Update On Stepper Motor for Generator Control

[WStayton]

Hi All:

  For those  of you waiting for the receipt of the supposed correct steepper-motor for the generator speed control that I hope to use - keep waiting!

  I got an email from the seller that the uniut had been returned as "Udeliverable - No Such Adressee".

  I sent them a return email asking them where they sent it, since I have been at this address for six years or so, and have never had a problem receiving packages.

  Their return email, in five days (email is quick dontcha know!) was that they sent it to the address that I gave them and then produced some addres in IDAHO!!!

  I retun emailed them that I DID NOT provide an address in IDAHO, and DID NOT live in IDAHO and, again, gave them my REAL address in (very wet) upstate NY!!!

  They again emailed, again after four days, that they would get it out to me in NY, again!

  Not sure what the problem is with this company, but I am not impressed, so-far!!

  The ONLY thing that they have seemed to do in a timely fashion is bill my credit card - the charges appeared the day after I ordered it!

  I will advise when/if the stepper-motor comes in!

Regardz,

Wayne Stayton

[Tom Reed]

Ah the trials and tribulations on the way to success.

[Horsepoor]

Try sending your email chineese next time to avoid misunderstandings.

[vdubnut62]

LOVE the Avatar, Horsepoor!
Ron

[WStayton]

Hi All!


Horsepoor:  The company is in California, so I sorta just figured that they read/spoke/understood American/English - I guess I should never ASSUME anything, huh?  <grin>

On a slightly different note, I saw the advisement on this board of a similar product made by Woodward Governor that was available for $100.  Since this was less than the ACTUATOR, for the one that I was trying to put together and since Woodward is a VERY respected name in the governor business, I ordered one!

It came in FOUR days, without a hitch, and looks like a good piece of equipment.  The $100 included the "brain-box", the actuator, and the speed pickup.  The units is designed to run on 12 V DC and appears to be a more substantial piece of equipment than the Generac unit.  The CPU weighs about twice as much, and is pretty rugged looking, the actuator, likewise, is heavier than the Generac unit (the wrong one! <grin>) that I got.  The speed sensor looks like a hall effect unit that you put on the flywheel ring gear to get a speed signal.

What was NOT included was any paper-work of any kind.  Nothing!  No schematic/cartoon/text/nada!

I looked up the part numbers on the internet and there is SOME data available for the parts but nothing telling you how to rig the system - and NO troubleshooting of any kind, so if you hook it up and it doesn't work, its basically "poke-and-hope"!  <grin>

  So, for quickness of delivery, I give them a TEN.  For apparent quality of parts I give them a 9, and for paper-work, I give them a 0!

  For a governor made by Woodward, for larg(er) diesel engines for $100 I think it is a deal, but you have to make up your own mind.

  One area of concern is that rather than a stepper motor rotary actuator like the Generac has, the actuactor in this unit is an extending shaft unit that has a total travel of about 0.60 inches.  It must work , since they use these on Cummins's and Cats, but it seems like pretty little travel for fine adjustment compared to the about 180 degrees of rotary travel for the Generac unit - if I can ever get one!  <smile>

I have sent Woodward an email asking what rigging instructions they have for this unit and I will advise when/if they respond.

That's it for now!

Regardz,

Wayne Stayton

[Horsepoor]

Wayne,

Thank you for posting a progress up date. I flagged this tread hoping just this kinda of information. I sure do like the idea of a control box that uses frquency from the generator head to regulate prime mover speed. I am still thinking of a "helper" spring to bump RPMs up just a little when load increases and I was hoping to avoid any type of sensor pickups mounted to one of the rotating, shaking chunks of cast iron. As enternal optimist, I am still holding hope for a frequency senor kit, at a reasonable price, to adjust engine speed. I've been looking for two or three years, casually reading threads for this information amoung other topics of interest. Sooner or later, someone is going to post the perfect kit. Please advise on any future progress.

Bruce

[WStayton]

Horsepoor;

  I too like the fact that the Generac unit uses the 60 cycle AC as its frequency reference - but I'm not sure that I like it double-the-price of the Woodward unit! <grin> 

  Lets see, I'm gonna generate power about sixty times a year and the life expectancy is ten (??) years, so that about 0.13 per cycle to have it be automatic - hmmm, maybe it is worth the $100 - if I can ever get all the parts!  Anyhow, I thought that it was a good idea to have a plan "B", just in case something goes awary with plan "A", or I can't ever get the right actuator - though I'm sure that a Generac dealer could get me one . . .  for a much higher price!

  You do realize that both of these units, being digital, are not subject to any kind of "droop", yes?  The Generac unit IS 60 cyle, now and forever, no matter what the load, and the Woodward unit would hold whatever rpm you set it at, likewise, forever, no matter what the load - assuming, in both cases, that you don't exceed the available porwer of the prime-mover.  So ANY droop, for these units, is not a factor - one of the things that IS nice about digital control, even if it is a black-box and you can't really see what it is "thinking" with its tiny little digital mind!  <grin>

  That's it - my thoughts, which are worth exactly what you paid for them!

Regardz,

Wayne Stayton