Best Of

The cheap Chinese eBay/Amazon parts are a a gamble.  

For a few years the shop used cheap eBay echo/mantis tiller carbs.  I could rebuild the fuel system with new parts (the hoses/fuel grommets/fuel filter that came with the carbs went in the garbage) plus service for about 100 bucks.   Customers loved the price.  

Then the quality dropped.  1 out of every 5 carbs arrived faulty.  The worst ones began giving running issues or leaking fuel from the carb not long after the customer picked up the equipment.   At that point the customers are no longer happy with any price.    Go OEM and prices are 150-175 but the issues disappeared. 

 
We went back to OEM carbs. You only get paid to do it right the first time, being a seasonal industry we really don't have time to do anything a second time. 

Except.... generators. 

The Chinese generators.  The Titans, the power horse, the predators etc etc (we get champion directly from champion) we use the cheap Chinese carbs and knock on wood the only issues I've had were damage plastic choke/throttle parts from shipping.  

I can replace the fuel petcock (I use OEM generac for those), service and new carb along with flushing/cleaning the fuel tank for about 125-175 depending on the size of the generator.   Customers love the price.  All the fuel hoses and fuel filters that come with the eBay carb go in the garbage. 

For your Honda/generac/Briggs/Ryobi generators we stick with OEM carbs.  Same for riding mowers/push mowers/hand held 2 stroke etc.    we've tried many aftermarket carbs for these and there are more issues than not. 





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Changed out the coolant in both mains.  As always, big motors are thirsty.  It's 30 gallons at $40/gallon.  This is why I'm still working half-time at my day job.  

I used Star Brite Instant Hull Cleaner and the grime practically melted off. Thanks for the tips.

@Dream_Inn made me get off my @$$ and work on the boat! Last season I noticed a slight drip at the oil filter adapter at the back of the starboard engine. It’s a pain to get to and you have to remove one oil line and loosen the other to tighten the large nut on top. I don’t know how you can do it if you don’t have any space between the engines. I was able to get a wrench on it and snug it down. I think I got at least 3/4 of a turn. 

LaRea said:

@Lake_Bum - Thanks again for posting pix of your cruising grounds.  They are a constant source of entertainment!  How do you tie up the boats?  Sink a screw anchor into the sand?

Thanks!  If I anchor "bow out" I will use a Danforth with a small buoy attached to the rope to catch it upon each return to camp, and either bury a couple anchors in the sand, or tie off to rocks if I've got some that are the proper angles.   If I bow in, I will usually come off back cleats, and angle out to the beach, and again, either bury anchors, or tie off to rocks.  A keel guard is a wonderful thing to have on Lake Powell. 
The REAL interesting anchor methods are the giant Houseboats.  They will bury usually 4 or 5 anchors, and tie off to all of them, and either tighten, or loosen ropes, depending on the time of year on fall or rise of the water levels.   A few years back, a "Beach Bag" company appeared out of thin air.  They have these giant bags, that they will pump lake water into, and the bags are placed on the beach at angles to tie off to.  They came up with this idea, because so many boaters had started "pinning" stakes into the sandstone to tie off to.  This was not only illegal, but extremely dangerous, as they usually couldn't get the stakes out, so they are left on the beach and the danger is obvious at that point.   Lake Powell water levels rise and fall a LOT each year with snow runoff, and insanely over-allocated use by surrounding states.   So those stakes are often hidden just below the surface.  

Here is the beach bags I was talking about.  

Beach Bags - Lake Powell's Preferred Houseboat Anchoring Method – Beach Bags™ Anchors