ayelvington
Gold Member
Wet stacking: I had heard of this before, but I never dealt with it until my generator stopped working because of a carbon-clogged injector. If you're running a diesel generator for prime or back-up power, it's something you need to be aware of and mitigate by ensuring you have enough of a load on the engine.
Here is a great primer to help you along: http://www.kraftpower.com/pdfs/KPC_IS_17_Wet_Stacking.pdf
Space heaters make very affordable load banks for small generators, and the one that I referenced before ensures a balanced and purely resistive load. I remember watching a portable generator grunt at a cabin when someone plugged in a toaster!
Another trap folks get into is testing a battery-powered transfer switch while the batter charger is connected. (I've seen this go very badly under emergency conditions.) Make sure that the transfer equipment works properly with only the battery running it. Boiled batteries can appear charged to a charger, and do nothing for you when the lights go out.
Anyway, no matter whose generator you buy, be sure to exercise it periodically under load to make sure it works, and to blow the carbon out.
Here is a great primer to help you along: http://www.kraftpower.com/pdfs/KPC_IS_17_Wet_Stacking.pdf
Space heaters make very affordable load banks for small generators, and the one that I referenced before ensures a balanced and purely resistive load. I remember watching a portable generator grunt at a cabin when someone plugged in a toaster!
Another trap folks get into is testing a battery-powered transfer switch while the batter charger is connected. (I've seen this go very badly under emergency conditions.) Make sure that the transfer equipment works properly with only the battery running it. Boiled batteries can appear charged to a charger, and do nothing for you when the lights go out.
Anyway, no matter whose generator you buy, be sure to exercise it periodically under load to make sure it works, and to blow the carbon out.