Your last generator Maintenance Run

[3930dave]

ive never seen any videos on it..but who knows. Pretty easy to do...just like any engine. on cold engine check the rocker arm of valve that isnt compressed. the preferred top dead center ON COMPRESSION STROKE method. generac manuals specify clearances and rocker arm torques.

IF YOU CANT tell the compression stroke from the exhaust stroke, you can use the "one up and one down method.". Ive tried both, and they both give good results. If one valve is down (open) then the other valve for that cylinder will be on the base of the cam and closed. This closed valve can then be adjusted. The process repeated for the remaining valve on that cylinder.

the hard part always seems to be needing to redo it 4-5 times as the gap usually closes after jamb nut it tightened. takes some practice. always follow torque specs as there aluminum heads and can strip.

over the years ive had to repair some units where the owners have twisted the new spark plugs in so tight, they strip the block. these too have a torque rating..and so too for the 4 bolts that hold the valve cover in-place. hand tighten only. the valve cover gaskets are reusable if care is used during removal of cover.
i can't recall at the moment what the rating is, as there on a cheat sheet in my repair tool kit on my service truck.

Mechanics "feel"...... sometimes not easy to capture precisely in words, let alone to execute consistently. Thanks again for the excellent description above.

In my teens, after realizing that I tended to over-tighten things, I bought a Craftsman 1/2" drive click-torque wrench for automotive work. Even with my tiny income at the time, it paid for itself quickly.

A lot of years later, one of my best purchases was a good-quality (Precision Instruments IIRC) 3/8" split-beam click-torque wrench, covering up to something like 500"/lb. When I looked around, there was a lot of junk 3/8 Tq wrenches on the market. Next target acquisition is a good 1/4" click-torque wrench, likely split-beam.

For an amateur wrench (me), I have a reasonable feel for mid and higher torque automotive fasteners. For lower torque stuff, it is deceptively easy to seriously over-torque small fasteners - at least for me, on things I don't do often, and working late, tired, distracted............ It's way cheaper and faster for me (completing a job successfully) to have good quality torque wrenches handy.

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

Checked our Kohler 14Kw a while back and there was a 哲o Start warning after the last maintenance run.

Had the service guys come up. There is a device to ****** the spark for propane built into the [dusl] coil. Apparently thst or one of the coils went bad as it would start, labor a bit, and shut down.

They had to order the part (on warranty) so glad I got it out of the way before it gets cold.

Good timing, catching that.

Possibly just a defective coil. You seem attentive to your machinery, so I doubt that that it's a high-hour issue (I'm used to seeing some automotive coils dying after plug changes get neglected).

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

Because if this thread, I just ran mine this evening for an hour. Ready for the fall and winter. Since I'm all ready, we will not drop our power

Hi, My name is Dave, and I don't always remember to run my generator often enough.....

^ Yep, why I originally started this thread

grs has probably adjusted more valves on these than most any of us, so I'd go with the #'s he may come up with.....

If I had to guess, I'd probably pick a similar-sized Briggs and Stratton engine, and go with what #'s they list in a downloadable manual.

Rgds, D.

 

[dragoneggs]

Yep, thanks Dave! Running my 3kW as we speak 'just for fun'. Noticed I forgot to hook up the tender after the last run but it started on second key turn. :cool2:

Also fired up the tractor since it has been sitting awhile and it is close by my gen so... why not. Time of year to put another tender on it too but when plugging it in, I found the outlet dead for some reason. Thought the tender was dead but a quick check at another outlet confirmed my problem.

 

[3930dave]

Yep, thanks Dave! Running my 3kW as we speak 'just for fun'. Noticed I forgot to hook up the tender after the last run but it started on second key turn. :cool2:

Also fired up the tractor since it has been sitting awhile and it is close by my gen so... why not. Time of year to put another tender on it too but when plugging it in, I found the outlet dead for some reason. Thought the tender was dead but a quick check at another outlet confirmed my problem.

Funny how those little things sneak up..... you'll sometimes see industrial reports where a few unrelated minor issues stack up, and evolve into a much larger problem/event...... part of why I wanted to vector more "visibility" on these generator issues for myself......

Maintenance....... even if you are fairly skilled with these things, it's much less "fun" to sort out some of these minor wiring, fusing, outlet issues during an emergency...... By definition, your personal stress-load is baselined higher already.

Need to run my 7kw..... doing various yard chores around the Casa tomorrow, should be a good day for it.

Rgds, D.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Man we have them setting everywhere so we need to get them running and some oil changed since it was right after the 2009 ice storm that we finally changed the oil in our main one. Just have not had much of a need for them in years.

 

[3930dave]

I know I need more RoundTuIts myself Gale.... always something else seems to come up ahead of these background maintenance tasks.....

Gas is what gives most people headaches on these.... but yeah, oil Needs Doing too.... mostly it's not even the cost.... many small gens don't take much more than a quart or 2.

Rgds, D.

 

[ultrarunner]

Just did the annual service of the 125 kW diesel genset at work...

It typically runs less than 25 hours annually and is now severely limited for testing and maintenance under license of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District that comes out to inspect hours... I bought it in 1994 and it is a tier zero...

Documented hours in an emergency are unlimited... exercise/maintenance limited to 20...

Under the new run restrictions the oil test came back with fuel dilution... first time ever... not a lot but enough to trigger a caution as the percentage was over the threshold.

Maybe I will need to do an oil service every 6 months???

 

[3930dave]

Just did the annual service of the 125 kW diesel genset at work...

It typically runs less than 25 hours annually and is now severely limited for testing and maintenance under license of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District that comes out to inspect hours... I bought it in 1994 and it is a tier zero...

Documented hours in an emergency are unlimited... exercise/maintenance limited to 20...

Under the new run restrictions the oil test came back with fuel dilution... first time ever... not a lot but enough to trigger a caution as the percentage was over the threshold.

Maybe I will need to do an oil service every 6 months???

What % Fuel ?

IIRC (?) most decent diesel oil is designed to tolerate low single digit % dilution, maybe as high as 3 or 4% ? Been a while since I looked at this though, I may be a bit off with those #'s.....

It may be nothing more than the new restrictions causing a higher % of the runtime to be below operating temperature..... though I think you always have coolant heaters on (?).

If #'s are too high next test, may need the injectors checked out.... though that might require renting a large generator for standby.

Rgds, D.

 

[ultrarunner]

I have the report at work...

Onan with Cummins Turbo Diesel... time to load averages 6 seconds... Block Heater is on all the time... typical year round ambient temp ranges from about 55 to 85... and it is in a protected area.

For 20 years been running every week under 41% load prior to the restrictions...

Now it is run without load every other week and load banked annually to 75% which uses my 20 hour allotment...

The push is for me to retire this 480 hour unit that has performed flawlessly since 1995 due to tier Zero...

I had been doing the dip test for moisture religiously and also never a problem but now I use less than half the fuel due to cutting the exercise in half and no load...

The required Fuel Report came back fine...