For home use as well as at their jobsites, lots of contractors trusts Ridgid’s R6800 generator to handle 8,000 starting watts required by heavy tools. But just because this generator has more than enough juice doesn’t mean it lacks quirks. All high-output air-cooled engines requires regular maintenance and respect; ignore these needs and the unit will let you know immediately when something isn’t right.
However, most problems is common and fixable if only you knows where to begin. Commonly we hear people point fingers at fuel injection system or inverter board. More times than not it’s neither.
Most shutdowns are result of basic maintenance oversights. Stale gas or a clogged air filter will shut down a machine quicker different than a bad circuit. Knowing the order of failure can save you both time and money.
Ridgid 6800 Generator Problems Solved
Common Generator Failure Points
Half of these issue don’t require a trip to dealership. Number one killer on stored generators is fuel system degradation. Moddern gas contains ethanol that separates and absorbs moisture.
Fuel System Degradation and Stale Gas
It gums up your carburetor jets creating a varnish that restricts fuel delivery. Your engine won’t catch when cranked or will run bad and quit. It doesn’t matter if it’s brand new generator or five years old.
If it’s sputtering, you can often fix it by draining the tank and adding fresh fuel with a stabilizer to prevent things from gumming up. Run the carburetor bone dry too long and you’ll clog it. If you aren’t going to use the generator, keep the gas fresh or siphon it off.
Air Filter Maintenance and Intake Issues
A big reason for poor performance are air intake restrictions. For example, the R6800 requires a lot of air to burn fuel. When the air filter becomes dirty, it starves the engine, which then runs rich, fouling spark plugs.
You’ll experience harder starts, more smoke and other problem. Always inspect your filter at fill-up time. This simple measure will help ensure a correct air-fuel mixture.
A clean filter prolongs engine life and helps avoid fouled spark plugs. Don’t overlook the lowly air filter; it’s cheap insurance against dust and debris that can wear out your engine prematurely. Generally speaking, electrical tripping on generators is more user error than machine.
Circuit Breaker Tripping and Overloads
Good thing machines like the Ridgid R6800 has heavy duty circuit breakers. These is there for your protection as much as the generator’s. Too many appliances plugged in at once can cause an overload which may damages the coils inside.
But then the breaker shuts down. Do you need to reset? Yes.
However, you can avoid doing this by knowing what and how much you has plugged into it. Running watts and starting watts are not the same. Compressors and motors needs a surge to get going.
Avoid multiple resets and keep power flowing by planning ahead for your load. A fouled spark plug isn’t necessarily the culprit. If it’s wet (oily), there is an oil or fuel problem upstream.
Spark Plug Inspection and Replacement
Maybe the rings is worn so oil blows past them, or you have a stuck float and a rich mixture. At each oil change, check your plugs for condition and gap. The improper gap cause weak ignition, which in turn can lead to misfiring when running under load.
As part of preventive maintenance, replace plugs once per year. This costs little but could of save big with erratic engine performance. Not changing the plug may cover up a more serious mechanical issue, costing much more down the road.
Oil Levels and Viscosity Requirements
The oil is not negotiable. If your R6800 senses low oil at start up it will not run. That’s not a defect, that’s a safety feature.
Use the correct thickness of oil called out in the manual. Wrong oil = voided warranty = engine wear. Top it off when necessary.
Before each run check the dip stick. It takes thirty seconds to save the day from catastrophic engine failure. Bottom line: oil is vital to the health of an engine.
General Preventive Maintenance Checklist
There’s no magic to making any tool more reliable than the next, but there are some things that can be done to make your tools last longer in field or on the job. I have found that starting from the beginning works best. If it has spark and air and fuel, check all three of those before jumping to conclusions.
To solve these issues, start with the basics by checking the fuel, then the air, and then the spark. The Ridgid R6800 is made to take some abuse; it’s a tank. However, you do have to give it the common courtesy of taking care of it.
Clean it, put good gas in it and take care of the little things and it will takes care of you when you need it.