Your last generator Maintenance Run

[bullbreaker]

Neat - I didn't know Yanmar made them that small either....

I've seen some impressively quiet large diesels gens - think movie set applications - but, those are major dollars. Would be interesting to hear that little one running.

Rgds, D.

Here you go !

Yanmar YDG2700E-E Air Cooled Diesel Generator - YouTube

 

[doxford jim]

Dave,
The filter that was plugging up is the one I installed on the diesel fuel tank outlet. The fuel colour looked good (pink) and showed no signs of any sediment. When I took the dirty filter off I ran about a litre of fuel out into a clean container and let it sit for a while - no signs of discolouration or water. The filter is a 10 micron filter so it will tend to clog up fairly quickly and thus save the dirt material (whatever it is) from reaching the generator fuel system.
The fuel looked good and the generator ran great after the filter change and I am happy that the "primary" fuel filter is doing the job intended for it.
HTH answer your questions.

 

[3930dave]

Dave,

HTH answer your questions.

Thanks Jim.... one reason I hang out here is I'm always chasing data.... appreciate the feedback, as I don't have experience with stationary diesels, and their often really large fuel tanks.

I had thought your 10 u was up at the gen. Your post was fine, just my brain not processing what was in front of me

Good to hear that it was a simple fix.

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

Here you go !

Yanmar YDG2700E-E Air Cooled Diesel Generator - YouTube

Thanks bb. Starts and Runs well, and I can't say I've seen an Overcrank warning on something that small. Trust Yanmar to sweat the details.

W/O SPL meter readings, my ears aren't good enough to assess how quiet that is. Possibly not bad, but if I was posting a Generator For Sale Ad, I'd at least have 2 people in the video having a conversation about 15' from the running gen. Not as good as actual SPL measerments (that you can compare to some generator you've heard running), but over a video, how much yelling happens in the conversation may give you a clue.

Rgds, D.

 

[orezok]

I seem to remember some batteries ha oil put in them - no kidding, it is true. However. everybody's idea of oil differed vastly. Last time I looked inside one of those, it had thick grey sludge - didn't didn't even check the voltage or amps! LOL

You must be talking about this stuff.

 

[3930dave]

You must be talking about this stuff.

Wow.... now that's a find !

Rgds, D.

 

[orezok]

Wow.... now that's a find !

Rgds, D.

It's a little bottle about 4" high. It was originally used in railroad batteries to help maintain the charge. I got that bottle from my dad, so I'm guessing it's about 80 to 90 years old. There are usually a number for sale on eBay.

Consequently, I add mineral oil to all my storage batteries, RV backup generator etc. (about an ounce per cell). It virtually eliminates periodically adding water and significantly reduces corrosion of the terminals and nearby metal.

 

[3930dave]

It's a little bottle about 4" high. It was originally used in railroad batteries to help maintain the charge. I got that bottle from my dad, so I'm guessing it's about 80 to 90 years old. There are usually a number for sale on eBay.

Consequently, I add mineral oil to all my storage batteries, RV backup generator etc. (about an ounce per cell). It virtually eliminates periodically adding water and significantly reduces corrosion of the terminals and nearby metal.

Thanks for sharing the history.

I used to get to the SW on business, and gained an appreciation of how short the lifespan of FLA batteries can be in high heat conditions.

Long way of saying...... when somebody from the Mojave has sucess extending electrolyte life - I pay attention !

I've had good luck with those treated (red/green) battery terminal washers on my vehicles, they seem to manage the off-gassing on batteries here well.

I'll add mineral oil to my research file on batteries..... one thing I'm curious about is if there is any noticeable drop in CCA rating - critical for our winters.

Speaking of that.... can you send some heat our way ? We're all sick of looking at snow up here !

Rgds, D.

 

[doxford jim]

You must be talking about this stuff.

Thanks for the photograph. I have never seen the likes of that bottle, but now it all makes sense. Believe it or not, the batteries I have seen with the oil addition were made in the 1980's. I have no idea of what their performance was like in extreme conditions (hot and cold) and the ones I saw got replaced with the more conventional batteries (lead acid).
I am surprised others are aware of what I was talking about - one reason why forums like this one are great to visit.
Thanks

 

[orezok]

Thanks for sharing the history.

I'll add mineral oil to my research file on batteries..... one thing I'm curious about is if there is any noticeable drop in CCA rating - critical for our winters.

Speaking of that.... can you send some heat our way ? We're all sick of looking at snow up here !

Rgds, D.

Mineral oil being lighter than water just floats on the surface. When the battery charges and produces hydrogen the oil seems to stop them from bursting at the surface and releasing the electrolyte into the air as a mist. They seem to slowly pass throughout the oil. On my RV I have not added water in over a year and it is on the charger 24/7.

What kills batteries here is extreme heat. I saw 126* in August of 96. The high heat tends to cause more rapid evaporation of the electrolyte. I could check my batteries weekly for level, but I'd rather let a couple of ounces of mineral oil do it for me!

I don't see how it would reduce the CCA as it has no contact with the plates.

 

[3930dave]

Mineral oil being lighter than water just floats on the surface. When the battery charges and produces hydrogen the oil seems to stop them from bursting at the surface and releasing the electrolyte into the air as a mist. They seem to slowly pass throughout the oil. On my RV I have not added water in over a year and it is on the charger 24/7.

What kills batteries here is extreme heat. I saw 126* in August of 96. The high heat tends to cause more rapid evaporation of the electrolyte. I could check my batteries weekly for level, but I'd rather let a couple of ounces of mineral oil do it for me!

I don't see how it would reduce the CCA as it has no contact with the plates.

I follow your explanation. Been down with the flu for 2 days (that's my story ), so I hadn't yet thought to check the specific gravity of mineral oil - I was thinking of it mixing completely, and contacting the plates.

Next time I have a battery that needs topping up, I may well try that.

Rgds, D.

 

[TimberXX]

I need to store a generator for work for one year. I fogged the engine, changed the oil, etc. since the tank is metal I have removed the fuel but want to get the water vapor out of it.

Any recommendations?

 

[3930dave]

I need to store a generator for work for one year. I fogged the engine, changed the oil, etc. since the tank is metal I have removed the fuel but want to get the water vapor out of it.

Any recommendations?

I went to a Store Tank Full approach, before I got my recent gen with a metal tank, so I've never had to do that.

Stabil has a new 360 product, designed to protect exposed parts of the tank, but I think the idea is you treat the fuel, and as the fuel sits in the tank the vapours coat and protect the exposed parts.

STA-BIL 360 Protection

On my larger gen, I could probably get small bags of dessicant into and out of the tank because that tank has a large diameter fill cap. On my small gen, that would be a PITA to do....

If nobody else chimes in here, try sending Soundguy a PM - he restores a lot of old tractors and may have a suggestion.

You may have to follow the boss's orders about emptying the tank, but any decent fuel treatment should give you a year of stabilized protection.

Rgds, D.

 

[90cummins]

I performed a fuel consumption test on three of my generators; (2) Generac XL 4000's and 1 Yanmar L70 Diesel mated to a 5kw generator head.
The Generac XL4000 is 7.8hp and the Yanmar is 6.7hp which makes a good comparison.
I have never seen a head to head comparison of Gas versus Diesel and I thought it was time for someone to do it.
I wanted to know how long I could run my generators at various loads.
I did 3 tests on each; full load, half load and no load.
I obtained some interesting results and would like to post the results but when I load the data into the forum post it realigns the data so it doesn't make sense.
I tried pasting the Excel spread sheet and also tried copying it to word and loading the data.
I have posted in the past but I'm having trouble now...
I need some advice so I can share it with you!
Thanks
90cummins

 

[3930dave]

I performed a fuel consumption test on three of my generators; (2) Generac XL 4000's and 1 Yanmar L70 Diesel mated to a 5kw generator head.
The Generac XL4000 is 7.8hp and the Yanmar is 6.7hp which makes a good comparison.
I have never seen a head to head comparison of Gas versus Diesel and I thought it was time for someone to do it.
I wanted to know how long I could run my generators at various loads.
I did 3 tests on each; full load, half load and no load.
I obtained some interesting results and would like to post the results but when I load the data into the forum post it realigns the data so it doesn't make sense.
I tried pasting the Excel spread sheet and also tried copying it to word and loading the data.
I have posted in the past but I'm having trouble now...
I need some advice so I can share it with you!
Thanks
90cummins

That will be interesting to see !

Until somebody who has loaded xls on here comes along (I haven't myself):

1) Can you just attach the file separately, as in not Inline ?

2) On other applications, csv format used to be the dumbed-down route to try if other approaches failed.

Rgds, D.

 

[V1Rotate]

This might seem like a dumb way to do it but how about printing out your data, take a picture of it and post the picture?

 

[3930dave]

This might seem like a dumb way to do it but how about printing out your data, take a picture of it and post the picture?

With a decent camera, that would work.

My printer does a good job of scanning to pdf. Which reminds me........ 90cummins - if you use something like OpenOffice - its' spreadsheet tool should have an Export to PDF button built in. I haven't kept up with what the Microserfs are doing with Excel - it may have an Export to PDF function by now.... OpenOffice Calc will suck in and use most any standard xls file that you have already.

(edit - openoffice is a free download).

Alternately, just a screen capture of the displayed Excel file should work too.

Rgds, D.

 

[Fi-Q]

I need some advice so I can share it with you! Thanks 90cummins

If all your data fit on 1 screen, you can mostelikely do a print screen and paste it here ?? Or PM me and send via email, I should be able to post them.

 

[90cummins]

I tried last night to post the data & became frustrated but I'm not giving up.
looks like I need to post a photo of the data.
90cummins

 

[90cummins]

View attachment 4-3-14 Yanmar versus Generac calculations.pdf

I finally figured out how to post my data!

Review the data. I find it to be quite interesting. If you see any errors or have any questions/advice/ideas for a new test let me know! Also, the legends on the left for the units could not be moved further left as per microsoft excel (it comes off as a little misleading, SORRY).

Further consumption testing involves a turbocharged Ford 1720 with the 25KW Generac PTO generator.

The data in blue at bottom illustrates fuel consumption vs. cost @ various loads.

Enjoy!

90cummins