Lectron Carb Users Beware!

[FROGMAN524]

Almost blew up my house yesterday. I have a 2019 KTM 300 XC, last of the carbed KTMs, and it's got less than 20 hours on it since new. I installed a Lectron Mule H-Series 38mm carb on it September of 2019. It has been kept in my garage and had new fuel in it every 6 months or less whether it gets ridden or not. Yesterday morning as I was leaving to go to work, I opened my garage and a very strong smell of gasoline hit me square in the face. I turned on my iphone light to see what was going on as I did not want to turn on any electronics including the overhead lights for fear of causing a spark. With the iphone light as my guide, I discovered that almost 3 gallons of gas had leaked out of my dirt bike over night while we were sleeping and it turns out the carb bowl power valve vent line had broken while I slept, and because the float seat was bad, it let all of the fuel out as my petcock was on. I then cautiously opened the garage door and sprayed all of the fuel out with a hose and then scrubbed the entire garage and driveway with dawn dish soap. After getting everything clean and the fumes dissipated, I called Slavens racing and the guy that answered told me the same thing happened to him on his SmartCarb and that Lectron has since changed the design going internal with the power valve line on the new Lectron Billetron 38 carb, which I then ordered, along with all of the new vent lines and rebuild kit, so I can fix and sell this older Lectron if anyone is interested. Additionally, with the older Lectron you had to remove the stock throttle cam and cable, which I sold with the original Keihin carb, and thus had to order again from KTM Parts Pro.

We are very lucky my gas water heater in the garage did not ignite the fumes.

Here is the culprit:

Here is the new redesigned Billetron 38 with choke moved to the left side, idle and power valve screws on left side and power valve line internal.

 

[77charger]

Todays fuel also eat those lines too.

 

[rivrrts429]

Run AV gas or non-ethanol. Even my lawnmower has only had AV gas run through it.

 

[dread Pirate]

Ethanol has ruined more of my equipment than I have,,,,,

 

[JUSTWANNARACE]

Soo.. apparently no body told you that a Lectron carb is supposed to be stored dry because of the powerjet line and they also have a plastic float bowl!!

 

[Gelcoater]

I knew there was a reason my parents always drummed it into me to turn off the petcock.

 

[JUSTWANNARACE]

Run AV gas or non-ethanol. Even my lawnmower has only had AV gas run through it.

Good suggestion but will not help with storing a Lectron carb... they have 2 circuits.. a metering rod(not a needle) and a powerjet(from clippard that is actually an "air valve" for aviation). They do not have a pilot jet, main jet, air screw, ect.. and did I mention the float bowl is plastic? And the PJ lines are rubber(best to replace with "Viton" lines) jmo

 

[Gelcoater]

Run AV gas or non-ethanol. Even my lawnmower has only had AV gas run through it.

My lawn mower for years and years only got my left over 2 stroke premixed VP C-12, I want to say it’s close to 20 years old now.
Always hated mowing the lawn but at least when I did it “smelled” fun
We have fake grass now so I should probably think about dumping it.

The local mower and tractor service center in Woodcrest sells small cans of non ethanol fuel specifically for lawn mowers and gas engines stored long term.
Something I saw just a year or so ago.
I had no idea.

 

[JUSTWANNARACE]

My lawn mower for years and years only got my left over 2 stroke premixed VP C-12, I want to say it’s close to 20 years old now.
Always hated mowing the lawn but at least when I did it “smelled” fun
We have fake grass now so I should probably think about dumping it.

The local mower and tractor service center in Woodcrest sells small cans of non ethanol fuel specifically for lawn mowers and gas engines stored long term.
Something I saw just a year or so ago.
I had no idea.

Same here!! My lawnmower loves 110! I also have a weedeater I set up for Alcohol just to use my wife's left over fuel from her Drag Bike! The weedeater screams!! And yes they smell good!

 

[rivrrts429]

My lawn mower for years and years only got my left over 2 stroke premixed VP C-12, I want to say it’s close to 20 years old now.
Always hated mowing the lawn but at least when I did it “smelled” fun
We have fake grass now so I should probably think about dumping it.

The local mower and tractor service center in Woodcrest sells small cans of non ethanol fuel specifically for lawn mowers and gas engines stored long term.
Something I saw just a year or so ago.
I had no idea.

I use the two stroke non-ethanol stuff you buy at the store in my weed eater but it’s expensive there by the gallon when you do the math. Everything else four stroke and without an O2 sensor gets AvGas.

 

[rrrr]

It's incredibly fortunate that the gas didn't combine with oxygen to form the proper ratio for an explosive mix that the water heater could have ignited. Your home could have blown up when someone used hot water for a morning shower.

This should be an alert to everyone that has a mower or other gasoline powered stuff in their garage to replace those vinyl hoses when they become yellow and brittle.

 

[Racey]

Tygon or Masterkleer tubing won't harden from gasoline like normal PVC clear tubing.

 

[Gelcoater]

It's incredibly fortunate that the gas didn't combine with oxygen to form the proper ratio for an explosive mix that the water heater could have ignited. Your home could have blown up when someone used hot water for a morning shower.

This should be an alert to everyone that has a mower or other gasoline powered stuff in their garage to replace those vinyl hoses when they become yellow and brittle.

And make sure the fuel is turned off.
I try to run the Raptor that’s on pump gas out of gas usually before I stick it in the garage.
But making sure to properly replace fuel lines regularly is huge.

I experienced something similar to the op a few years ago.
Picked up an old CT 90 and tinkered on it and got it running after changing out the bad gas and a carb cleaning.

Some of you already know where I’m going with this, lol.
The new gas decomposed the fuel lines and on that model the petcock is built into the carb.
So about a half gallon of gas everywhere.
Had soaked into a couple pieces of ply wood leaning against a wall, into a couple throw rugs.
A real pain and real dangerous.

 

[brianwhiteboy]

Looks like I’m checking that my Lectron carb on the CR is totally empty when I get home!

But I always shutoff the gas and then run them till they shut off.

 

[Xstream]

I always close the petcock on my motorcycles and quads when I am done riding for the day.

 

[MK1MOD0]

Yep. I always run mine completely dry. Then shut off the petcock Damn fuels today.

 

[Kbach]

If anybody has one of these Lectrons laying around I’d be more than happy to store it in my garage on my CR so you don’t have to worry about it happening to you!

 

[81eliminator]

Almost blew up my house yesterday. I have a 2019 KTM 300 XC, last of the carbed KTMs, and it's got less than 20 hours on it since new. I installed a Lectron Mule H-Series 38mm carb on it September of 2019. It has been kept in my garage and had new fuel in it every 6 months or less whether it gets ridden or not. Yesterday morning as I was leaving to go to work, I opened my garage and a very strong smell of gasoline hit me square in the face. I turned on my iphone light to see what was going on as I did not want to turn on any electronics including the overhead lights for fear of causing a spark. With the iphone light as my guide, I discovered that almost 3 gallons of gas had leaked out of my dirt bike over night while we were sleeping and it turns out the carb bowl power valve vent line had broken while I slept, and because the float seat was bad, it let all of the fuel out as my petcock was on. I then cautiously opened the garage door and sprayed all of the fuel out with a hose and then scrubbed the entire garage and driveway with dawn dish soap. After getting everything clean and the fumes dissipated, I called Slavens racing and the guy that answered told me the same thing happened to him on his SmartCarb and that Lectron has since changed the design going internal with the power valve line on the new Lectron Billetron 38 carb, which I then ordered, along with all of the new vent lines and rebuild kit, so I can fix and sell this older Lectron if anyone is interested. Additionally, with the older Lectron you had to remove the stock throttle cam and cable, which I sold with the original Keihin carb, and thus had to order again from KTM Parts Pro.

We are very lucky my gas water heater in the garage did not ignite the fumes.

Here is the culprit:

View attachment 1146586

Here is the new redesigned Billetron 38 with choke moved to the left side, idle and power valve screws on left side and power valve line internal.
View attachment 1146587

Almost blew up my house yesterday. I have a 2019 KTM 300 XC, last of the carbed KTMs, and it's got less than 20 hours on it since new. I installed a Lectron Mule H-Series 38mm carb on it September of 2019. It has been kept in my garage and had new fuel in it every 6 months or less whether it gets ridden or not. Yesterday morning as I was leaving to go to work, I opened my garage and a very strong smell of gasoline hit me square in the face. I turned on my iphone light to see what was going on as I did not want to turn on any electronics including the overhead lights for fear of causing a spark. With the iphone light as my guide, I discovered that almost 3 gallons of gas had leaked out of my dirt bike over night while we were sleeping and it turns out the carb bowl power valve vent line had broken while I slept, and because the float seat was bad, it let all of the fuel out as my petcock was on. I then cautiously opened the garage door and sprayed all of the fuel out with a hose and then scrubbed the entire garage and driveway with dawn dish soap. After getting everything clean and the fumes dissipated, I called Slavens racing and the guy that answered told me the same thing happened to him on his SmartCarb and that Lectron has since changed the design going internal with the power valve line on the new Lectron Billetron 38 carb, which I then ordered, along with all of the new vent lines and rebuild kit, so I can fix and sell this older Lectron if anyone is interested. Additionally, with the older Lectron you had to remove the stock throttle cam and cable, which I sold with the original Keihin carb, and thus had to order again from KTM Parts Pro.

We are very lucky my gas water heater in the garage did not ignite the fumes.

Here is the culprit:

View attachment 1146586

Here is the new redesigned Billetron 38 with choke moved to the left side, idle and power valve screws on left side and power valve line internal.
View attachment 1146587

you should drain the gas from the tank and carb after exery ride unless you are riding again in a day or two.

 

[HST4ME]

Is this another I did everything wrong but it's not my fault thread?

 

[FROGMAN524]

Is this another I did everything wrong but it's not my fault thread?

No, it’s a warning to the 3 non-UTV/Speedcar owning, carbureted, 2-stroke dirt bike riding guys left on this site.

 

[Flying_Lavey]

This is one of the many reasons why I always shut off my fuel and run the float bowl dry.

 

[Flying_Lavey]

If anybody has one of these Lectrons laying around I’d be more than happy to store it in my garage on my CR so you don’t have to worry about it happening to you!

I was thinking the same thing. The five-hundy will keep it warm and safe.

 

[MK1MOD0]

No, it’s a warning to the 3 non-UTV/Speedcar owning, carbureted, 2-stroke dirt bike riding guys left on this site.

That be me

 

[$hot]

So let me get this right… you all like running your motors lean till the point of death to save a cheap carburetor rebuild?!?!

 

[sgtskidmark]

Lol, why do any of you not know to pull the plug on the bottom of the carb if it’s going to be stored, no need to run it dry and buy the way, @ shot most “bikes” nowadays are four strokes, no real need to worry about them getting “lean” for the short time it takes to run then dry.,…. It’s like saying if I run my Nordic on the trailer for a few moments after getting out of the lake I’ll burn up the impeller, been doing that for years without a problem.

 

[timstoy]

Years ago a friend of mines dad had a Suzuki 500 two stroke twin. My buddy took his dad’s Suzuki for a little joy ride without his knowledge.He did not turn off the peacocks off and somehow leaked out all the fuel in tank on the floor and the fumes ignited from the gas water heater in the garage. They were just coming home from dinner when the fire started and they put out the fire and saved the garage. The 500 and my buddies Honda 90 were totaled. Dad got a new Suzuki 750 two stroke water buffalo and my buddy was walking for awhile. His dad always turned the peacocks off! Busted!

 

[stokerwhore]

why does it seem like every time i see someone get a lectron a few months later i see them again and there's no lectron? not a fan. i do love me some non-ethanol fuel though. maybe a drive today with the fuel jugs is in order. i'm getting low.

 

[FROGMAN524]

There is no airport here to my knowledge where I can get Avgas in a jug but I guess I could drive to south phoenix and pick up some race fuel from Sunoco, as long I don't get killed going down there first.

I may also start ordering 54 gallon jugs of C9 or C12 from VP once we're in the new place and have some room.

 

[manxman]

I do plastic repair. For years , yamaha dirtbikes had a bad gas tank design that would stress fracture under minimum use. I fixed a ton of them by welding them.
Yamahas response to the poor design, Drain the fuel when not in use. Most plastics are not designed to indefinatly hold chemicals, including fuels. The fuel line on a Lectron looks like flexible vynal. This is only tolerant to certain chemicals, and only for a short period of time. If you own that type of carb, I would have extra fuel line and replace it seasonally. It will get hard and crack. Current fuel tanks in most vehicles are a dual lined PE and PP type of tank. It's kind of like secondary containment for when it fails. They are not designed to last forever. They are an expendable part.

 

[Nordie]

Yard equipment and toys get non ethanol fuel no matter what. It's just not worth the headache.

My wife bought me a pressure washer for Christmas, she bought what she could afford, it's a no frills chinesium one. So I went online and checked out the reviews and everyone was bitching about the carb and it not wanting to run. I put good oil in it, and have run ethanol free since day one, it starts first pull every single time.

It's the bad gas, and not the carb that messes everything up. We all know that ethanol attracts moisture.

 

[DLow]

There is no airport here to my knowledge where I can get Avgas in a jug but I guess I could drive to south phoenix and pick up some race fuel from Sunoco, as long I don't get killed going down there first.

I may also start ordering 54 gallon jugs of C9 or C12 from VP once we're in the new place and have some room.

Where in PHX are you?
Falcon Field in North Mesa sells AV to public… very easy. There is also an air park in north west Peoria that sells AV to public. They did a bunch of stuff with gliders. Been a couple years since I bought from there but was off of lake pleasant parkway IIRC.

 

[Ziggy]

So let me get this right… you all like running your motors lean till the point of death to save a cheap carburetor rebuild?!?!

I always use the bowl drain. Always. Petcock always off after each use no matter what, like putting on a helmet. Seen many overflow issues happen both after sitting for months or right after a ride.
If you make it a habit it'll just become instinctive.

 

[Flying_Lavey]

So let me get this right… you all like running your motors lean till the point of death to save a cheap carburetor rebuild?!?!

Idling along wont hurt a damn thing. It leans out for a VERY short period of time. I have never met a single person that has had an issue doing so.

 

[$hot]

Idling along wont hurt a damn thing. It leans out for a VERY short period of time. I have never met a single person that has had an issue doing so.

That’s like playing just the tip with a slut that has an std, probably not going to hurt…. Not going to take the risk

 

[Gelcoater]

Idling along wont hurt a damn thing. It leans out for a VERY short period of time. I have never met a single person that has had an issue doing so.

I don’t know anyone that has either, but I don’t run my 2 strokes dry like that.
I can understand the theory behind $hots post.
No fuel=no oil in the crank/rod bearings for a second or two.

Never gave a second thought on the 4 strokers.

 

[rivermobster]

No, it’s a warning to the 3 non-UTV/Speedcar owning, carbureted, 2-stroke dirt bike riding guys left on this site.

I don't care who you are...

 

[Flying_Lavey]

That’s like playing just the tip with a slut that has an std, probably not going to hurt…. Not going to take the risk

Nah.... plenty of cases of your example. Almost none of hurting a bearing running out the fuel at idle.

I don’t know anyone that has either, but I don’t run my 2 strokes dry like that.
I can understand the theory behind $hots post.
No fuel=no oil in the crank/rod bearings for a second or two.

Never gave a second thought on the 4 strokers.

Yeah, I understand the theory, but when was the last time you opened up a bottom end and it was dry?

 

[Nordie]

No, it’s a warning to the 3 non-UTV/Speedcar owning, carbureted, 2-stroke dirt bike riding guys left on this site.

The "I ride a 500cc 2 stoke" guys are just as bad, there's a small percentage of people that could actually ride that bike to its full potential.

 

[Gelcoater]

The "I ride a 500cc 2 stoke" guys are just as bad, there's a small percentage of people that could actually ride that bike to its full potential.

I’ve ridden 2 different CR500’s and a Husky 500 2 stroke
Way too much motorcycle for me.

 

[Nordie]

I’ve ridden 2 different CR500’s and a Husky 500 2 stroke
Way too much motorcycle for me.

1000% my stock 450 is more bike than I'm capable of using. Sure I can ride it, but not to what it's capable of.

Edit
Keeping on track, my motorcycle mechanic buddy swears by lectron carbs, I'm actually second guessing this now for my 450

 

[Xstream]

My cr500 has an airstriker carb on it

 

[white tortilla]

That’s like playing just the tip with a slut that has an std, probably not going to hurt…. Not going to take the risk

So whenever someone runs thier dirt bike out of gas, they are likely to blow up the motor? Cmon man. I get the thought process but it’s not happening.

 

[Bigbore500r]

It's incredibly fortunate that the gas didn't combine with oxygen to form the proper ratio for an explosive mix that the water heater could have ignited. Your home could have blown up when someone used hot water for a morning shower.

This should be an alert to everyone that has a mower or other gasoline powered stuff in their garage to replace those vinyl hoses when they become yellow and brittle.

The good news is - Gasoline vapor density is "heavier" than air and the fumes pool at floor level.

That's why natural gas water heaters are required to be installed 18" minimum off the floor, when installed inside homes and garages.

Still not good to chance it with a puddle of gas in the garage, but if this building code didn't exist you'd hear of hundreds of thoussands of garages blowing up every year, just from peoples shitboxes being parked in there!

 

[Nordie]

The good news is - Gasoline vapor density is "heavier" than air and the fumes pool at floor level.

That's why natural gas water heaters are required to be installed 18" minimum off the floor, when installed inside homes and garages.

Still not good to chance it with a puddle of gas in the garage, but if this building code didn't exist you'd hear of hundreds of thoussands of garages blowing up every year, just from peoples shitboxes being parked in there!

Thats literally why they call it a gas curb, and why you have to step up into your house from the garage.

 

[stokerwhore]

No, it’s a warning to the 3 non-UTV/Speedcar owning, carbureted, 2-stroke dirt bike riding guys left on this site.

go here:

Pure-gas.org - ethanol-free gasoline in the U.S. and Canada

Pure-gas.org is the definitive web site listing stations that sell pure gasoline in the U.S. and Canada.

www.pure-gas.org

click the AZ button

 

[stokerwhore]

paid 4.68 a gallon for 87 octaine ethanol free gas in Dewey, az today at the Maverick station

https://www.pure-gas.org/station/50013

 

[white tortilla]

I had a Lectron on my 2019 Husky 300. That with a RK Tek head it was a screamer, got better MPG. Lectron unfortunately is losing a good share of thier market with the Ktm and husky’s going to TPI. As stated earlier, turning off the petcock is good practice.

I actually have had two of these electric gas pumps malfunction and dumped 5 gallons of fuel into my garage overnight. Since then I pull the batteries out to be safe. Gas in the garage is kinda just a liability when stored in plastic jugs.

 

[FROGMAN524]

go here:

Pure-gas.org - ethanol-free gasoline in the U.S. and Canada

Pure-gas.org is the definitive web site listing stations that sell pure gasoline in the U.S. and Canada.

www.pure-gas.org

click the AZ button

I did and Sunoco in south Phoenix is what I was looking at.

 

[FROGMAN524]

Where in PHX are you?
Falcon Field in North Mesa sells AV to public… very easy. There is also an air park in north west Peoria that sells AV to public. They did a bunch of stuff with gliders. Been a couple years since I bought from there but was off of lake pleasant parkway IIRC.

North central/Norterra area

 

[stokerwhore]

I did and Sunoco in south Phoenix is what I was looking at.

12 bucks a gallon