Discovering my freedom in Minnesota

No experience with snow plow setups but the first thing to check with hydraulics is usually filters, screens and oil condition.

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Bill, if you have a mosquito problem, you should read up on the Mosquito Magnet. There are lots of DIY equivalents that you can make cheaply. The reports that I get from a friend in Alaska are very encouraging. The mosquito is the Alaska state bird.
Re: your hydraulic pump. It should / must have a clutch on the under-hood pump to keep it from overheating. It’s fine for a dump bed but, if you are going to use it in a continuous application, you might need to use a bigger reservoir tank to keep the temp down. The center of the pulley should free-wheel when the pump is not in use, just like an AC compressor.
That 6.5 diesel is famous for cracking cyl. heads. There is an aftermarket head that has a much better casting and a very good price.
I have good luck threading a chain through the hand-holes in the wheels instead of buying chains.

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im with William on tow truck ive seen the pump worked like a ac compressor . I like the truck though it looks like my 2000 chevy 3500 its 2wd but wheighs 8000 lbs empty put a car on and you have traction. im sure with a load on youl be fine.

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Nice truck Bill. That will be real handy for you. Much more fuel efficient than a gasoline engine but will require pre heating to fire it up come winter. The 6.5s are some of the best diesels for starting in our climate though. but you will have to plug it in for a couple hours. You should be able to get around with some weight and tire chains. The belt driven hydraulic plows are much faster and less taxing on your alternator and batteries. Is that a 9’ Myers plow?

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I like it. A one man Hwy Dept for Schiller Ranch, and Retreat.

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Bill,

Nice addition, I’ll know who to call if I get stuck in the snow in Bruno…but I got to get up there first! It has been almost 37 years since I have been to our farm in the North Woods…I’ve got to get with it! Also looking forward to being free of the gas pump when that happens!

Bryan

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I finally received another Kill-a-watt meter delivered. So I was able to adjust the generator speed to raise the hz. Even with increasing the rpm, i cannot get the hz to increase. Does anyone know if there’s something i can adjust on the generator heard to adjust the frequency?

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Bill

That seems really strange.

How many RPM are you turning on the motor?

How much did you increase it?

What frequency are you seeing on the gen head?

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I’m seeing 56-57hz. That’s with the rpms maxed out. When I go from idle to max rpm, i can exceed the target hz and voltage but will settle down shortly after as the rpms remain the same.

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Bill,

I have always used a digital Fluke meter with Hertz to adjust the Hz. I have worked with alot of gen-sets, up to 200kw. Adjusting to 60Hz has always been a function of the engine speed. Settings on the head normally adjust / tweeK the voltage.
There may be exceptions but this has not been my experience in all the generators I have encountered, always has been engine speed to adjust Hz.

Bryan

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I can’t find the manual for your exact generator online.

But there are some similar ones (probably newer models).

From what I gather, it probably has a mechanical governor.

The governor will automatically attempt to maintain the same engine RPM despite the load. So, while you might be able to goose the “throttle” and momentarily over-speed it, it will settle back to the same RPM.

These types of governors often have some fly-weights or something that can be adjusted to fine tune the target RPM.

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That has to have clutch or something that is slipping. It should stay the same as the engine no matter what. If this is not the issue then you may have some bad wiring or one of the poles is not outputting. Im no expert, but if its an internal issue with the gen head I would think you would see certain percentage drop. For instance if this is a four pole head, then set the RPM to 1800 then test your frequency, if one of the poles is not functioning then you should only see a frequency of 45 hz. Just my theory though. .

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A couple of three things here BillS that could be going on.
As BryanS states you are trusting the the precision of only one meter - and a build down to a price one at that. Always suspect your measuring instrument. Verify with another. Curse. Average-in the two readings and accept a range of 57-63 hertz on an engine driven unit.

Another thing is this is an old engine; you say it smokes - show a picture of it white smoking. It will not have the engine power to hold a governed RPM, therefore frequency, under near it original rated loading.
Looks to be a diesel fueled? Yes?

This last probably NOT the problem but possible. Fine prints says Made In Japan.
Is this possibly an actual original factory set-up 50 hertz for the majority of the rest of the world generator? Been previously governor/rpm tweaked-up to make close to 60 hertz?
50 and 60 hertz dual capable is common on the small Made In Japan gasoline/kerosene generators. They even have a face plate Hertz meter and an easy twist adjustment.
NOT so easy to force and original made 3000 rpm small diesel to loaded scream up to a 3600 for a stable rpm.

Regards
Steve Unruh

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The guy from a generator company in Duluth (about an hour) away called me back this AM and asked if I could bring the generator in today. I loaded it up and off I went. I caught them at the end of their lunch and three of them walked outside where I was parked. I started it up for them, they pulled out some tools and a meter and in 15 minutes they said, “There you go”. I asked them how much I owe as I was ecstatic, the owner said, “Nothing”. They even fed me some pizza.
I must have done enough good in the last 50 years to deserve some of the breaks I’ve been receiving.
As I left he wished me a good day and I told him nothing can ruin it now.
I took this picture of the generator running, absolutely no smoke anymore. Wow

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Now they have a Client for life so in the end it evens out. Nice to know some companies still get that. Congrats on a good day.

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Yes they do have a customer for life.
I will build a generator shed and have them do the install. They said it’ll be about $500. That’s the bottom end of what I thought it would cost to fix this.

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Bill, what did they do, timing?

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That’s awesome Bill. That is a nice power plant and couldn’t have ended up in better hands. I am happy for you.

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Bill,

I’m curious, what was the diagnosis and what was the cure?

Bryan

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I thought I maxed out the rpm’s but they adjusted the cable and they were able to get more. I will have to keep an eye open to make sure the frequency maintains where it’s at or I may have other issues to address like injectors or a fuel pump.
I will try some injector cleaner to see if that helps too.
I charged my battery bank tonight and was able to cut the time in

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