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J Wiles · 01-01-2022, 07:50 AM

I have a 2000 Rexhall Rexair 32' on a F53 chassis with 40000 miles. It has a Generac generator and I have had trouble with it getting fuel out of the tank. I have had 3 new fuel pumps on it ran new fuel injection rubber line back to the front of the tank. I have been able to blow air back to the tank through the line and gas will come back out of it. I will hook it back up to the pump and it will fill the carb and shut off and run till it runs out of gas in the bowl and line.. I have decide that its on top of the tank or inline that's in the tank is bad. Did this with a full tank. Went on a trip and tank is 1/2 full now. My thoughts is why cant I drill a new hole in the top of the front of tank and install a new metal line into the tank. drill the hole the same size as the metal line and use some good epoxy like JB weld to seal it and secure it so it don't move. Taking the tank down would mean taking off the rear jacks and a lot of work. Will do some measuring so to leave the new line up of the bottom like old line. Another thought was to put a new fuel cell in the compartment next to the gen set and run it off of it but would be adding more weight on the slide.

CamJam1 · 01-01-2022, 09:04 AM

I had a similar problem with my Dolphin on a Workhorse chassis. Symptoms almost exactly as you describe. I replaced fuel line, fuel filter, tried several new pumps, moved fuel pump back near tank to reduce likelihood of vapor lock and ran a new fuel pickup through an unused fuel vent on the curb side of tank. After all that I still had the problem of generator shutting off after a minute or two. The problem turned out to be the carburetor. Replaced it with a $60 Chinese carburetor from Amazon and the generator has never run better.

Are you able to access the last few feet of fuel line on top of the tank without dropping the tank? That was my big concern, but it turned out not to be the problem.

Temporarily running a short length of fuel line into a small gas can would confirm whether the fuel line or pickup is really the problem.

If you need to run a new fuel pickup, look for a second fuel filler or vent on the passenger side. Some tanks have two fillers and cap off the unused one.

I also tried a small auxiliary fuel tank in a basement locker as a permanent fix. Besides not fixing my problem, I could smell gasoline in my basement lockers on warm days, so I removed it.

Isaac-1 · 01-01-2022, 10:14 AM

You should never use fuel injection line in an application like this that has a fuel pump mounted at the engine as fuel injection line has a thin liner which will collapse under vacuum therefore blocking fuel flow. Instead you need a fuel line specified for engines with carburetors. Here is an example, note the vacuum rating on the hose specs https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00498G5QC (I am not sure if you need 1/4 inch diameter, 5/16, etc)

p.s. the link above is some I used for a much larger generator application a few months ago, you probably need smaller diameter

MarvinG · 01-01-2022, 11:26 AM

I had to go through three fuel pumps before I found one (make and model) that was reliable under these conditions. Having dropped my tank to replace the fuel pump itself, I am doubtful that is where your problem is. My generator hose was quite stiff and I replaced it but I suspect the probability of the hose it self being the problem is very low. All things are possible, of course, until you know for sure. I’m with CamJam1 on this one: I would make sure the thing works well using an alternate source of fuel feeding close to the fuel pump, if it does, then move to the back where the line you ran ends and see if it pulls through it successfully.

J Wiles · 01-02-2022, 05:53 AM

Thanks for the response's. I replaced the rubber fuel line clear back to the front of the tank with a hose rated for fuel injection pressure. It was hose made by Gates not some cheap brand. I will unhook it back there and put it in a can of gas and try it again. I did that with a short hose up by the pump and it primed up and shut off like it should and ran fine.
If it pumps from back there I will take a look for the extra openings in the tank before I install a new hole for a pick up tube.

After I replaced the fuel pump and the hose it did run fine for 2 weeks while we were on a road trip last summer but when we went on a trip in the fall is when the problem reappeared. Wanting to figure it out this winter before spring.

Thanks JW

MarvinG · 01-02-2022, 09:48 AM

My rig also requires the jacks to be removed before dropping the tank. So I went in from the top. Careful though, if you ever choose that route, you will likely need to remove a fresh water or black or gray tank first. In my case it is fresh water and even though a bit of a pain, much less so than removing those heavy jacks in my shadetree, driveway garage.

The reason I will be surprised if it is from the rear hose into the tank is, if memory serves me, the generator pickup doesn’t have a filter on it. It simply is a tube dropped down into the tank. My memory could be faulty, or as you suspect that last foot or two of hose could be the problem. At any rate, once you try pulling from a gas can in the rear you will know where you stand.

Isaac-1 · 01-02-2022, 12:15 PM

You keep saying "FUEL INJECTION" hose, which has a interior liner which will collapse under vacuum from a engine mounted fuel pump, what you need is Carburetion rated fuel hose which while designed to operate at lower pressures does not have a thin internal liner which will collapse under vacuum.

p.s. some (most modern) Carburetion rated hoses do have thin interior liners, but they are bonded to the outer layers so they will not collapse. Look up the specs on whatever fuel hose you bought, in particular check the vacuum rating

BUTCHPHI · 01-03-2022, 12:46 AM

It is the hose. Replace it entirely.

BUTCHPHI · 01-03-2022, 12:47 AM

Not good enough. need to replace all.

J Wiles · 01-03-2022, 05:18 AM

Will try to get out into the shop this week and test the hose. I hope that is all that is wrong.

Thanks for all the response's I will post the out come

JW

J Wiles · 01-08-2022, 07:50 AM

Got out in the shop yesterday and checked things over and made sure every thing was tight on the line, it was so I unhooked it at the tank and put it in the gas can and nothing came out of the pump. Took line off pump to carb. nothing.
Hooked short line up to the pump and it pumped a steady stream, so it appears that the new Gates line is defective. I'm going to pull the whole line off and retry it and blow it out with air to make sure its not plugged. If it still don't work I will be ordering the suggested line from amazon.

By the way the last pump I'm using is made by Edelbrock and is rated at 2.5 to 3 psi at 2.5 to 3 gallon a minute. It is very quite compared to the last one that looked like the original Generac pump.