Rebuild a generator?

[handirifle]

Yes I am afraid you are right. The time of a "handyman" are mostly gone. Business laws and taxes are also to blame.

Good idea on the fix n sell.

 

[buickanddeere]

Before Y2K and generators cost $1000 per Kw, then repair it. Now with generators costing $100 per Kw, sell the old engine and purchase a new Champion generator with warranty and zero hours.

 

[handirifle]

Thinking of the "find and repair" idea, I was looking at Craigs List earlier today, as soon as I got home, and saw a 15ft, '06s travel trailer that had a straight body and frame, NEW tires, listed for FREE. It had been posted 3 hrs. I sent the guy a text message (his preferred) and he said someone was picking it at 5:30 today.

I have been looking for a project like that a long time. I was in town today without my cell phone, because it fell out of my pocket. I had time to kill and would have checked CL out, and possibly gotten it. Some things are not meant to be. Those old trailers (restored) go for THOUSANDS around here. There is a local RV campground where about 40 of them gather each year.

 

[stuckmotor]

Yes I am afraid you are right. The time of a "handyman" are mostly gone. Business laws and taxes are also to blame.

Good idea on the fix n sell.

I'm always afraid that if I repair something and sell it, someone will get hurt and sue me. For that reason, I seldom fix thing for anyone but myself.

 

[stuckmotor]

Thinking of the "find and repair" idea, I was looking at Craigs List earlier today, as soon as I got home, and saw a 15ft, '06s travel trailer that had a straight body and frame, NEW tires, listed for FREE. It had been posted 3 hrs. I sent the guy a text message (his preferred) and he said someone was picking it at 5:30.

I saw a travel trailer for real cheap, somewhere on your side of the country and told an old buddy, who lived within driving distance. He said travel trailers were often listed for free to avoid some kind of disposal cost.

 

[hr3]

Thanks for the replies. After reading this and other info, he bought a new one.

Give the old one to someone that doesn't mind tinkering. From what you described I would say the brushes are stuck. "It ran for a few days then stopped putting out power".. Brushes stuck and in 2 days wore down enough to lose contact. lol easy fix

 

[grsthegreat]

People still fix old generators. Ive replaced engines in 3 - different 16 kw generators in the last 6 months. Mind you, all 3 of these probibly would not have ever needed replacement if they were maintained in the first place.

I just swap out the entire engine after separating it from generator portion. Rebuilding it is too much effort to be worth it.

 

[handirifle]

In my post of the trailer, I MEANT to say it was a '60s trailer, not an '06. Yea most of what people are trying to get rid of is pure junk, and they don't want to pay what they cost to get rid of. If they would take the time to disassemble them, the scrap is worth money, and the frame is worth money as well. I'd haul home a 20ft trailer, to make me a flatbed. I know it would not be as strong as commercial ones, but it would work for me.