Buying Advice Aurora Silent Diesel Generator

   / Aurora Silent Diesel Generator
  • Thread Starter
#61  
Rayko thanks for the input on your genny. Got some sound tips for breaking in a genny. If im going to buy a new genny im leaning toward a diesel one. And welcome to the TBN.

crazyall thanks for your input on the well distance. I think im going to get somebody to recur the whole two meter thing and have one for all my electrical needs.
 
   / Aurora Silent Diesel Generator #62  
From what I can ascertain, HF and NT edits all reviews before posting.......:)

HF offers a nice Detroit Diesel (3-71) genset for I think, 4 grand.

Correction, 5 grand ($4999) and you'd better at least OFFER some of it's power to your neighbors or they will be planning sabotage after the first 5 minutes it is running!

20 KW Generator

Notice they are "reconditioned", DDA has not built a "new" 2-stroke engine in many years, almost 10 I think.
 
   / Aurora Silent Diesel Generator #63  
Correction, 5 grand ($4999) and you'd better at least OFFER some of it's power to your neighbors or they will be planning sabotage after the first 5 minutes it is running!

20 KW Generator

Notice they are "reconditioned", DDA has not built a "new" 2-stroke engine in many years, almost 10 I think.


Years ago I had two of these 3 71 20kw gensets on a tug, swapped them out every 24 hrs, one of them was always running 24hrs/365 days a year. Fuel wasn't an issue as it is today. Nothing quiet about them but these were much preferred over the 2 71 20kw 1800 rpm model much more noise and shorter life between rebuilds.
 
   / Aurora Silent Diesel Generator #64  
These Aurora's seem like nice units, that are at an attractive pricepoint.

The liquid cooled ones are rated at 10,000 hours. Any idea how many hours you would get out of an air cooled? 5,000 hours maybe?
 
   / Aurora Silent Diesel Generator #65  
My 2006 Aurora 6500 generator let me down after running for 5 hours (60 hours total). It was VERY hot, and some of the rubber inside the case was smoking. No, the oil pressure lamp was NOT lighted.

I called Aurora and talked with Ron. He pointed out that a malfunctioning fuel pump solenoid will lean the mix, make the generator run hot, and eventually cause the generator to shut-down.

Aurora has always answered the phone and had the parts, so I'm very grateful for that! I'm going to suit up and take a look at the fuel pump now to see if I can get it running today.

Update 7/27/2012

The generator was installed on a pedestal for easy of changing the oil and accessing the front panel. I just put in a chain hoist to make it easier to remove and replace for servicing.

Ron has been great with phone support, and I'll be doing an overdue groom on the engine this weekend, with the hope of finding what went wrong. I've been running it without enough load for many years, so I'm inclined to think that the problem is related to that. A load bank may be in the future.
 
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   / Aurora Silent Diesel Generator #66  
Air cooled units will likely get a quarter (or less) of the service life of a liquid cooled unit. Generators are expensive no matter how you look at them. I think our Amish neighbors must consider us crazy!

These Aurora's seem like nice units, that are at an attractive pricepoint.

The liquid cooled ones are rated at 10,000 hours. Any idea how many hours you would get out of an air cooled? 5,000 hours maybe?
 
   / Aurora Silent Diesel Generator #67  
Air cooled units will likely get a quarter (or less) of the service life of a liquid cooled unit. Generators are expensive no matter how you look at them. I think our Amish neighbors must consider us crazy!

Is this generator going to be used for continuous service or just emergency or occasional use? If just the later even 500 hours will last you many years or even decades.
 
   / Aurora Silent Diesel Generator #68  
Is this generator going to be used for continuous service or just emergency or occasional use? If just the later even 500 hours will last you many years or even decades.

I agree! Our generator really only logs about 12 hours a year. If you're going for continuous service, be sure to match to your load or you'll have troubles with carbon build up. I just ordered a 240V space heater to act as a test load bank and supplemental load since our generator doesn't really get loaded until everything is on (including the water pump). TPI Corp. electric space heater model H474TMC 4000 watt heavy duty 240 volt | eBay is an affordable load bank with 2kw/4kw settings.
 
   / Aurora Silent Diesel Generator #69  
This is an update to my post from yesterday.

I pulled the injector and found it hopelessly fouled with carbon. This is a 6.5kw generator running with less than 1kw of load unless the water pump turns on. The years of running it practically unloaded were hard on it, and it's cheaper to replace the injector than to waste the time trying to clean it right now.

I also ordered a 2kw/4kw 240V space heater to use as a load bank for testing or to bring up the load when demand is low. TPI Corp. electric space heater model H474TMC 4000 watt heavy duty 240 volt | eBay This is very affordable, and I'll just dump the heat outside when we don't need it inside. (The generator already does a great job of heating the garage...)

I also ordered a pair of current transformers (CT) and meters to put in my auxilliary power panel so that I can look at the load at a glance. Rectangle Analog AMP Meter AC 50A + Current Transformer | eBay Let's hear it for Coast Guard training on power systems! I expect that I'll put the 2kw load on frequently to keep the generator above 25% of capacity. I'll need to cycle the water pump to see how much head room will be left over for that.

Bottom line: No complaints what so ever about Aurora Generators!

Here's a link to a very short video of what you see when your injector is clogged:

Clogged generator injector operation while cranking - YouTube

And here's what the injector SHOULD look like when your cranking the engine:

Diesel Generator - Fuel Injector - YouTube

Here's a very nice video on how the injector works. Aurora Generators use hole-type injectors, and you get an idea of why you don't want your skin near the injector when it's in operation.

How a diesel fuel injector works
 
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   / Aurora Silent Diesel Generator #70  
Placed my order for a new injector and an oil filter gasket today, and had a shipment tracking number before the day was over. Very glad that I bought from Aurora and not some Ebay.
 
 
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