I have the HM100 159402P engine in a Powermate 5000 genset. It's maybe 20 years old now but has very low running hours. It's always been hard to start (10 or 15+ pulls), only way I've lived with it was to remove the plug and put a little gas into the piston and then start it. It has always performed well when loaded but does require just a bit of choke to keep it from surging at no load (no adjustments on this carb). I've checked the carb (5165 series) float and it may be just a hair higher than spec but I'd think that should help and not hurt the starting problem. I'm getting to old now to do all the screwing around to get this thing to run, so I'm looking for recommendations; 1. Replace the carb and hope that helps? 2. By a flywheel with a ring gear and add a starter? 3. Put some 'mechanic in bottle' in the gas and run it for awhile to see if that helps somehow? Since it's been hard to start since day one I wonder if anyone has one of these engines that actually starts easily.

I put new fuel lines and a new fuel filter on my 10HP MAXA 5000 generator. The fuel filter is the clear plastic type with a little paper type filter (got it at a yard equipment service center... they said it's a standard replacement). Now the question: With the fuel valve open there's barely a trickle going into the filter. With the engine running at no load, there's barely any fuel level in the filter (I have it so it's a vertical drop from the tank). With the engine at a 1350W load the fuel barely keeps up (occasional engine miss). With the engine at a 2700W load the fuel doesn't really keep up (lots of engine miss). Suspected clogged filter in the fuel tank.. I basically poked the screen out leaving nothing but a hole to the shutoff valve, (no apparent difference). Removed the shutoff valve valve stem and verified no blockage to the fuel line. What am I missing here???