I knew you would.

 

Crapolla Heavy that thing is bigger and does more than my DD 60 :lol:


I also found a couple of units like yours on E-Bay that came out of high end Class A RV's. One was going for $4,999 with only 200 hrs on it.
What kind of fuel consumption does that 3 cyl Kubota run at?

 

I knew you knew I would :wink:

 

Loud pipes save lives.

 

I'm sure that loud pipes make it easier to hear a bike coming, but why do some riders with the loud pipes go out of their way to make so much noise. I could understand the whole thing better if they would have some respect,....look you know your bike is loud,...why do you have to be immature about it. Get off the throttle while going through a neighborhood and have some respect for a cager with their window down, or a person on the sidewalk.

 

Another day, another fire. (okay, not really) :lol:

I spent all day rebuilding the system. I went to a tractor supply store and got a tractor muffler. I then went to a auto parts store to get the proper reducers. I re-ran the electrical that burned up yesterday (the right way this time), and fired it up with the muffler at the end of the tailpipe. I definately noticed a difference in the noise coming out of the tailpipe. It was much deeper sounding. The engine still is loud as all hell.

I decided to run my exhaust the way most APU's do it - along the side of the unit. My reasons for this were twofold - one, I had nowhere to mount the muffler on the frame rail, and two, this thing puts out a lot of exhaust. After checking and rechecking everything, I fired it up again with the AC on. I had it running for about 45 minutes, and the sleeper was COLD. I had to turn the AC up from 60 to 65, because I was FREEZING. I checked the generator twice in that 45 minutes, getting temp readings both times. The outside of the box sits at about 135 degrees. The engine head is at about 185-190 degrees.

I realized something this evening - the manufacturer used a generic manual for both their gas powered and diesel powered generators. In the manual, it said to use 10W30 motor oil. That seemed odd to me, but I figured I'd listen. I was looking at the top of the generator, and it said to use 15W40 motor oil, which makes more sense. I'm going to let it cool down a bit and then do an oil change on it to the correct motor oil. The heavier weight should have the engine running a bit quieter, and a bit cooler (I hope).

I've come to the conclusion that I won't be able to use this system every night. I will only be able to use it when I'm not around others. Since I try to avoid sleeping at truckstops, that will help, but I figure if I can use the generator 10 nights a month, I'll still get some savings out of having it, and it will eventually pay for itself.

 

I just finished doing an oil change on the beast. It took about 20 minutes to do from start to finish. The oil that was in there was like water. Hopefully the 15W40 will work better. I haven't noticed any change in the sound, but I did notice that when I started it, I didn't get any of the nasty black smoke out the exhaust like I was getting before. It definitely smelled a lot better when it was running too. I'll be going out in about an hour to check temps.

The AC is running like a champ. It is actually getting colder in here than it does with the truck AC running. The noise of the AC and the generator are tolerable - not great, but tolerable. I can feel a very faint vibration from the generator.

I was standing outside earlier talking on the phone with the generator running, and had no problems hearing, or being heard, from anywhere except right in front of the generator. I am definitely going to be altering the engine on this thing. I think I could probably fit a water cooled twin cylinder diesel in there if I ran the generator sideways off a pulley system. At worst I would have to run the radiator outside the box.

 

It was running so damn good. Then I smelled an all too familiar smell.

Needless to say, the engine is a failure. I sprinted outside to see smoke coming out of the box. I flipped open the lid, and found the same thing I did before - the fuel pump wire had melted. No fire though. I grabbed the fire extinguisher and gave it a good once over just to make sure, and disconnected the generator from the truck batteries. I did a quick temp reading on the engine at that point, and it was reading about 240 degrees. It's quite clear to me now that an air cooled engine does not work in this particular setup. I also think there was an issue with the fuel pump, although I cannot be sure.

I will salvage what I have, find a better engine that is more suited for what I am doing, and turn the rest into a boat anchor. For now, I am back to idling. I am just glad the fuel lines held up under the extreme heat, and I am glad that smell wafted into the truck. I hope to never smell it again.

Thus ends this chapter of the saga. Stay tuned for part 2. :?

 

Rev, they have some replacement diesel, water cooled engines on ebay. I saw some today in the $1,000-$1,200 range. I know I've seen some of the Rigmaster replacement engines for around $1,500 I think it was. I'm not sure if the Rigmaster engine was new or rebuilt.

Note to self: Watch Rev's saga very closely....learn from HIS mistakes

Sorry it didn't work out Rev. At least ya tried and at least you don't have an $8,000 boat anchor like alot of folks have had in years past. Now we've gotta start a new thread and figure out what we could use that generator for (something destructive and fun, of course) LOL

 

I plan to salvage what I can from the system. I think the system design overall was sound, but the engine itself just couldn't handle it. For now, it will be staying on the truck. I'm sure I'll find the perfect engine eventually.