grsthegreat
Super Star Member
theve been trying to find an alternative to it for some time....but it has to be 10000% foolproof before it will be seen in airplanes.
Your last generator Maintenance Run
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BravoXray
Elite Member
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- Kubota BX2230, John Deere 430 Diesel
GAMI has gotten STCs for their G100UL fuel for certain Lycomings and certain Cessna airframes.
The FAA has been dragging their ass for 20 years on replacements for 100LL by making it prohibitively expensive to get certification.
100LL avgas replacement approved at DuckDuckGo
The FAA has been dragging their ass for 20 years on replacements for 100LL by making it prohibitively expensive to get certification.
100LL avgas replacement approved at DuckDuckGo
90cummins
Veteran Member
If it’s brushless check gearbox oil, keep critters out of it and keep it dry. Run occasionally if possible.
If it has brushes also check commutator & brushes for wear or damage.
90cummins
Sonny580
Veteran Member
Thats one of the things around here that gets overlooked! lol! BUT I try to keep 3 of the biggest ones run every 3 or 4 months and let them run an air compressor or big fan. The smaller ones ( have NO idea of how many of them I have) get run when I need one out in the field or woods to run drills/air compressor/chainsaw grinder/letric chainsaw or whatever.
Thanks for stopping by Sonny.
Welcome to the club..... Hi, my name is __________ , and I have a generator problem......
By their nature (Grab n Go), anecdotal reports on here indicate the small ones tend to see more frequent use, so the Big Ones @ top of MTCE list groks to me.
Lots on the go your way (reminds me of my Uncle's farm, down East), when you are losing track of how much equipment is around !
Rgds, D.
90cummins
Veteran Member
Power outage on 11/13/2023
Power went out around 7pm, house went dark except for the priority circuits which are on the battery backup such as living room which has entertainment system, computer, propane stove & heating systems, oil hot air & wood furnace misc lights & bedrooms.
Went into attached garage & energized entire house. Went into power house & started the L100 Yanmar which drives a 450 amp 28 volt generator to support batteries, everything operated as planned.
Decided to take a shower & turned on 1.5+- kw heater in bathroom and was just about rinsed off when ALL go lights out.
Finish rinsing in dark then open door and hope flashlight is where it should be then went to control panel in kitchen which was down.
Went into garage & inverter is shut down so I make my way past cars to check batteries & find 300 amp dc fuse is blown. Fumble around & find fuses & Install & system boots back up normally.
Not sure why this happened. I’ve tested this scenario previously with well cycling & heater on along with other misc devices.
Everything worked fine on multiple test runs.
Dam Murphy caught me with my pants down
I need to recheck how power is distributed on each leg of inverter.
There may be an imbalance on outputs.
Goes to show you that you can test & retest but there’s no substitute for the real event and never rule out random failure which highlights a couple things I need to do.
I ordered 6 plug in battery backup night lights & placed them around the house so there will some light wherever I may be in house.
Power went out around 7pm, house went dark except for the priority circuits which are on the battery backup such as living room which has entertainment system, computer, propane stove & heating systems, oil hot air & wood furnace misc lights & bedrooms.
Went into attached garage & energized entire house. Went into power house & started the L100 Yanmar which drives a 450 amp 28 volt generator to support batteries, everything operated as planned.
Decided to take a shower & turned on 1.5+- kw heater in bathroom and was just about rinsed off when ALL go lights out.
Finish rinsing in dark then open door and hope flashlight is where it should be then went to control panel in kitchen which was down.
Went into garage & inverter is shut down so I make my way past cars to check batteries & find 300 amp dc fuse is blown. Fumble around & find fuses & Install & system boots back up normally.
Not sure why this happened. I’ve tested this scenario previously with well cycling & heater on along with other misc devices.
Everything worked fine on multiple test runs.
Dam Murphy caught me with my pants down
I need to recheck how power is distributed on each leg of inverter. There may be an imbalance on outputs.
Goes to show you that you can test & retest but there’s no substitute for the real event and never rule out random failure which highlights a couple things I need to do.
I ordered 6 plug in battery backup night lights & placed them around the house so there will some light wherever I may be in house.
- I’m going to remove the MEP-952b 28 volt generator Doesn’t make sense to have 2 DC power supplies and replace it with my military long run L70 Yanmar that drives a 5kw ac generator.
- This Yanmar is specially configured with a 3 quart deep sump oil reservoir and a bypass filter for factory approved 400 hour unattended continuous runs. It is also fitted with 2 grid style intake air heaters that work incredibly well down to 5 below zero F. With the fuel systems in the power house I should be good for a week or two.
- Reason for this change is the ability to configure it for remote start and in the event the inverter fails I’ll still be covered. 90cummins
LittleBill21
Elite Member
300 amp is only around 23-25 amps, i feel like you were close to its limit, did you throw an amp meter on it, or check the inverter output wattage?
90cummins
Veteran Member
The rated continuous output is 4kw & I’ve tested this particular scenario before and was within limits.
I will duplicate the scenario again to see if anything has changed.
I will also check imbalance between legs and the maximum allowable over time.
One thing I will review is the recommended dc fuse amperage. I’m quite certain I undersized it when I put it into service as a precaution.
Time to review the operating parameters.
Don’t want this to happen if I’m not there to troubleshoot.
My wood furnace blower motor was cycling on&off which has never been an issue. I installed a soft start module for the blower motor years ago so my Honda EU 2000i could manage the motor start current.
Another issue to chase.
90cummins
LittleBill21
Elite Member
imbalance will cause the inverter to trip out, not cause a dc fuse blow
90cummins
Veteran Member
daugen
Epic Contributor
nothing gets your attention faster than lights out
in a dark shower...what timing.
glad you got it back up and running.
in a dark shower...what timing.
glad you got it back up and running.
Patrick Herd
Silver Member
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- Wairarapa, New Zealand
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- Ferguson 35, 40 Industrial with FEL
Is the bathroom heater a PTC unit? If it is then it could be drawing more than rated on startup in the cold.
I'd also check your battery connections and health, unexpected voltage drop can lead to inverters sucking scary input currents for a time.
I'd also check your battery connections and health, unexpected voltage drop can lead to inverters sucking scary input currents for a time.
90cummins
Veteran Member
Not familiar with PTC heaters.
Heater is typical resistance heater coil. That’s a good point need to check batteries & gen to battery connections.
Son bought a house with many issues needing attention such as soft roof areas needing temporary sealing & hundreds of huge logs that needed to be relocated from front yard driveway before snow.
This weekend may be mine to troubleshoot the system.
Time to get throw some wood in the furnace 19 degrees out side.
90cummins
Heater is typical resistance heater coil. That’s a good point need to check batteries & gen to battery connections.
Son bought a house with many issues needing attention such as soft roof areas needing temporary sealing & hundreds of huge logs that needed to be relocated from front yard driveway before snow.
This weekend may be mine to troubleshoot the system.
Time to get throw some wood in the furnace 19 degrees out side.
90cummins
Patrick Herd
Silver Member
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2021
- Messages
- 101
- Location
- Wairarapa, New Zealand
- Tractor
- Ferguson 35, 40 Industrial with FEL
Good write up on PTC heaters here: What are PTC, Positive Temperature Coefficient, Heaters?
90cummins
Veteran Member
Interesting units.
Always learning something here.
90cummins
Always learning something here.
90cummins
daugen
Epic Contributor
I learn a lot from folks a lot more experienced than I am.
besides I screw up a lot...
one of the oldest participants in the Good Morning thread (Sodamo) is fully off grid on top of the Big Island in Hawaii and has a sophisticated power generation system. Including one or two generators for backup.
Lot of high tech equipment he has to service regularly. The discussion is often over my head, as it is here, but that's how you learn.
I'm on my second year of a 100% synthetic oil change on my Westinghouse 9500 gen, with about 15 hours on it. It still looks like new and right up to the top. Never run on gasoline, always propane.
do I really need to change this oil every year? No filter, so that's a plus for more regular changes. Oil is so good now, and if it doesn't get dirty, do we need to throw it away so often?
I'm in PA so full seasons, condensation, etc.
I run all my equipment every several months, particularly the snowblower. EFI, starts right up. Power is lost regularly thanks to trees coming down that I don't need to exercise gen. It gets its own exercise, usually for 2-4 hours at a time.
I know it would have added another hundred bucks to the price, but sure wish this motor had pressure lube and a filter.
besides I screw up a lot...
one of the oldest participants in the Good Morning thread (Sodamo) is fully off grid on top of the Big Island in Hawaii and has a sophisticated power generation system. Including one or two generators for backup.
Lot of high tech equipment he has to service regularly. The discussion is often over my head, as it is here, but that's how you learn.
I'm on my second year of a 100% synthetic oil change on my Westinghouse 9500 gen, with about 15 hours on it. It still looks like new and right up to the top. Never run on gasoline, always propane.
do I really need to change this oil every year? No filter, so that's a plus for more regular changes. Oil is so good now, and if it doesn't get dirty, do we need to throw it away so often?
I'm in PA so full seasons, condensation, etc.
I run all my equipment every several months, particularly the snowblower. EFI, starts right up. Power is lost regularly thanks to trees coming down that I don't need to exercise gen. It gets its own exercise, usually for 2-4 hours at a time.
I know it would have added another hundred bucks to the price, but sure wish this motor had pressure lube and a filter.
LouNY
Super Star Member
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Running on propane your small engine hasn't gotten any combustion contaminates in it to change the color. With no filter to catch any debris or wear particles they are being circulated, I would change the oil just to remove any wear metals present. The oil itself is likely to be in fine shape except for wear metals. It doesn't hold much so it's not a large financial issue to change it.
Propane and natgas are great fuels, for the reason Lou cites.
Not re. oil quantities.... even today, small engines don't cost much to delta the oil.... but this discussion reminds me of researching a Champion generator a year or so back..... Amazon reviewer even listed the PN, for an aftermarket dipstick he bought - correct length obviously needed, but importantly, magnetic.
Simple Things, That Work.... (realizing.... a lot of the small stuff is not cast-iron lined).
Rgds, D.
Not re. oil quantities.... even today, small engines don't cost much to delta the oil.... but this discussion reminds me of researching a Champion generator a year or so back..... Amazon reviewer even listed the PN, for an aftermarket dipstick he bought - correct length obviously needed, but importantly, magnetic.
Simple Things, That Work.... (realizing.... a lot of the small stuff is not cast-iron lined).
Rgds, D.
