field day/emcomm generator trailer burnt to the ground

[Opcom]

Oh the humanity! Or the generatoranity, or something.

I let some friends use it on the condition, that no matter what happens, they must do preventice maintenance and regular maintenance, etc. and are responsible for it. They have been using it 2-4 times a week for a few months. The one guy already said he would be responsible for it, but what an awful waste.

It was still running fine and making power, while engulfed in flames. No one noticed till the smoke appeared, then it was too late to put it out, despite wasting 2 fire extinguishers and using a water hose into it.

The fire department put it out with foam and said they thought the fuel line might have leaked on the hot engine.

The death of a 8800W diesel genset trailer. May it rest in piece. The trailer might be salvagable for use as a 1-ton trailer (ATV's or?), it's very well made. The rest is scrap.

I'm very sad about this because I put alot of time and work into that set, even had a 12/24V tail light system so it could be pulled by my M35A2 or a civillian vehicle. Now I got to go find another genset trailer. And not one with a cheap Chinese 3600RPM engine and alternator either.

[KB2WIG]

I feel very sorry for your loss.


klc

[W3SLK]

That down right sux! I think your friends owe you big time!

[W2PFY]

It looks like it could be repaired   

[Jim, W5JO]

Pat check with Rent-A-Center.  They have some gensets of about that size on trailers that they rent to customers.  When they retire them they sell them at a very good price.  I forget the brand, but have seen one and you can have a normal conversation within 10 ft. of it.

I looked into one about 5 years back and they wanted about 2500 for the used one.  Maintenance is very good on them and it should last quite a long time.  You will need to talk to the district manager who can sell the stuff.  I will bet Dallas and Ft. Worth have different managers so check with both of them.  The will have relatively low hours because they don't want to have a lawsuit from a customer who uses it in a life situation.  So they sell them pretty frequently.

You may have to wait until one is retired, but it beats grand expense.

[WBear2GCR]

Patrick,

It got hot. Looks like the zinc diecast parts all melted. 
But, the good part is that the generator half is probably ok fine.
The engine may or may not be rebuildable, depending on if you can get/find a dead one with the melted off parts... or buy the parts from the mfr??

Even if the windings are toasted in the generator half, it is surprisingly inexpensive to have a good motor shop rewind it. I'd check the DCR of the windings and see if there are any shorts to ground.

I'd pressure wash the unit to get the black off, and I'd hit it with degreaser or oven cleaner first. Then lube up the bolts disconnect the generator from the engine... see what you got. Worst case you can find a suitable engine and do a shaft/belt arrangement to drive the generator. Some work there, but maybe cheaper and better than the alternatives?

Dunno how ur "friends" are going to ante up on this... or pitch in and do the work. I'd have them over doing the grunt on the take down myself. Eh?

Guess what, they get to strip and repaint the trailer too... 

Chances are the engine will work ok after the parts get replaced and the carbon gets properly removed, and it gets lubed... so ur buds have some "hobby" work ahead of them this summer??

Keep us posted.

             _-_-bear

[kc2ifr]

Very sad to see this but lets face facts here folks...........the thing is toast. To repair it......IF u can find the parts will be costly.
What a shame......

Bill

[Opcom]

Thanks for the good comments. Mr. Bear, It is totally ruined. I would not be interested in any repair of it, after that much heat I doubt it would be acceptable. But, making them repair it piece by piece would be just desserts!!

The rent-a-center route seems attractive. I have been looking on ebay and craigslist to get an idea of asking prices. There have been a few sets for a reasonable amount.

One thing I have always wanted is a "silent diesel" on a trailer that is long enough to also load an ATV onto. A rental unit might be able to be done that way, if the trailer was changed. so now I have a chance to try it.

I am scared of the cookie cutter Chinese units. When so many unheard-of brands exist, and they all look the same, you know that 6KW silent diesel for $1100-$1400 is a POS from China. Lots of complaints on the intnernet. I must have seen over 10 different brands of this very same machine today, all different colors and logos. I think it works like this: you buy a ship-containerload wholesale for $700 each, delivered, and painted to your liking, open a business name, sell them for about a year, then close when the lot is gone, and move somewhere else. That way, the customers that bought the original POS can't find you when it blows up after 1000 hours. 

"When
I did internet research on these generators I find the same exact
generator sold under at least five different brand names. They are all
based upon the same china made product with different paint jobs.
These generators are a horrible disgrace and a danger to the public."

[k4kyv]

I learnt decades ago never to lend anything even to the closest friends or family members, especially for an extended period of time, if I couldn't afford to lose it.

I once knew someone who lent a mint condx BC-610 to another ham, and then didn't communicate with the borrower for a couple of years. When he finally did, it turned out that the borrower had never used the transmitter, but unloaded it from the trailer and left it sitting unprotected outside in the weather for over two years.  Naturally, it was a total loss.

I let my son and a friend borrow my pick-up truck one sub-zero winter day while they were still in high school.  They started it up, but the throttle stuck, probably due to ice in the cable, and the engine revved full blast, but it was too cold for the oil to circulate properly, so the engine conked out when the cam shaft locked up and twisted in two.

[Opcom]

Here is the replacement. 7.5KW so slightly less power, but it has lights and is very quiet. Kubota 3-cyl water cooled engine, 4500 hours, does not smoke or otherwise misbehave. should have 4500 more left in it. It needs cleaning, paining, and some work on the tower as the wire rope is the plastic covered kind and the plastic is coming off. I will have to add 120/240V outlets and metering.

[John K5PRO]

Yea, Dats the ticket! They get used for overnight construction, makeshift lighting for temporary parking lots, etc. I have an old Kubota L245DT tractor with a 3 cylinder 18.7 kW diesel engine. Its a low speed engine, 2800 rpm max. 3" bore x ~4 inch stroke for pistons. Engine seems very reliable, bought it from a friend, who bought it from another friend, so its been owned by friends since it was new.

[Opcom]

this thing seems to run 1800RPM. I am looking for a data plate so I can find manuals. The guy might have fibbed about the power. the ones I see are 6KW with four 1KW lamps. That is OK though, all I need is air conditioning and power for a plastic radio and a leenyar.

[John K5PRO]

Hey, if you get a chance, find out how much for that 4160 VAC step down transformer you mentioned on the other post.

[Opcom]

the guy is kind of hard to get ahold of, but he's supposed to be coming up with a price. I figured someone would ask.

[W2PFY]

At 1800 RPM that would be a 4 pole generator. A two pole generator would run at 3600 RPM. The more poles a given generator has the slower the RPM. This is not so with those new Honda smart generators that change RPM depending on the demand or load.

I wonder if it is a 12 wire re connectable generator?  If it is, then it can be wired to make three phase and there is also another connection where the output would be 120 volts at max amperage single phase.

[Opcom]

I have not opened the power box yet. I'll do some work on it as the weather cools.