Generator Issue

[Jeff Bayley]

I've been using a 3,500 watt generator outside the bus for dry camping. The low oil sensor shut it down today. Put oil (it was indeed low and off the dip stick) but upon restarting, the low oil light didn't go off. Gen ran anyway for about 5-10 minutes and stopped itself again. This time it wouldn't restart. Let it me for 20-30 minutes and it fired up again. 5-10 minutes of running.......shut down.

I know the sensor's can go bad but this one seems to me like it's stuck. We'll I guess that means bad. It's not recognizing that oil is in their and switching back to normal. I'll have to wait until tomorrow (raining now) to bypass the sensor temp and see what happens. Any suggestions ? It's a Kipor and it's in an enclosed case and pretty cramped to tinker around with the engine. Should I try tapping around the sensor with a hammer maybe to jar it back ? I'm not even certain how the sensor mechanism works. The generator only has about 30 hours of run time on it. Ran all last night fine.

[Petervs]

Just throw that toy away and use a real man's 20KW generator that is built in to your bus!

[Joe Cannarozzi]

On an Onan that sensor opens the ground circuit for the ignition and the spark goes away.

This is first hand info. I too chose to bypass it, I'm sure you are aware of the downside.

One of these days I am going to see just how much fuel ours burns in an hour under a medium load. I have a hunch it will be more than what is suggested or expected.

[Jeff Bayley]

I knew I was going to get heat on the pony generator. Probably some more to come.

This morning, the small generator started and the light was off. I can only assume that cooling down completely over night allowed the sensor to reset itself. I know opinions vary on my aux gen deal but it allows me to run one bedroom roof A/C at night without worry of a generator fire. I sleep better and the price for sleeping good was well worth a $1,000 investment

Thanks for the reply Joe.

[merle&louise]

Hey Jeff,

Is the 3500W generator gas or diesel?

You mention sleeping without the risk of a generator fire. Were you concerned that your 20KW generator would catch on fire? I don't understand what you are saying.:confused:

[garyde]

Hi Tuga. If you go back to Jeff's thread on this subject last year, you will see
a l o n g discussion on this issue.

[merle&louise]

Right Gary, I think now I do remember that discussion, thanks.

[Jeff Bayley]

Tuga and Gary-

First, the answer is that it's a gas generator. I carry two 5 gallons with me. That's good for about 3-4 nights worth. Yes, I'm sorry for invoking the l o n g discussion before.

I'll practice being brief. My 94 Angola's turbo on the generator burned up and was spitting oil all over the generator. I just happend to go outside around 10pm and saw the smoke billowing out. I had not flashed yet but seemed like it was primed and ready. Every since then, I can't sleep with the generator on and I've started going to RV parks which I don't like. Rather boon dock it.

The other thing is that when I've been to get the bus serviced at Prevost or other places, It's not uncommon to see a generator bay on another coach that has soot all around it giving evidence that coach is in for a generator fire. My bus is now 10 years old. My insulation in the bay is half way decayed and gone. It was suggested (in the prior l o n g thread I believe) that it might be a worthwhile endeavor to remove the generator to replace the dry rotting and missing sound barrier and in the process, get a chance to do a more through inspection of the entire gen set, connections, confirm no frayed wires, etc. That's good advise if I can tackle that job or find someone who can.

I've experimented with many pony generators. For the (few) that may be interested, I've landed on a Kipor 3,500 watt for the best pick. It's hush silent, inverter with a 220 connection. It has a larger than average gas tank and will run for at least 10 hours. When there is less load, it throttles itself back (as do all inverter generators) which makes it more fuel efficient. It's basically the cheaper version of a similar Honda or Yamaha (which I have in different power ratings). It's also got a rock solid handle bar which allows me to put a real strong carbon fiber motorcycle lock on it. I loop the other end through the grab handle of the bay door. That wont' allow the bay door to close all the way but enough to keep rain out. It just won't lock.

So much for brief. I think the problem is I'm a fast typist. I guess if you guys arranged a staged accident for me at a rally and broke one of my hands, it would shorten my postings.

[garyde]

Hi Jeff. This company makes a automatic Fire suppression system for engine and generator compartments.4439

[gmcbuffalo]

Jeff it sounds like you have the gas generator in one of the bays. How are you dealing with the, silent killer, exhaust?
GregM

[Jeff Bayley]

Gary-

I can't make out the brand name of the fire supression systems from the picture.

Greg- I put it in the main front bay when I'm on the road. When I'm boon docking I wheel it out and run it overnight plugged into the shore cord outside the bus. I have to turn one of the inverters to the "off" position on the remot panel to reduce the load since I discovered that an inverter that is "on", even with no load on that 2nd inverter still draws power. For the 3,500 watt Kipor, I turn off the inverter that doesn't run the fridge, put the float charge to around 5 amps and can run any one of any air conditioners.

Jeff

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Jeff tell us that story about the exploding fire suppression system you installed for Gary and the others who have not heard

[garyde]

Here is the site for 'Cold Fire'; http://www.rvsafetysystems.com/
and http://www.rvsafetysystems.com/Fire%20Detection%20and%20Suppression.htm

[Jeff Bayley]

Joe and others-

After my near generator fire, I started asking around about fire suppression systems for the problem. I asked Prevosts service depots and got no referrals. I asked Power Tech and they couldn't recommend any company. I finally found a company called Sea Fire which I suspect is a competitor of the one Gary knows of. I went to see them in person at their manufacturing facility on the East Coast but forget the stage. Maryland I think. They market primarily to the marine industry as their name suggest and do installations on million dollar yachts engine compartments. I showed them what I wanted for my generator bay. They put together the parts and accessories I needed which came to just over $1,000 if I recall including an audible alarm for the inside of the coach so I would know that if/when it ever discharged. They weren't in the business of doing installations for motor homes but I found a guy that worked for them that agreed to do on his own time after that days work.

The extinguisher wound up blowing up. I mean to say that the metal extinguisher itself exploded like a grenade and went into shrampnel pieces. It blew a 12" hole in the bulkhead wall into the the bay on the other side. The force and conclusion also tried to blow the bay door. It bend some of the parts that allow the bay door to fully close and those were easily replaced with no further damage to the bay door.

My theory on what happened is this. The guy installed the extinguisher too close to the exhaust of the generator. I believe the propellant slowly heated from being too close to the insulated generator exhaust. The thermostat which provokes the extinguisher to release the propellent goes off around 240 degrees I believe. So the generator bay didn't get to 240 and allow it to purge. Rather, it must have warmed to somewhere over 180. It was a hot Miami day when it happened which explains why it didn't defect earlier as I made my way south after the installation.

I reported the problem with photographs to Sea Fire and requested that they pay for the repairs and replace the equipment.......properly this time. They have chosen to shrug me off. I haven't bothered with an attny but in my letter I wrote to them I said that "Thank goodness no one was killed" in an effort to let them know they were getting off cheap. You would also think that the knowledge of them learning about this happening could potentially save them hundreds of thousands of dollars if this were to happen on a million dollar yacht.

I'll probably make a stop at the manufacture again when I pass through there.

So what was installed as a safety device wound up being a small bomb and back firing. Crazy.

[garyde]

Hi Jeff. As I understand this Cold Fire technology, it is a very cold , environmentally safe, water soluble, suppression system. The Tank should be mounted remotely with 3/8" copper tubing run to each of the gen, and engine compartment. Then , a sensor installed in each area connected to a digital monitoring device at the drivers area. I briefly read thru the installation instructions and it is straight forward.