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  • Generator question

    HI guys,

    We're moving slowly along, the containers have been moved to the new property and the sound proofing of the water cooled unit works extremely well, there is only a small humming noise at the boundary fence, which is fine for me, the exhaust smoke is a different matter, but we'll see. The first batch of bio has been made, the generator warmed up to 73 deg in the container, and I have just fitted 2 temperature controlled exhaust fans to keep it down in summer.

    Since the water cooled unit is on the new property I purchased a 6.6kva second hand ABLE aircooled unit to back us up on a rainy day while we're still on the old property.
    The unit was used on a service truck to power tools (drills and so on) I don't think it has been run to it's higher capacity.

    Now here is the question, If I plug in the charger for the battery bank, the amps go up to about 10, which is about 2.4kw roughly, as soon as I turn on the water pump or other devices, the genie struggles and shuts down. I have changed the fuel filter but no difference. I have heard that a generator is the happiest around 75% of its max capacity.

    Since this particular unit may only have run a few drills and probably idled along most of the time I guess its kind off clogged up.

    Is there any way to 'de-clogg' it? I was thinking along the lines of using heating fans and slowly increase the load by increasing the temperature.

    Any thoughts?

    Thanks and have a great Friday evening!

    Jens
    1990 Toyota Hilux LN106 with ATG 2 tank system (sold after running 150.000 ks on mainly WVO)

    1993 Toyota 75 Series with 1 HDT conversion, 75l factory tank and a custom 170l under tray tank. (Retired with 680.000ks on the clock mostly running on BIO and on WVO)

    2006 Landcruiser Troopcarrier 1HZ with DTS Turbo Kit, 170ltr long range tank currently not converted, running on B100

    "him who never made a mistake, made no discovery either"


  • #2
    Re: Generator question

    Hi Jens
    On low load the cylinder bores glaze up and you start losing compression and increase lubricant oil use.
    Just load it up and work it hard

    Originally posted by Bueff View Post
    HI guys,

    We're moving slowly along, the containers have been moved to the new property and the sound proofing of the water cooled unit works extremely well, there is only a small humming noise at the boundary fence, which is fine for me, the exhaust smoke is a different matter, but we'll see. The first batch of bio has been made, the generator warmed up to 73 deg in the container, and I have just fitted 2 temperature controlled exhaust fans to keep it down in summer.

    Since the water cooled unit is on the new property I purchased a 6.6kva second hand ABLE aircooled unit to back us up on a rainy day while we're still on the old property.
    The unit was used on a service truck to power tools (drills and so on) I don't think it has been run to it's higher capacity.

    Now here is the question, If I plug in the charger for the battery bank, the amps go up to about 10, which is about 2.4kw roughly, as soon as I turn on the water pump or other devices, the genie struggles and shuts down. I have changed the fuel filter but no difference. I have heard that a generator is the happiest around 75% of its max capacity.

    Since this particular unit may only have run a few drills and probably idled along most of the time I guess its kind off clogged up.

    Is there any way to 'de-clogg' it? I was thinking along the lines of using heating fans and slowly increase the load by increasing the temperature.

    Any thoughts?

    Thanks and have a great Friday evening!

    Jens
    Harvey
    1983 BJ42 Landcruiser (sold)
    1997 C250TD Mercedes-Benz 60,000 km on wvo

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Generator question

      What is the total electrical load you are putting on the generator? Baseload is 10A or 2.4 kW and you have 6.6kW capacity. Is the additional load of the pumps etc more than 17.5 A / 4.2 kW?
      3DB
      1995 Holden (Isuzu) Rodeo 2.8TD 4X4 - B100 since April 2013
      1976 Mercedes 300D Turbo 'The Coal Grenade' - B100 since May 2016 - SOLD
      1994 Peugeot 405 SRDT 1.9L intercooled turbo diesel (Shitbox Rally car.) - B100 since August 2019 - SOLD
      @thirddegreeburns on Instagram
      @thirddegreeburns2019 on Facebook

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Generator question

        Hi Jens
        I would appreciate your feedback in the next year as to how the ABLE generator does. I see these on eBay for not a lot over $1k and am planning on going off grid battery when the little lady and I move to our sea change property.
        These units appear wvo/bio friendly and at such a wonderful price appear an economical backup for cloudy days.
        Than you and kind regards Harvey
        Harvey
        1983 BJ42 Landcruiser (sold)
        1997 C250TD Mercedes-Benz 60,000 km on wvo

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Generator question

          Originally posted by Bueff View Post
          HI guys,

          We're moving slowly along, the containers have been moved to the new property and the sound proofing of the water cooled unit works extremely well, there is only a small humming noise at the boundary fence, which is fine for me, the exhaust smoke is a different matter, but we'll see. The first batch of bio has been made, the generator warmed up to 73 deg in the container, and I have just fitted 2 temperature controlled exhaust fans to keep it down in summer.

          Since the water cooled unit is on the new property I purchased a 6.6kva second hand ABLE aircooled unit to back us up on a rainy day while we're still on the old property.
          The unit was used on a service truck to power tools (drills and so on) I don't think it has been run to it's higher capacity.

          Now here is the question, If I plug in the charger for the battery bank, the amps go up to about 10, which is about 2.4kw roughly, as soon as I turn on the water pump or other devices, the genie struggles and shuts down. I have changed the fuel filter but no difference. I have heard that a generator is the happiest around 75% of its max capacity.

          Since this particular unit may only have run a few drills and probably idled along most of the time I guess its kind off clogged up.

          Is there any way to 'de-clogg' it? I was thinking along the lines of using heating fans and slowly increase the load by increasing the temperature.

          Any thoughts?

          Thanks and have a great Friday evening!

          Jens
          Have you tried running the pumps without the charger running? Will the gennie run them happily? It could be a high start current causing the gennie to bog down.
          Yes, using a number of loads to gradually increase the load on the engine will help.
          You might also try misting water into the intake (after the air filter - wet filter material does not ignite well). It certainly helped restore power in my 300D some years ago.
          I ran it at a high idle (you can do it under load so that would be better) and set the hose nozzle to a fine mist and then aimed the mist across the air inlet to the engine. Do not aim it into the inlet as excessive water in the engine can cause hydrolock. ie. piston coming up to TDC with more water above the piston, than space to occupy it. the piston stops and the crankshaft tries to keep turning, with devastating results. That said, a 3 litre engine at 2000RPM will move 3000 litres of air in a minute, so you should be able to add 1 litre of water a minute easily. Do this at your own peril, as it can cause problems if you are stupid and add too much water, too fast.
          The results of water misting are greater power, cleaner combustion chambers (de-coking), and better fuel economy (from my experience)
          Life is a journey, with problems to solve, lessons to learn, but most of all, experiences to enjoy.

          Current Vehicles in stable:
          '06 Musso Sports 4X4 Manual Crew Cab tray back.
          '04 Rexton 4X4 Automatic SUV
          '2014 Toyota Prius (on ULP) - Wife's car

          Previous Vehicles:
          '90 Mazda Capella. (2000 - 2003) My first Fatmobile. Converted to fun on veggie oil with a 2 tank setup.
          '80 Mercedes 300D. 2 tank conversion [Sold]
          '84 Mercedes 300D. 1 tank, no conversion. Replaced engine with rebuilt OM617A turbodiesel engine. Finally had good power. Engine donor for W123 coupe. (body parted out and carcass sold for scrap.)
          '85 Mercedes Benz W123 300CD Turbodiesel
          '99 Mercedes W202 C250 Turbodiesel (my darling Wife's car)[sold]
          '98 Mercedes W202 C250 Turbodiesel (my car)[sold]
          '06 Musso Sports Crew Cab well body. [Head gasket blew!]
          '04 Rexton SUV 2.9L Turbodiesel same as Musso - Our Family car.
          '06 Musso sports Crew Cab Trayback - My hack (no air cond, no heater).

          Searching the Biofuels Forum using Google
          Adding images and/or documents to your posts

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Generator question

            Hi guys,

            Thanks so much for your replies,

            The pump is a normal pressure pump from our tank, so nothing big, 600w max, I guess. I understand that it takes um to 3 times as much for a second when it is starting up, but that shouldn't effect it too much.

            I certainly will try the water spray method, and will get the heaters going next weekend.

            Thanks again, I shall report back on how we went.

            Jens
            1990 Toyota Hilux LN106 with ATG 2 tank system (sold after running 150.000 ks on mainly WVO)

            1993 Toyota 75 Series with 1 HDT conversion, 75l factory tank and a custom 170l under tray tank. (Retired with 680.000ks on the clock mostly running on BIO and on WVO)

            2006 Landcruiser Troopcarrier 1HZ with DTS Turbo Kit, 170ltr long range tank currently not converted, running on B100

            "him who never made a mistake, made no discovery either"

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Generator question

              Originally posted by Bueff View Post
              The pump is a normal pressure pump from our tank, so nothing big, 600w max, I guess. I understand that it takes um to 3 times as much for a second when it is starting up, but that shouldn't effect it too much.
              Jens
              Mate you might find the pump draws way more than you think when it starts. Plug it into the generator on it's own and run it through a few cycles. You may be surprised.

              I have a 6.5kVa inverter generator. It has a Eco switch. When Eco is on the engine slows down depending on the load. If I want to start something big, I always turn Eco off until everything settles down.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Generator question

                Jens, that pump will most likely draw 6 times that at startup typically. Very quickly drops but the inrush will kill a supply. Same issue is facing SA power consumers, get a fault and the system looses frequency stability.
                Biodiesel Bandit

                Landcruiser '98 80 series B100.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Generator question

                  Start-up current can be as bad as 10 x run current as others have pointed out. This is related to Power Factor or the ratio of Real Power (kW) to Apparent Power (kVA). If a motor is running very efficiently or has power factor correction, power factor should be close to 1.0. On start up, power factor can be as low as 0.1 for a split second.

                  So your 600W pump might have a start-up power of as bad as 6,000VA = 6 kVA

                  This is still not 6.6 kVA, so running on its own with no additional load, should be ok???
                  3DB
                  1995 Holden (Isuzu) Rodeo 2.8TD 4X4 - B100 since April 2013
                  1976 Mercedes 300D Turbo 'The Coal Grenade' - B100 since May 2016 - SOLD
                  1994 Peugeot 405 SRDT 1.9L intercooled turbo diesel (Shitbox Rally car.) - B100 since August 2019 - SOLD
                  @thirddegreeburns on Instagram
                  @thirddegreeburns2019 on Facebook

                  Comment

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