Should I jump on this Onan 10 KW HDKAG Diesel RV Generator. Spec C ?

[RajunCajun]

Hi Rajun Cajun,

Where did you get those fuel consumption numbers.
At half load it seems a little low.

Here are the numbers I have.
Kubota D1305 fuel use:
50% Load Gal/Hr.--.7
75% Load Gal/Hr.--.9
100% Load Gal/Hr.--1.1

These numbers are still very good for The D1305.
I still like to see diesel gensets ran at 60% or more. They are more effecent and will live a better life when loaded. (especialy in cold weather)

The numbers I quoted in my earlier post were for a Kubota V2403. Getting forgetful these day's

Henry

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=onan%20cmsd%20v1305&source=web&cd=3&sqi=2&ved=0CCcQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwestgenerator.com%2Fpdfs%2FCommercialMobilediesel%2F10KWCMSD.pdf&ei=yXG4ToXKIaepsQK06ZjxAw&usg=AFQjCNH1ijJg-2xMF2O_D555utaMC2Nwsg

[Henry W]

Follow this you should be ok.

Generator set exercise
Generator sets on continuous standby must be able
to go from a cold start to being fully operational in a
matter of seconds. This can impose a severe burden
on engine parts. However, regular exercising keeps
engine parts lubricated, prevents oxidation of electrical
contacts, uses up fuel before it deteriorates, and, in
general, helps provide reliable engine starting. Exercise
the generator set at least once a month for a minimum
of 30 minutes loaded to no less than one-third of the
nameplate rating. Periods of no-load operation should
be held to a minimum, because unburned fuel tends
to accumulate in the exhaust system. If connecting to
the normal load is not convenient for test purposes, the
best engine performance and longevity will be obtained
by connecting it to a load bank of at least one-third the
nameplate rating.

Conclusion
Preventive maintenance for diesel engine generators
plays a critical role in maximizing reliability, minimizing
repairs and reducing long term costs. By following
generally recognized diesel maintenance procedures
and specific manufacturer recommendations for your
application, you'll be assured that your standby power
system will start and run when you need it most.
For additional technical support, please contact your
local Cummins Power Generation distributor. To locate
your distributor, visit www.cumminspower.com.

Just some food for thought. I spoke to an Kubota application's engineer at Kubota Engine America Corporation based in Illinois when I started my project about nine months ago. We talked about proper loading of the D1005 engine and he said they like to see them at least 60% loaded. He said they seen D1005 engines on gensets with over 40,000 hours on them. I will trust a Kubota application's engineer recommendation over anyone else. Why? They should know the load requirements of these engines.

Rajun Cajun, You have a nice genset there and would like to hear and see more of it. And Jedon, You will have a nice one soon. Just maintain them and run them with a good load at times to heat them up good and they will last you both a long time.

Henry

[RajunCajun]

 Thanks Henry,
    I found my Onan 2004 HDKAG up in Georgia. It was a large RV "pullout" for upgrading. 1580 hours. V1305 Kubota. The genset had intermttent problems with starting, when I got it. I traced electrical sytem out. Finally found that the large wiring harness "twist connector" had 3 broken pins. Probably Vibration?
    I removed the connector, hardwired/soldered the harness, doing away with the connector. No more problems. But, now I have an extra NOS solenoid, pc board, and relays. lol.
    My son's friend welded the cart. I found the meter box on eBay, from the guy in Georgia. Works great also. The tanks, fuel filter setup, and muffler, all came from tractor supply. 30 gallon capacity. I painted it all to match. Ordered decals from eBayer. Attached photos show how the project progressed...

The unit runs great, now.
RajunCajun

[rcavictim]

Thanks Henry,
    I found my Onan 2004 HDKAG up in Georgia. It was a large RV "pullout" for upgrading. 1580 hours. V1305 Kubota. The genset had intermttent problems with starting, when I got it. I traced electrical sytem out. Finally found that the large wiring harness "twist connector" had 3 broken pins. Probably Vibration?
    I removed the connector, hardwired/soldered the harness, doing away with the connector. No more problems. But, now I have an extra NOS solenoid, pc board, and relays. lol.
    My son's friend welded the cart. I found the meter box on eBay, from the guy in Georgia. Works great also. The tanks, fuel filter setup, and muffler, all came from tractor supply. 30 gallon capacity. I painted it all to match. Ordered decals from eBayer. Attached photos show how the project progressed...

The unit runs great, now.
RajunCajun

Very clean setup there.  Very nice work!

[rl71459]

Good Job, I like it!

[dieselgman]

I service generator sets specifically and have been working on standby sets anywhere from brand new to 50+ years old for a couple decades. The old-school methodology was to oversize everything... fuel consumption was not at issue. For testing purposes we could never get sufficient loads from the connected buildings and equipment so had to have portable load-bank tools. The question of wet-stacking and the 'rule of thumb' stating you must run with 75% load for optimum operation IS one that we generally use. Failing to do this on some engines does create a lot of unburned fuel in the exhuast stream, whether that results in a wet-stack depends on the design of the system and the particular engine and its condition. Many generator systems have oversized exhausts with sometimes long pipe runs. This is quite a different situation than on a vehicle where the exhaust system is minimized in size and distance from the engine. Most of the exhaust, and whatever it may be laden with, is simply passed directly to the atmosphere. This is also a function of how the system is run. On standby situations, sometimes the equipment is not run long or hot enough to cause the entire system to be hot enough to avoid condensing internally. The modern systems we install now are designed to be just large enough with a very small margin for overload and we rarely see any issues on them regarding exhausts being wet or contaminated with fuel or carbon.

dieselgman

[Jedon]

So I got this set up and running and hooked up some solenoids so I could start and stop it from the house and it has been working great.
I have it set to charge with 33A per phase so 7260 watts, I then turn on the well pump ( 1800W ) so a total of about 9060 which would be 90% of the 10K capacity. Now it only takes about 20 minutes for bulk charge to complete since I only have 8 220AH golf cart batteries, so after that it runs at far below capacity unless I turn it off.
I've been thinking that the most efficient way to run it would be to set it up to auto start at 48.8V on the battery bank, bulk charge them for 30 minutes and turn off? The old 80/20 charge method where the batteries never really get into float except they probably will during the day when I'm getting enough solar power and the hydro is going.
This might prematurely wear out the starter and shutoff solenoid? Anything else bad about cycling the engine? Would it be better to just let it run for a few hours in the evening after it finishes bulk charging?
I don't have have a fuel gauge on the tank, looks like it's around 70 gallons. I guess splicing in a sight tube is the easiest? Is there some kind of float gauge I could monitor electronically?
Thanks!
Oh and Happy New Year!

[dieselgman]

30 minutes may be long enough under load for your system to reach full operating temps (which is a normal exercise target). A longer run than that without load may not be necessary nor practical. Do you have any pre-heaters installed on the engine? That can make a big difference in warm-up times and also on starter and engine wear and tear.

On the fuel tank gauge, a sight tube introduces the possibility of fuel leakage while a float in the top of the tank introduces extra complexity. I prefer the float method myself. Yes, they can be found readily that will connect with remote electrical gauges. A lot of the remaining questions will have to do with your tank design and available access ports.

dieselgman

[Jedon]

There is a temp gauge so I should check what it reads after 30 minutes to make sure it's getting hot enough.
There is a cord coming off the engine that looks like it's a block heater, I should use that? Winter/Summer?