Generator failures

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He took it apart and it appears the only damage was the broken rod. No build up of any sorts inside the case. The cylinder looked undamaged.It was an older unit so it was broken in. It was a 5.5 Techumca[not sure I spelled it right] motor. He said he shut it off to refuel, then started it, then it stopped after a minute.,,
 
Tecumseh are known for breaking rods, but usually that is on a snow-blower that someone has wired the governor or completely eliminated the governor so it will rev higher than it was intended to. One post that comes to mind was oil related in that the owners son put a very heavy oil in it in the winter.

You might ask him how many hours were on the oil. Those 3600 RPM engines recommend changing the oil every 25 hours. And some go 50 hours with a very good oil.

I have heard of some 3600 RPM generators that were used for relocated people after Katrina and those engines ran very long between oil changes, but that post did not say how much life was left in them.
 
most of the failures noted here during ike and the recent derecho event here were basicly 2 causes.
1. rode hard and put away wet as in no maintainence.old fuel fouled the carb and no oil/oil changes.
2. poor quality unit.harbor fright units that died early due to poor quality/lack of qc.had a ton of those around here knocking,squealing due to bad alternator bearings,and burning enough oil to eventually empty the sump.seen several go dry and seize on one tank of fuel.those kept the skeeters away while they lasted.
the real fun came when the owners of the harbor fright units tried to get replacements under warrenty.not a single genset in any hf in a 500 mile radius of dayton ohio. S.O.l.!
least problems were antiques that were well maintained and honda's.
 
Tecumseh are noted to break rods. They do not tolerate over reving. Tecumseh engines do produce a lot of torque for their component sized, so the rods can be overstressed. Typically a lubrication issue can cuase it. But if you see the crank pin and rod jornal free of scoring, and a piston / wall free of scoring & the rod still broke, the reason was too high RPM.

If the generator is running too fast the new rod will break too. Stens / rotary make a nice kit for most tecumseh engines. I have used them in the past and had no issues.
 
Originally Posted By: Fordiesel69
Tecumseh are noted to break rods. They do not tolerate over reving. Tecumseh engines do produce a lot of torque for their component sized, so the rods can be overstressed. Typically a lubrication issue can cuase it. But if you see the crank pin and rod jornal free of scoring, and a piston / wall free of scoring & the rod still broke, the reason was too high RPM.

If the generator is running too fast the new rod will break too. Stens / rotary make a nice kit for most tecumseh engines. I have used them in the past and had no issues.


+1 and if the reason was the engine running too fast you might want to get a new governor spring. Sometimes they stretch out over time causing the engine to rev higher.
 
Originally Posted By: Dave Sherman
My inverter generator calls for 15W-40, but Rotella 5W-40 was highly recommended for hot-running, hard working air cooled engines.

Same here and I been running the Rotella 5w-40.
I run it monthly under load, check oil etc.

To keep track of the hours on the oil, I write it on the housing with a grease pencil (china marker). Just rub off and write the new hours after each run. I also run in even hours, 1, 2 3 etc. That way I don't have to track fractions of an hour. Getting older, I just have to remember to write in and not rely on brain matter.
I use grease pencil on the motorcycle windshield for directions and notes too - once had the GPS go whacky while riding out of town.
Anyway I run a hour or two a month on the inverter generator and track it. It's like a monthly PM exercise. Ran a couple days ago using the electric smoker for a couple hours.
Stabil, marine blue stuff that can also be used with some ethanol in the gas.
 
My sister in law called today to let us know that her power was back on (out for 6 days). I said "I thought you had a generator". I was right, they do. Her husband set it all up and tested it the day before Sandy hit, everything was fine. When the lights went out, he pulled the rope to start it and the rope came right out of the pull starter. They use it fairly often for weekend events and it is properly maintained. It just picked the worst time for the rope to break.

My generator is still running, we just passed 7 days with no power. No idea when it will be restored, they won't give an estimate. Lots of poles and transformers down, it is a big restoration job.
 
Between the 2 cars and the Ranger's 20 gallon tanks , I have capacity to run the 5Kw genset for 100 hrs. That is without leaving the house. That is twice the hours on it so far in 25 yrs. I do keep a few gas jugs around for transference.
 
Make sure that you can actually siphon gas from your vehicles before you really need to. My Outback and Montana have things that block a hose from reaching the gas tank through the filler neck. The hose goes in pretty far, a couple of feet, but something blocks it. I don't know if they are anti-theft devices, emission control stuff or just the way they are built. I haven't tried siphoning from either of the Hondas yet.
 
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My Briggs and Stratton Storm Responder from Home Depot lasted 2 tanks of gas. The engine ran fine the brushes went so it did not make any electricity. I just got it back today My town has been out of power for 8 days.
 
Originally Posted By: gd9704
My beloved Honda EU6500is is currently on loan to a friend who's been without power for 5 days. I'm only a little uneasy about that. I feel better knowing it got a fresh crankcase of Mobil 1 0w-40 before I dropped it off to them. I'm keeping track of the hours it's run since then (running since 7pm last night).....the manual calls for 100 hour oil changes. If we get that close I'll run to their house to change it--they are mechanically clueless.




They call for 10W-30??
 
Tachmeter/Hour Meter is your best friend. That was the 1st thing I installed on my new Gennys - before I even put in oil
 
If you're clever you can use the fuel pump in your car to pump gas into a can for the generator. I will say no more, though, because you really DO have to know what you are doing.
 
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Originally Posted By: ron917
Make sure that you can actually siphon gas from your vehicles before you really need to. My Outback and Montana have things that block a hose from reaching the gas tank through the filler neck. The hose goes in pretty far, a couple of feet, but something blocks it. I don't know if they are anti-theft devices, emission control stuff or just the way they are built. I haven't tried siphoning from either of the Hondas yet.
Same for our 2003 Toyota Echo. A mechanic pal said it is probably a rollover valve designed to stop the fuel from flowing out the filler neck if the car flips.
 
10 days straight on my 10hp briggs powered 5.6k craftsman gen set for Sandy.
Only off to fuel & check oil in those 10 days.
10-30w ST synth. oil since it's birth. It used aprox. 2 oz. in that 10 day run.
Ran 5 straight days last year for Irene with no adding oil.
Oil changed, marine fuel stabilizer in the gas and sleeping in the garage ready for the next outage. Tank is fully fueled BTW and gets changed out yearly if not run.
Unit is 5 yr old now.
 
Ridgid 8000W generator, only seen Pennzoil Plat 5W-30 since day 1.

Changed every 25 hours (manual says first change is at 25, then every 50 after that but I dont mind doing it every 25). The remote control panel with LCD readout kicks butt because there is an hour meter on it.

Started it up the Thurs before Sandy just to make sure it works. Fired right up, ran fine.

We didnt lose power until the Friday AFTER the storm, they had to cut power to work on lines in our area. Generator got us through a cold Friday night, power was back the next day.

Subaru EX 40 engine....once the unit is out of warranty Ill get a tri-fuel kit for it. No NG hookup available for me, but Ill use propane if I have to.
 
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Originally Posted By: repairman54
10 days straight on my 10hp briggs powered 5.6k craftsman gen set for Sandy.
Only off to fuel & check oil in those 10 days.
10-30w ST synth. oil since it's birth. It used aprox. 2 oz. in that 10 day run.
Ran 5 straight days last year for Irene with no adding oil.
Oil changed, marine fuel stabilizer in the gas and sleeping in the garage ready for the next outage. Tank is fully fueled BTW and gets changed out yearly if not run.
Unit is 5 yr old now.



I remember when I was a kid and my Dad and I belonged to this group of Deer hunters. We had a cabin up in Long Pond,PA. Anyway, the one member had a 8hp B&S Generator so we could watch TV. I remember going outside for something, and all I saw was this Red glowing muffler on that thing. Looked pretty cool in the total darkness.
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