Your last generator Maintenance Run

[clemsonfor]

I run the carb empty on my genny every time I shut it down. I find that if when I want to fire it up, I turn on the gas, then check the oil, choke it and pull it over one or two times half heartedly (never expecting it to start) then hit the Electric start. She fires right up.

this is how I kill mine too. I never use the kill switch. Just turn the fuel on and then turn it off to shut it down. I got this one from my father in law. He would always leave fuel in it and I did as well the first few years I got it. It always had crystals in the carb and would not run or shut down when I needed it. That's when I started shutting off the fuel to it . It needed a carb rebuild as it was always hard to start but it was in an outage so I never did anything. I have to run half choke to run well. But years later I still have not built the carb and its easy to start now so I have left it be! Just keep the choke part way on.
I think it backfired one day it was very hard to pull over, like it had super compression. ANd would not start. I pulled the valve cover and discovered that one of the rocker arms was off and push rod bent. I put the rocker back on and ran it like that a few times. The next time I tried to straighten it and that worked for hours, till I ordered the correct push rod and finally tore back into it to replace it. I bought the rocker too but it somehow was wrong? I had the parts for like a year or more, guess I looked up the wrong parts diagram and the rod just happened to be the same but rocker wasn't? Oh well a few dozen hours and all is still good, thank the lord.
I did notice this time the starter rope is getting frayed where it hits he recoil, I need to replace that before I pull it off one day when I need to use it.

 

[3930dave]

Was there a reason people move away from the propane on the cars there in Canada, Propane prices? They are back to putting it on school buses and county gas powered pickups here. Public transportation is 100% Natural Gas . The Dairy north of me run there Semi tankers on methane gas from there own Digestor . The Interstate I65 has natural gas fueling station spaced out . We have gotten so many wind turbines in the last 10 years I doubt any body knows how many are here now, natural gas prices had to come down to compete with them to generate electricity.

20 to 30 years ago, we had govt tax incentives to convert cars/trucks to propane. Biggest problem here now is lack of distribution - auto propane (distinct from bbq refill) is not easy to find, public NatGas even harder. Haven't seen them myself, but have read about recent build-out along the 401 corridor and into Quebec to support commercial traffic. Natgas is big in commercial fleets here, but they have access to private refill stations.... the trucking industry keeps asking the govt if they'll keep their tax claws off the Natgas as they convert more trucks....... of course all you hear from the govt is..... crickets.....

The only catch to propane was low temperature - looks like the boiling point is about -42C..... older vehicle systems sometimes had issues starting in the dead of Winter.

I'd like to see a lot more public auto propane and natgas refill stations here... buddy 'o mine much prefers to run his Natgas F150 in the BC lower mainland, but that is also a function of BeSea's insane gasoline prices....

It's nice to be able to shop around for fuel alternatives.

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

this is how I kill mine too. I never use the kill switch. Just turn the fuel on and then turn it off to shut it down. I got this one from my father in law. He would always leave fuel in it and I did as well the first few years I got it. It always had crystals in the carb and would not run or shut down when I needed it. That's when I started shutting off the fuel to it . It needed a carb rebuild as it was always hard to start but it was in an outage so I never did anything. I have to run half choke to run well. But years later I still have not built the carb and its easy to start now so I have left it be! Just keep the choke part way on.
I think it backfired one day it was very hard to pull over, like it had super compression. ANd would not start. I pulled the valve cover and discovered that one of the rocker arms was off and push rod bent. I put the rocker back on and ran it like that a few times. The next time I tried to straighten it and that worked for hours, till I ordered the correct push rod and finally tore back into it to replace it. I bought the rocker too but it somehow was wrong? I had the parts for like a year or more, guess I looked up the wrong parts diagram and the rod just happened to be the same but rocker wasn't? Oh well a few dozen hours and all is still good, thank the lord.
I did notice this time the starter rope is getting frayed where it hits he recoil, I need to replace that before I pull it off one day when I need to use it.

That was a good bit of luck with the pushrods.... what engine brand is that clemson ?

Rgds, D.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I drove a couple of propane vehicles. Both Ex-police. The first a converted 82 Malibu didn't stand a chance starting in extreme cold. The second, an OEM 87 Dodge Caravelle, never gave me any starting issues.

I actually have had more anxiety finding Diesel late at night then I ever had finding propane. Maybe, I just planned better, back then.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Double post

 

[3930dave]

I drove a couple of propane vehicles. Both Ex-police. The first a converted 82 Malibu didn't stand a chance starting in extreme cold. The second, an OEM 87 Dodge Caravelle, never gave me any starting issues.

I actually have had more anxiety finding Diesel late at night then I ever had finding propane. Maybe, I just planned better, back then.

I'd expect a modern propane design to perform well in Winter. Not that I can afford to hire Jack to do a gen conversion for me, but here's what Roush is up to these days for Ford:

Fuel System Overview - ROUSH CleanTech

Rgds, D.

 

[daugen]

I'd expect a modern propane design to perform well in Winter. Not that I can afford to hire Jack to do a gen conversion for me, but here's what Roush is up to these days for Ford:

Fuel System Overview - ROUSH CleanTech

Rgds, D.

lot of specialty parts in there but none should be crazy expensive other than that fuel rail. Would it be considered "common rail".
Seems to be handling liquid propane much like gas. And now a major bus manufacturer has spec'd it for their small school bus.
Our Products - ROUSH CleanTech

what this tells me is that tech on larger gens might become more sophisticated in the future, the ones using car engines.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

lot of specialty parts in there but none should be crazy expensive other than that fuel rail. Would it be considered "common rail".
Seems to be handling liquid propane much like gas. And now a major bus manufacturer has spec'd it for their small school bus.
Our Products - ROUSH CleanTech

what this tells me is that tech on larger gens might become more sophisticated in the future, the ones using car engines.

Thanks for the link. I do not even know about the Ford F-59 stripped chassis but did know about the F-53 that is common for gas motorhome chassis. Sounds like liquid propane technology has really progressed.

 

[clemsonfor]

That was a good bit of luck with the pushrods.... what engine brand is that clemson ?

Rgds, D.

It is a 10 HP Briggs. Its about 15 years old or so. The strange thing is that I looked up the parts from the engine model number on the engine so I am not sure how the rocker could be wrong?? Maybe I typed the wrong number into the search when I typed it and it was one number off or something on the rocker? Who knows at this point I don't even know where I bought them from. I think the root of the problem might have been wear and or backfire, valve adjustment which caused the push rod to be slightly out of place and get bent or something. I am just glad its working and been working fine. Before I replaced the push rod it would throw it every few hours of use. You could tell cause it would abruptly stop and would have like super compression letting me know the rocker was off.

 

[3930dave]

It is a 10 HP Briggs. Its about 15 years old or so. The strange thing is that I looked up the parts from the engine model number on the engine so I am not sure how the rocker could be wrong?? Maybe I typed the wrong number into the search when I typed it and it was one number off or something on the rocker? Who knows at this point I don't even know where I bought them from. I think the root of the problem might have been wear and or backfire, valve adjustment which caused the push rod to be slightly out of place and get bent or something. I am just glad its working and been working fine. Before I replaced the push rod it would throw it every few hours of use. You could tell cause it would abruptly stop and would have like super compression letting me know the rocker was off.

Thanks - have an old Briggs myself, and was curious about the pushrods interchanging.

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

Thanks for the link. I do not even know about the Ford F-59 stripped chassis but did know about the F-53 that is common for gas motorhome chassis. Sounds like liquid propane technology has really progressed.

I'd expect good performance and reliability, even in our Winters, from a Roush system.

Rgds, D.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

DuroMax 1 Watt Hybrid Dual Fuel Portable Gas Propane Generator - RV Standby | eBay

My fool head wants this 18 HP dual fuel generator for $650 but I have more than we use currently. Amazon has the same generator for $1000 and others at $1200. It states the offer is good through 26 Feb 2017.

If I had it I would test it out on gas for a while and run it bone dry and keep some filled propane tanks to start is on and switch to gas if it was going to be a long outage. This winter in the MS River end of KY seems to be over.

If anyone is in the market for a heavy duty home back up system $650 is not a lot of money if they have not sold out.

Update: My left brain lost the battle to the right brain so I have a dual fuel generator coming for my 66th birthday. Our old 18 HP B&S is 26 years old but still works OK when we need it. The dual fuel thing has been on my "want" list for many years for the reason stated above.

 

[fried1765]

DuroMax 1 Watt Hybrid Dual Fuel Portable Gas Propane Generator - RV Standby | eBay

My fool head wants this 18 HP dual fuel generator for $650 but I have more than we use currently. Amazon has the same generator for $1000 and others at $1200. It states the offer is good through 26 Feb 2017.

If I had it I would test it out on gas for a while and run it bone dry and keep some filled propane tanks to start is on and switch to gas if it was going to be a long outage. This winter in the MS River end of KY seems to be over.

If anyone is in the market for a heavy duty home back up system $650 is not a lot of money if they have not sold out.

Update: My left brain lost the battle to the right brain so I have a dual fuel generator coming for my 66th birthday. Our old 18 HP B&S is 26 years old but still works OK when we need it. The dual fuel thing has been on my "want" list for many years for the reason stated above.

My 76 year old brain says the same thing.
Trouble is: I have a 20+ year old Honda 6500W ovhd. valve, electric start, gas unit, that runs like a clock, so ..... even with propane (which I like), and that $650 price,..... I ain't gonna do it!

 

[Gale Hawkins]

I hear you fried1765.

While I do plan to live to be 110 I hope some day someone else will keep the power flowing in bad times. The next time we have a power outage I need to have all our generators up and running so I can sell a few at fair market value.

 

[TractorGuy]

.Just completed my first monthly inspection and everything passed with flying colors. I set the reminder in my phone calendar for the 2nd Sunday of every month.

After checking fluid levels I fired it up and ran it a few minutes with no load till it got to temperature. Then I applied loads and ran a few minutes at each setting starting at 10, then 20, then 40, and 50 amps. After running at 50 amps a few minutes I dialed it back to 40 and ran it for two hours. Then I backed the loads off and ran a few minutes at a each setting till I had it back to no load. Ran it a few minutes to cool down and shut it off. The voltage remained constant on both legs and the hertz droop under load was acceptable.

 

[Dakota_male]

.Just completed my first monthly inspection and everything passed with flying colors. I set the reminder in my phone calendar for the 2nd Sunday of every month.

After checking fluid levels I fired it up and ran it a few minutes with no load till it got to temperature. Then I applied loads and ran a few minutes at each setting starting at 10, then 20, then 40, and 50 amps. After running at 50 amps a few minutes I dialed it back to 40 and ran it for two hours. Then I backed the loads off and ran a few minutes at a each setting till I had it back to no load. Ran it a few minutes to cool down and shut it off. The voltage remained constant on both legs and the hertz droop under load was acceptable.

My last generator the oil looked clean just before starting it too. Once I forgot so checked it after a run and it showed a lot of metallic specks, I added a magnet and flushed it a bit more regular until they disappeared, my set didn't have a filter on the engine .I'm just saying In case your doesn't.

 

[3930dave]

DuroMax 1 Watt Hybrid Dual Fuel Portable Gas Propane Generator - RV Standby | eBay

My fool head wants this 18 HP dual fuel generator for $650 but I have more than we use currently. Amazon has the same generator for $1000 and others at $1200. It states the offer is good through 26 Feb 2017.

If I had it I would test it out on gas for a while and run it bone dry and keep some filled propane tanks to start is on and switch to gas if it was going to be a long outage. This winter in the MS River end of KY seems to be over.

If anyone is in the market for a heavy duty home back up system $650 is not a lot of money if they have not sold out.

Update: My left brain lost the battle to the right brain so I have a dual fuel generator coming for my 66th birthday. Our old 18 HP B&S is 26 years old but still works OK when we need it. The dual fuel thing has been on my "want" list for many years for the reason stated above.

Congratulations Gale - always nice to pick your own present ! This is a dangerous site to hang-out on, always somebody helping to spend money for ya ! Lucky for me, it looks like they don't ship to Canada, so it's harder for me to succumb to temptation !

I understand wanting to test out the gasoline side, but with multiple gens around, I'd be tempted to run the new one on propane only.

Nice score Gale.

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

.Just completed my first monthly inspection and everything passed with flying colors. I set the reminder in my phone calendar for the 2nd Sunday of every month.

After checking fluid levels I fired it up and ran it a few minutes with no load till it got to temperature. Then I applied loads and ran a few minutes at each setting starting at 10, then 20, then 40, and 50 amps. After running at 50 amps a few minutes I dialed it back to 40 and ran it for two hours. Then I backed the loads off and ran a few minutes at a each setting till I had it back to no load. Ran it a few minutes to cool down and shut it off. The voltage remained constant on both legs and the hertz droop under load was acceptable.

Jumped back a bit to your description of your load-bank. Exemplary test setup, and milsurp generator !

Rgds, D.

 

[TractorGuy]

My last generator the oil looked clean just before starting it too. Once I forgot so checked it after a run and it showed a lot of metallic specks, I added a magnet and flushed it a bit more regular until they disappeared, my set didn't have a filter on the engine .I'm just saying In case your doesn't.

My set has a filter and I did re check oil level and looked for leaks after testing. Oil and filter are new on my unit too.

Jumped back a bit to your description of your load-bank. Exemplary test setup, and milsurp generator !

Rgds, D.

THANKS!

 

[Looking4new]

The hydro just went out for about 10 seconds here, so I think I will be running the genny today. It is pounding down rain right now, so maybe a rain drop hit the wires.