Your last generator Maintenance Run

[daugen]

Bespoke items are often pricey. I'm familiar with generic Temro Philips silicone-pad heaters; they come in various sizes, and might be a lower cost option with a bit of fiddling.

OTOH, sometimes (OK, fairly often, on my budget :laughing I have to remind myself to quit breaking down component cost of a Should I Buy It ? item, and re-focus on the immediate functionality it delivers....



Rgds, D.

My problem is that I owned a Radio Shack for five years and I really do know what the parts cost. Only expensive thing is the custom molded plastic and that's injection molded I'm sure. I'm thinking no more than twenty bucks in material. Sigh. Now if they told me it was made in the US, ok.

 

[3930dave]

Costo kirkland batteries are interstate, at least they are here.

I haven't backtracked current product here, but that does ring a bell.

Cost vs. performance...... I gave Kirkland a try, as a good friend of mine bought 10+ (he has lots of vehicles), with good results. I think one of his went back on warranty; typicial good service from Costco on that.....

Costco.com shows Interstate, Costco.ca doesn't list anything. (just a lame site, they still have batteries in our stores). I was checking to see what a U1 battery went for..... I'll have a look next time in-store. Still using Kirkland labels here, AFAIK.

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

interesting, my thought was to grab starting fluid but yours is likely propane.
Or go the Siberian way, build a wood fire under it.
That ought to heat things up in a hurry.

Way back, I reminder the story of 2 guys stuck at a cottage in northern Quebec during the Xmas holidays. Used a full load of charcoal in a Hibachi under the oil pan of a first-gen Civic to get the -40 oil to flow.....

Aux heat - lots of ways to do it, some are even safe

I've used heat lamps, propane torches, mag heaters...... whatever it took at the time..... but ya gotta pay constant attention. Used a lot of Quik Start on carb'd engines back in the 70's too...... remember learning it was a totally different game trying to use it on a mech-injected vw gas engine circa 1978 mostly ended up shooting flames around the engine compartment - no damage, but decided to take the more prudent approach (worked well) - get some heat lamps down low on the engine and cover the top with a heavy tarp to keep the heat in.

Temporary heat sources start lots of fires..... local news had a story of a small barn fire recently - 2 plumbers driving by got most (not all though....) of the animals out of a small hobby barn - nobody home, and temporary heat lamps were too close to straw.....

Heat builds up over time, sometimes much more than people realize.....

Rgds, D.

 

[Wakey]

My generac is propane. My guess is to place a hair dryer inside the enclosure and close it up for a bit.

 

[daugen]

My generac is propane. My guess is to place a hair dryer inside the enclosure and close it up for a bit.

I like that idea, sure want some ventilation though, sparking fan motor? Could there also be an issue with the regulator outside?

actually I have to go take my magnetic heater off. Normal Sat 1pm startup. Don't want the mag heater in there while that's running. Besides, 24 out now, should be fine.

 

[3930dave]

My problem is that I owned a Radio Shack for five years and I really do know what the parts cost. Only expensive thing is the custom molded plastic and that's injection molded I'm sure. I'm thinking no more than twenty bucks in material. Sigh. Now if they told me it was made in the US, ok.

Preaching to the choir ..... I've spent more hours analyzing electronic components than most people would ever want too....

Yeah..... turnkey items may seem expensive, at least until you honestly add up all the time/resources spent saving money with another approach..... not trying to :stirthepot: ..... just speaking from personal experience.... :laughing:

Re-purposing older components already on-hand, obviously different cost story..... working on a project because you want a certain feature, or just because you want it built a different way - still go there at times myself - when I focus on those aspects, price is often secondary though.....

I love to drink coffee. I'd probably stop though, based on component cost at retail - the cup is worth nothing, and there is probably no more that 5 cents of coffee in a medium cup......

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

My generac is propane. My guess is to place a hair dryer inside the enclosure and close it up for a bit.

Used those on carbs often, can help - probably a lot at your temps. Keep in mind hair-dryers are not designed for continuous duty, and heat-guns can easily create dangerous temperatures.

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

interesting, my thought was to grab starting fluid but yours is likely propane.
Or go the Siberian way, build a wood fire under it.
That ought to heat things up in a hurry.

Unusual temps down South...... keep water in mind, in gas and diesel. (I know you've successfully owned big CATs d, this is just a general comment for everybody......).

If your temperatures a warm enough, you can have some water in gas or diesel, and never notice...... cold snaps will "highlight" that issue though.....

Cold temp swings with humid air will cause condensation inside tanks, sumps.....

Rgds, D.

 

[Industrial Toys]

A heat gun works better. I used that in the late fall to keep some fresh tarped concrete from freezing.

Just make sure to arrest it, so it can't set fire to anything.

Some hairdryers will shut off from the thermal switch. And they really don't have enough watts to do much good.

 

[DEWFPO]

I also use it on the oil pan of my little Massey, the Iseki one, which has a cold, cold heart. Even with 45 seconds of glowplugs running. Good Florida tractor...

Truer words have never been spoken. I had a MF GC2300 that was the same way. Even with the block heater plugged in, I'd have to run those glow plugs for a good long time.

DEWFPO