Your last generator Maintenance Run

[5030]

First Sunday of every month and it seems every other month Ameren ensures an additional test run

Rodger

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My JD Turbo diesel powered Generac is in it's own dedicated enclosure and the engine is JD Green as well... I'd hate to purchase one new today, would probably put a heck of a dent in my savings account. Mine is over 15 years young.

 

[orezok]

An electric Scout don't blow my dress up at all.

I always wondered about you wearing dresses. Come on, share with us

 

[LittleBill21]

Thanks Dave!

I installed it 4 years ago after getting along with a 7.5 KW gas portable for many years. But I got tired of starting the generator, wheeling it from the barn to the house, and then plugging it in and throwing a transfer switch. It seemed most power failures were at night during snow and it is uphill from the barn to the house so I truly was pushing the generator uphill through the snow.

This one is a 40 KW with a 200 amp auto transfer switch. I went with the Asco commercial transfer switch over a "homeowner" grade because it allows more customization including allowing engine warm up delay between power loss and changeover to the generator. It also does an in-phase transfer back to commercial power 5 minutes after it returns and is stable.

40 KW is a bit of overkill but it was only a little more costly than the 30 KW model I considered and the 40 KW has a more efficient 3.3L Mitsu direct injected turbo diesel and uses a mechanical pump with governor but the engine controller has fine speed control over the governor to keep it very close to 60 hz spec. The only downside is loading it sufficiently, not a problem in the summertime with two central air units and a pair of electric water heaters plug the well pump but in winter I use a lot of space heaters for a load when exercising it. Far different than the former portable I used where I needed to shut pretty much everything else down when it was time to start the well pump to refill the pressure tanks.

This produces very clean power which is one of the first things I noticed after install. I am a ham radio operator and I installed commercial grade surge protectors at the breaker boxes for the house, barn, garage, and outbuilding and these also have an interference filter in them (RFI filter along with MOVs and gas discharge tubes). When running off the gas generator, I could hear the metal boxed suppressors "singing" along with the generator but now they are silent and this generator produces a beautiful sinewave on the scop. With the generator installed in the semi-basement part of the barn it is extremely quiet running at 1800 RPM and it can only be heard with the windows open. I should have installed it years ago, it has been well worth the cost and effort!

Rodger

where did you buy it?

 

[RBsingl]

where did you buy it?

From PDG in Georgia, a large selection of generators and excellent customer service. They set up shipping and make the entire process very simple.

The Asco transfer switch came from a distributor in Texas.

Rodger

 

[LittleBill21]

From PDG in Georgia, a large selection of generators and excellent customer service. They set up shipping and make the entire process very simple.

The Asco transfer switch came from a distributor in Texas.

Rodger

Powerhouse Diesel Generators

Rugged, Reliable Diesel, Natural Gas and Propane Generators

www.pdgenerators.com

?

 

[RBsingl]

My JD Turbo diesel powered Generac is in it's own dedicated enclosure and the engine is JD Green as well... I'd hate to purchase one new today, would probably put a heck of a dent in my savings account. Mine is over 15 years young.

I expect your generator has a very long life ahead of it. I looked at a company that was using GM's industrial engine line that are set up for natural gas or propane but I am too far out in the country for natural gas and for propane I would have needed another tank to ensure fast enough vaporization in cold weather to handle the generator plus the home heating system. So diesel made the most sense.

I use the generator's 80 gallon storage tank as a transfer tank to feed my Deere and Kubota. I keep the diesel treated with algaecide and it gets a dose of power service for winter however the part of the barn it is in rarely gets much below freezing since over half of that level is in the ground. The generator came with a block heater and I put on a small thermostatically controlled oil pan heater and both of those are on an external thermostat that applies power when the temperature makes it down to freezing. That circuit has a generator powered relay controlling it so when the generator starts, the block heater and oil pan heater have their power feed opened. The starting battery is on a dedicated Ctek battery maintainer.
Nothing is 100% reliable but this setup is close enough for me and is very low maintenance.

Rodger

 

[RBsingl]

Powerhouse Diesel Generators

Rugged, Reliable Diesel, Natural Gas and Propane Generators

www.pdgenerators.com

?

That is them, good people to deal with!

Rodger

 

[LittleBill21]

That is them, good people to deal with!

Rodger

how many outages are you getting? how many hours are on this generator now? any idea on fuel burn rates?

 

[RBsingl]

Power reliability has improved here so probably 4 to 5 per year, usually only 4 to 5 hours at a time but it did run 30 hours straight after an ice storm the year I installed it.

PDG quotes 2.4 GPH at full rated load, in typical use I have averaged about 1 GPH and even during a summer outage running both central AC units (4,500 sq foot house) it used about 1.25 GPH average over an 11 hour outage.

All of the major engine brands are choices available from them, I chose the Mitsu 3.3L 4 cylinder turbo because Cat uses it in several of their forklifts so I figured if I ever needed parts in a hurry that would be a plus.

Rodger

 

[5030]

Other than filters, engine oil and antifreeze, I've never had to replace any parts on the Deere and I'm using NAPA Gold filters. Interestingly Rodger, your air cleaner is a Donaldson and so is mine as are my Kubota's. I get the air filters from my Kubota dealer but I've never changed the air filter on the genarator as it don't run that much except to exercise and mine has a built in battery charger. Mine is direct plumbed into my bulk diesel tank I fuel the tractors from. Mine came with a built in fuel tank but I've never used it. Mine is only for the shop and barns, the house is on another Gnerac but it's an air cooled Vtwin on propane. I would not want to buy either one today, I bet they are insanely expensive. The diesel is 240 1-3 only. The house is 110 and 240 -1.

Back when I purchased them there wasn't a whole lot of choices like there is today either.

I replace the starting batteries in them, maybe every 4 years or so. When they sound like they are cranking slowly, they get replaced. Only AGM's.

About the only time we have any outages is if there are bad wind storms or some clown mows down a power pole up town.

Back when I bought them, outages were commonplace. Not now and Our service provider got into serious tree trimming and that eliminated most of the outage issues.

When I bought them I was considering a Winco trailer mounted, PTO driven unit but passed, simply because I'd have to drag it out of the barn, plug it into the transfer switch (I have Generac vacuum breaker transfers on both) and then get a tractor out and hook it up and most likely in a bad storm. The Generacs are so much easier. Basically plug and play other than maintaining them. I'm no electrician so I had all the electrical professionally installed.

I did have to replace the steel enclosure on the house unit, it corroded away and I had to buy a replacement enclosure from Generac and it was an easy switch, came with detailed instructions as well and the new enclosure is aluminum, not steel. Interestingly, the enclosure on the diesel unit has never corroded at all. The paint faded a bit but that's it.

I see all the newer Generacs all have aluminum enclosures now.

I paid if I remember correctly, 4 grand for the air cooled house unit and 10 for the diesel.

The aluminum replacement enclosure for the air cooled unit set me back 4 grand but I figured it was less to replace the enclosure than buy an entire new unit. Besides, what would I do with an extra rusty unit anyway.

I had to sling the motor and generator head with the shop hoist to get it installed in the new cabinet, it was heavy.

When I set the diesel unit I used one of my farm tractors with a set of forks on it.

Bought both of them from Norwall Electrical if I remember correctly. They delivered commercial carrier, on skids. I have a loading dock adjacent to the shop so it was a hi-lo job.

I was pleasantly surprised that as old as it was, Generac actually made a replacement enclosure but then I see a lot of older ones with steel enclosures in various stages of rusting away so I presume they sell a few aluminum retrofit enclosures. Should have been aluminum to begine with as the steel cabinets are a poor design.