£90 EBAY steal - not sure who the thief is !

[superheat6k]

Bored and boatless so been looking for a hobby item to keep my hand in. Felt a decent marine generator would fit the bill for the next stinkpot, so been scoring EBAY for something suitable.

I found under and obscure listing a Marine generator water cooled Kohler - looked good and was listed as spares or repairs, with a £90 starting price, so I put in my bid, then just after noticed it was petrol not diesel - hey ho; then it is 120 v 60 hz only - oh sugar !

Duly won the bid, and collected it by courier last week.

The good news is It did start. I have also downloaded the manuals and have gotten to grips with it.

I can also re-connect for 240volt and adjust the governor to suit 50 hz. Value has just doubled.

The not so good news ...

Clearly not run for several years during which time it has been severely neglected.

Carburettor thottle butterfly seized, removed and found full of a jelly like ex-petrol substance. Thoroughly cleaned and freed off the throttle valve flap.

Starter seized lightly - removed and freed off

Put some petrol in and attached a battery and cooling water supply.

Something clicks but no starter

Found the starter control solenoid not working, bypassed now turning over.

Then with the start button depressed away she goes, but won't stay on.

After lots of reading have to check the charge system, as the hold on relay is powered from the generator via a small 12v charge coil.

Field windings of the stator all good; Field winding of the rotor - open circuit

Removed pump to gain access to the brushes - good job pump impeller knackered.

Removed access cover to brushes and slip rings - Oh dear full of oily gunky water that definitely should not be there.

Next step is to clean the slip rings, replace the brushes, plus replace the pump seal and impeller.

If this sorts it I reckon I will have a decent genny for very little cost. Shame its not diesel, but hey ho.


Now next time - READ ADVERT BEFORE HITTING 'ENTER BID' BUTTON !!!

 

[Lon nan Gruagach]

Bored and boatless so been looking for a hobby item to keep my hand in.

Seems like it fit the bill spot on.

 

[oldbilbo]

I wish you well on your journey. Er, are you anywhere near here....?

 

[SpottyDog5]

Well you wanted a hobby, looks like you got it

 

[William_H]

A bit confused by your statement that the field windings of the stator are open circuit. These are usually not field windings but power pick up windings which would go directly to the power out let connection. ie 120 or 240v out. Check the switching arrangement for problems.
Field windings can be rotating or outside fixed. They provide the magnetic "field" (Maybe you just got the name wrong.)
The field winding are usually however the rotating ones fed with Dc via the slip rings. There should be a regulator which takes Ac from the output rectifies it and regulates it so lower output voltage gives more field current and feeds to the slip rings. (perhaps you know all this) good luck olewill

 

[Beyondhelp]

Bored and boatless so been looking for a hobby item to keep my hand in. Felt a decent marine generator would fit the bill for the next stinkpot, so been scoring EBAY for something suitable.

I found under and obscure listing a Marine generator water cooled Kohler - looked good and was listed as spares or repairs, with a £90 starting price, so I put in my bid, then just after noticed it was petrol not diesel - hey ho; then it is 120 v 60 hz only - oh sugar !

Duly won the bid, and collected it by courier last week.

The good news is It did start. I have also downloaded the manuals and have gotten to grips with it.

I can also re-connect for 240volt and adjust the governor to suit 50 hz. Value has just doubled.

The not so good news ...

Clearly not run for several years during which time it has been severely neglected.

Carburettor thottle butterfly seized, removed and found full of a jelly like ex-petrol substance. Thoroughly cleaned and freed off the throttle valve flap.

Starter seized lightly - removed and freed off

Put some petrol in and attached a battery and cooling water supply.

Something clicks but no starter

Found the starter control solenoid not working, bypassed now turning over.

Then with the start button depressed away she goes, but won't stay on.

After lots of reading have to check the charge system, as the hold on relay is powered from the generator via a small 12v charge coil.

Field windings of the stator all good; Field winding of the rotor - open circuit

Removed pump to gain access to the brushes - good job pump impeller knackered.

Removed access cover to brushes and slip rings - Oh dear full of oily gunky water that definitely should not be there.

Next step is to clean the slip rings, replace the brushes, plus replace the pump seal and impeller.

If this sorts it I reckon I will have a decent genny for very little cost. Shame its not diesel, but hey ho.


Now next time - READ ADVERT BEFORE HITTING 'ENTER BID' BUTTON !!!

Took my chances on quite a big 12kva diesel generator recently. Paid 1/4 its new price as a non runner. 4 hours after I had it, I had found the problem (had been stripped and reassembled with incorrect timing) and its ran a few events I do fine. Bargain!

 

[rptb1]

Did the jelly in the engine look like this?

I left petrol in my outboard over the winter (injury and illness, not forgetfulness!) and it made it very temperamental for a while, but it got better with use.