Your last generator Maintenance Run

[3930dave]

You might want to check your meter against your regular power to double check. If your regular power measures in that range on that meter, yes, you are good to go.

Not to split hairs, but I have seen meters that are not accurate.

Good point about meters.

Somebody (might have been d) posted a low cost plug in digitial Vac display on here a while back. I'd put it on my Amazon list, but forgot on my last order, I'd intended to get at least one.... These (and other low cost portable meters) aren't precise..... I think of them as similar or slightly better than gauges on a car dash...... they give you an earlier headsup of trouble, and a rough approximation of OK health.

Grab 2 low cost meters, and measure the same AC voltage, not a surprise if they don't exactly agree.

Lesser meters have a tougher time with generators (and some line voltage situations) too..... electrical noise can skew the AC reading.

One of the things you get in a more expensive meter is true-rms readings for AC. Better for reference readings, and can be thought of this way:

The RMS value of an alternating current is also known as its heating value, as it is a voltage which is equivalent to the direct current value that would be required to get the same heating effect. For example, if 120 V AC RMS is applied to a resistive heating element it would heat up by exactly the same amount as if 120 V DC were applied.

True RMS converter - Wikipedia

"AC voltage" presumes a pure sine-wave. True-RMS reading meters do a better job of standardizing AC measurements, given real-world (ie. distorted) signals to deal with.

I expect low-cost meters to not have high initial accuracy, and to drift with temperature. Checking my gen in summer , it could be over +30C ambient, Winter could be -30C.

Long way of saying..... having a low-cost meter at hand (I have several) is useful, and a whole lot better than just wiring up a test lightbulb, but I don't really expect them to agree exactly, one to the other....

Rgds, D.

 

[vvanders]

Finally getting my hands on a generator today to run our well+house proper. We've had enough with the wind storms that I'm happy this showed up today:

10Kw IMD PTO Gen. Could have gone larger but this easily matches the 10kW transfer switch that we had put in when the house was built.

Still need to wrap up the assembly for the 3pt hitch and get some gear oil for it. Looking forward to giving it a workout, hopefully sometime before the power goes out(we're expecting more wind tomorrow).

 

[dragoneggs]

Finally getting my hands on a generator today to run our well+house proper. We've had enough with the wind storms that I'm happy this showed up today:

10Kw IMD PTO Gen. Could have gone larger but this easily matches the 10kW transfer switch that we had put in when the house was built.

Still need to wrap up the assembly for the 3pt hitch and get some gear oil for it. Looking forward to giving it a workout, hopefully sometime before the power goes out(we're expecting more wind tomorrow).

Very cool! Looking forward to seeing a complete set up.

 

[vvanders]

Yeah, I was pretty impressed with the 3pt kit. Aside from the hitch pins fitting a little tight and needing some filing out of the powercoat to get them to fit it's pretty nicely made.

Once I get it spun up I'll definitely share some pics. I may even see if I can dig out a HV->LV transformer/isolator and take a peek at AC THD with the oscope.

 

[3930dave]

Yeah, I was pretty impressed with the 3pt kit. Aside from the hitch pins fitting a little tight and needing some filing out of the powercoat to get them to fit it's pretty nicely made.

Once I get it spun up I'll definitely share some pics. I may even see if I can dig out a HV->LV transformer/isolator and take a peek at AC THD with the oscope.

Nice acquisition ! Please post your final setup, and test results.

Rgds, D.

 

[vvanders]

Whelp slight hitch in the plans. Got everything bolted together(instructions omitted you need to slightly disassemble gen to bolt through). However when it came to sourcing some straight 90 weight gear oil every shop in town came up short.

Two auto shops said they've been trying to order it for months and can't. Walmart carries one labeled that way but comments point to a rebranded 70W-90.

Going to call the mfgr tomorrow to see if I can run 80w-90 or 85w-90. They're close but would rather stay within spec if I can.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I have never seen a little pto rig like that before. 10K?



This was an Onan 15K I had years ago. If you put a bar through the lifting eye, two young men could just lift it.

 

[vvanders]

Yup 10kw. I could easily go bigger with the L4760 but this is exactly the size of our transfer switch(50A, nema 14-50). Really only need to run the well, mini split and fridge which this should cover fine. Will be nice to get mobile power in the field when we need it as well.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I have a 200 amp ASCO switch, electrically heated house, and my main genset is 7.5 kw. I would heat with wood in an outage, and really just can't run my Air compressor. I am bothered enough with a little set running. If I had something BIG, I would just want to shut it off all the time. Not to mention wet stacking.

 

[Fallon]

Whelp slight hitch in the plans. Got everything bolted together(instructions omitted you need to slightly disassemble gen to bolt through). However when it came to sourcing some straight 90 weight gear oil every shop in town came up short.

Two auto shops said they've been trying to order it for months and can't. Walmart carries one labeled that way but comments point to a rebranded 70W-90.

Going to call the mfgr tomorrow to see if I can run 80w-90 or 85w-90. They're close but would rather stay within spec if I can.

It's a gearbox, not rocket science, or even an engine. Any gear lube that's close will be fine.