Your last generator Maintenance Run

grsthegreat · Nov 17, 2023

3930dave said:
Haven't followed it lately (non-pilot here), but I thought there was talk of LL going away (?).

Rgds, D.

theve been trying to find an alternative to it for some time....but it has to be 10000% foolproof before it will be seen in airplanes.

BravoXray · Nov 17, 2023

GAMI has gotten STCs for their G100UL fuel for certain Lycomings and certain Cessna airframes.
The FAA has been dragging their ass for 20 years on replacements for 100LL by making it prohibitively expensive to get certification.

100LL avgas replacement approved at DuckDuckGo

3930dave · Nov 17, 2023

Sounds like...... i need to get a flying-car, if I want to keep driving ICE.......

Thanks for the LL 411 guys !

Rgds, D.

90cummins · Nov 18, 2023

Smokeydog said:
What maintenances do you do on a stored, PTO generator?

If it’s brushless check gearbox oil, keep critters out of it and keep it dry. Run occasionally if possible.
If it has brushes also check commutator & brushes for wear or damage.
90cummins

Sonny580 · Nov 19, 2023

Thats one of the things around here that gets overlooked! lol! BUT I try to keep 3 of the biggest ones run every 3 or 4 months and let them run an air compressor or big fan. The smaller ones ( have NO idea of how many of them I have) get run when I need one out in the field or woods to run drills/air compressor/chainsaw grinder/letric chainsaw or whatever.

3930dave · Nov 19, 2023

Sonny580 said:
Thats one of the things around here that gets overlooked! lol! BUT I try to keep 3 of the biggest ones run every 3 or 4 months and let them run an air compressor or big fan. The smaller ones ( have NO idea of how many of them I have) get run when I need one out in the field or woods to run drills/air compressor/chainsaw grinder/letric chainsaw or whatever.

Thanks for stopping by Sonny.

Welcome to the club..... Hi, my name is __________ , and I have a generator problem......

By their nature (Grab n Go), anecdotal reports on here indicate the small ones tend to see more frequent use, so the Big Ones @ top of MTCE list groks to me.

Lots on the go your way (reminds me of my Uncle's farm, down East), when you are losing track of how much equipment is around !

Rgds, D.

90cummins · Nov 20, 2023

Power outage on 11/13/2023

Power went out around 7pm, house went dark except for the priority circuits which are on the battery backup such as living room which has entertainment system, computer, propane stove & heating systems, oil hot air & wood furnace misc lights & bedrooms.

Went into attached garage & energized entire house. Went into power house & started the L100 Yanmar which drives a 450 amp 28 volt generator to support batteries, everything operated as planned.

Decided to take a shower & turned on 1.5+- kw heater in bathroom and was just about rinsed off when ALL go lights out.

Finish rinsing in dark then open door and hope flashlight is where it should be then went to control panel in kitchen which was down.

Went into garage & inverter is shut down so I make my way past cars to check batteries & find 300 amp dc fuse is blown. Fumble around & find fuses & Install & system boots back up normally.

Not sure why this happened. I’ve tested this scenario previously with well cycling & heater on along with other misc devices.

Everything worked fine on multiple test runs.
Dam Murphy caught me with my pants down

I need to recheck how power is distributed on each leg of inverter.
There may be an imbalance on outputs.
Goes to show you that you can test & retest but there’s no substitute for the real event and never rule out random failure which highlights a couple things I need to do.

I ordered 6 plug in battery backup night lights & placed them around the house so there will some light wherever I may be in house.

I’m going to remove the MEP-952b 28 volt generator Doesn’t make sense to have 2 DC power supplies and replace it with my military long run L70 Yanmar that drives a 5kw ac generator.
This Yanmar is specially configured with a 3 quart deep sump oil reservoir and a bypass filter for factory approved 400 hour unattended continuous runs. It is also fitted with 2 grid style intake air heaters that work incredibly well down to 5 below zero F. With the fuel systems in the power house I should be good for a week or two.
Reason for this change is the ability to configure it for remote start and in the event the inverter fails I’ll still be covered. 90cummins

LittleBill21 · Nov 20, 2023

300 amp is only around 23-25 amps, i feel like you were close to its limit, did you throw an amp meter on it, or check the inverter output wattage?

90cummins · Nov 20, 2023

LittleBill21 said:
300 amp is only around 23-25 amps, i feel like you were close to its limit, did you throw an amp meter on it, or check the inverter output wattage?t

The rated continuous output is 4kw & I’ve tested this particular scenario before and was within limits.
I will duplicate the scenario again to see if anything has changed.
I will also check imbalance between legs and the maximum allowable over time.
One thing I will review is the recommended dc fuse amperage. I’m quite certain I undersized it when I put it into service as a precaution.
Time to review the operating parameters.
Don’t want this to happen if I’m not there to troubleshoot.
My wood furnace blower motor was cycling on&off which has never been an issue. I installed a soft start module for the blower motor years ago so my Honda EU 2000i could manage the motor start current.
Another issue to chase.
90cummins