'83...? ONAN diesel genset startup project.

[bix]

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Well it’s been a long time since I’ve posted in here. New born boy and work has kept me plenty busy along with all the other projects.

I’ve been meaning to update this thread as I have made some progress lately.

currently in the middle of building a skid for it to live on, and for moving around the property. Once the skid is welded up I will mount radiator and quickly wire up the temporary panel that I bent out of some spare sheet metal. I have a waterproof 15 inch by 12 inch utility box in the cloud somewhere on its way here, and I will mount everything in for good when the load test has been done. I need to get the water pump fan shroud on and caged, fill with water. I don’t have a 3 amp breaker yet either for the control panel ,
which seems to be installed for voltage regulator malfunction, so I’m waiting on that also.

The Skid is just 1x1.5 rectangle stock with square stock crossed at the centre of engine mounting bolts, which then extend outward. I feel it’s pretty safe to assume they put these mounts in proportion to the load applied on them from the unit.. judging by this I am going to install some Lifting lugs off these locations, either 4 seperate or maybe tie them all in to a single hook point up top.

I also need some 55 amp breakers. I scavenged a set of breakers off the control panel of a generac, but they are 65 amp and one 15 for 110v acc. plug.

 

[bix]

I do have a suggestion:
Unless the genset already has one, some do, pick up a frequency readout. I have one for my big genset. Not sure where I got it, next time I am in the barn I will try to get the make and model.
I never wired it into the set, just put two solid conductor wires on it and laid it in the big transfer switch box.
There are no switches or settings, you just hook the two screw terminals to 240V, and it lights up with the frequency. Every so often I pick it up and touch the ends of the two wires to the connections of the transfer contactor and make sure I'm getting 60 cycle.

I have noticed that when it first starts up, its running about 58.5 or so, but after it warms up a couple of minutes it stabilizes at 60.
I can tweak the governor a little if I have to, but once I got it set to start with, its held up just fine.
For the most part, nothing in the house will mind a couple of cycles per second more or less. Any induction motors will run slightly faster or slower, and so will any line voltage clocks.
But its better to be correct.

I did pick up a little digital meter that will tell me the frequency. I plan to put one on both conductors for Amperage, voltage, wattage and frequency. the manual states every 30 rpm equals 1 hertz But I’d rather not have to check rpm to confirm…

Also noticing on the wiring diagrams there is an option for a Rheostat inline on the control box side for fine tuning , but I don’t have one. It’s on the list of things to potentially get after I confirm all is well with the unit.

 

[bix]

gotta finish up the skid and find a way to hoist this gen-set off the pallet and onto the skid. I plan on using channel steel welded to the 1.5x1 steel to form 4 pads that the engine mount feet can sit on. Debating ditching these big vibration isolators that I believe were used due to this being in a road legal vehicle..

 

[Chevy305]

I would keep the isolators if possible. Keeping the vibration down is always a good thing.

 

[bix]

I would keep the isolators if possible. Keeping the vibration down is always a good thing.

Agreed, until I can source the standard ones or something equivalent, these will stay for sure.

 

[bix]

Got some more work done on the skid, got the radiator fan caged, and also scrubbed the front grille down with some 0000 steel wool and got a lot of the speckled rust off.

re installed the lifting bracket, may cut some new old leaf spring bushings, that I have had floating around for awhile to replace the two rubber bushings that are quite cracked . I should find a way to take the steel sleeve out as well. I may try and lift it as it since it’ll just be up and down onto the new skid.

as for the isolation mounts, since they seem custom made, I’m still looking for proper rubber feet or mounts I can use instead but these might have to do for now.

I’m also going to have to support the exhaust so the leverage isn’t applied to the manifold and piping. A vertical brace up from the skid should work well. I’m also going to clock the muffler away from the engine for now to get heat away from the control units. I plan on building the enclosure around the generator when it’s placed and exhaust routed up and away from the unit But a bit of extra space from clocking it won’t make a huge difference.

we bought a camper trailer which means the c10 has been bumped up the wifes list that I complete…. but it’s so nice having space in the shop to work on the generator, hopefully Ill have it on the skid sooner than later and I can get the c10 back in the shop. I’d want the generator on the skid before I fab up any lifting lugs anyway So it should be soon..

 

[bix]

”walked“ the skid under the gen set with the help of some jackstands and some square tubing. Now I can get the skid up on stands and remove the pallet and wood under there, and get it back on the dollys.

 

[joshuak]

Cool project. Those coiled wire cable isolators are awesome.

Maybe common in the industry, but a first for me.

 

[bix]

Cool project. Those coiled wire cable isolators are awesome.

Maybe common in the industry, but a first for me

Yea they are super neat. I’ve never seen such a thing before but this isn’t my wheelhouse either. The triangular steel is self made for sure and I think the wire and bar clamps are fastened to the two triangular pieces. I’d love to take them apart but I don’t want to take them off.

 

[bix]

Going to cap off the front two rails with another piece of angle iron to tie them together. It will also allow me to bend some flat stock into brackets for the two front mounting holes on the radiator support, and the side mounting holes.









Getting this on the skid and tucked over means the c10 can get back in the shop.

things left to do are.

wire up start and ignition , glow plug acc, oil and coolant gauges.

figure out a lifting point

brace muffler and add flex pipe before , too account for vibration.

 

[tRustyK5]

That's a pretty sketchy set-up there with the jack stands...maybe weld some casters to your skid? Then you can push it wherever you need to, or tuck it away if needed...but safely.

 

[bix]

This is what happens when the crane guy finally doesn’t have any OSHA regulations to follow



yea it is not meant to be permanent as I would like the dollys and jack stands back. Been meaning to pick up some weld on castors I can cut off when it gets chucked outside.. just wanted to make room for the c10 back in the shop. Even getting it down and sittin on the dollys would be great. It’s a bit of a slope to do in one go, end for end ( lowering it down ). Should probably build up some bracing for a mid point, so I can level it out again before going down to the dolleys. If only I had two jacks…

 

[Blue85]

Can't it at least have a little lean-to?

 

[JoshHefnerX]

My back yard is already pretty level and I'll cover it for you if you want to store it here.

 

[bix]

Can't it at least have a little lean-to?

a “ cali lean “ from the sketchy stands.. or a shelter haha

 

[bix]

It will be going outside behind the shop in a dog house which then will also be under shelter, as I’m currently opening up that area after dragging that sea can out of there, laying 3/4 crush down and hoping to park the camper trailer back there and have some storage for genset, ect ..

not sure if I will build an extension for the fuel tank but most likely. Makes sense for the whole unit to stay together. I would eventually like to get an electric fuel pump and have the tank further away If need be. Also found another spot on the radiator thats leaking so I’ll have to fix that..

Got it down on jackstands now and the c10 back in the shop as the snow started falling..Life is good.

 

[Fordum]

One thing to keep in mind, is the exhaust location, but not necessarily for the reason you might think. It sounds like it will be far enough from the house not to endanger you, but consider the wind direction and the intake.
When I winched my big genset into the barn, the exhaust was facing into the barn just over the radiator. Both ends of the barn are open with big doors that are never closed.
Plus, the radiator fan is a huge pusher fan that blows out the end the same way the exhaust was blowing.

This all caused the exhaust to blow through the barn and out the end. A small amount rose up into the rafters. I figured that would help keep critters like rats and boring bees out.
Plus, I just put on a new roof and did not want to punch a hole in it along with the associated hardware to make the pipe weatherproof.
That arrangement worked great for a couple of years. I would go out about once a week and run it for an hour or so, while watching the gauges.
The exhaust fumes stepped smartly out the end of the barn.
Then, one evening the power went off and it kicked on. About 30 minutes later, it noticed the lights acting funny and heard some wrong sounds from the barn.
Went charging out and discovered the wind was blowing strongly out of the East, unusual for a storm around here.
This was forcing the exhaust back into the barn so thick that the genset was choking on it.
I had to shut it down and do without power for another hour or so.

Later, I cut a 4 foot hole in the top end of the barn, and mounted a big exhaust fan in the hole with a 2 horse motor. It was powered by the genset, and came on whenever it cranked.
Never had anymore trouble.

J.

 

[bix]

This shelter used to have a roof on it when we moved in and the canister was back here. Had to pull it off, so I could hoist the container out of there. Fast forward a few storms and the wind knocked the one side over and luckily this natural stilt was the thing to hold it up until i could plumb it somewhat, and brace it off. Used a little chain pull to plumb the wall up.

My plan is to build a slanted roof off the shop to the exterior wall and just have a post at either end on the shop side, a full wall which is already standing, and eliminating the wrap around enclosure idea they had previously built, giving me access from the back yard and perfect trailer parking out of the immediate elements. This will also leave me with quite a bit of 1x8 cedar boards to use elsewhere. Got it lashed off with some rope now to the opposing footing, and kinda braced to itself and a stake or two until i can get the wall braced back to the shop or into the ground more.

One thing to keep in mind, is the exhaust location, but not necessarily for the reason you might think. It sounds like it will be far enough from the house not to endanger you, but consider the wind direction and the intake.
When I winched my big genset into the barn, the exhaust was facing into the barn just over the radiator. Both ends of the barn are open with big doors that are never closed.
Plus, the radiator fan is a huge pusher fan that blows out the end the same way the exhaust was blowing.

This all caused the exhaust to blow through the barn and out the end. A small amount rose up into the rafters. I figured that would help keep critters like rats and boring bees out.
Plus, I just put on a new roof and did not want to punch a hole in it along with the associated hardware to make the pipe weatherproof.
That arrangement worked great for a couple of years. I would go out about once a week and run it for an hour or so, while watching the gauges.
The exhaust fumes stepped smartly out the end of the barn.
Then, one evening the power went off and it kicked on. About 30 minutes later, it noticed the lights acting funny and heard some wrong sounds from the barn.
Went charging out and discovered the wind was blowing strongly out of the East, unusual for a storm around here.
This was forcing the exhaust back into the barn so thick that the genset was choking on it.
I had to shut it down and do without power for another hour or so.

Later, I cut a 4 foot hole in the top end of the barn, and mounted a big exhaust fan in the hole with a 2 horse motor. It was powered by the genset, and came on whenever it cranked.
Never had anymore trouble.

J.

Thats a great point i had never even contemplated... I plan on building a 3 or 4 sided enclosure around the gen set of some sort, which will sit under the covered section behind the shop. I should think about venting the exhaust up to the top of the main shelter roof to avoid it sucking in its own exhaust potentially.

 

[bix]

Got the control box layed out and gauges in, and mounted the voltage regulator inside with the terminal blocks. Also picked up some castors to live on until it gets put outside.

oh... and read the label on the goo gone bottle before using it to remove permanent marker, as it reads " WILL RUIN MOST PLASTICS "..... Luckily i had some appliance white laying around to cover up all the ugly surface etching caused from that stuff.

 

[Truckman4life]

We have some badass aerosol electrical contact cleaner at work that will even remove paint marker no matter how old it is. Not sure if it messes up plastic but I think not.