Your last generator Maintenance Run

[3930dave]

Good luck Lou,though with the IH etc you'll be fine anyway ! Clear weather, sometimes gives us the longest outages...

That story bdh, sure sucks.... not like Farming is an easy-go, to begin with !

Rgds, D.

 

[LouNY]

Good luck Lou,though with the IH etc you'll be fine anyway ! Clear weather, sometimes gives us the longest outages...

That story bdh, sure sucks.... not like Farming is an easy-go, to begin with !

Rgds, D.

Generator exercising over and done with utility power back at 4:42, so from 10:10 AM til 4:42 PM, on the generator about 11AM till almost 5PM so about 6 hr's.
Just about the lightest load that unit ever see's. No heat or AC, just lights, computers, freezers and water pump.
Could get by with a 6kw unit, tractor was sure loafing along 6 hours at pto speed temp stabilized out at 170 and 50 psi oil pressure.
I've thought about taking the little backhoe of the Kioti 25 hp so it would be available for the generator, should be able to push 10-12 kw out of the generator.
The Branson does it easily on the 540E, I'll have to try the NH some day with the 1000 rpm pto at half throttle and see if the governor is stable enough.

 

[daugen]

Lou, if your diesel got up to 170, should be hot enough to avoid stacking
nice easy work for your old girl
maybe throw the a/c on just to load it up for a little bit?

 

[bdhsfz6]

Generator exercising over and done with utility power back at 4:42, so from 10:10 AM til 4:42 PM, on the generator about 11AM till almost 5PM so about 6 hr's.
Just about the lightest load that unit ever see's. No heat or AC, just lights, computers, freezers and water pump.
Could get by with a 6kw unit, tractor was sure loafing along 6 hours at pto speed temp stabilized out at 170 and 50 psi oil pressure.
I've thought about taking the little backhoe of the Kioti 25 hp so it would be available for the generator, should be able to push 10-12 kw out of the generator.
The Branson does it easily on the 540E, I'll have to try the NH some day with the 1000 rpm pto at half throttle and see if the governor is stable enough.

Glad you're back on the grid.

Having multiple tractors is indeed a blessing but it sometimes becomes a question of what implements to leave attached.

I have more power outages than uses for the backhoe, but the implement swap time on my first tractor becomes an issue. I mow & plow more than I need the generator, so leaving it attached to the second tractor isn't practical. I thought about a third tractor that I could dedicate to the PTO genny, but I decided to spend the $$ on a standalone diesel generator instead. It isn't quite as portable as the PTO model and it's a one trick pony, but it does have wheels and can be moved with forks if necessary. The slight loss of flexibility is more than made up in the convenience of just throwing a switch to get the juice back on.

In my younger years, I wouldn't have thought twice about taking off an implement and hooking up the PTO genny, even for a half hour outage. Back then, I did very well with just one tractor. Unfortunately, age is a cruel master and forces us to compensate as best we can.

 

[3930dave]

Glad you're back on the grid.

Unfortunately, age is a cruel master and forces us to compensate as best we can.

Decision-trees..... should be capable of adapting, for all of us.....

Thinking about knowledge vs Wisdom, reminds me of that Will Rogers quote (paraphrasing...)

Knowledge: Knowing what an electric-fence is.

Wisdom: Deciding not to **** on it.

Rgds, D.

 

[daugen]

no joy this afternoon on a test
light under start push button should light up when rocker switch turned to on.
Doesn't.
won't start manually.
am thinking bad rocker switch, sprayed some contact cleaner in, no joy.
hoping a friend can take it apart tomorrow and we can determine where power is stopping.
there is a big blade fuse on the starter and that was fine.

 

[DarkBlack]

no joy this afternoon on a test
light under start push button should light up when rocker switch turned to on.
Doesn't.
won't start manually.
am thinking bad rocker switch, sprayed some contact cleaner in, no joy.
hoping a friend can take it apart tomorrow and we can determine where power is stopping.
there is a big blade fuse on the starter and that was fine.
View attachment 4026988

Did you check the oil level?

 

[3930dave]

Did you check the oil level?

Good point. After check, TEMPORARILY bypass the oil-sensor ?

Rgds, D.

 

[daugen]

thanks, I did. Nothing loose, oil at full level
will check again today

 

[daugen]

what I am going to do after watching several YT videos is disconnect the low oil sensor.
apparently engine runs just fine with it disconnected and that part is known to fail.
The yellow wire is easy to find, just need to trace it back to disconnect plug.
not impressed with rust resistance on this unit, granted it's been outside for four years but has always been covered.
looks like I need to wipe down some of the front panel hardware with oil.
I do inspect the receptacles and have plugged and unplugged the 50 amp cord,plus DeOxit.
And I use a plastic/metal protectant on the frame.
but the rust around the push button breakers is unfortunate, likely due to our wet Spring here.