Your last generator Maintenance Run

[90cummins]

The

I had mounts built for a two cylinder air cooled Diesel years ago in an Argo. Surprised how quickly it snapped off bolts.

Sometimes trying to restrain a machine is not the way to go as you’ve seen first hand.
Sometimes you gota let it shake rattle & roll.

90cummins

 

[Industrial Toys]

Why do air cooled diesels want to get up and run away?

 

[3930dave]

Looks like I can skip the maintenance run as this week is another PSPS... already received several recorded messages from Power Company of pending Power Safety Power Shutoff...

As a side note it does look the last round was not without generator caused problems...

Several fires which resulted in structure losses... carbon monoxide poisoning and CO2 although the CO2 is from using BBQ indoors...

The Carbon Monoxide came from running generators inside attached garages mostly and the fires are suspected on one case from a faulty rubber fuel line... which is no surprise... the 90 year owner bought the generator back in 1989 earthquake and had it stored... the good news is he was able to start it without much fuss... the bad news is ethanol attacks rubber fuel lines.

I had to replace a bunch of rubber lines when ethanol first came out... cars from the 70's and old mowers...

Another fire was started when utility lines were reenergized... seems the generator was bootlegged and blew up when utility power restored...

One commentator said we are trading one set of problems for another...

Full page in the newspaper said make sure generator is operated at least 25' from any structure and the next line said never operate in an area with vegetation... store fuel 10' away and only in approved containers... guess there were some people using glass bottles and 2 liter soda bottles for gasoline...

The state that contains Silicon Valley, has these problems in 2019 ? Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

Let us be clear.... PG&E is not shutting off power to reduce fire risk. They are shutting it off to reduce their risk. Also to try to force the legislature to allocate funds to improve the grid.

Make Your Problem Somebody Else's...... No Problem..... or, Create a Crisis, to Drive an Agenda....... would be nice to have some other "leadership" options in play.....

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

Thanks for the kind words Dave.
It has been a slow process but now I can taste it ��
I壇 like to give credit for 90% of the building to my nieces husband Jason.
Great guy, very smart & a talented builder.
He works in the oil industry as a directional driller guiding the drill bit that痴 at the end of a 15 to 20,000 foot string to hit a target no larger than 40 feet while also missing nearby wells.
On the home front I spent yesterday tweaking the powerhouse.
I added a lift beam that spans across the interior so I can lift the generators.
I wanted to improve on vibration isolation further so I picked up the generator and slid a radial tire under it (BINGO)!
Absolutely no vibration transferred to building.
That was the extent of yesterday痴 efforts.

90cummins

u r Welcome 90 ! I try and remember when I see something I like, to say so..... one benefit of these forums.....

When I first heard of your vibe problem, I was thinking of the heavy springs I've seen on support platforms..... but if you've ever had to source semi-custom springs..... they can be crazy $ sometimes....... Used Tires ? Who doesn't have a "few" kicking around ? :thumbsup:

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

Very resourceful on the tire. I sawzalled a tire to make rubber isolation dampners

One of my favourite tire stories...... a while back, Nike was trying out a new distance shoe with runners in Africa (likely Kenya, IIRC). The runners didn't like the shoe, went to the local dump and cut up tires to strap on their feet - worked great. 'Course, Nike being Nike, went on to market the tire variant....

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

I had mounts built for a two cylinder air cooled Diesel years ago in an Argo. Surprised how quickly it snapped off bolts.

Learned how sneaky continuous vibration can be years ago doing mods to motorcycles - esp. surprising when you think the vibration is very low amplitude.

^ kinda loops back well to Chili's point about installing gens inside habitations.......

Rgds, D.

 

[ultrarunner]

My old WinCo genset says base must be securely bolted and never use vibration dampners as it will damage unit.

 

[Chilliwack Murray]

That’s odd if you are referring to an engine generator and not a PTO unit. Almost sounds like a typo.

Solidly mounting a reciprocating engine will cause the main bearings to fail prematurely. All industrial units require isolators and in the case of a warranty claim for bearing or crankshaft related failure the isolators and their adjustment are carefully scrutinized.

 

[3930dave]

That’s odd if you are referring to an engine generator and not a PTO unit. Almost sounds like a typo.

Solidly mounting a reciprocating engine will cause the main bearings to fail prematurely. All industrial units require isolators and in the case of a warranty claim for bearing or crankshaft related failure the isolators and their adjustment are carefully scrutinized.

Typically with a flex-joint in the exhaust, and a non-rigid fuel supply line ?

Rgds, D.