Making my own 20 KW Genset

[D2Cat]

So what would cause an inch of sludge build up?

 

[BrokenTrack]

So what would cause an inch of sludge build up?

It is hard to say.

From the way the air breather was pulled apart, and the way oil poured out of the air intake manifold, I would say before storing it, someone dumped a quart of oil down the air intake. After 32 years of cold and hot weather, moisture and time, it sludged up.

I am in the midst of pulling the oil pan off now, and while it is a pain, it will be good to get all that sludge out of the engine before start-up, and get some fresh oil in it.

I would like to say the bottom end looks really nice, but really the whole engine does. Once that sludge is cleaned up, the engine looks like a brand new motor, and it really should, it only has 2607 hours on it. There is no carbon build up at all, just that oily sludge from 32 year old oil.

 

[D2Cat]

That sounds good. I'd try to get the big stuff out, then use a vacuum to get more, then turn the engine over so that piston moves down some so you can clean it so more.

 

[pmsmechanic]

Also consider the way the engine was used. The A/C compressor cycles on and off according to the temperature needed inside the reefer. If the engine has long idle times it's not running hot enough to enable complete combustion.

If we use my 2200 watt inverter generator while hunting and run it all night to keep the cpap's going. At the end of 10 days there is a lot of sludge in the oil because it's cold outside and the load is nothing compared to what the generator can put out.

 

[BrokenTrack]

Also consider the way the engine was used. The A/C compressor cycles on and off according to the temperature needed inside the reefer. If the engine has long idle times it's not running hot enough to enable complete combustion.

If we use my 2200 watt inverter generator while hunting and run it all night to keep the cpap's going. At the end of 10 days there is a lot of sludge in the oil because it's cold outside and the load is nothing compared to what the generator can put out.

Yeah I never thought of that.

As bad as it is to pull this whole engine apart, I am glad I am doing it.

I just pulled the oil pan off, and the sump was just sludge. Fortunately the oil was pretty low, so the bottom end does not look bad at all. A bit of spraying to clean it up, and it should be fine. The oil pan is another story; a lot of solvent and scraping in its future, but fortunately it is a reefer unit so it is designed to be unbolted and cleaned out.

While it is off its engine mounts, I will weld up some new moor mounts, add some brackets to the frame so I can bolt it to the floor eventually, as well as add onto the rear so I can bolt down the generator unit.

 

[BrokenTrack]

I was losing interest in this project as spring wore on, and other things started to get put on my to-do list...then...

We got 18 inches of heavy wet snow.

We lost power for 3 full days, Thursday night at 7 PM until Sunday Night at 7 PM. I had my tractor powering my PTO Generator, so we were fine, but it put an awful lot of hours on my tractor. That would be avoided if the Perkins Engine had been running instead.

Then, less than 24 hours later, we get slammed with a 60 mph rain storm. I was glad it was not snow, but with a cobbled together grid, the power went out again. It has been 12 hours so far, and still no power.

So this project is back on track, and my wife really sees the importance of getting it up and running too.

 

[ptsg]

So this project is back on track, and my wife really sees the importance of getting it up and running too.

This is a very important point. This means that the project will definitely move along from now on.

 

[electrycmonk]

Guys, may I ask a question or a few on genset math? Not wanting to hijack thread but, it seems relevant to topics in here.

If you had a few 6kw gensets and wanted to set them up as a backup 12 or even 18kw system how realistic would it be for a backup system?
I have Mcgyvering like background knowledge & well, in my head I can "see the math as doable" but, there in that mental doubt floating in the back of my mind....

What details or vocabulary would help asking my questions better?

 

[BrokenTrack]

This is a very important point. This means that the project will definitely move along from now on.

Yeah, I needed a good reminded too. But generators are like that, when you have grid power going for months on end, you do not think about power being that critical. And then for me, there was the issue that I was never without power. Like right now, this message was brought to you by Kubota...it powering my PTO generator which is powering my home. So it was not like I NEED a separate gen-set.

But I have logged a lot of extra hours on my Kubota. Putting the Perkins to use just makes more sense.

I really am glad to posted about Central Georgia Generator though. I could upgrade my PTO generator to 40 KW for $2500 with $190 shipping. That is pretty darn cheap.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I don't mind the hours put on my tractor running my pto generator at all. After all, isn't that what I bought the tractor for ?, to use when it's needed...

IF, I felt like I was hurting the tractor any at all, running it for hours and hours, then I bought the wrong tractor in the first place!

SR