mothballing for the summer

[mike90045]

Well, it looks like the generating season is nearly over, haven't run the 'roid in 2 weeks.   
What's the way to prep for the idle months?

Change oil, so it sits with fresh stuff in it ?
Send a slug of fresh pump fuel thru the filter and into the pump and injectors,
oil every thing up, close the decompressor. 
Any benefit to "fogging" the intake ?
plastic bag anything ?   
rodent wire around the generator vents.

[thomasonw]

I was just reviewing my Kubota 'Users Manual'  (Fun large one-pager with cartoon like drawings).

One thing it mentioned:   Rotate the flywheel until the engine starts into its compression cycle.  Idea was to put positive pressure in the cylinder and discourage moist air entering.    Sounds reasonable, but I wonder how long that positive pressure situation would hold before leaking past the rings.  But I guess even so there would be SOME level of positive pressure.  And perhaps any level, no matter how small, would discourage migration of moist air into the cylinder.

I never have fogged the Diesels (Do the outboard and Honda backup generator).  Every time go to service the air cleaners there is already a fine layer of oil present everywhere in the intake - both our Cummings mains and the Kubota.  I figure this is  just from ingesting engine room air and the ever present blow-by mist.  And I have never seen any sign of surface rust on either intake.  But I see no reason why it would hurt.

Do you need to make sure to cap the exhaust, blow-by vent and intake - to discourage anyone from building a nest in there?  I remember having a devil of a time with small natural gas regulator vent lines and wasps.  They loved to build nests in those small vent pipes.  Ha, last year I had an issue with Mussels and Barnacles 'nesting' inside the exhaust pipe - wonder what that says about the killing effect of diesel exhaust. . . .

And I always like to change the engine oil when putting engines away for (in our case) the winter.  Let them sit in nice clean oil, and it is one less thing for me to do when recommissioning.

[Tom Reed]

Moth ball? We're supposed to run them for at least 30 min every month. I'm still hoping for some rain, and there is some on the forecast. If we get a good cloudy spell in May, I've needed to run mine. And then there are the visitors who'll want to see it run.

[vdubnut62]

Definitely change the oil and run it with the fresh for 5 minutes or so. I let a Cummins 5.9 sit in the barn for about 3 or 4 years without flushing the old oil, and the acid etched the main
bearing surfaces. YMMV

[XYZER]

Rolling up into compression makes sure the valves are closed.

[Dualfuel]

I remove the biodiesel from the tank. I also put little cork stoppers in all the little holes that the mud daubers try to build nests into.
BPJ

[Lloyd]

Well, it looks like the generating season is nearly over, haven't run the 'roid in 2 weeks.   
What's the way to prep for the idle months?

Change oil, so it sits with fresh stuff in it ?
Send a slug of fresh pump fuel thru the filter and into the pump and injectors,
oil every thing up, close the decompressor. 
Any benefit to "fogging" the intake ?
plastic bag anything ?   
rodent wire around the generator vents.

Preparations for a laid up engine?

1. Run the diesel(cause that's what we are talking about) up to temp.
2. Then drain the main fuel filter, the fill with Stan dyne, and MM-50%-50%.
3. Crank it up let it run, for a minute, shut it down.
4. Drain the lube oil, and replace the lube filter, fill er up with new oil.
5. Now take a can of Corrosion-X, Close the run lever on on the pump, give her a couple of revs on the starter as you spray the C...-X in the intake.

Now the pump. and cylinders are ready to sit, the next time you need her she is ready to crank and do service.

Lloyd

[mike90045]

2. Then drain the main fuel filter, the fill with Stan dyne, and MM-50%-50%.

What is Stan dyne and MM ?

[Tom Reed]

MM = Marvel Mystery oil ?

[Thob]

Stanadyne produces a line of additives for diesel fuel (among other items):

http://www.stanadyne.com/view.php?id=45

It's one of the few additives that is actually considered useful.