Ethanol fuel and outdoor power equipment.

Fuel issue's are the number one problem we see coming into our shop. When ethanol fuel was first introduced into our market I was concerned, but felt some confidence in the message we were getting from the engine manufacturer's. Every single engine manufacturer we work with stated their engines were E10 ethanol safe.

It didn't take long for us to suspect there may be some problems (wanna' save yourself some reading, watch the video we just posted here).

The first issue we had was with a generator repair. Gasoline powered generators have always had fuel issue's. They typically sit for far longer periods than most power equipment. This one came to us with a fouled fuel system. We did our typical fuel system cleaning and repair, tested the machine, then the owner took it home. 

About 90 days later he tried to use it. It ran but poorly. Irritated he brought it back to us and we assured him we'd rectify any fuel related issue's no charge. 

We found that the fuel in the tank had gone bad already! We cleaned it all out again, and sent it out once again. And then the next one came back.... and the next. At this point we're taking a lot of heat and really not enjoying it. 

Time for further investigation. We contacted a fuel treatment supplier and asked what their experience was. They stated their product would double the shelf life of fuel, which was enough to satisfy most fuel requirements. This was when fuel would last 6 month's to a year. Now the shelf life was as short as 30 days, so doubling it may give you 60.

Addidtionally parts were failing. Fuel filters would melt, the fuel shut off needle in the carburetor would get sticky and stick shut, fule lines and primmer bulbs were failing. 

We ran two tests at our facility. One was to simply pour some fuel into a clean while 5 gallon bucket and let it sit. Within one week the ethanol started seperating from the fuel and settling in the bottom of the container. This means if your law mower didn't get shaken well enough before you tried to start it, it was getting pure ethanol instead of mixed. If it ran at all it would run very poorly. The second test was to put a short piece of new fule line into a beacker filled with ethanol fuel. By the end of just day one there was visible expansion indicating the ethanol was attacking the rubber.

Today things are better. They are using products other than buytl in rubber which has alleviated many of the part failures. It still goes bad faster, and still attacks the fuel lines in a lot of equipment out there. 

Do yourself a favor, buy the non-ethanol fuel from a locally owned fuel station (most nationally owned stations don't have non-ethanol available). Buy only as much fuel as you estimate you'll use in a month, add a good fuel stabilzer to it. 

-Tim-

Winter power equipment storage tips

So none of us like the thought, but whether we like it or not winter is on us, and chances are you're about done with most of you power equipment for the year. Here are some tips we recommend for making sure your equipment is still functioning when you break it out next Spring.

• Riding lawn mowers - We don't like to see equipment stored with old oil in it. There is a lot of nasty stuff in there like metal particles that can create corrosion when resting against dissimilar metals over time. Start the machine up, let it get warm, drain the old oil out and put new in. Put a battery tender on it. We all mean to start our mower and let it warm up and recharge once a month but never do. If you have a slow leak tire put a block of wood under the axle, sitting with the rim against the tire all winter isn't good for it. Clean all the debris from on top of and under the mower deck, that grass and dirt retain moisture and is corrosive over time, we've seen a lot of badly rusted decks because of this. Either run the fuel out of it, or get good non-ethanol fuel mixed with a fuel stabilizer and fill it completely (remember to run it for a few minutes after to get the good fuel all the way through the system).
• Walk behind lawn mowers - Change oil, clean under deck, run fuel out of it, or fill completely with non-ethanol fuel mixed with fuel stabilizer (remember to run it for a few minutes after filling to get the good fuel all the way through the system).
• Pressure washers - Get all of the water out! You don't want any moisture in there to freeze, it does really bad things. Another option is to get (we recommend potable) antifreeze into it, or we sell a kit that puts it into the pump via an aerosol can. Change the oil. Either run the fuel out of it, or get good non-ethanol fuel mixed with a fuel stabilizer and fill it completely (remember to run it for a few minutes after to get the good fuel all the way through the system).
• Paint Sprayers - What is in the pump now? If you rinsed out the paint with water and left it, now is the time to put mineral spirits into the whole system including the gun and hose. Manufacturers are no longer warrantying damage due to freezing. One of the first components typically damaged is the pressure sensor also called a transducer. On electric powered computerized paint sprayers (most commercial grade electric paint sprayers are now controlled by a small onboard computer) this part is very expensive, and they will require we send them the part to analyze before approving a warranty claim. If your sprayer is gas powered, apply the same info. from "walk behind mowers" above to the motor.

Have a piece of equipment not listed that you'd like to know more about? Send me an email or post it to one of our Facebook pages and I'll see what we can come up with for you! 

-Tim-

Now offering a broader mower lineup!

See the new mower lineup at our Open House tomorrow!

     There are some changes coming, we're adding Ariens and Gravely mowers to our line-up! This broadens our mower line into the more affordable market. We're still offering the Exmark line for those seeking the best money can buy. Additionally, we're going to move our mower parts and repair focus to just these three brands. We've been trying to help keep a broad range of mowers going, but the time has come to offer better service on a few brands, and eliminate the challenge of trying to maintain parts inventory and the service knowledge  tools and training required to service them all. We'd prefer to be great at a few versus mediocre at them all.
     This is all part of our conscious effort to be "subtractive" this year. We feel this will enable us to provide a better experience for our customers and employee's alike. This has no effect on our contractor and industrial equipment repair other than to possibly speed things up through the shop.

Update #5

The radio ads should be live today. Two 30 sec. generic event descriptions and 5, 15sec. "update" spots featuring the names of those who will be participating. These 15 sec. ads will roll through one at a time so they all get equal air time. Here is the event flyer!

Update #4

Momentum continues to build! We are now up to more than 25 expert participants that are going to join together to help folks with their home and facilities improvement projects! I'll try to go through today to make sure we have everyone listed here, the most recent additions coming to mind are American Home Lending (Sandy is great!) and Harrison Hardware from the Winston area. I'll put a link up soon to our flier also.
-Tim-

Update #3

Well we're certainly going to have an event! We're up to well over 20 different experts confirmed for our open house. New today;
Long's Building Supply
Superior Drywall
Wintergreen Nursery
Black Pearl Seal Coating
Prestige Pest Control

Ever wonder what it looks like in the recording booth with Rob at Sam FM? Here's a short video of some work we were doing this week. In the recording booth.

Open house update #2

The momentum is building fast! I recorded 3 ads at the radio station today, they should be on air starting perhaps as soon as Monday. Commitments so far include;
Colorcraft Paint & Wallpaper
Umpqua Sand & Gravel
A Banker (details to follow)
Realtor (again, details to follow)
Carson Plumbing
Great Norther Trailers
Certified Home inspector
Umpqua Valley Home Builders
Absolutely Clean Carpet Cleaning
Clint Hatfield with his CAD truck (specialty landscape delivery, he can place the material strategically)
Hotsy - Industrial Pressure Washers and Steam Cleaners
Gravely and Areins mowers and turf equipment

We're working on more, and anticipate that there will be many more coming on board. I'll keep you posted here!

Open House update!

Things are coming together quickly! We're very happy with the response from folks who are going to participate by showcasing their wares. We'll be advertising it on the radio soon, and we're holding off identifying who's confirmed just yet. I'll update here first, so stay tuned :)

April 6th, 2013 - Open house!

We're announcing it here first, you'll get to hear the good and the bad! Our goal is to create an event focused on getting things done. The busy season is just around the corner, and we want to be able to help you make the most of it.

My ambitions are high. I'd like to bring all the people necessary to take your project or challenges to success in one place for the day. From conception to completion, I'd like to have any resource necessary onsite. Whether a realtor, appraiser, Draftsperson/engineer, contractors, materials vendors, banker, equipment operators, and of course for do-it-yourselfers, our equipment and knowledgeable folks to train on how to use it most efficiently. We want to help you go from thinking about it, to admiring the finished product!

Our challenges as of today are; bringing in all of the support vendors, we hope to be able to share the vision with them. Marketing the event, with just 6 weeks to pull this off, it is going to be challenging! Site prep., I'm always striving to make tomorrow a better experience than today, that includes making our surroundings as pleasing as possible. Cleaning and painting are long overdue for some of our planters, parking curbs etc., Hopefully we can make time to get things looking their best for the event.

Getting some work done with a Hotsy hot water pressure washer, check out that carpet!

Cleaning outdoor carpet with a Hotsy hot water pressure washer.

An easy 300+ jobs in Douglas County

Want to learn more about how you can help to create an easy 300+ jobs in Douglas County? No infrastructure needed, no "Big Business" to lure in, no political bickering. Its easier than you think! I'd welcome any constructive feedback you may have. Many times the best answer is the easiest, I think you'll agree, this is something we CAN do. At nearly 20 minute's long, this takes a little time, but if you'll watch this video you can see just how easy it could be. Click the link below.

Video - How YOU can make a difference!

Tim recording the latest radio ad.

Want a behind the scene's look?

Thanks to the folks at Brooke Communication!  Check out

Customer centered changes at Tim Allen Equipment

You the customer are always front of mind at Tim Allen Equipment and our DBA Roseburg Rental. Currently we're in the process of implementing a rewards program that may be a first in the industry. When we first made the push to increase our rental equipment inventory after all of the nationwide chains left town we had a number of contractors and industrial customers asking us about "contractor discounts". We're pleased to say we've come up with a program that is arguable more fair than "contractor discounts".
The new program recognizes the customers who are doing the most business with us rather than an arbitrary "sic" code or market segment. In addition to offering discounts for everyone on rentals, the program also includes money spent on equipment repairs toward the rental discounts. What this means is that if you own much of your own equipment, and only rent occasionally, the repair or maintenance work you have us perform will go toward earning you a discount on future rentals.
For more details on the program call us at 541-492-RENT (7368).

Hotsy vs. Courageous Carl (another funny video).

Echo equipment TSA spoof ad, hilarious!

How you can help create over 300 new jobs in Douglas County.

   For those that might be able to make it, I'm doing a presentation at the Tri-City Lions Club this evening. In it I'm going to show how a small shift in spending habits can have a profound effect on our local economy. When we add up all of the commerce in Douglas County excluding public spending, there is over $3.7B. I'm going to show how we can leverage that money into more than 300 jobs. No Politics, no infrastructure spending, no waiting. This is something we can do today!

What a storm it was in Douglas County!

    Well it certainly was a windy cold one. Many are still without power, we rented every generator we have, and fixed at least a helf dozen others for the owners who had them but couldn't get them started. I thought it might be nice to discuss some of the generator options out there.

   When it comes to choosing a generator, there's really a lot that goes into getting it right. Some things to ask yourself are;

• What are you going to want to power with it? Most crucial are typically a well pump for water. Some lights for safety, especally if there are kids in the house. Refridgerator and freezer to keep food from spoiling.
• The things that help keep life somewhat normal are computers for communication, TV to keep the kids calm, and heat can be nice. Heat is a real power hog, it isn't too hard to run a circulation system, it is creating the actual heat thats the hard part. Gas stoves, pellet stoves, wood heat, oil stoves are all examples of heat sources you could run off of a typical mid sized portable generator, though you wouldn't have a lot of power for anything else while some of these options were running.
• Other handy circuits are; the garage door opener, water heater (again a power hog, but its nice to be able to take a warm shower).
• Do you want the generator to be automatic? Should it start itself and transfer power away from the power lines which is critical for the safety of the lineman working to repair your power lines? Should the fuel source be regular gasoline, propane or natural gas? Unless your running your generator frequently, gasoline powered generators tend to have the fuel go bad, and not work when you need them.

   Once you know the answers to these questions you can quickly narrow down your choices. If your looking for the most inexpensive method, a portable gas generator, appropriately sized can work. Plan on frequently running the generator to keep the fuel fresh, and running the appropriate sized extension cords to your appliances when the time comes to use it. The more significantly dependable method is a permenant standby generator. These systems can be professionally installed, and run either just the basics or nearly a whole home depending on size. The more common systems will exercise themselves as scheduled once a week, and run off either natural gas, which has an endless supply as long as the gas infastructure is functioning, or propane which is stored in a container on site. Container size dictates how long the generator will run.

   Tim Allen Equipment is an authorized Kohler Home Generator Dealer, we'd be glad to discuss how a standby generator can bring some peace of mind for your household. We're also able to perform service and repairs on most other gas or propane powered generators either at your site or in house.