I generally like Ace Hardware because their staff is typically friendly and helpful and I can get in and out quickly. So when my Honda generator wasn't making power, I was glad to find that the nearby S&S Ace Hardware in Buford would service them. I performed some basic checks - air filter clean, oil clean and full, and spark plug wasn't fouled. Unsurprising since the generator has less than 10 running hours. I was too busy to dig further so I decided to drop it off. On my way out the door, I paid a $50 deposit.
A text came a few days later saying that the generator was ready to be picked up, When I arrived, it surprised me that the bill was over $200. It turns out that water was in the carb and the S&S service department claimed the carb needed replacement. The first red flag was on my way to the counter to pay, I noticed the receipt claimed only a $30 deposit had been made. Honest mistake? I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. However this demonstrates sloppiness and a lack of communication. The cashier did fix the mistake when I brought the error to their attention. If I hadn't caught the mistake, would they have notified me?
Since they were sloppy with the amount of the deposit, what else did they miss? I went to the back to pick it up, at this time the generator was started. Ok, it runs, but it also ran when I brought it in. The problem was the generator wasn't making power. So it wasn't clear what starting and idling with no load was supposed to show. At this point I made sure they gave me the old carb.
I get the old carb home and start digging in. Immediately a bunch of fuel mixed with water dumped onto my workbench. So it was clear they hadn't performed a single check on the old carb to see if it actually needed to be replaced. The effort to do so would have been minimal. It would have have been a quick check to remove the bolt, drain the small amount of fuel in the carb, wipe the bowl out to remove any loose debris, and test with fresh fuel. The owner's manual even describes the process to drain the fuel from the carb, a very simple process. No more extra effort would have been needed on their part.
I returned to their service counter to ask why they didn't bother testing and the carb appeared to be ok. The service guy took the old carb to the back to take drain bolt out. It took him less than 30 seconds to return. Besides some superficial surface corrosion at the bottom of the bowl, the float and and carb jets showed no discoloration, blockage, or damage.
When I asked the service guy about why the original carb wasn't checked, his response was that the labor cost would have been doubled. Excuse me? He had just demonstrated how quickly the carb could have been drained and checked. I was tempted to ask if this was how he serviced his own equipment, but I didn't feel like reasoning with the guy any further.
Lessons learned? Double check your deposit amount before paying the bill if you have any service work performed there. Don't expect them to do right for you and actually troubleshoot without wanting to excessively jack up the cost. And, if you take a Honda EU 2200i generator camping, be sure to bring it inside your tent/camper if their is any chance of rain. Apparently the fuel cap is not waterproof - one more thing they missed in their explanation of the problem.
Why two stars instead of one? I'm assuming S&S Ace Hardware actually tested the generator under load and the original problem is fixed. If it turns out that the problem remains, I'll take the time myself to understand what's going on rather than dealing with this particular Ace Hardware again. read more