Your last generator Maintenance Run

[3930dave]

I have not seen a Costco with Propane but have not looked for it...

Wouldn't be a problem putting 100 gallon tanks in the trailer... I do think I would run afoul of some regulation... a friend had a bunch of 5 gallon tanks to exchange and was told he had too many and would need placard... or something like that.

Costco's here commonly have propane. I know BC does too, and I believe Washington State, at least up by the border. Dirt cheap compared to most suppliers.

I imagine there's no shortage of regs in Cali.... my rule of thumb with propane is stay out of confined spaces - underground garages, etc....

Not encouraging lawlessness irate:, but for the right price I'd throw some hundred pounders on a trailers, and tarp them over well, leaving the bottom of the tarp to "breathe". But, if it only saves you $50, probably not worth the bother.....

Rgds, D.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

100 pound tanks are no big deal to get filled here... Just load them in the pu and drive over there...

Just make sure you have the protective caps on them and they are tied down well.

SR

 

[ultrarunner]

I did a Costco check for SF Bay Area and not finding Propane?

 

[3930dave]

I did a Costco check for SF Bay Area and not finding Propane?

Hmmm..... 2'nd cleanest burning common hydrocarbon should be available, but might be a Bay/Cali thing.....

Rgds, D.

 

[TheMan419]

Just did my generator maint run pre winter. Fired right up w the electric start. Hooked up the shop vac, electric leaf blower and electric weed eater as a load. Handled that all fine. Let it run 20 min or so.

We are supposed to get 5 in of snow tonight so wanted to be ready if some tree branches come down.

 

[3930dave]

Just did my generator maint run pre winter. Fired right up w the electric start. Hooked up the shop vac, electric leaf blower and electric weed eater as a load. Handled that all fine. Let it run 20 min or so.

We are supposed to get 5 in of snow tonight so wanted to be ready if some tree branches come down.

Nice run, and loading. :thumbsup:

Your neighbours should thank you - now that you done that, your grid will probably be fine all winter !

If you hadn't, Murphy would have soon delivered a multi-day outage.......

Rgds, D.

 

[TheMan419]

Nice run, and loading. :thumbsup:

Your neighbours should thank you - now that you done that, your grid will probably be fine all winter !

If you hadn't, Murphy would have soon delivered a multi-day outage.......

Rgds, D.

I am hopeful that is the case We bought the house 3 years ago. It was not wired for generator. We had that done. Then some kids of a prior owner stopped by to see the "old family farm". They said power outages were a monthly occurrence. In 3 years we have had one that was long enough to make me drag out the generator. So wiring the house for it was money well spent

 

[3930dave]

I am hopeful that is the case We bought the house 3 years ago. It was not wired for generator. We had that done. Then some kids of a prior owner stopped by to see the "old family farm". They said power outages were a monthly occurrence. In 3 years we have had one that was long enough to make me drag out the generator. So wiring the house for it was money well spent

That phenomenon is commonly reported on here.....

Personally, I think it is just Murphy passing by and saying "Nothing to See Here, I'll Move Along".....

Ignore a generator for a couple of years though :duh:....... :devil: "I'm BACKKKKKK.... !"

Most of us have got That T Shirt, at least once.....

Rgds, D.

 

[TheMan419]

That phenomenon is commonly reported on here.....

Personally, I think it is just Murphy passing by and saying "Nothing to See Here, I'll Move Along".....

Ignore a generator for a couple of years though :duh:....... :devil: "I'm BACKKKKKK.... !"

Most of us have got That T Shirt, at least once.....

Rgds, D.

Yeah we moved into this place and owned the old place for another couple months. When I moved here generator got unplugged and not plugged in. So when power at old house went out.... moved gen back and had to pull start it. Oooffff. No fun.

 

[kevinwak]

Ran up my newly purchased champion the other day. Wanted to see how it would start in the cold and decide if it should be stored in the heated garage. It had no issues starting at -8 Celsius. So far so good

 

[Dakota_male]

Hear ya Lou..... one advantage (all but the tiny stuff) with diesel is OE water-separators...... People do it with marine gasoline engines, but it's maybe getting to the point where it's worth considering Racors et al on other gas motors....

IMO, diesel doesn't totally get a free-ride today either though...... in-tank condensation knows no liquid fuel discrimination, and somebody who manages high volumes of diesel had an excellent post on TBN here (perhaps even this thread, or I linked to it....) touching on the higher affinity ULSD has for water.

Rgds, D.

Because I live in the east moisture is always a concern especially in the fall and this time of year. After finding water in my tractor hydraulics i added a wet bath breather to my trans vent hose moved it inside the cab. Concerned about my diesel generator outside I add desiccant breathers to the fuel tank vent line and keep the tank topped up with top tier fuel. No more issues.

 

[3930dave]

Ran up my newly purchased champion the other day. Wanted to see how it would start in the cold and decide if it should be stored in the heated garage. It had no issues starting at -8 Celsius. So far so good

You may be keeping your Honda (I would), but IIRC, that Champion gives you higher wattage capability :thumbsup:.

I'd expect no cold-starting issues on a Champion, but in general, I put all generators in the Trust, But Verify category.....

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

Because I live in the east moisture is always a concern especially in the fall and this time of year. After finding water in my tractor hydraulics i added a wet bath breather to my trans vent hose moved it inside the cab. Concerned about my diesel generator outside I add desiccant breathers to the fuel tank vent line and keep the tank topped up with top tier fuel. No more issues.

Short of living in a desert, condensation inside equipment is often a bigger deal than most people realize. The old practice of filling equipment with fuel at day's end is probably even more important today. In a short time period (less than 48 hours), the temperature swung 37C here recently.... changes like that create crazy condensation.

People living in a year-round dry climate get a major Free Pass, that they may not even appreciate....

I'm no hydraulics wiz by any stretch, but I've seen enough to know that a lot of Ag systems pile up a significant amount of moisture. It's deceptive, for a few reasons..... I suspect that many hydraulic reservoirs have a sump designed to hold water..... when you drain an older system fill, it'll often look way worse in the drain bucket, than on the stick.

Rgds, D.

 

[kevinwak]

You may be keeping your Honda (I would), but IIRC, that Champion gives you higher wattage capability :thumbsup:.

I'd expect no cold-starting issues on a Champion, but in general, I put all generators in the Trust, But Verify category.....

Rgds, D.

I am definitely Keeping the Honda. For both camper use and for any long duration outages where fuel efficiency matters. It lowers the essentials but not the nice to haves. It’s only 2000 watts do it basically keeps the heat in and the fridge Cold.
The Honda lives on a shelf I. The heated garage. The campion is much bigger and would love to keep otnout in the cold if it can start reliably out there!

 

[daugen]

changes like that create crazy condensation.
I am always amazed how much water comes out the bottom of my Quincy air compressor this time of year.
Reminds me to do the crawl and open the valve again.

 

[aczlan]

changes like that create crazy condensation.
I am always amazed how much water comes out the bottom of my Quincy air compressor this time of year.
Reminds me to do the crawl and open the valve again.

I was draining the one in the shop last night and I was amazed at how much water came out.
I need to put the one end up on a short block so it can drain better.

Aaron Z

 

[Industrial Toys]

When you forget about it, it's amazing how much water comes out. When you try and drain it conciencously (sp?) from time to time, barely anything comes out!

 

[Sawyer Rob]

My compressors are turned off every night and I leave the bottom valve open a TINY bit, all the time.

They self drain and I don't care that the tanks are empty, when we turn one on, when needed for the day.

SR

 

[ultrarunner]

auto drain is also a nice feature... bought one about 20 years ago from grainger and it is set to blow down 2 x dailey

 

[Industrial Toys]

I have all the bit's and pieces sitting there to make one. Compressor is in a second floor heated room and even a drain out the side of the barn. But project # 236 will just have to wait.