# HSS1332 runs like crap, clean carb??



## btm (Dec 25, 2017)

Took my HSS1332ACTD in to Honda yesterday, to do some recalls before the warranty is up in a month. 

Last season, it ran pretty rough with the choke in all the way. I'd run it with the choke 1/4 pulled roughly and it was fine. 

The service guy, who seems to know these machines pretty well, says it's most likely the carb is dirty and just needs a cleaning. Honda won't cover that under warranty. No big deal.

I'm wondering, what should I be doing to clean the carb so this doesn't happen in the future?

I only run she'll vpower 91 octane in it, it has 0 ethanol. I don't do anything special to store it for the summer, should I?

Thx guys. 



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## ST1100A (Feb 7, 2015)

Honda's don't like high octane gas, they run better on regular or 87 octane.
When you are done running it, turn the fuel valve off and run the carb out of gas, or drain the carb before parking it, then just turn the fuel back on before you have to start it and run it again in the future.
You may have a clogged fuel jet. Ethanol or not, you still can get clogging, more so with non ethanol gasoline, believe it or not. Ethanol is a very powerful solvent.
Your clogging occurs when gasoline breaks down and causes oxidation/corrosion in the carb jet which blocks it.
Non Ethanol gasoline goes bad just as fast as Ethanol gasoline and stabilizers do not prevent oxidation of the metals found in the carburetor.
Stabilizers only slow the evaporation of the highly volatile components in gasoline, the stuff that ignites and burns easily.
Some good fuel stabilizer's will have anti-oxidants in them, but not all, plus anti metals.
When gasoline is refined, it picks up metals found in the metal piping at the refinery and dissolves the metals into the gasoline, then when the fuel breaks down from storage, the metal is released and emulsifies itself and forms deposits in your fuel system, clogging your jets and leaving deposits in the fuel bowl of the carburetor.


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## Miles (Sep 16, 2016)

Yes, turning off the fuel valve and running the carb out of gas is important for continued good running. I turn off the fuel valve and run it dry every time and have not had a problem in three seasons so far with the Honda.


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## tabora (Mar 1, 2017)

btm said:


> Last season, it ran pretty rough with the choke in all the way. I'd run it with the choke 1/4 pulled roughly and it was fine.


What's your elevation? At sea level, switch to the #110 jet when you're cleaning the carb. If up a few hundred feet, use a #108. If up 4000', use a #105. Should run fine with no choke when the weather is cold enough for snow...


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## btm (Dec 25, 2017)

I'm putting in a 108 jet. I'm up roughly 300 feet. 

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## JnC (Feb 21, 2014)

#108 jet will help, at the same time a good carb cleanup wont hurt. Earlier this year I helped a local guy with his brand new honda lawn mower that was running rough, the idle jet was clogged. When cleaning the carb make sure to pay attention to the idle jet.


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

ST1100A said:


> Honda's don't like high octane gas, they run better on regular or 87 octane.
> When you are done running it, turn the fuel valve off and run the carb out of gas, or drain the carb before parking it, then just turn the fuel back on before you have to start it and run it again in the future.
> You may have a clogged fuel jet. Ethanol or not, you still can get clogging, more so with non ethanol gasoline, believe it or not. Ethanol is a very powerful solvent.
> Your clogging occurs when gasoline breaks down and causes oxidation/corrosion in the carb jet which blocks it.
> ...


Honda's don't like high octane gas? 
Since i have been using high octane ethanol free gas in my blowers and mowers they have been running so much better. Just my experience opening up hundreds of carbs that ethanol is terrible for them, The carbs I open up that have used E Free gas are nearly spotless.

Ethanol may be an excellent solvent but will eventually dissolve parts in your fuel system that will clog it. It also attracts water which settles down to bottom of your fuel tank and carb bowl causing rust and corossion.

I agree with Tabora. the right jet after a carb cleaning will solve your problem.

BTW I prefer Chevron over anything else. When the temp falls below zero around here Chevron is the only gas station in town that can keep pumping. All the other stations are froze up.


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

tabora said:


> What's your elevation? At sea level, switch to the #110 jet when you're cleaning the carb. If up a few hundred feet, use a #108. If up 4000', use a #105. Should run fine with no choke when the weather is cold enough for snow...


what jet would you use at 6000 feet? is there a formula for this?


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## ST1100A (Feb 7, 2015)

orangputeh said:


> Honda's don't like high octane gas?
> Since i have been using high octane ethanol free gas in my blowers and mowers they have been running so much better. Just my experience opening up hundreds of carbs that ethanol is terrible for them, The carbs I open up that have used E Free gas are nearly spotless.
> 
> Ethanol may be an excellent solvent but will eventually dissolve parts in your fuel system that will clog it. It also attracts water which settles down to bottom of your fuel tank and carb bowl causing rust and corossion.
> ...


Hi OP, yes Honda designed their engines to be run on the low octane regular gas. I did notice the difference with easier starting, more power, smoother idling and better fuel economy by using regular gas in them, not just power equipment engines, but also the motorcycle engines and automobiles. Hard to believe, but we noticed it over the past 30 plus years.
The Ethanol does cause corrosion in the older carbs and deterioration of gaskets and rubbers in the older ones also, but most of the newer carbs are built with components that are designed to withstand the Ethanol effects.
The one problem that still remains is the water problems, so keep your tanks full and sealed.
One thing we did notice with the Ethanol gas was having less "Varnish" deposits, but a little bit more "Salt" type deposits caused by the corrosion and the "Metals" in the gasoline from the distillation process at the refinery.
The "Varnish" used to be the number one cause of blocked jets, now its the "Salts" that are causing most of the clogging for us here.
I don't like Ethanol either, as we have almost no places to buy Non Ethanol fuel around here unless you buy it in the Pre-Packaged cans at over $10 a gallon, thanks to our government and the EPA controlling the price of corn that the farmers are allowed to charge for it. They did that so the farmers will have more of a market for their corn to make money off of.
Ethanol is the number one cause of "Greenhouse Gasses" that there is. It produces a lot of carbon dioxide when it burns, and also to produce it.
We have a lot of other chemicals in gasoline now that also create a lot of the problems in fuel systems besides the Ethanol that we blame everything on. I did read a good article about that somewhere, it was very interesting.
We used to have Chevron stations around here and I liked the fuel they had, but we don't have them around me anymore. Some of the different fuel stations are probably selling the same gasoline but under a different name, they all come from the same refineries, just under different brand names now.
If I absolutely have to, I go to the airport and get Aviation gasoline, it is only a few cents more a gallon than pump gas around here now, and the AV Gas doesn't have the Ethanol and has more detergents in it, burns cleaner, but makes engines harder to start from the high octane in it.
Another thing we did notice with using Ethanol gasoline was less carbon buildup in the combustion chamber and on the vavle stems because the Ethanol is also used as an "Oxygenator" to help add more oxygen to the fuel to make it burn better and cleaner by making it burn more complete before it leaves the combustion chamber and out the exhaust system.


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## tabora (Mar 1, 2017)

orangputeh said:


> what jet would you use at 6000 feet? is there a formula for this?


 Not so much a formula as accumulated feedback from other HSS1332 owners who have re-jetted (or not):

GX390:


 Up to 500’ - #110
 500’ to 3000’ - #108
 3000’ to 6000’ - #105
 6000’+ - #102 stock
And for the GX270:


 Up to 500’ - #92
 500’ to 3000’ - #90
 3000’ to 6000’ - #88
 6000’+ - #85 stock


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

ST1100A said:


> Hi OP, yes Honda designed their engines to be run on the low octane regular gas. I did notice the difference with easier starting, more power, smoother idling and better fuel economy by using regular gas in them, not just power equipment engines, but also the motorcycle engines and automobiles. Hard to believe, but we noticed it over the past 30 plus years.
> The Ethanol does cause corrosion in the older carbs and deterioration of gaskets and rubbers in the older ones also, but most of the newer carbs are built with components that are designed to withstand the Ethanol effects.
> The one problem that still remains is the water problems, so keep your tanks full and sealed.
> One thing we did notice with the Ethanol gas was having less "Varnish" deposits, but a little bit more "Salt" type deposits caused by the corrosion and the "Metals" in the gasoline from the distillation process at the refinery.
> ...


Thanks for clarifying. I like learning new things everyday and this is the place to do it.


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

tabora said:


> Not so much a formula as accumulated feedback from other HSS1332 owners who have re-jetted (or not):
> 
> GX390:
> 
> ...


thanks. valuable info. I have a feeling this is going to be a much asked question this winter as have noticed more people are buying new Honda's than ever before. I think people were on the fence as I was for the first year or so to see how the new models panned out. Now that they have addresses a couple early issues people have more confidence.


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## Aviator (Nov 17, 2018)

I live at 7800'. My Denver dealer would not take my money to put Honda's high altitude jet in my machine when I bought it. He suggested I run it first and only change jets If I was running rich. Good advice.

Since everyone on this forum is switching to richer jets, I left mine alone. Doing the math with Honda's high altitude chart, I got the equivalent of swapping to a correct richer jet by leaving it stock. Runs great. Not too rich at all. And the EPA cannot accuse me of tampering with emission controls. 

That was the long answer to OP's question. Short answer: at 6000' msl, stick with the stock jet unless you see signs of running rich.


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