Your last generator Maintenance Run

[3930dave]

Have to drag my Troy bilt 5500 out tomorrow and clean it up and get it running. Hasn’t run in probably 10-12 years since I got the generac whole house unit. Electrician is changing out the panel box and wiring in the new generator at the job on Tuesday. And I need power for saws and compressor.

I suspect you will have it running soon, given any indulgence by Murph at all !

Rgds, D.

 

[subhunter]

I got to wondering what the piston speed was on the Honda inverter generators vs a diesel.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Except that an "inverter" generator doesn't run at 3600 rpm's all the time.

SR

 

[3930dave]

I got to wondering what the piston speed was on the Honda inverter generators vs a diesel.

Very interesting point. Speaks to, in part, the difference bothering to spec quality pistons et al, and bore material can make.

With auto-idle On, an inverter gen will reduce idle at times, but the point still stands up well, as Honda non-inverter gens are also known for long lifespans. Meaning ^, old Hondas; somebody who knows Hondas better than I may know when Auto Idle showed up in their non-inverter lineup......

Rgds, D.

 

[orezok]

I have a Honda eu1000 that I bought 35 years ago. It always starts on the first or second pull. I went to start it yesterday after months of no use and no go. I opened it up and tried starter fluid and it would fire for a couple of seconds and then die. So ignition was good.

I decided that after 35 years that I should finally rebuild the carburetor.

I thought about it and checked again today and discovered that if there isn’t gas in the tank it won’t start.

I usually drain the carb after use, but I must have drained the tank after the last use.

 

[subhunter]

I know the low RPM diesels last longer. I don't think the rpm's have that much to do with it. I think the diesels last longer because they have a oil pump, better valve train and fewer plastic parts in the engine. It just got me thinking and I wanted to see what the piston speeds were.

 

[Racer4]

Pulled out the Troy Bilt 5550 today, washed it off because it was all nasty from mice crawling on it for the last 10 years. Wiped everything down. Sucked the old gas out of the tank, which didn’t smell that bad. Put some fresh gas in and it fired right up on the first pull. Then it blew mouse nest crap out all over. Decided to pull off all the shrouds and make sure nothing was blocking the cooling fins. Got all that out and blew it all out with compressed air. Had to pull the carb off to get the front cover off. Didn’t have an internal torx bit small enough for the carb bolts (Briggs engine), but my smallest 6 point metric socket got them out. Then had to fix the kill switch wire because mice chewed the insulation off a 2 inch section near the coil. Put it all back together and ran it for 15 minutes with a load on it. Ran great and didn’t hardly faze it when I ran the miter box along with the vacuum. Then changed the oil. Put some Toro synthetic 10w-30 in it because that’s all I had.

Ready for work tomorrow.

 

[3930dave]

I know the low RPM diesels last longer. I don't think the rpm's have that much to do with it. I think the diesels last longer because they have a oil pump, better valve train and fewer plastic parts in the engine. It just got me thinking and I wanted to see what the piston speeds were.

.... and block material/sleeves, much bigger sumps.....

Real #'s don't lie though.... interesting how close those speeds were.

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

I have a Honda eu1000 that I bought 35 years ago. It always starts on the first or second pull. I went to start it yesterday after months of no use and no go. I opened it up and tried starter fluid and it would fire for a couple of seconds and then die. So ignition was good.

I decided that after 35 years that I should finally rebuild the carburetor.

I thought about it and checked again today and discovered that if there isn’t gas in the tank it won’t start.

I usually drain the carb after use, but I must have drained the tank after the last use.

Spark, fuel, air...... every decade or so, I get a reminder that all 3 are needed.....

Had "trouble" with my bigger Briggs, when nearly new. Then, I got better at remembering that I had been shutting-off the petcock, which my smaller old gen lacked.... .

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

Pulled out the Troy Bilt 5550 today, washed it off because it was all nasty from mice crawling on it for the last 10 years. Wiped everything down. Sucked the old gas out of the tank, which didn’t smell that bad. Put some fresh gas in and it fired right up on the first pull. Then it blew mouse nest crap out all over. Decided to pull off all the shrouds and make sure nothing was blocking the cooling fins. Got all that out and blew it all out with compressed air. Had to pull the carb off to get the front cover off. Didn’t have an internal torx bit small enough for the carb bolts (Briggs engine), but my smallest 6 point metric socket got them out. Then had to fix the kill switch wire because mice chewed the insulation off a 2 inch section near the coil. Put it all back together and ran it for 15 minutes with a load on it. Ran great and didn’t hardly faze it when I ran the miter box along with the vacuum. Then changed the oil. Put some Toro synthetic 10w-30 in it because that’s all I had.

Ready for work tomorrow.

Nicely done. Well stabilized gas !

Can't remember if Troy used their own engines, but I think there have been a few other high-miler ones in this thread.

Back in The Game !

Rgds, D.

 

[grsthegreat]

I just did yearly maint on both my standbys. Did loaded simulated power runs on them also for 30 minutes. Always good to check outputs under load.

 

[3930dave]

I just did yearly maint on both my standbys. Did loaded simulated power runs on them also for 30 minutes. Always good to check outputs under load.

+2

I think you switch in normal House Loads (?), or do you have a mobile Test Load you use ?

Rdgs, D.

 

[grsthegreat]

+2

I think you switch in normal House Loads (?), or do you have a mobile Test Load you use ?

Rdgs, D.

House loads.

 

[3930dave]

House loads.

Nothing faster to use, than Actual Load !

Rgds, D.

 

[bdhsfz6]

Using house load is fine for generator maintenance as long as you have a transfer switch designed for regular use. Either manual or automatic, these switches are meant for this purpose.

Over the years, I've worn out a few household circuit breakers by using them to switch load for monthly tests. Replacing them is fairly easy, but it can be a different story if you regularly switch the main breaker on and off. Most are not easily replaceable and some could require replacing the entire breaker panel.

 

[check]

Using house load is fine for generator maintenance as long as you have a transfer switch designed for regular use. Either manual or automatic, these switches are meant for this purpose.

Over the years, I've worn out a few household circuit breakers by using them to switch load for monthly tests. Replacing them is fairly easy, but it can be a different story if you regularly switch the main breaker on and off. Most are not easily replaceable and some could require replacing the entire breaker panel.

Wow I didn't know that! So how are we supposed to exercise the generator?

 

[RBsingl]

Although my ATS can be programmed to automatically run a regular test/exercise run, I do a manual test instead once a month and this is primarily so that I can arrange to put a heavy load on the generator.

The exercise run is a good time to take a shower (deep well pump plus electric water heater) and I will generally have a load of clothes in the electric dryer so that it contributes a load. In the summer, I will set the thermostat down on both central AC systems and in the winter time I will use multiple space heaters in the basement and in my garage workshop.

If the turbo doesn't sing a little when a heavy load is added, it isn't loaded heavily enough The generator is rated at 167 amps continuous and 187 amps for 1 hour; I try to load it to a little over 100 amps sustained which isn't as easy as it sounds. So much for conserving energy... It is the opposite problem I had from when I used to use a portable generator just for required stuff (central heat, refrigerator and freezer, and dumping other loads when the deep well pump needed to cycle).

Rodger

 

[RBsingl]

Wow I didn't know that! So how are we supposed to exercise the generator?

If your generator setup requires switching the main breaker, instead you need to have a properly installed shutoff switch ahead of the main breaker and use this instead since it is intended for this type of high cycle service. But with the expense of this, it would be worth looking into a proper transfer switch instead.

IF you install this switch yourself, pay careful attention to where in your setup that neutral is tied to ground. It should be done only at one point in your electrical service and in most cases the shutoff switch will have separate neutral and ground buses so that they remain separate at the switch (of course, neither of these is switched).

Breakers of the type used in household circuit panels weren't intended to also act as a regularly used power switch and this is also true of the expensive main breaker. There are purpose designed units, typically for industrial use, that are intended to function both as the equipment switch and also as an overload breaker but they are designed for mounting in equipment and not a standard breaker panel. And they are also expensive compared to a regular breaker. I used one of these devices as the power switch/twin pole breaker on a high power amplifier I built for my amateur radio station; there were cheaper solutions but I was looking for quality and convenience over cost for that construction project.

Rodger

 

[grsthegreat]

Using house load is fine for generator maintenance as long as you have a transfer switch designed for regular use. Either manual or automatic, these switches are meant for this purpose.

Over the years, I've worn out a few household circuit breakers by using them to switch load for monthly tests. Replacing them is fairly easy, but it can be a different story if you regularly switch the main breaker on and off. Most are not easily replaceable and some could require replacing the entire breaker panel.

In 35 years as an electrician, ive replaced 1 main breaker. Ive replaced quite a few individual breakers though.

Some people install a switch to break one of the power sensor leads of a transfer switch. Me, my Genmon system allows for a loaded test electronically. No breakers to switch.

Also, no one needs to test an air cooled generator under full load every month. Once a year before winter is all i suggest. On mine, i usually wait until november for service, however i was showing someone just starting out in generator maintenance how to do general service. I used both mine for training.

We also get enough real blackouts here not to really need a yearly test most of the times.

Diesel liquid cooled generators generally require load banking.

 

[LittleBill21]

In 35 years as an electrician, ive replaced 1 main breaker. Ive replaced quite a few individual breakers though.

Some people install a switch to break one of the power sensor leads of a transfer switch. Me, my Genmon system allows for a loaded test electronically. No breakers to switch.

Also, no one needs to test a generator under full load every month. Once a year before winter is all i suggest. On mine, i usually wait until november for service, however i was showing someone just starting out in generator maintenance how to do general service. I used both mine for training.

We also get enough real blackouts here not to really need a yearly test most of the times.

my parents use to turn off their water heater everyday for 30 years. still the original breaker.