Your last generator Maintenance Run

[3930dave]

Power has been out now for 25 hours. Still no idea when it will be back up. Those winds, along with warm temps that thawed the ground, wrecked havoc accross the county. Our coop still has 15,000 without power. Combine that with the other 3 coops and avista, its a mess.

I shut down the standby system when i went to bed though as it was still 36F outside. predicted to get down to 28f by 6 am. Woke up at 4 am and it was only 30 outside. If it was alot colder i would have let it run all night.

I had to do 6 service calls yesterday on generators not working. Got all of them working as they all were minor issues. One funny one was a brand new unit that had no battery. The installer forgot to install it. Hard to run that way.

I have 2 more service calls that came in last night, and both those sound bad. All older units and one has oil all over the place. We will have to see what the day brings.

I did chuckle about the battery one....... too bad they weren't all that easy .

Lots of people glad to have the help.... both from you and the line-crews.

Rgds, D.

 

[grsthegreat]

i thought you were retired?

I am. But i am still doing generac air cooled service calls. Problem is there isnt any real good tech in the area to take over. Seems no one wants to do service work. And let me tell you, some installers SUCK. ( IE: the guy that forgot to install a battery).

turns out the unit with oil all over the place had a small leak in oil cooler. Didnt have that part in stock as i have NEVER seen that before. I took a hose and bypassed oil cooler . Ill have to order the part. Since its 20F out the cooler isnt needed. Its amazing how cool the engine stays at these cold running temps. I can almost touch the exhaust (almost) on a unit running for 24 straight hours. Ive run thru so many spare parts its getting scary. I have a $3,000 parts i ordered this morning to restock truck.

On the bright side, we got our power back early this morning.

 

[joeyd]

I am. But i am still doing generac air cooled service calls. Problem is there isnt any real good tech in the area to take over. Seems no one wants to do service work. And let me tell you, some installers SUCK. ( IE: the guy that forgot to install a battery).

turns out the unit with oil all over the place had a small leak in oil cooler. Didnt have that part in stock as i have NEVER seen that before. I took a hose and bypassed oil cooler . Ill have to order the part. Since its 20F out the cooler isnt needed. Its amazing how cool the engine stays at these cold running temps. I can almost touch the exhaust (almost) on a unit running for 24 straight hours. Ive run thru so many spare parts its getting scary. I have a $3,000 parts i ordered this morning to restock truck.

On the bright side, we got our power back early this morning.

Glad you got your power back. Out here on Hwy 97 they are estimating power back on Saturday night maybe. I'm sure glad I included a wood stove when I built along with a hook up for a portable generator. I run my 9300 watt Craftsman (2005) portable for about 5 hrs in the morning for internet, freezer/refer and power for the coffee maker. Then for another 5 hours in the evening for lights and refer and freezer. Too bad I didn't think of adding the water heater to the generator panel. Well heating water on the stove for camp showers will get us by.

 

[LouNY]

Glad you got your power back. Out here on Hwy 97 they are estimating power back on Saturday night maybe. I'm sure glad I included a wood stove when I built along with a hook up for a portable generator. I run my 9300 watt Craftsman (2005) portable for about 5 hrs in the morning for internet, freezer/refer and power for the coffee maker. Then for another 5 hours in the evening for lights and refer and freezer. Too bad I didn't think of adding the water heater to the generator panel. Well heating water on the stove for camp showers will get us by.

Makes me appreciate my "over kill" 25KW pto unit, when I transfer to it every thing can be used as normal.

 

[grsthegreat]

Glad you got your power back. Out here on Hwy 97 they are estimating power back on Saturday night maybe. I'm sure glad I included a wood stove when I built along with a hook up for a portable generator. I run my 9300 watt Craftsman (2005) portable for about 5 hrs in the morning for internet, freezer/refer and power for the coffee maker. Then for another 5 hours in the evening for lights and refer and freezer. Too bad I didn't think of adding the water heater to the generator panel. Well heating water on the stove for camp showers will get us by.

im doing another service call out on hwy 97 this morning. I wish he called me yesterday as i was just there.

 

[joeyd]

im doing another service call out on hwy 97 this morning. I wish he called me yesterday as i was just there.

It's nice to know you come out this way, maybe it's time to think about an upgrade....

 

[3930dave]

Its amazing how cool the engine stays at these cold running temps. I can almost touch the exhaust (almost) on a unit running for 24 straight hours. Ive run thru so many spare parts its getting scary. I have a $3,000 parts i ordered this morning to restock truck.

On the bright side, we got our power back early this morning.

Good example of how cool these run, at least where Winter applies.

A friend of a friend is a Locksmith, with a similar problem..... he's been trying to retire for a while, but every time they push the crimetrain (Skytrain) further out from Vancouver, he's run off his feet with customers begging him for upgrades to their home and business security.

Finding skilled, competent and responsible people to deal with can be tough.......

Rgds, D.

 

[ultrarunner]

Yep... trying to get things done is certainly more of a challenge in both labor and material...

Not uncommon for homeowners and renters to bar entry without a current Covid test... lets just say they are quickly moved to the back of the line...

grsthegreat... you are a great asset to have on TBN!

 

[grsthegreat]

Yep... trying to get things done is certainly more of a challenge in both labor and material...

Not uncommon for homeowners and renters to bar entry without a current Covid test... lets just say they are quickly moved to the back of the line...

grsthegreat... you are a great asset to have on TBN!

thanks... one thing for sure, if i have a customer want me to mask up while i work on the genrator i give them 2 options. 1-go away and let me work. you cant get covid if your not here. or 2- call someone else.

im working outside, im not masking up. i dont need to go in their house. if i have to for any reason than ill gladly mask up.

 

[ultrarunner]

Some trades adding Covid surcharge of $10 to $25 for mask, gloves and shoe covers plus sanitizing tools...