Your last generator Maintenance Run

[grsthegreat]

You remind me of my wealthier/wiser (than me) former neighbour.

Once his wife's new car hit 5 years old, battery came out, new one went it. Original battery worked fine (and was passed along to somebody who needed one....), it was just "normal" PM to him.

Rgds, D.

This battery was 5 year old. Positive post already showing crud build up. To me its preventative maint, and besides, i get in about 10 batteries a month from exide.

 

[grsthegreat]

This is last months old batteries awaiting exides pickup and delivery of new units.
i feel like a battery hoarder.

 

[3930dave]

An excellent reminder g !

My 7kw portable has a very well designed pull-start mechanism, but that isn't an option (that I know of) for most standby gens.

You've posted horror stories about beyond-dead batteries on systems, but 5 Years Then Out is a pretty good idea on a standby for many customers.

Rgds, D.

 

[daugen]

if Generac offered a built in smart charger as an option, I bet those batteries would last ten years.

 

[grsthegreat]

if Generac offered a built in smart charger as an option, I bet those batteries would last ten years.

The do have built in smart chargers, in all units since 2013. Problem is, these are emergency back up units and they still strongly suggest 5 year swap outs.

i have lots of customers that get 7 years on a battery, but some of these are the ones that i get a late snowy night call that generator didnt start. my service call is way more than swapping out a battery during normal service work.

i also find that unit with battery heaters are harder on the batteries than those without the heat pads. I finally unhooked my battery heater. My battery was 5 years old and failed test with both midtronics tester and carbon pyle tester, yet the generator still started. But come cold winter night,i bet it wouldnt.

 

[DieselBound]

It was on my todo list until yesterday when I came home to find my power out (here, in summer, really?)! So, not only did I get to run my generator (Onan/Cummins 7.5DKDFL) but I also got to USE it (ran about 4 hours) Since I went through the electrical connections (something I hadn't done before) it's been flawless and fully trustworthy.

 

[3930dave]

if Generac offered a built in smart charger as an option, I bet those batteries would last ten years.

I see myself on both sides of this.....

My reflex, from years back (poor student etc) was to push batteries out.

Today, I look at it a bit differently. If I only had one modern vehicle to drive, then I'd likely do 5 years then out on it. Having more than one vehicle around, I still tend to push it.....

A well designed charging system should be able to handle a bad battery, but things like a shorted-cell are not fun on the charge side, and starters REALLY don't like saggy batteries....... so I've come to consider this aspect more these days.....

Many of us can temporarily boost a gen from another battery (while many for-hire customers can't/won't......), but, do I really want to in a January storm........

If I had a standby setup at home, and still traveled for work like I used to, I definitely would follow 5 then out.... I don't want my better-half to deal with a problem like that.

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

It was on my todo list until yesterday when I came home to find my power out (here, in summer, really?)! So, not only did I get to run my generator (Onan/Cummins 7.5DKDFL) but I also got to USE it (ran about 4 hours) Since I went through the electrical connections (something I hadn't done before) it's been flawless and fully trustworthy.

I don't get that many outages here, but some of the longest were in Summer+good weather.

Electrical...... many people (general public) don't realize how critical the mechanical aspect of it is...... I've been up close to tear-downs/overhauls/PM on switch-gear in sub-stations - mostly just precision mechanical going on

Nice setup you have.... great when a plan works out !

Rgds, D.

 

[DieselBound]

I don't get that many outages here, but some of the longest were in Summer+good weather.

Electrical...... many people (general public) don't realize how critical the mechanical aspect of it is...... I've been up close to tear-downs/overhauls/PM on switch-gear in sub-stations - mostly just precision mechanical going on

Nice setup you have.... great when a plan works out !

Rgds, D.

Yeah, there can be big loads in summer (my outage was post heatwave- I could have better understood it happening during that period). Also, big temperature swings can wreck havoc on things. Winter, however, is when the trees start to take out power lines...

It took me several years before I got my generator all plumbed in. First had to have my garage built. Needed a nice concrete pad to locate it on as well as neededing a place to support electrical conduit (power feeds in to wall via receptacle box mounted on the outside and then conduit down inside the wall and over to my main service panel). It's ALL manual (manual switching on service panel via lock-out), but simple and reliable.

Main service panel is about 15' away (out of picture, to the right): electrical on right side of building is not associated with the generator. It's been on my TODO list for a while to put on a larger "hat" (top cover) and to utilize screens for the sides (removable) to better protect (from weather and from critters). I like this generator so much (a lot of faith in it) that I am planning on building a new house around it: new house will need to conform to the generator's capacity; at only 7.5kW it's a bit tricky when one doesn't want to rely on propane for heating (I use wood, but new homes cannot use wood as primary source for heating). If only my house looked this nice!

 

[daugen]

that sure does look nice