JD 4520
Platinum Member
TimberXX said:
The generator transfer switches are great and real fairly straight forward to install. I've installed three myself.
Did I buy the wrong generator?
- Thread starter MossflowerWoods
- Start date
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The generator transfer switches are great and real fairly straight forward to install. I've installed three myself.
Travelover
Elite Member
+1 Easy as wiring a wall switch. Gentran has a video that walks you through it.
Gentran Corporation: Generator Transfer switches for home & business
QRTRHRS
Elite Member
Pretty easy but make sure you throw the main breaker and stay away from the hot leads coming in from the meter if you don't work around electicity.
QRTRHRS
Elite Member
So, I pulled the generator out of my garage and fired it up. The gas though treated has been in for some time so it took a bit to smooth out. Meanwhile, I was getting my drill ready.
So, here goes, I plugged the drill in and pulled the trigger and dang the drill ran? Maybe the last time I had the gen out I was having a senior moment? Beats me because I had checked it with my meter and all my outlets were dead but it sure is putting out now?
Exciting a generator is not like snipe hunting is it?
So, here goes, I plugged the drill in and pulled the trigger and dang the drill ran? Maybe the last time I had the gen out I was having a senior moment? Beats me because I had checked it with my meter and all my outlets were dead but it sure is putting out now?
Exciting a generator is not like snipe hunting is it?
samandmax
Bronze Member
If you must have a honda engine, go with the GX commercial series if you can. They are warranted for three years commercial use. The GC series is only 3 months for commercial use. GC series is the homeowner once in a while use engine. It has a internal timing belt on plastic pulleys, and the way to remove carb to clean and replace is silly with four items to be held together with the same two screws. Sorry if I hurt anyones feelings on Honda. I have and do own their very expensive stuff since the eighties, when they only made top shelf engines.Like many companies they have reduced the quality in certain products to meet a price point for the masses.
k0ua
Epic Contributor
Its not like there is a big permenant magnet in there, it is self excited by the build up of the field by a small amount of the current generated fed back into the field coil. But there has to be some small amount of residual magnetism in the iron plates of the stator there to begin with to generate any power to feed back to build up the magnetic field.. Which came first the chicken or egg? without power generation there can be no feedback to make a magnetic field. Without a magnetic field there can be no power generation. I am not sure why the small amount of residual magnetism fails from non- use, but maybe it is earth natural magnetic fields cancel it out after a while I am not really sure. ( I bet if I looked for a while I could find an answer
) But I do know it happens I have seen it and I have seen it easily repaired by "flashing" it with a battery. I am sure some of the other methods would work too. The moral of the story is to always run your generator at least a couple of times each year, and hopefully more.James K0UA
k0ua
Epic Contributor
Just how do you get a generator excited?
Well first you could try plying it with alcohol, soft music and low lighting.No my friend I assure you it is not like snipe hunting, or leg pulling or anything like that. I have seen a Generator that put out no voltage fixed by flashing the field. The hardest part is figuring out the polarity and remembering how to attach the clip lead to the poles of the battery. some also recomend a load in series with the battery (like a tail light bulb or resistor) to limit current, but what I saw was using a cordless drill battery directly on the field for a couple of seconds. It works. It is for real. I read one account that said putting a large very strong permanant magnet on the side of the stator would work also. I cannot say that it will but I cannot say it wont either.
James K0UA
JB4310
Super Member
Maybe by plugging that drill in, there was a little magnetism in the drill, that was enough to jump start the process ?????
JB
JB
daybreak1998
Silver Member
Field flashing a generator can be found on the internet. The basic way is to use a regular drill and a cordless drill. You connect the drill into the generator plug. You make a small wood dowel and put it in the drill. Connect the cordless drill to the other end of the dowel. You fire up the generator let it level out after a few minutes of running time. You turn on the circuit breaker. You pulled the trigger on the corded drill. And you then run the cordless drill. ( corded drill set for normal clockwise rotation, and cordless set for counter clockwise rotation) Get ready for the generation of electricity. That means the regular drill plugged in will power up by itself. That is why you use a small wood dowels that can break away. Or you can go to a generator repair shop which has a special tool which plugs it in and has a special circuit breaker and battery attached that they click a button to field flash.
Chilly807
Elite Member
We have the same problem with bigger (850 kw) generators at work from time to time, especially if the generator has been sitting for a long time (e.g. during a refit). Although I don't personally do that part of the job, we often have to re-flash the excitation fields.
9 times out of 10 whenever you see an ad like this "home backup generator for sale, engine works fine but has no electrical output" all that's wrong with it is the field has to be re-flashed.
I make a point of starting mine at least 3-4 times a year to avoid this problem.
Sean
