tensioning wire cables if applicable.
3. Re-attach the fuel intake line and any drainage tubes which were disconnected.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

1. The product manual for your product likely contains info regarding the carburetor location and how to drain the carburetor. The exploded views in your manual can also provide guidance and part numbers.
2. Guides for installing high-altitude kits for carburetors are also available from our customer service team and may provide additional info on how to access the carburetor of your specific model.

QUESTIONS? PROBLEMS?

Contact WEN Customer Service at 1-800-232-1195, M-F, 8-5 CST, or email techsupport@wenproducts.com