Your last generator Maintenance Run

[Sawyer Rob]

"Generally" it should total to a 50% load on the generator...

Why not get some use out of the fuel, run things in the house that are useful, like a cloths dryer, make the pump run by watering the grass, or the siding on your house.

IF you have an electric cook stove, cook something in the oven, or in the winter run some electric heaters...

SR

 

[3930dave]

Those of you who load your generators, how do you do that? Just turn on lights and appliances when on the generator, or do you have a load bank that you use?

I was thinking that 4 water heater elements of 4500 watts would be a good load for a whole house generator. (In a water tank big enough to keep from boiling the water). I can't think of any other method at the moment that would provide a heavy load.

Other than household appliances, there are some examples in this thread of dedicated loads. Some pages back (I should be doing this :zzz: :zzz: :zzz: about now, so won't go hunting.....) one poster had built loads out of scrapped clothes dryer elements, IIRC. Obviously, the main concern with any homebrew loads handling this much heat is going to be fire safety.....

At the other end of the spectrum, another poster (lousy middle-of-the-night memory here.....) uses a MilSurp commercially built AC load-bank. Like driving a Rolls Royce, nice to have, if circumstances allow.....

I see a parallel to human physiology...... light exercise is better than no exercise, and exercising with weights is even better :thumbsup:

Rgds, D.

 

[nikdfish]

For us, the simplest way to significantly load the 22kw whole house unit is bump the thermostat up or down a couple of degrees to get the 5 ton heat pump on-line ...

For the portable units (5.5 & 7 kw) I'd just hang a 1500 watt milk house heater off each leg (3kw total load).

Nick

 

[DEWFPO]

What's the groups thoughts on gasoline/propane vs. diesel genset exercise loads? You need to get all the units hot for some period of time to burn off condensation but you don't have wet stacking issues with non-diesels.

DEWFPO

 

[90cummins]

I use portable space heaters @1500 watts each to load my smaller Generator's.
For larger loads I have a 3phase 9kw heater and seperated the 3 heating elements with switches so I can create a 3, 6 or 9kw load.
Using both heaters I can pretty much create any load from 700watts to 10kw's.
Loading a generator to full capacity on occasion ensures that it is operating properly within voltage limits.
I had 2 Generac XL 4000 Generator's and discovred that at 3500 watts the voltage was under 120 volts.
At it's rated load of 4kw's the voltage was in the 90's.
Had I not know that I could have damaged my electronics & deep well pump.
90cummins

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I think diesel "wet stacking" is over talked about!

I've seen some old CAT dozers wet stack and I've seen some slobbering john deeres wet stack, BUT I've yet to see one of my diesel tractors wet stack even a little! Never seen the neighbors or my brothers do it either.

I've run a tractor on my generator for hours with a light load, raked hay (very light load) for hours on end at lower rpm's and NEVER seen anything that even remotely looked like wet stacking.

I think it's pretty much a thing of the past, for these newer smaller tractors!

SR

 

[3930dave]

What's the groups thoughts on gasoline/propane vs. diesel genset exercise loads? You need to get all the units hot for some period of time to burn off condensation but you don't have wet stacking issues with non-diesels.

DEWFPO

IMO, all fuel types need to be exercised, with adequate loads. (Just covering my bases....).

Propane and natgas aren't likely to wash down cylinder walls. With the exception of the smallest units, diesel gens tend to be water-cooled. Water-cooling + high torque diesel + ultra-low load = good chances the engine will run cold....... esp. compared to air-cooled units. One advantage to a PTO powered generator is that the tractor lives multiple lives..... chances are pretty good the tractor will see heavy use/pulling doing something else, and gets exercised that way - a dedicated diesel gen only dances to one song.....

90 posted a while back concerning a small diesel gen he extensively rebuilt for a friend - it had been run long periods with virtually no load. Whether or not a diesel engine exhibits obvious external symptoms, I feel they have the toughest time dealing with dramatic under-loading, compared to most other fuels.

But, I don't like running any generator for really long periods with only very light loads. DC to AC inverters are relatively inexpensive today (and very quiet); I prefer to use batteries driving inverters to support light loads.

90 touched on another good point - small portable generators are often advertised and labeled with their surge wattage rating, as opposed to continuous-duty power. If it's not explicitly stated, I assume I'm looking at surge power rating, and de-rate accordingly.

Rgds, D.

 

[90cummins]

Default Re: Farymann 43F Diesel governor questions??
Apparently Farymann diesels are not a common engine around here.
I have however modified the govenor so it will maintain any required speed.
I have it set at 2400 rpm which is at peak torque.
My recient fuel consumption testing was as follows.
I filled a 5 gallon container with 15kg of diesel, 30 plus pounds.
The fuel container was suspended and the fuel hose inserted thru the top taking care not to influence the scale reading.
Generator was connected to my 24 volt battery pack and started.
Main power was disconnected so the inverter would power the entire house.
I ran the test for 5.75 hours while carrying on normally in the house.
Load ranged from 2 to 4kw.
12.76 lbs of fuel were consumed which converts to 1.77 gallons which is 0.309 gallons per hour or 3.24 hours per gallon.
I'm quite happy with the results and will continue to find ways to reduce consumption further.
90cummins

 

[mike69440]

Just a couple of things'

1. The engine on my generator started to vibrate apart at the engine case at about 100 hours of use. Fortunately I saw the puddle from loosing near a 1/2 quart of oil before the motor seized. I used a die grinder to give me access to the fasteners through the generator housing adapter to tighten things up. ( a very poor design!

2. Low oil sensor should have stopped the motor. Must have to be really low. Don't trust them!

3. Low oil sensors can indicate and also be ruined by moisture condensation in the oil and crank, so change oil yearly, even if oil is clean. Water is a poor lubricant.

4. Keep generator away from grinding dust.

 

[3930dave]

Default Re: Farymann 43F Diesel governor questions??
Apparently Farymann diesels are not a common engine around here.
I have however modified the govenor so it will maintain any required speed.
I have it set at 2400 rpm which is at peak torque.
My recient fuel consumption testing was as follows.
I filled a 5 gallon container with 15kg of diesel, 30 plus pounds.
The fuel container was suspended and the fuel hose inserted thru the top taking care not to influence the scale reading.
Generator was connected to my 24 volt battery pack and started.
Main power was disconnected so the inverter would power the entire house.
I ran the test for 5.75 hours while carrying on normally in the house.
Load ranged from 2 to 4kw.
12.76 lbs of fuel were consumed which converts to 1.77 gallons which is 0.309 gallons per hour or 3.24 hours per gallon.
I'm quite happy with the results and will continue to find ways to reduce consumption further.
90cummins

Why I like hanging around here..... never heard of that manufacturer before. Probably well known across the pond. Looks like just one NA distributor at the moment, so these probably will have a cult following. Looks like Briggs tried owning them circa '79.....

Thanks for the detailed #'s on that run 90...... looking good :thumbsup:

Rgds, D.