# What are the green specks in my carb bowl?



## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

i have a honda that has only been used about 10 hours and it would not start after sitting for about 5 years.

drained gas .....it was dirty yellow. drained carb . cleaned out carb and when i checked the bowl it was super clean except for some green specks.

put fresh gas in and turned on gas with bowl off to let it drain any remnants of bad gas. put bowl on and started it up pretty easily.

ran it low idle , fast throttle , back and forth , and it runs pretty good. shut it off and tried starting it and it took 2 pulls.

did this about 12 times and most times it took 2 pulls, sometimes it took only one pull. runs good.

BUT....I took bowl off and there were just a few GREEN specks in the bowl.

Should i be concerned? what do you all think it could be? I am going to run it pretty good tomorrow and keep taking the bowl off and see if i can clean this green stuff out.

Now , remember, this is a machine with about only 10 hours on it. But it has been sitting for about 5 years.

Did something deteriorate in that time? I have taken a Honda carb apart before and don't remember anything green. This has me stumped.


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

Whatever it is.. it's in your gas tank and/or the filter

Need to drain the tank and then find a way to clean it out.
Turkey baster?
Pour gas through it and let it go straight to a bucket?
do whatever it takes to get that tank free of the specks

Also.. just in case.. remove any gas filter and clean it because the specks will be there too
Probably full of them and letting them through slowly
May even need a better filter to avoid that

I have no idea what happens to gas if you put it in a tank and leave it for 5 years
I can imagine all kinds of stuff precipitating out or reacting with the tank lining etc etc
$0.02


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## nwcove (Mar 2, 2015)

from my experience, that is nothing abnormal for fuel sitting for even shorter lengths of time. replace the filter , run a tank of fuel fuel through it, then replace the filter again, you should be fine.


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

*more than likey it is from the lining of the tank that is flaking off.*


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Honda is a different creature since it likely has a metal tank and instead of running it dry at the end of a season I would more likely leave it full but add Marine Sta-bil to it. It is what I do to my Honda powered pressure washer. At the beginning of the season I'll empty the fuel out and put it in the car to burn and use fresh in the power equipment. That works for me but I'd recommend replacing the filter on yours also.


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## leonz (Dec 12, 2014)

*sick honda*



orangputeh said:


> i have a honda that has only been used about 10 hours and it would not start after sitting for about 5 years.
> 
> drained gas .....it was dirty yellow. drained carb . cleaned out carb and when i checked the bowl it was super clean except for some green specks.
> 
> ...


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I would empty the tank and then take it off and pour some peroxide or isopropyl alcohol in it to clean the tank 
after you pull the old screen out and while your at it replace the filter screen in the base of the tank and then put it back together. 
I would then soak the carburater in hydrogen peroxide and use a rebuild kit for the carburater or install a new carburater.


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

the inside of the tank looks pristine . i emptied the bowl again and cleaned it . put new fresh gas in again and ran it for 15-20 minutes running it all around from low to high over and over again.

checked the bowl and nothing. starts first pull everytime . so i think i just got lucky. don't think i have to rebuild the carb. I thought something deteriorated in the carb from sitting for 5 years. maybe so but it does run and start OK now.

thanks everyone again for their input. if anything else happens I'll post about it.


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## tinter (Apr 20, 2014)

I wouldn't worry, sounds like you did all the right things. I had the same issue with my Honda lawnmower, green specs in the gas after sitting, chalked it up to broken down fuel. Haven't had any issues since.


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