MMRanch wrote on Yesterday at 19:06:24:GREAT Dave !
You may have gotten out with more Generator , for less money that we did !
I am sure you paid less money for a new gasoline generator.
Finding a good reliable "diesel" generator that is affordable is a challenge. A new 5,000 watt diesel generator is about $4,500 for a basic open frame generator....even before you pay tax and shipping!
The used market has a lot of old diesel generators that are in questionable condition - and a lot of them are just too big for use at my home. Gas generators are pretty forgiving about being run at low wattage and they can vary the load without issue - diesel engine generators don't like being run at less than a 50% load for extended periods - it is best to run them at loads 60% or more. If you run a diesel generator without making it work - the exhaust "wet stacks" and gets filled with an oily goo that can eventually turn into a thick carbon that clogs up the exhaust header and muffler.
My reason for wanting a diesel generator is that I have a 270 gallon diesel tank for use in the tractor and zero turn mower - so that provides me with a large supply of fuel for a diesel emergency generator. This 3KW diesel generator runs 2-3 hours on a gallon of fuel (depending on load) - so I likely could run the generator continuously for 20+ days with the fuel I have on hand.
These surplus military generators have been sitting around for 15-20 years and they need work when you get them. They claim to have all the fluids drained - but there is a goo build up in the tank and they need to be cleaned. The fuel sending units have often gone bad and need to be replaced, the rubber fuel lines are old and cracked, filters need to be changed. The original 24V batteries are available from places that provide them for aircraft and they are expensive - so most folks replace them with a pair of smaller 12V batteries from lawn tractors or motorcycles.
I believe this one I bought had a wiring issue and when it failed to operate properly (bad Fault Module) - the Government set it to the side and abandoned it. The owner I bought it from said it had 2 hours on it when he bought it - he had disconnected the Fault Module and used it without the generator having the ability to shut itself down if it overheated or was overloaded...or lost oil pressure. I hope to get the Fault Module repaired and operational - I am still chasing down the reason it overloads and damages them.....i believe there is something wrong with the K12 Shut Down relay, and when the module tries to shut the engine down the relay is sending too much current to the Fault Module and melts the circuit board components.
Seems like I always get myself into a new mechanical/electrical challenge!!!
This fellow restores Onan generators and had a Wet Stacking experience.
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