Generator solutions

Power out? How about an inverter connected to your car?
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Generator solutions

Post by kevm14 »

I have more oils than this but this is just the HDEOs that I have. I found some old API SL Castrol GTX 5W-30. And other stuff, too.

First, the Peak 15W-40 that I bought. This is an unexpected twist. It is API CJ-4, but SN. That is a very unexpected combination. If this does better on oil consumption than my Delo SDE 15W-40, which is CK-4 and SN (and I'd assume a far better oil overall), then I may only be able to conclude that the CK was, in fact, the issue, not the SN. I have at least a few more hours of use this season for leaves so I will carefully monitor oil usage as the Simplicity currently has this oil in it.
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Here is what I just picked up as a good winter oil for my Deutz, knowing that it will be starting up after sitting outside. It looks like a very good oil. 5W-40, CJ-4 and SM. So it will be interesting to monitor this and also see how watery it gets when hot. If it is better than the Shell Rotella T6 5W-40, which I assume is basically the exact peer to this oil, then I can also conclude that the CK-4/SN thing is still bad, at least for these engines.
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Here is the infamous Delo 400 SDE 15W-40 that is the evil CK-4 and SN. I experienced increased oil consumption with this in both my Simplicity and generator. When I say oil consumption, I mean that after 2.5 hours of running, the oil was halfway down the cross hatch on my generator. Sort of similar results on my Simplicity. I recall consumption was low on the older Delo 400 LE 15W-40 which was CJ-4 and SM, with both my Simplicity and generator. I do want to point out that oil consumption doesn't mean the oil isn't protecting the engine or something. But oil consumption can carbon up the combustion chamber and plug, and frankly it is a nuisance because it forces me to check it constantly. Also if I have oil consumption that is NOT caused by oil, that is helpful since it means I probably have severe engine wear. So I like to get rid of oil as the variable whenever possible, so I can know what I am dealing with.
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Here is the original plan for the Deutz in winter. Like I said, for how little I've used the machine I may have noticed increased consumption but that may also be a premature comment because I haven't really put any load on it. What I will say is the oil is quite watery when hot which I do not like. This is the full synthetic T6 5W-40, and is API CK-4. It is, however, not rated for gasoline engines. Makes me wonder whether it would qualify for SN or SM. I know Shell made a stink about removing SN from their oils (I posted that a few back) so this may also suggest that CK-4 is part of my issue. Then again, if it more closely resembles an SN than an SM, then that doesn't mean much just because they didn't happen to label it. Eh.
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And just for fun, here is a quart of my Delo 400 SAE 30. This is actually the oil that got me into these diesel oils probably 7 years ago now. I remember trying this in my push lawn mower and it cut oil consumption to like zero from the previous, I think, Castrol GTX SAE 30. Or Napa SAE 30 because...you know, lawn mowers, who cares right? Well like I said this made me start to realize there are differences. This oil is API CF which is quite old. It would have been specified for something back in the day and it probably would work great in my stuff, just not in the winter months. But what did I do with this info? I said, hey, Delo 400 is great, Delo 400 all the things! But aside from different viscosities, there is this whole API rating fiasco which really changes the playing field.
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kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Generator solutions

Post by kevm14 »

Changed the oil again. It was pretty dark. I think I will switch to SAE30 next time.

Also changed the fuel filter. It definitely had some junk in it, I assume from the tank. Ended up having to cut the line shorter so I will need to buy more line next time I change the filter but that will not be for years so I'm good.

Started it which blew white smoke and it coughed for like a minute as if the choke was on. I think it was set richer from last time I ran it when it was having issues (possibly due to a restricted fuel filter which I have now replaced). So when I leaned it out a bit, it immediately started running right.

Tweaked the governor setting again to around 60.00 Hz nominal with around 50% load.

Should be ready to go - just need to have some SAE30 on the shelf I think for the next couple oil changes since I pretty much gave up on finding a good 15W-40 formulation. Sheesh.
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Generator solutions

Post by kevm14 »

From Amazon:
Awesome oil for my generator and lawnmower! Great additive package. High in Zinc level 1200ppm and Phosphorus level 1100ppm. This oil has a HTHS equal or greater than 3.7 and no VII to worry about. Use this in your small engines and change out every 50 hours. Yes, you can use in a gasoline/petrol powered equipment or your older car. This oil is dual rated CF and SJ. Just check out the Chevron website and find the ratings yourself.
Ordered 2 gallons of the Delo 400 SAE30.

Just not good to use below 32F (Briggs says 40F though). I guess this will be fine for the generator. If it was brutally cold outside, I could always wheel the generator into my basement assuming I could squeeze it by the CTS-V.

For the Simplicity I wouldn't need to mow or do leaves below 32F but for the trailer, I could simply use the Deutz which has 5W-40 synthetic. So...I guess I have a game plan now.
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Generator solutions

Post by kevm14 »

Got my oil. Sweet. Hopefully this puts an end to the excessive oil consumption on my Briggs flat head engines (generator and Simplicity).
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kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Generator solutions

Post by kevm14 »

Lost power for 45 minutes this morning and didn't have a chance to get the new SAE30 Delo 400 in there. So it had 15W-40. It was brand new though.

Had an issue starting. Took like 3 pulls and required the choke to run. Starting to be business as usual. There must be some junk in the carb but I am not sure where it is coming from. Maybe from corrosion inside the carb?

I did make a new discovery which is helpful. I had to ride the high speed mixture adjustment to get it to run up to full speed and then it wouldn't idle right. If I added high speed mixture richness, the idle got better but then it was too rich at high speed. That's when I realized I was missing something. The low speed mixture circuit. Duh. I have never fiddled with the low speed adjustment. Why? Who knows. Brain fart I guess.

So 1/2 to 1 turn out on the low speed screw let it idle perfectly, and then under load it was also behaving with the high speed adjustment screw. This also helped some of the unloaded hunting because the "low speed" and "high speed" circuits are a combination of RPM and load, not just RPM. So high rpm and light load (i.e. nothing plugged in but running at 3,600 rpm) may use more of the low circuit than you'd think. And on the low RPM side, engine acceleration caused by a sudden load probably uses the high speed mixture more than you'd think. Of course the last one is not a common condition for a generator. But getting the engine to work properly in all conditions is always a good idea just for transients and stuff. So it should idle, rev up cleanly, hold a load, and all of that.

I'm sure a new carb would cure all these ails but I'm not doing that. Probably expensive unless there are Chinese clones. The other problem is I don't want to just keep dumping money into this thing. I guess I don't mind fiddling with the engine but someday the generator unit may just burn out and what am I going to do then, try to find a new/used gen head for it? I doubt it. I'd probably replace it. This engine could power a go-kart or something. Or I could attempt to build an inverter generator with a car alternator.

Some good news is that my governor adjustment seemed good. It was a little over 60Hz unloaded and a little under when loaded. That's perfect.
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Generator solutions

Post by kevm14 »

Also I did try the microwave for like 20 seconds and all seemed fine. Would have ended up trying longer but power came back before we needed it.
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Generator solutions

Post by kevm14 »

Got my compression tester.
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Removed the spark plug. It was caked with all this junk and actually looked like the outer electrode was sort of pushed too far in. Some kind of weird buildup. Here's a shot into the spark plug hole. I blew it out with compressed air and spun the engine over and that seemed to clear it out. I also cleaned off the plug and re-gapped it to around 0.030".
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As expected, cold compression was really not too good. This shows 80 psi. I'll see if I can find an actual spec but rule of thumb is you really want to see 100+.
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I changed the oil which was black and nasty even though it probably only had 10-20 hours on it. Added ~5 oz of the Restore product, ran it for about 30 minutes at 50% load and checked again. Amazing, already up to 95 psi.
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Ran it for another 30 minutes and it seems to have gained another 5 psi to an even 100 psi. That's amazing. Granted the 80 psi was cold and this was hot but I will certainly check cold to see how close to 100 it is. But it seems to me this stuff clearly works.
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A power outage would be the real opportunity I need to gather more data, specifically, if compression continues to rise and if oil consumption is reduced. I will say when I force it to an idle manually and let it speed back up it blasts out a good amount of oil smoke. But maybe there is oil buildup in the intake from the breather (due to blow-by) so maybe I should try to clean that out. It could be sucking some in when the throttle goes wide open.

To be continued.
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Generator solutions

Post by kevm14 »

Not much higher cold.
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Also it seems Briggs has no spec for compression. I guess it has a compression release so that makes sense. But I can certainty monitor oil consumption next power outage.
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Generator solutions

Post by kevm14 »

Generator load test info.

Loads were: 500W halogen, 1400W heat gun with a high and a low and a 1500W space heater also with a high/low and fan-only mode. Total the rated loads should have been 3400W. I did not attempt to measure them but I could have.

The first load scenario was with everything on. 80% of 4000W is 3200W so that's pretty close.

Indicated ~80%
About 58.5Hz
235V

Indicated ~70%
About 59Hz
242V

Indicated 45%
About 60.3Hz
251V

Indicated 30%
About 61.3Hz
260V

Indicated 15%
About 62Hz
266V

No load
About 62.6Hz
273V

Extrapolates to about 226.6V at max load (4000W) which would be 113.3V for a single line and the frequency extrapolates to 57.5Hz. Notice I have it set like dead nuts on 60Hz for 50% load. Also at a nominal 120/240 output, the load is a little under 75% and the frequency would be a little under 59Hz. So all in all it's not too bad.
Generator load graph.png

The only thing you can adjust on this generator is the governed speed setting, which dials in the frequency to whatever (at a given load, so it's always a compromise). The voltage just floats to whatever it happens to put out.
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Generator solutions

Post by kevm14 »

I wonder if it's possible to tweak the governor to be a little more aggressive holding engine speed with a load (and less aggressive when unloaded). Maybe a new spring? Maybe I can tweak the adjustment a tiny bit in one direction.

So I just paid $6 for a sketchy eBay PDF of the Briggs service manual for L head engines built after 1981.

I suspect this is well within spec and reason for such an old design but it would be cool if I could get it to hold even more steady around 3600 rpm.
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