Winco generator runs but doesn't generate - Page 2

 



generator,

In my experience generators react to short circuits and overloads each in
their own way--one may have melted stator wires, another may lose a diode in
the rotor, and still another may have melted output wiring connectors or an
open circuit breaker.  I'm just guessing it was caused by a short because
you said it happened when you turned on a light.  Plus this seems to be a
typical cause of failure.


I have two gennys that are awaiting a final verdict--I have not yet
determined if the rotor or the stator is bad but I've been able to verify
that everything else is OK.  So far I have been able to find all the parts
from the manufacturers but in some cases they are not worth the money to
fix.  If you are really lucky they might give you the specs for the rotor
and stator coil resistances.  On an old Homelite genny I simply replaced the
entire generator head with a new, better one for less than Deere's price for
a new stator.  Some day I hope to know everything about generator heads but
to date some things are still a mystery.  I can test the coils and measure
the resistance but usually can't verify that it's within range and if they
are different by .5 ohms if that is OK or not.  I can test an excitor coil
and determine it's not open or shorted but if the rotor is not getting
excited then it is suspect.

From everything you described it seems very unlikely that the field lost
it's residual magnetism but that doesn't mean it's gettting excited.  One
thing you can try is to plug in a voltmeter or expendable appliance (light
bulb perhaps), disconnect the circuit breakers, disconnect it from the
house, and try prodding the governor, raising the rpms and see if it starts
producing.  Some generators will.  But the voltage could easily go high
enough to cause some damage to applicances.  I have a generator (5500 watts,
240V) that does this--it'll start producing at high rpms and maintain normal
voltage output at 3600 rpms AND both lines work and it will easily power
such things as saws, vacuum cleaners, bench grinders, etc but will not power
a 240V pump motor.  It also will not connect to my OutBack inverters so I'm
pretty sure the frequency is off but I can't imagine how the two AC lines
could be out of sync.  Sounds like a bad capacitor to me but it checks out
OK.  If anyone has any suggestions please let me know.



hottest

option.

I'm not familiar with Winco but every direct-drive generator I've had apart
had a tapered shaft for the rotor and the stator mounts to a plate that is
bolted to the engine in four places.  This is all fairly standard.  I have
two gennys with Mecc Alte Spa heads (5000W and 6200W) and both have been
trouble-free except when I shorted an output and lost a rotor diode.  They
are available on eBay for reasonable amounts of money and if you are happy
with your engine and can't fix the other one this may be an option.  You
just need to verify your engine bolt pattern will match and find out which
taper you have on your shaft plus the shaft length.  I actually had my 6200W
head attached to a 4 HP engine just to see what it would do.  It put out
around 2000 watts.  The point is the shaft and bolt pattern was the same as
on a 10 HP engine.



rectifier

 


I thought of another possibility, however it is very unlikely.  Check to see
if the rotor is tight and not loose on the shaft.  If it's not turning along
with the crankshaft you would get little or no output.  Since the bolt that
holds it on should tighten as the engine and rotor turns it probably won't
come loose, but ya never know.

 

On Sat, 22 Aug 2009 21:57:08 -0400, "Nick Danger"


Post your problem in the generator forum at http://www.smokstak.com/

There are a lot of knowledgeable people there and someone can probably
give you suggestions, if not an immediate answer.

John

 

-0400, Nick Danger, yourname@yourdomain.com wrote:

  Yeah, I knew you meant 9000 watt even before seeing
your other reply.


  When my 5.5 kW generator stopped putting out at
about 8 years of age, I popped the cover containing
the outlets.  Probing around with the multimeter with
it running quickly showed where the electrus interuptus
was occurring.  It's been a while, but it seems all
that was required was unscrewing a wire, cleaning
things up with emery and putting it back together.  

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