Your last generator Maintenance Run

[Alan46]

We have a Generac 22KW 2014 air cooled in the Pacific Northwest.
We had to evacuate for 11 days because of fire it ran the whole time except for oil check every few days, and never an issue with overheating and it was in the summer months, it runs on propane! Still has the original battery!

 

[DarkBlack]

If you go with a 3600 rpm liquid cooled… better be far from the house. There way way more noisy than any 22 kw air cooled running same rpm.

Why would a liquid cooled engine of the same power, running the same rpm, as an air cooled engine, be noisier?

 

[TMGT]

Why would a liquid cooled engine of the same power, running the same rpm, as an air cooled engine, be noisier?

I'm kind of confused also, I had a 17kw air cooled previously and a 25kw water cooled that I'm about to install, the 25 is definitely quieter then the 17.

 

[5030]

Why would a liquid cooled engine of the same power, running the same rpm, as an air cooled engine, be noisier?

Because the water cooled engine has a sound absorbing water jacket whereas the air cooled engine only has cooling fins cast into the cylinder block and they amplify the sound of combustion as well...and usually the valve clearances on an air cooled engine are greater than a water cooled engine and that also contributes to increased mechanical noise.

On my 21KW air cooled Generac up by the house, I will say the cooling fan noise overcomes everything else.

My 32KW diesel powered Generac is much quieter actually.

 

[TMGT]

Because the water cooled engine has a sound absorbing water jacket whereas the air cooled engine only has cooling fins cast into the cylinder block and they amplify the sound of combustion as well...and usually the valve clearances on an air cooled engine are greater than a water cooled engine and that also contributes to increased mechanical noise.

On my 21KW air cooled Generac up by the house, I will say the cooling fan noise overcomes everything else.

My 32KW diesel powered Generac is much quieter actually.

Agreed, however grsthegreat said that the water cooled was noisier then the air cooled.........

 

[groundcover]

As a rule the liquid cooled are 4pole and run at half the RPM (1800, not 3600)

 

[TMGT]

Not necessarily, there are a lot of 3600rpm liquid cooled units out there. My 25kw is 3600, uses a Mitsubishi 1.5L 4cyl, same engine that was put in the Mirage.

 

[grsthegreat]

Why would a liquid cooled engine of the same power, running the same rpm, as an air cooled engine, be noisier?

Its 3 times the size, and moves a tremendous amount of air. I can stand next to a 22 kw running, with lid closed and talk to the customer. Absolutely impossible on the 45, even if you yell. Its horrible.

 

[grsthegreat]

As a rule the liquid cooled are 4pole and run at half the RPM (1800, not 3600)

Exactly, alot of the liquid cooled still run at 3600

 

[5030]

As a rule the liquid cooled are 4pole and run at half the RPM (1800, not 3600)

Not right exactly. Diesel gensets are 4 pole / 1800 rpm. Gas is 2 pole / 3600 rpm. I own both btw. Gas can be water or air cooled but diesels are almost always water cooled. In fact I don't know of any major producer that uses an air cooled diesel engine.

 

[3930dave]

We have a Generac 22KW 2014 air cooled in the Pacific Northwest.
We had to evacuate for 11 days because of fire it ran the whole time except for oil check every few days, and never an issue with overheating and it was in the summer months, it runs on propane! Still has the original battery!

1) I hope your property had no fire damage.

2) If that's how your luck usually runs (11 days, nobody home, no issue w. a 10 y/o battery), then I'll pay you to buy and mail me lottery tickets !

3) Easy to spend somebody else's money (and, I'm not known for throwing mine away) but that 2014 battery has been well-amortized by now..... after that 11 day run, I'd have trouble sleeping w/o a new battery in your gen. A "while" back in this thread, grs had some good #'s on battery life expectancy (other people listed info too, but he probably changes more batteries on Generacs in a year, than the rest of us ever see). IIRC, 10 years on that class of battery is getting well out on the far edge of expected life.

Rgds, D.

 

[daugen]

air cooled diesels are not uncommon in Europe, Hatz and Deutz have been around forever, yanmar makes some air cooled diesels too

Used Generators, Air-cooled Diesel Engine, Generator | Diesel Service

A DSS rep can further explain the advantages of used generators vs new, air cooled diesel generators and air cooled diesel generators backup systems.

www.generatorsource.com

 

[daugen]

one comment I read was interesting in that air cooled generators warm up faster than water cooled, so
load can be turned on faster.
I've watched a lot of youtube videos on starting big generators. I absolutely cringe when I see them start racing at full
rpm ten seconds later. Unless the oil is kept warm, only exception.

Generac kicks on around 10 to 12 seconds.
how many of us would take our cars out in zero degree weather and floor it to redline
ten seconds later? (guys with diesels at least can often plug them in at night)
Always wondered why they didn't let the motor run for at least 30 seconds.
if you are a hospital, well, keep your oil warm and I get it. Hospitals probably need to go solid state too, let's keep the
heart pump running while you operate on me please.............

Big ships and trains and ? have prelubers, not sure about oil warmers.

I always let my portable gen warm up for several minutes.
By the time I get back down in the basement with my flashlight fiddling with the panel
to switch over power, it's warmed up a little.

I think if I had an automatic gen here, like I used to, I'd have a heater element of some sort for the gen.
when mornings are zero degrees out, or colder, that is just not the time to lose your power. Not all of us have woodstoves
or fireplaces so this gets real in a hurry. I guess you have to have a heating pad under the battery too.

 

[check]

My 17kw Kohler starts up instantly when the power goes out. Should probably program in a few seconds of delay.

 

[Robin Veerman]

one comment I read was interesting in that air cooled generators warm up faster than water cooled, so
load can be turned on faster.
I've watched a lot of youtube videos on starting big generators. I absolutely cringe when I see them start racing at full
rpm ten seconds later. Unless the oil is kept warm, only exception.

Generac kicks on around 10 to 12 seconds.
how many of us would take our cars out in zero degree weather and floor it to redline
ten seconds later? (guys with diesels at least can often plug them in at night)
Always wondered why they didn't let the motor run for at least 30 seconds.
if you are a hospital, well, keep your oil warm and I get it. Hospitals probably need to go solid state too, let's keep the
heart pump running while you operate on me please.............

Big ships and trains and ? have prelubers, not sure about oil warmers.

I always let my portable gen warm up for several minutes.
By the time I get back down in the basement with my flashlight fiddling with the panel
to switch over power, it's warmed up a little.

I think if I had an automatic gen here, like I used to, I'd have a heater element of some sort for the gen.
when mornings are zero degrees out, or colder, that is just not the time to lose your power. Not all of us have woodstoves
or fireplaces so this gets real in a hurry. I guess you have to have a heating pad under the battery too.

Modern premium synthetic oils address all your concerns…

 

[groundcover]

Not right exactly. Diesel gensets are 4 pole / 1800 rpm. Gas is 2 pole / 3600 rpm. I own both btw. Gas can be water or air cooled but diesels are almost always water cooled. In fact I don't know of any major producer that uses an air cooled diesel engine.

I have one. 6KW Genpro , single cylinder Lombardi diesel 3600 RPM 4 pole.

 

[groundcover]

And talk about loud !

 

[Sawyer Rob]

They are not uncommon here in the US either, at least not here in the farming community. I have (5) Deutz and SLH air cooled diesels myself, and I've had others.

I really like the SLH made air cooled diesels...

SR

 

[LouNY]

I have one. 6KW Genpro , single cylinder Lombardi diesel 3600 RPM 4 pole.

3600 rpm directly to a 4 pole generator head would give you 120 hz power, unless that 3600 rpm engine has a gearbox between it and the head if it is turning at 3600 rpm directly to the generator head that would be a 2 pole generator head.

 

[5030]

Exactly. 2 pole = 3600, 4 pole = 1800. Having said that, Inverters can have multiple poles as the frequency as well as output voltage is 100% electronically controlled. Why you don't see large output units as they would be prohibitively expensive.

Far as diesel powered units, smaller ones I imagine could be 3600 rpm pto but the larger ones will be almost all 1800 pto.

Not familiar with small air cooled diesels though I'd consider a Hatz as a repower engine if they weren't prohibitively expensive.