Your last generator Maintenance Run

[kevinwak]

Had my lovely wife pick up the Champion 11,250/9000 watt from Costco yesterday. I haven’t had a chance to look at it yet, but pretty excited. They used to stall the 9000/7500 so I was surprised when she said they only had this larger one.

 

[ultrarunner]

Neighbor brought home a use Champion 3500 W generator... he was not able to get it running so cleaned the carb and it is running now. Apparently the genset was bought by her husband years ago and left with fuel... like 7 or 8 years... got it for $50

Intends to use it in a barn 600 feet from his meter panel after learning it would cost thousands to run power from the house.

Told his electrician he wanted to have two 20 amp circuits in the barn... one for lights and one for his chop saw/tools.

Electrician asked if he was willing to pay thousands just for material?

If I remember right... the quote was for 3 ea. #1 copper in 1.5" underground PVC... the large wire being necessary to keep voltage drop under 3%.... something like 4k with tax without labor or trenching. No idea on ground wire size?

I think he will find the generator much cheaper unless he plans to spend a lot of time working with power tools there!

 

[Wakey]

Is that the initial service, or the regular change interval you go with ?

Rgds, D.

The initial, I was at 9 hours.

The manual does not mention the valves for this period but grsthegreat recommends, so I'll go with that.

As for the dipstick, I'm near sighted so I can see but it isn't always clear what the level is. Upon removing the stick, sometimes it smears and I guess my paranoia sets in. :laughing:

{edit} Not sure where I got the initial oil change was 10 hours, the manual says 25 and it does mention checking the valve clearance at that time.

Going forward it recommends every 200 hours.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I take a paper towel and lay the dipstick on it. Been married 34 years. Probably because I've never asked my wife to check the oil in the generator.

My wife and I, decided long time ago to each learn the "others" chores, as it's likely one of us will go before the other and we BOTH need to know how this place works!

BUT, she's eager to learn how to do things around here, so that makes it easy...

SR

 

[grsthegreat]

The initial, I was at 9 hours.

The manual does not mention the valves for this period but grsthegreat recommends, so I'll go with that.

As for the dipstick, I'm near sighted so I can see but it isn't always clear what the level is. Upon removing the stick, sometimes it smears and I guess my paranoia sets in. :laughing:

{edit} Not sure where I got the initial oil change was 10 hours, the manual says 25 and it does mention checking the valve clearance at that time.

Going forward it recommends every 200 hours.

the manual says 25 hours for first change and valve adjust at that time. When i went thru service tech training class, they recommended no later than 1st year for valves and oil and filter change. problem is that after 1 year, most generators only have on 8-10 hours on average. my training technician recommended following generics opinion to change it after first year even if the hours are low. i have noticed that approx 25% of the units i service in 1 year have needed minor valve seat adjustments. a few were severely out of wack. after the first setting, ive very rarely had to reset them a second time, but i do check them after every 200 running hours.

ive checked a few that were brand new out of the crate just to see , and they were both spot on. i guess its just the nature of air cooled units that dont have hydraulic lifters to keep an eye on them.

on my own unit, i will check them every year, and i change oil every year. im scheduled to do mine this weekend.

when checking valves....ALWAYS MAKE SURE ENGINE IS COLD. Never adjust valves on a warm or hot motor.

 

[Katahdin]

If I remember right... the quote was for 3 ea. #1 copper in 1.5" underground PVC... the large wire being necessary to keep voltage drop under 3%.... something like 4k with tax without labor or trenching. No idea on ground wire size?

Cheaper to use aluminum service wire, or install a small solar system.

One problem I had with a 3600 rpm gas generator running tools was it would trip the overload protection on a plasma cutter -- The plasma cutter wanted 240 volts, the generator was putting out 250.

 

[LittleBill21]

Cheaper to use aluminum service wire, or install a small solar system.

One problem I had with a 3600 rpm gas generator running tools was it would trip the overload protection on a plasma cutter -- The plasma cutter wanted 240 volts, the generator was putting out 250.

then fix the avr/rpm, don't blame it on being a 3600 rpm gas engine, that literally has nothing to do with it.

 

[ultrarunner]

Not sure how it will end up... the small barn is hilltop and a very good site for solar... maybe the lines could be used to send power to the house... but, 600' is a long way to go.

For now... they will use the generator but if it were me... maybe a RV LED with a RV batter and small solar panel... if you are totally dark... any light is a big improvement.

Up to now... the light has been from the tractor headlights.

 

[Rock Crawler]

I have an old Northern Tool or Sportsmans Guide sourced ETQ 7250/8250 generator. I did let it rest a couple years and lost the carb, I could not clean it and get it going again so I bought a reasonable copy carburetor from Amazon and that did the trick. It does now run as expected.

So, while it is 10 years or so old with 5 hours of run time on it, should I take a look at the engine valve clearances? Issue being... what should they be clearanced to? It's not like I have a Honda, Kohler or other engine that I can look up specs on.

I also do have Amsoil in the crank case, but I bet that oil is also 10 years old. The generator sits in my heated/cooled shop, so it doesn't ever see hot cold variations, but even at that I think it may finally be time to spend $10 on an oil change.

So the question in my ramblings... WTF clearances do I check/adjust the engine valves for being that I do not have any sort of service manual for a machine that was discontinued years and years ago?

I did have an electrician create a 40' long cord to tie this in to my panel after I cut the main breaker, and he made a pass through to the outside garage wall that has a weather tight box that I would open and plug this generator in to with his cable, so in the winter if I were to drop power from the street service, I could run all essential household services with this.... as long as I keep the rug rats away from TV's and video games.

 

[kevinwak]

Had my lovely wife pick up the Champion 11,250/9000 watt from Costco yesterday. I haven’t had a chance to look at it yet, but pretty excited. They used to stall the 9000/7500 so I was surprised when she said they only had this larger one.

Unboxed the new genny last night. I was surprised at how huge an open frame generator looks when in the garage vs on the shelving in a huge box store. My plan of storing it in the corner of the heated garage might not work as well. Since the 9000 is way more power then I need and all I really need is 240 volts for the well pump, but otherwise online need about 5000 watt. I started looking online at specs of smaller open frame gens. Turns out they are all very similar sized, within an inch. I guess I will keep this big guy. Price per watt it is by far the best deal in Alberta. I like that it came with a trickle charger for the battery. I will run it up today I hope, but won’t get to connect to the house as I don’t have a 30 amp cord yet.

 

[daugen]

is there a youtube video on how to set your valve clearances on a big generac, which I assume also applies
to Vanguard engines?

My generac is at 78 hours and valves never checked. Never adjusted the last gen either.
Looks like I've gotten lucky so clearly needs to be done.

 

[grsthegreat]

ive never seen any videos on it..but who knows. Pretty easy to do...just like any engine. on cold engine check the rocker arm of valve that isnt compressed. the preferred top dead center ON COMPRESSION STROKE method. generac manuals specify clearances and rocker arm torques.

IF YOU CANT tell the compression stroke from the exhaust stroke, you can use the "one up and one down method.". Ive tried both, and they both give good results. If one valve is down (open) then the other valve for that cylinder will be on the base of the cam and closed. This closed valve can then be adjusted. The process repeated for the remaining valve on that cylinder.

the hard part always seems to be needing to redo it 4-5 times as the gap usually closes after jamb nut it tightened. takes some practice. always follow torque specs as there aluminum heads and can strip.

over the years ive had to repair some units where the owners have twisted the new spark plugs in so tight, they strip the block. these too have a torque rating..and so too for the 4 bolts that hold the valve cover in-place. hand tighten only. the valve cover gaskets are reusable if care is used during removal of cover.
i can't recall at the moment what the rating is, as there on a cheat sheet in my repair tool kit on my service truck.

 

[daugen]

the owners have twisted the new spark plugs in so tight[/I]
ya mean with my new Dewalt 700 ft pound driver?
never want them to come loose, right?
Those crush rings mean they want to be seriously crushed, right?
When in doubt, yank on it again. Make it squeal.
Your Favorite Customer

 

[Garandman]

Checked our Kohler 14Kw a while back and there was a “No Start” warning after the last maintenance run.

Had the service guys come up. There is a device to ****** the spark for propane built into the [dusl] coil. Apparently thst or one of the coils went bad as it would start, labor a bit, and shut down.

They had to order the part (on warranty) so glad I got it out of the way before it gets cold.

 

[Rock Crawler]

Checked our Kohler 14Kw a while back and there was a “No Start” warning after the last maintenance run.

Had the service guys come up. There is a device to ****** the spark for propane built into the [dusl] coil. Apparently thst or one of the coils went bad as it would start, labor a bit, and shut down.

They had to order the part (on warranty) so glad I got it out of the way before it gets cold.

Because if this thread, I just ran mine this evening for an hour. Ready for the fall and winter. Since I'm all ready, we will not drop our power

 

[Garandman]

Because if this thread, I just ran mine this evening for an hour. Ready for the fall and winter. Since I'm all ready, we will not drop our power

Now go buy a new snow thrower or some winter tires!

 

[3930dave]

The initial, I was at 9 hours.

The manual does not mention the valves for this period but grsthegreat recommends, so I'll go with that.

As for the dipstick, I'm near sighted so I can see but it isn't always clear what the level is. Upon removing the stick, sometimes it smears and I guess my paranoia sets in. :laughing:

{edit} Not sure where I got the initial oil change was 10 hours, the manual says 25 and it does mention checking the valve clearance at that time.

Going forward it recommends every 200 hours.

I'll often do an early first change, especially on smaller engines. Perhaps yours is water cooled (?), but if that's air-cooled, 200 hours seems long to me..... but maybe I'm not up to speed on what current OEM recommendations are.

.... continuous operation, that's about 8 days.... maybe that is their target......

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

Had my lovely wife pick up the Champion 11,250/9000 watt from Costco yesterday. I haven稚 had a chance to look at it yet, but pretty excited. They used to stall the 9000/7500 so I was surprised when she said they only had this larger one.

Congratulations on the new workhorse !

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

Neighbor brought home a use Champion 3500 W generator... he was not able to get it running so cleaned the carb and it is running now. Apparently the genset was bought by her husband years ago and left with fuel... like 7 or 8 years... got it for $50

I think he will find the generator much cheaper unless he plans to spend a lot of time working with power tools there!

Unless you are looking at high hours/every day, a generator can often be a lower cost solution than a new or upgraded line-in service.

If most of what they need is lighting, that's relatively easy with solar.

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

the manual says 25 hours for first change and valve adjust at that time. When i went thru service tech training class, they recommended no later than 1st year for valves and oil and filter change. problem is that after 1 year, most generators only have on 8-10 hours on average. my training technician recommended following generics opinion to change it after first year even if the hours are low. i have noticed that approx 25% of the units i service in 1 year have needed minor valve seat adjustments. a few were severely out of wack. after the first setting, ive very rarely had to reset them a second time, but i do check them after every 200 running hours.

ive checked a few that were brand new out of the crate just to see , and they were both spot on. i guess its just the nature of air cooled units that dont have hydraulic lifters to keep an eye on them.

on my own unit, i will check them every year, and i change oil every year. im scheduled to do mine this weekend.

when checking valves....ALWAYS MAKE SURE ENGINE IS COLD. Never adjust valves on a warm or hot motor.

Thanks for the detailed field-service data.

Rgds, D.