Your last generator Maintenance Run

[3930dave]

Rusty - I haven't run something that large, loaded that lightly. I'm interested to see what the guys who know the bigger stuff have to say.....

I'd do a quick check of voltage, and esp. frequency if you can. Next i'd try adding something like at least 5kw worth of load.

What can you see for operating temperature(s) on your 20 ? Might be interesting to poke around with an IR gun, if you can stop plowing long enough. (Not suggesting this relates to "noise"..... just curious about how cool it is running),

Rgds, D.

 

[LouNY]

Have you checked the volts and hertz inside your home while stuff is on?
either with a good meter or a Kill A Watt monitor.

 

[3930dave]

Yes Ears ringing, not just from it. Wore ear plugs when it ran, most times. I do remember a few times without plugs.

Mentioned Brian Johnson (AC/DC) to one of the guys at our shop recently........ Brian commented on the irony, that his hearing problems most likely came from all the loud/fast cars he's had.

On-stage, he likely would have been wearing high-end sound limiting monitors. Fast cars.... just too much fun :laughing:.

Rgds, D.

 

[grsthegreat]

im not sure why you would be hearing motors run differently unless the frequency wasnt correct. when my 22kw is running, i can sometimes hear the generator itself change in pitch as a large load is added (if im standing outside) but inside i do not see or hear any difference in appliance sounds.

while running my Genmon monitoring device during last power outage, the frequency fluctuated, but very slightly. it would read 59.6, then 60, then 60.2, etc. It kept pretty much at 60HZ during run of 14 hours. this was the first outage i had after installing softstart on the AC unit. i was plesently surprised with the way the soft start prevented the frequent surging of the generator during ac startup.

 

[Rustyiron]

Dave it has a temperature guage, it never gets above 160 that I've seen. Meters :laughing: yeah I have one with all kind of functions and Chinese symbols, I'm only qualified on "continuity". No numbers to decipher, just listen for the beep:cool2:
Both of my cousins were electrical contractors, they did the plumbing (wiring ) and once everything was wired he had a clamp on meter to measure the load and had me turn on everything I could. I had a table saw, several bench grinders, my rotary phase converter, all the shop lights..... my load didn't impress him.
I'll have one of them check what I have at the house.

 

[3930dave]

Cuz should have something handy to accurately measure frequency Rusty.

House and SWMBO is comfy, so that's the main thing.

IMO, diesels do better with some load to work against, esp. this time of year. I'd be curious where the oil temperature gets to. I have a cheap IR gun I use to check various things; comes in handy for spot checks on generators, trailer tires, brake discs.....

Fluke et al have better ones, but something like this will give you an idea where things are at:

2:1 Infrared Laser Thermometer with Color Alarms

I was having a real-world conversation with buddy of mine recently, about a late afternoon till next morning outage he had. Pull cord broke on his 7kw or so; got by with his 2kw gen.

Only thing he really needed 220v for was the well-pump. Light loads otherwise, so he is seriously thinking about a 220v inverter so he doesn't need the "bigger" generator going just for occasional pump runs.

Rgds, D.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Without a transformer based inverter, he MAY be disappointed when the FETS in his inverter go poof!

If frequency is right and things don't sound the same on genny, measure voltage normally and then when on Genny. My Microwave always "seems" to sound different on Genny, even though voltage is right up there. I think my Genny is clean but maybe we are talking about harmonics. MAYBE the electrical characteristics are different when your house isn't connected to the North American GRID. Ever put your ear to the utility pole. Sounds like some MASSIVE machine running!

 

[grsthegreat]

Unless he has a real shallow pump, i cant believe a 2k generator ran it. Ive seen people have issues with wells using 5k units.

 

[3930dave]

Without a transformer based inverter, he MAY be disappointed when the FETS in his inverter go poof!

Any product can fail, but Power FET designs have been around long enough that I'd expect a decent manufacturer to have a solid design.

I won't be providing any guidance to that particular friend, as he's forgotten more about electronics than most folk ever learn (including many engineers). Needless to say, a close look at motor HP rating for the inverter would be prudent.

I'm fairly impressed with modern inverters, at least the ones from reputable manuf. I picked up a couple of 1kw Xantrex inverters, the better part of 10 years ago on sale at a great price. I use mine to support electronics, but the one I donated to that same buddy has seen power-tool use, including down to LVD, with no ill effects. I believe they are a good addition, appropriately sized, for an alt power system....... I'm thinking of the one 90cummins implemented in his system.....

Rgds, D.

 

[Rustyiron]

You guys are great :thumbsup:
When they were wiring and got the line piped to the generator we fired it up to explore how it was last wired (voltage & phase). It was 220 or was it 240? They were pleased and each leg was right on. Pretty sure they didn't check frequency, but I was busy putting up light fixtures and they may have. I imagine that it's just a twist of the dial on the meter.
Just checked in with Ginny, we're right at 23 hours, all is good and the 2 gauges were where they always are.