Generator and Gen. Bay Rebuild

[gmcbuffalo]

Joe
I missed something what was the source for exhaust pipe?
GregM

[win42]

Joe: I feel bad I had to bail out on you in the middle of the Generator Project. After I left home I read you problem with the price of the insulation and tried to reach someone that could let you know a fiberglass material is cheaper and would work. We have even used Mineral Wool in the past, but it may sag with the jarring the bus would give it. You have done a good job on it. We can't wait to see the generator running in it.

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Greg the source for the corrigated exhaust pipe is

Geib Corp.
Franklin Park, Ill.
1 847 455 4550

[Joe Cannarozzi]

We got 1 step closer yesterday and instaled the new fuel lines and hung and taped a good part of the insulation.

Tomorrow I'll do further mock-up installing the divider wall seperating the gen. from the radiator so I can fit that wall with lead, drywall and insulation. It won't go in permanant until the gen. is back to make its reinstalation much more accesable.

My Bus 255.jpg

My Bus 256.jpg

My Bus 257.jpg
My brother-in law suggested, while showing him the white perferated aluminum that will install over the mylar coated foam, that the dirt and soot that will inevitably accumulate over time will blacken the mylar coating behind the perferated and will keep me from being able to wipe it clean. Always good to have that second set of eyes. I tend to agree.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Joe,

Any sooting is likely to be evidence of a problem with the exhaust. I think your new pipe has cured that so you should be OK. I assume you have a blower to evacuate the housing of fumes during the start cycle. If not, that should be a part of what you are doing. The air intake for the box can be run through a large filter so both the generator box and the generator air intake are receiving clean(er) filtered air, further minimizing the soiling of that new white interior.

[Just Plain Jeff]

As utterly painful as it is for me to agree with Jon, I must do so, but perhaps only in just this case.

With a well-performing exhaust system, properly fixed to fittings, there should be no build-up at all. One side note is that many coaches are fitted with catalytic converters on the generator. Liberty, for one, strips them off. Some clown in Washington mandated that all engines should have them, but the generator motor is an exception...leaving the catalytic converter on the generator engine is waiting for a problem to develop as it doesn't get hot enough to burn off the residue.

Further, many conversions have passive venting in the generator compartment, which, I guess, is a fairly good idea, but it wouldn't hurt to have more control over the internal environment here while you are in there.

As noted in an earlier post, Helen was in search of the lint exhaust from the dryer in our Liberty. Jon had erroneously told her it was in the wheel well. We finally found it, get this, into the, you got it, generator bay. This, with only a passive venting system, is a likely candidate for a lot of icky stuff where it should be clean.

Geez, now there I go again with a wandering dissertation for Kerley.

Anyway, when Joe is done, betchya we could whisper in his 'new' coach while the generator is running and actually hear each other. But then we would have to remember to turn it off.

Kind of a problem at this age. You don't get it all.

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Jon we do not have a blower to evac the start up fumes.

I am curious, what and where are these fumes coming from that you describe.

There is 2 small vents in the floor covered with wire mesh. If I put an exhaust fan in that compartment it will also be exhausting sound?

I think there is sufficiant compramise in the exzisting design. The wall that divides the gen. from the radiator has 2 holes in it to allow the radiator hoses through and when I fit it I can leave enough additional space around the hoses so that the blower that is sucking air across the radiator can at the same time draw air from the gen. compartment too. What say you?

I like the Idea of the air filters in the 2 floor vents, that will deffinatly keep things cleaner longer.

Soundown also has baffles that they have deisgned to limit the amount of noise that the radiator blower creates. I was told it can be modified or designed to fit directly ito the duct that directs the discharge air away from the intake. Sounded like a good idea, no pun intended.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Joe, any enclosed engine compartment should have forced ventilation to remove any fume build up prior to engine start.

We all know that diesel fuel is very hard to ignite, but given the wrong set of circumstances and a catastophic event could occur. If you have any doubt review the conclusions reached about the unfortunate accident with TWA flight 800 over Long Island. Jet fuel (diesel) fumes in an empty fuel tank were presumed to have been ignited by a short circuit in the wiring within the tank.

In our coaches a loose or broken fuel line allowing fuel to leak in the compartment, along with the sparks likely when the starter motor is engaged, or the alternator begins charging and a problem could occur. The likelihood is slim compared to the risk with a gas fired engine, but I am not willing to assume that risk.

You could wire a blower to introduce a flow of outside air anytime the generator is going through the pre-heat or start cycle or is running. You could leave the floor vents to exhaust the air, but I would urge you to consider adding forced ventilation for the generator compartment.

I hope Jeff is kidding about the dryer vent. I can't imagine all the negatives associated with that piece of poor engineering.

[Just Plain Jeff]

No, I wasn't kidding at all about the dryer vent exhaust entering from the forward section of the generator compartment.

It took Helen forever to get it clean. She even used the long curved Kelly clamps she reserves for the toughest applications to evacuate the vent.

I was told by Liberty something to the effect, "Nothing to worry about because there is a passive vent at the rear of the generator compartment."

Ain't fibbing about this one.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

So with each dryer cycle the generator gets treated to several quarts to a gallon of water in the form of vapor that will find its way into every part, internal and external of the genrator.

But if you choose to never run the dryer, you alternately get fumes from whatever is dripping, leaking or seeping into the generator box including CO, soot, fuel or oil vapors, etc.

The answer of course is that the dryer itself has a foam plug to keep bad stuff out. I know on my coach the plug that is supposed to seal against road dust or whatever else might come back up the dryer vent hose is far from a hermetic seal and I doubt that CO, or soot, or even diesel fuel fumes would be stopped.

To Joe's situation, I recommend treating the generator box as space that needs to be vented outside, it needs to be ventilated for 30 seconds or so before the generator is started, and the generator box needs to be isolated to the maximum extent possible from other bays and especially the living area.

I don't want to suggest the ventialtion fan can be eliminated, but upon generator start it can be turned off so that the box is a negative pressure area due to the generator air intake being inside the box and drawing in a large enough air flow to literally pull any fumes into and through the generator engine.

But no dryer vents. What an obvious path for CO from a defective exhaust pipe to travel into the living area of the coach.