Your last generator Maintenance Run

[Patrick Herd]

25kW is definitely in the realm of what's "affordable" in home solar and battery tech nowadays. Especially remembering that you don't use 25kW 100% of the time, and comparing costs with brands like Cummins, CAT, or Kubota.
Due to grid reliability, I'm about to splurge on a 12kW/15kVA 230/400V 3 phase inverter charger stack and 15kWH of lithium storage. It will be primarily there to UPS the house, and connected to our existing 1500W solar array. Numbers suggest that with care we won't run the batteries flat even in multi day outages.

Related to maintenance: Predator generator full of mice

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[Patrick Herd]

I may have posted this one before, they powered a family of four house for 24hrs with a bunch of people on bikes

No batteries in the system, only a modest sized ultra capacitor stack to buffer the DC between the bikes and the inverters.

 

[Spanky100]

Most of mine are NOCO as pictured on one of my Harleys. But others like Schumacher, OptiMATE, Battery Tender, etc View attachment 842086but regardless of brand make sure that they are SMART maintainers.

Robin great information.

I have been using the Battery Tender Brand on all our battery start equipment and toys that do not get used weekly throughout the 4 seasons. 1 Auto, 1 Tractor, 2 PWCs, 1 Motorcycle, 1 Diesel Generator, and a 1 ZTR Mower. Fit all with quick connect fused lead to battery terminal lugs.

The Battery Tenders are various models from 3/4 amp, 0.8 amp, and a dual unit with 1.25 amp for each side.

We keep the Battery Tenders plugged into the 120 VAC receptacle 365/7/24 and only disconnect the 12 DC quick connect output going to the battery when using the equipment. (We do not disconnect maintainer on the diesel generator when doing monthly generator checks even though it also charges the battery when running. The maintainer monitors battery voltage and stops charging when the engine charge circuit is active above iirc 13.7 VDC).

We use good quality AGM and Flooded Lead Acid Batteries. All are "maintenance free" that do not have access to fill with water. The batteries on maintainers seem to last 10 to 17 years before needing replacement.

I got tired of changing batteries after 3 to 5 years, so started using Battery Maintainers with good success. Make sure to use good units that reduce the current when battery is at full charge so you do not damage the battery from overcharging. Most of our equipment and toys are not used from November thru April. During non-use periods, the battery internal discharge over time combined with some of the equipment that have a small current drain from engine control modules (ECMs) keep reducing the battery state of charge which reduces the battery service life over time. Likely if you are using the equipment each week throughout the year long enough to keep batter fully charged you will not benefit from a maintainer.

Some of the maintainers are over 20 years old and I have never had to replace one yet. I like the added battery longevity when using maintainers.

Some day I should calculate how much electricity it takes to keep the 7 battery maintainers on 365/7/24. I suspect it is still much less expensive then replacing batteries often. Good batteries are not cheap.


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[stevem5215]

In backup generators it's not about the cost of the maintenance it's about the unit starting when needed. Keeping the batteries topped off ensures that happens.

 

[Robin Veerman]

In backup generators it's not about the cost of the maintenance it's about the unit starting when needed. Keeping the batteries topped off ensures that happens.

Well that’s not everyone’s point of view. For many it IS the cost of maintenance that is concerning! That’s why many try to do maintenance themselves. By DIYing they can save some expense, put that savings towards better quality maintenance items if they want, learn about their equipment and KNOW what was actually done.
There’s no guarantee that the unit will operate properly, but a better chance that it will perform when needed due to top notch maintenance….

 

[Texasmark]

I did a maintenance run on one of mine yesterday, and decided to start this thread as a reminder-to-self to do this a little more often.

I had some issues with my old gen last year, detailed in another thread. Part of my corrective action plan (to what was reasonably careful storage in the past) is to run my generators at least every 2-3 months.

Using the Cloud, to offset my less than perfect memory........

Rgds, D.

My Generac's software automatically runs my unit every Wednesday, around 1PM for 15 minutes!!!!

 

[grsthegreat]

ya, my generac exercises weekly for 5 minutes. has built in battery maintainer in controller. even then, i can only get about 5-7 years on the battery before they become unreliable. the batteries may still start unit, but under load the amperage and voltages begin to drop drastically.

 

[daugen]

that weekly exercising makes a lot of sense, plus it identifies a starting problem anyway before it becomes a problem.
pretty sure most Generacs do not operate on a load on weekly run, so not sure you are testing generator portion.
They don't seem to be the problem usually

 

[grsthegreat]

they dont transfer load during exercise. i advise my clients to do a yearly manual exercise under load at least 1 time a year before winter just to make sure everything is working properly.

me, we have enough real power outages every year to cover that issue. just had a 4 hour event last month

 

[3930dave]

Noco seems to be a good brand, but I haven't been impressed with their Li jump-pack I bought - haven't done an instrumented load-test on it, but doesn't seem to have the cranking amps expected. I have spec'd something out of their commercial charger line @ work, which I do like.

Rgds, D.

Correction - that is a Schumacher Pro line charger I selected @ work.... checked on-shelf last night, twas long enough ago that I bought it, that my "perfect" memory wasn't working .

The performance of that unit, lead to another dual charger being bought from that line - does a good job of maintaining 2 group 31 agm independently, for 24v boosting applications.

Rgds, D.