Your last generator Maintenance Run

[Industrial Toys]

Older transformer based inverters seemed much more robust. My 3000 watt Alpha ferro-resonant 110/220 inverter has no issue running my jet pump. What it doesn't like is the power from my Onan/Kubota 7.5 KW genset. It will not accept it and won't charge my battery bank, although everything else in the house accepts it and you would never know the genset is running. The frequency requirements seems to be extremely critical.

Last year I bought an Efergy Elite energy monitor after researching what was available. It is stand alone, wireless on a UHF band and accurate. Sure I could use a clamp on meter, but this is much more convenient to see my loads. Good for managing loads when the power is out or for testing/excercise. I also liked the fact that I could talk to the guy that built and designed the monitoring unit. How often in this day and age is that possible?

 

[3930dave]

Thanks Dave I need to do that. Unfortunately I don't remember the Hp... have to dig through an old repair bill. Depth about 180ft. I know we decided to upgrade the pump a notch but don't recall. My gut tells me no problem but I will measure. Oh one more thing... just checked the service panel. I have a 30amp breaker for the well.

Let us know how the testing goes, if you decide to try it.

At 180', I'd prefer to see a conventional pump on 220, but obviously your setup works fine on-grid.

Recent load discussions prompted me to blather on with my :2cents: concerning test strategy for your setup - I'd hate to see that big-screen that you watch during blackouts be compromised !

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

Older transformer based inverters seemed much more robust. My 3000 watt Alpha ferro-resonant 110/220 inverter has no issue running my jet pump. What it doesn't like is the power from my Onan/Kubota 7.5 KW genset. It will not accept it and won't charge my battery bank, although everything else in the house accepts it and you would never know the genset is running. The frequency requirements seems to be extremely critical.

Last year I bought an Efergy Elite energy monitor after researching what was available. It is stand alone, wireless on a UHF band and accurate. Sure I could use a clamp on meter, but this is much more convenient to see my loads. Good for managing loads when the power is out or for testing/excercise. I also liked the fact that I could talk to the guy that built and designed the monitoring unit. How often in this day and age is that possible?

It is great to be able to talk with the actual designer of a product you are interested in.

I have an older B&D unit that is similar to their IR product - useful for seeing what your grid consumption is.

I see that the model you bought comes with 2 sensors. Can you split the screen to display both sensors at the same time, or do you select one at a time ?

Efergy has online monitoring available - that would be nice for a remote property, as it does also include Temperature.

Rgds, D.

 

[Industrial Toys]

This is my (boat anchor) inverter. Took three girlie men (including myself) to get it up on that shelf up near the ceiling.

I don't believe my monitor has split screen. But I have two monitors. Handy, so I can have one at the genset and one in the house, or walk around and turn loads on and off.

It has all kinds of history and cost functions that I don't use. What I also like but is a pain is the alarming feature. It warns me if the genset loads goes too high. Unfortunately, I have to scroll through twenty (or more) items to get to and change that limit which is different when I am on genset, secondary genset, inverter or utility!

The biggest selling feature was its stand-alone nature. The very last thing I want, when power goes down is to try and deal with IT issues, or worse have to try and call some tech support line!

 

[3930dave]

View attachment 452833

This is my (boat anchor) inverter. Took three girlie men (including myself) to get it up on that shelf up near the ceiling.

I don't believe my monitor has split screen. But I have two monitors. Handy, so I can have one at the genset and one in the house, or walk around and turn loads on and off.

It has all kinds of history and cost functions that I don't use. What I also like but is a pain is the alarming feature. It warns me if the genset loads goes too high. Unfortunately, I have to scroll through twenty (or more) items to get to and change that limit which is different when I am on genset, secondary genset, inverter or utility!

The biggest selling feature was its stand-alone nature. The very last thing I want, when power goes down is to try and deal with IT issues, or worse have to try and call some tech support line!

That's definitely some heavy iron ! Did you have to reinforce the wall ? :laughing:

I posted in another thread recently, about a public MIL call for Tender on a basic drone blocker. The spec required that the product not have any software or firmware - you don't have to worry about software QA, Revision Control, and Update Security....... if you don't have any......

Rgds, D.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Sounds like they were looking more for a shotgun sort of weapon system. Very low tech. Maybe controlled by the "security" monkey from Toy Story (3?). I just love that monkey, and wish I had him in my employ.

 

[check]

Wow, sounds great! How expensive does it get?

 

[nikdfish]

Checked the oil, then ran the Champion 7K for about 30 minutes with a 3K load. It was showing 124v @ 60.4 hz under that load & had started at the first press of the starter switch.

Also, I finally got around to putting together a rain shelter for it out of 1" PVC.

What I ended up with breaks down into two sections - top & bottom and the 4 connecting legs. The top is "shingled" with some surplus trim sheet metal & a leftover piece of ridge cap. (blue tape is covering some cut edges with laceration potential - probably need to do something more permanent). BTW, I used pop rivets for joining the components rather than glue. They can get drilled out if I need to modify later. It goes through the door with room to spare when broken down & light enough to carry easily. The "dip" on one side was to give better access to the fuel cap if refueling with the cover on.

I figure it will do for supporting a tarp/plastic-sheet cover when pre-positioning for upcoming bad weather & if needed. I can pretty easily add side curtains or panels if it looks like blowing precip is a possibility while running. Surprisingly, there is no tinny rattle coming from it while the genset is running.

Nick

 

[3930dave]

Thanks for posting Nick.... I'm overdue to run one of mine, and coming close to needing to run the other.....

I like that shelter of yours - compact, light, gets the job done.

I've found with my store-bought pop-up canopy that ground anchors are a good idea, and mandatory in rough weather. Your's doesn't look like it would catch a lot of wind, and the lower horizontal bars look to be a good spot to ratchet strap some cinder-blocks to.

Vibration isolation on your portable gen must be pretty good - I would have expected some "roof-rattle" running on the concrete pad.

Nice build, and as always, a TBN :thumbsup: for pics !

Rgds, D.

 

[kevinwak]

Ran my Honda EU2000i for about half an hour under load today, just because!

 

[3930dave]

Ran my Honda EU2000i for about half an hour under load today, just because! ��

:thumbsup:

I've been busy attending to some vehicle issues/needed maintenance/cold temperature stuff...... as intended, this thread is helping remind me to schedule my runs for next week.

Rgds, D.

 

[dragoneggs]

:thumbsup:

I've been busy attending to some vehicle issues/needed maintenance/cold temperature stuff...... as intended, this thread is helping remind me to schedule my runs for next week.

Rgds, D.

I agree... since I stumbled on this thread I have been taking better care. My generator thanks all who are contributing... I think. For me I now feel guilty often now. :laughing:

 

[GaryLock]

With the last weekend being below zero both days, and wind chills down to -30's, I added a two-day run of the two Eu2000's. I figured trying to start them when it was going to be that cold, plus the wear and tear of being that cold and started, I ran them through the two cold days and nights. If we had lost power, I would have just swapped over the transfer panel and would have been done. Better than starting them in that kind of cold. Brrr. Ran fine, sipped fuel, no problems. My normal is every 1-2 months, an hour run, during the winter, and spring/summer/fall, every 2-3 months. Rotating out all the fuel within a year of getting at a gas station.

 

[3930dave]

I agree... since I stumbled on this thread I have been taking better care. My generator thanks all who are contributing... I think. For me I now feel guilty often now. :laughing:

My Better Half is great at reminding me about lots of things, but generators are not something she pays any attention to.

This thread works for me........ Glad to hear that we are able to share the guilt on this subject ! :drink:

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

With the last weekend being below zero both days, and wind chills down to -30's, I added a two-day run of the two Eu2000's. I figured trying to start them when it was going to be that cold, plus the wear and tear of being that cold and started, I ran them through the two cold days and nights. If we had lost power, I would have just swapped over the transfer panel and would have been done. Better than starting them in that kind of cold. Brrr. Ran fine, sipped fuel, no problems. My normal is every 1-2 months, an hour run, during the winter, and spring/summer/fall, every 2-3 months. Rotating out all the fuel within a year of getting at a gas station.

I think ur may be having an issue with one at the moment, but it is pretty rare to hear about starting issues with Hondas. Things like gas left sitting in one for 10 years excepted. Opinions and successful practices vary, but myself I like to see all IC based equipment exercised.

Icing can be a concern with carbs in general. Here, Honda advertises Canadian exclusive "Cold Climate Technology" - glad to have it in Canada, but I find that statement a bit curious. Plenty of places other than Canada have cold weather..... I'm wondering what is done in other markets, or if they just use a different marketing phrase elsewhere.

Why Buy a Honda Generator?

Can't beat hot-standby for convenience/peace-of-mind, esp. with gnarly weather at hand.

Do you use a fuel stabilizer Gary, or do you have good luck w/o one ? I haven't pulled a manual for those EU's.... guessing oil-changes are somewhere between 50 and 100 hours ?

Rgds, D.

 

[GaryLock]

I think ur may be having an issue with one at the moment, but it is pretty rare to hear about starting issues with Hondas. Things like gas left sitting in one for 10 years excepted. Opinions and successful practices vary, but myself I like to see all IC based equipment exercised.

Icing can be a concern with carbs in general. Here, Honda advertises Canadian exclusive "Cold Climate Technology" - glad to have it in Canada, but I find that statement a bit curious. Plenty of places other than Canada have cold weather..... I'm wondering what is done in other markets, or if they just use a different marketing phrase elsewhere.

Why Buy a Honda Generator?

Can't beat hot-standby for convenience/peace-of-mind, esp. with gnarly weather at hand.

Do you use a fuel stabilizer Gary, or do you have good luck w/o one ? I haven't pulled a manual for those EU's.... guessing oil-changes are somewhere between 50 and 100 hours ?

Rgds, D.

I use Marine-Stabil (for ethanol) in all my stored gas. I turn over my fuel frequently, and run my generators on a good schedule. With the weather forecasting predicting such cold weather here last weekend, it just seemed prudent to allow the generators to be nice and warm for 48 hrs. Starting an engine that is below zero, and expecting that thick oil to lubricate the cylinders right away, makes me think that running the generators was much less stressful. The manual says 100 hrs. for oil changes. I usually go 150-200 hrs. during actual use time, which equates to once a week. Maintenance-wise, once yearly, with probably only 5-10 hrs. on it. I've never had carb issues or starting. I do however, tear both down every "few" years (whenever I think about it) and soak the carb parts in carb cleaner and/or seafoam, then reassemble to rid the system of any build-ups. Very easy to do, so it just peace of mind. I did put in fuel shut-off switches into the system, but it takes too many pulls to reprime the fuel line and carbs, so I don't use it anymore. I will drain the carbs with the screw and tube system that comes on the Eu series. But, in the winter, I leave them full and ready to go.

 

[3930dave]

Very thorough Gary, thanks for posting your practices.

I defaulted to Stabil in all engines that sit for a long time quite a while back. Either Red or Blue, and now 360 degree for my small metal-tanked equipment.

I too like having gens ready-to-run, esp. in Winter....

Rgds, D.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

"IF" I was worried about my Honda 2000 starting in the cold, I'd just put it in the back hall or basement in the winter...

As for oil, mine gets synthetic oil, so don't have to worry about it getting thick in the winter...

SR

 

[GaryLock]

"IF" I was worried about my Honda 2000 starting in the cold, I'd just put it in the back hall or basement in the winter...

As for oil, mine gets synthetic oil, so don't have to worry about it getting thick in the winter...

SR

Something I just had to look up....Inanimate objects are not affected by wind chill. guess I never thought about it, but if it was -5 F' and windchill of -35 F', the generators are only -5 F'. I would feel the -35' temp, but the oil and cylinders would still only be -5'. Now, -5' is cold enough to be concerned, but I guess the windchill made me feel a bit more worried than I needed to be. I wasn't really worried about the starting portion, just the wear and tear of the cold cylinders and oil sump and such. No harm no foul either way I guess. I wonder if the synthetic makes the oil change intervals any longer truly. I am not a chemist.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Basically, wind chill is a way to measure how fast heat is pulled from something, down to the ambient temp...

Yes, you can stretch synthetic oil changes, but I wouldn't get carried away with that...

SR