Archived from the Tools In Action forum (Dewalt). This thread is read-only.
New wheelbarrow compressor with less than 2 hours operating run time won’t start. Stays in bed of my truck for job sites. Gas turned bad during heat of summer and I unknowingly ran it for a few minutes. Smelled it and shut it off. Drained and added fresh gas. Fast forward 2 weeks and I ran it for a few minutes in the morning to air up a tire. Ran great, started first pull. Tried starting it again the same afternoon and nothing. Got it home, drained gas again, replaced spark plug after verifying spark, checked oil level, pulled apart carb and cleaned thoroughly (jets, etc), tried starting with oil level sensor disconnected, and nothing. Removed valve cover and found one valve stuck. Soaked with carb cleaner and worked it free. Observed it moving freely while cranking. It started and ran fine. Shut it off. Tried starting it again after 10 minutes and nothing. Checked valve again and it’s free. All I get once in a while is a small backfire, but I think that might be from trying starting fluid. This CA crap gas turns to varnish real quick, but everything is pristine in the carb and gas is flowing as it should. Has spark. I’m stumped! Any input is greatly appreciated.