Your last generator Maintenance Run

[Sonny580]

ran 6 of my 8 in December. Busy here now with the greenhouse so generators are getting run one at a time when I get a chance to start one. Gotta put a new shutoff under one of the tanks for sure and its ready again.
IF we get the spring storms , ---- might need to use a couple of them! lol!

 

[3930dave]

Fired up the generator in the 5th wheel last night. Had to spin it 4 times I think. It finally caught & ran fine. Hadn't started it since the fall & we have a foot of snow falling today. Wanted to exercise it & make sure it was working if we loose power.

Sounds like it was due for a run. Mice get into everything, but they really seem to like trailer/RV gen cabinets !

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

ran 6 of my 8 in December. Busy here now with the greenhouse so generators are getting run one at a time when I get a chance to start one. Gotta put a new shutoff under one of the tanks for sure and its ready again.
IF we get the spring storms , ---- might need to use a couple of them! lol!

Not sure what comes after Belt+Suspenders, but I like Your Style !

With a big operation though, I can see needing more than just 2 or 3.

Rgds, D.

 

[Williy]

C;onvert DC 24 Volt to DC 12 volt

DC 24V Step Down to DC 12V 30A 360W DC DC Converter Regulator Waterproof Buck Power Supply Reducer Regulator Transformer Voltage Module for Golf cart Club car $20.99​

willy

 

[Patrick Herd]

I have an MEP 952-b military 28v 200 amp DC generator with a capacity of 5.6kw.
I would like to load test it without stressing my 4kw inverter. Is there a way to create a device that I can directly connect the dc output to.
A simplistic thought is a long run of heavy gauge cable as a resistance loop.
I’ve though of using an old electric water heater and installing dc heating elements but I would like to keep it simple & cheap if possible.
I’ve never been able to fully load this unit.

90cummins

My go to cheap LV DC load is 8 gauge steel fence wire. If my hurried maths is correct one metre on 28V is about 22kw... Probably a little spicy.

Wind a "spring" around some say 2" water pipe, try to get 20m or so on there. Stretch it out on the concrete so that turns don't short and then tap it with your jumper leads while monitoring the current.

 

[90cummins]

Great idea & priced right!
Thank you.

I’m currently in shop re-running fuel consumption tests on generators to verify previous data.
So far I have tested identical L70 Yanmar diesel generators one which is direct coupled and one which is belt driven.
Will post data soon.

90cummins

 

[3930dave]

Engineering, Gets Done Here

Rgds, D.

 

[Rustyiron]

I'm going on day 3 with my diesel genny. I'm so glad that I didn't settle for a LP unit for the convenience. Lots of folks are getting close to running out of propane for their generators.
As I knew, many times that you have a power outage (at least here in rural Maine) many of the "things" that you can normally count on like open roads and businesses (the propane dealer) have electricity and the manpower to operate even normally in a widespread weather event, not to mention the increased load of hundreds of customers all needing filling at roughly the same time.
My generator sits on a 190 gallon tank that was almost full going into winter. I just checked it and after 55 +/- hours, I still have over a hundred gallons. About 5/8 of the tank left.
Something to think about especially for the "rural" folks considering a backup generator.
I have a couple of relatives that are "in town" in relation to my situation with the common generac/lp units and they're power was restored yesterday, well within their fuel supply.
I'll try to remember to follow up when we're back on the grid with fairly accurate fuel consumption. Last I checked it was around .56g/hr.
We had a very wet/heavy 18" snowfall beginning Wednesday evening into Thursday evening and tapering off Friday.
I started the generator 5am Thursday morning.

 

[3930dave]

You did a great job on that build Rusty, both technically and esthetically on the bldg.

Not the first time you've had a good run with it, but probably one of the longer ones.....

Someone I knew years ago, commented on switching to NatGas..... "the thing I like about heating-oil, if things really got down to it, I could get in my truck, and haul some home...."

Not for the first time, for reasons unrelated to this thread, I've thought about the performance, utility, flexibility, and indeed Safety factors related to diesel fuel, that are being confirmation-biased over/away these days....

A # of years back, there was a massive explosion/fire at a propane depot in Toronto.... IIRC, it was from a dicey truck-truck transfer.

End Limit outage.... I'd much sooner transfer even 100 gal of diesel, 5 gal can @ a time, than be painted into a corner, attempting tank-tank propane transfers.

^, the reason, some on this thread have invested in additional or larger tanks for propane....

I hope you get your grid-lines back up, soon

Rgds, D.

 

[Rustyiron]

Day 4 staring. Mrs rusty found the first estimate for restoration this morning online.... Tuesday.

And I don't blame the utility one bit!