Your last generator Maintenance Run

   / Your last generator Maintenance Run #5,901  
Not too bad around us, mainly scattered outages due to trees or branches across lines. We are up near the VA line in north central NC.
 
   / Your last generator Maintenance Run
  • Thread Starter
#5,902  
Not too bad around us, mainly scattered outages due to trees or branches across lines. We are up near the VA line in north central NC.
I've only seen a bit of the reporting, but flood damage alone looked pretty severe in some areas.

Canadian Maritime provinces and Quebec took a hard hit on the last one....

Hard to put a price on a functioning gen, days like these.....

Rgds, D.
 
   / Your last generator Maintenance Run #5,903  
You won this Round (y) .

Hear ya, on the elusive gremlins..... enough to keep a gearhead up at night :rolleyes:

Tank is probably a PITA to inspect (internally), but perhaps a long optical scope probe ? Wondering about debris in-tank....

If it's a shared tank, the generator pickup tube/point is usually higher than the one for the motive engine - any chance it was a low-tank when the problem first happened ?

Not trying to be funny/insulting.... your post today reminded me of a funny RV generator story about pickup tubes.....

Rgds, D.
Apparently it was a deception. Up camping this weekend. Fired up the generator & it ran pretty decent. Then I realized none of the outlets were working. Found the master breaker on the generator flipped. Enabled that & as soon as the generator had a load on it, it started surging & eventually stalling.

So the cheap Chinese carb works fine with no load, but falls over with a load. My hour test run was faulty as I didn't realize the master breaker was open & it hadn't flipped off shore power.

Probably going to bite the bullet & get an overpriced Onan carb when we get home.
 
   / Your last generator Maintenance Run
  • Thread Starter
#5,904  
Apparently it was a deception. Up camping this weekend. Fired up the generator & it ran pretty decent. Then I realized none of the outlets were working. Found the master breaker on the generator flipped. Enabled that & as soon as the generator had a load on it, it started surging & eventually stalling.

So the cheap Chinese carb works fine with no load, but falls over with a load. My hour test run was faulty as I didn't realize the master breaker was open & it hadn't flipped off shore power.

Probably going to bite the bullet & get an overpriced Onan carb when we get home.
Aarghh....

Likely on your pre-Order List already...... I'd re-run the load test with an external fuel tank to be sure, esp. if the OE carb is $$$$.

Other than age-related tank-debris, I've seen some crazy stuff get pulled out of fuel tanks (full sized shop rags being one....).

Rgds, D.
 
Last edited:
   / Your last generator Maintenance Run #5,905  
about a year ago i replaced a 2008 era 10 KW for a customer after what appeared to be a lightning strike took her old one out. they wanted one right away and didnt want to wait on parts, and i found a new 10kw at Platt electric so installed them a new one a few days later.

heres what it looked like


pic 1.jpgpic 3.jpgpic 4.jpgpic 5.jpgpic 6.jpg

FINALLY got around to trying to repair it. i tested rotor and stator and capacitor and all looked within specs. had no way to test much else


so i went ahead and ordered new wire harnesses. if i wernt so dang lazy i would have made my own instead of paying Generac nearly $500 for theirs. ridiculously overpriced, but like i said, im lazy.

i disassembled old wiring and 409'd the heck out of everything, pur it back together and tested it out. found starter relay no good. replaced that, found starter just spun. i replaced that from stock, and also replaced the stepper motor out of caution as the wires were burnt in some places and this item controls generator speed.

put battery in, and she fired up and purred like a kitten. great power. im going to load bank it tomorrow after i finish outer cabinet and reattach base.

if it wasnt for the harnesses, it would have been a real cheap generator. still, its low hours and the controller and mags are original. if i get the starter freed up ill reinstall the old one.
I may test the stepper motor out and reinstall the old one if it tests ok also. tomorrows another day.

i think im going to install this one on my shop, so i dont have to manually lift roll up door during power outage. its during power outages when i need access to my service truck and parts. but really, this was one of those times when i just wanted to see if i could fix it. just could not throw it away.

20221022_154349.jpg 20221022_170241.jpg 20221022_154354.jpg
 
Last edited:
   / Your last generator Maintenance Run
  • Thread Starter
#5,906  
about a year ago i replaced a 2008 era 10 KW for a customer after what appeared to be a lightning strike took her old one out. they wanted one right away and didnt want to wait on parts, and i found a new 10kw at Platt electric so installed them a new one a few days later.

heres what it looked like


View attachment 767455View attachment 767456View attachment 767457View attachment 767458View attachment 767459

FINALLY got around to trying to repair it. i tested rotor and stator and capacitor and all looked within specs. had no way to test much else


so i went ahead and ordered new wire harnesses. if i wernt so dang lazy i would have made my own instead of paying Generac nearly $500 for theirs. ridiculously overpriced, but like i said, im lazy.

i disassembled old wiring and 409'd the heck out of everything, pur it back together and tested it out. found starter relay no good. replaced that, found starter just spun. i replaced that from stock, and also replaced the stepper motor out of caution as the wires were burnt in some places and this item controls generator speed.

put battery in, and she fired up and purred like a kitten. great power. im going to load bank it tomorrow after i finish outer cabinet and reattach base.

if it wasnt for the harnesses, it would have been a real cheap generator. still, its low hours and the controller and mags are original. if i get the starter freed up ill reinstall the old one.
I may test the stepper motor out and reinstall the old one if it tests ok also. tomorrows another day.

i think im going to install this one on my shop, so i dont have to manually lift roll up door during power outage. its during power outages when i need access to my service truck and parts. but really, this was one of those times when i just wanted to see if i could fix it. just could not throw it away.

View attachment 767462 View attachment 767464 View attachment 767463
Great save grs.

A brand-new harness (how Painless got famous) can save a lot of chasing gremlins, but they can be spendy. I don't personally consider $500 USD a small amount of money, but compared to what I know DEF system harnesses go for on diesels..... $500 isn't that bad....... to say nothing of chasing unobtanium connectors yourself in today's market....

(y) Rgds, D.
 
   / Your last generator Maintenance Run #5,907  
Now running off Propane, have two100LB cylinders as well as several 20 Lb. bottles, so that should run +2 days., longer if not continuous.

Also have gas generator, but gas sucks, doubt it will run. With Propane start it couple times a year and keep batter charged. Starts easy, no worries. As things stand today, propane does not cost more than gas or diesel. Pity those trying to buy fuel oil this winter. Thanks Brandon.
 
   / Your last generator Maintenance Run #5,908  
fuel oil was 4.69 for me, not sure what propane at Tractor Supply is right now.
I bought two more electric oil filled radiator heaters for supplemental room heat this winter.
4.69 is nuts.

Not really sure how much propane I have left in my primary 40 pounder.
Just ran the gen last week, took the leaf blower and blew out the spiders and leaves under the gen.
It started right up at 1002. As expected.
 
   / Your last generator Maintenance Run #5,909  
we topped off out 1000 gal propane tank last month, $2.20/gal
 
   / Your last generator Maintenance Run #5,910  
less than half the cost. Not considering btu value
GRS, are you buying it at commercial wholesale, like the farmers?
We have a big Texas Eastern pipeline coming through our town,
perhaps I could drill into that big pipe at night to get some free LNG.
I'm sure that would end well.
Probably would land in NJ, what's left of me, might even make it all the way to NY.
 
 
Top