Powertech Generator --engine not running right.

[erniecarpet@...]

Pete- do you have a separate Racor filter for your generator. Maybe its a
fuel starvation problem?

Ernie Ekberg
83PT40
Livingston, Mt




************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Pete Masterson]

Yesterday and again today, the Powertech 15kw generator started
acting up. The problem seems to be the Kubota diesel engine. The
exhaust is black and sooty and the engine isn't putting out full
power (noted that the voltage had dropped down to 100 vac from the
usual 120 vac)

I changed the air filter last summer -- solving a sooty exhaust
problem (without any loss of power) at that time, but this seems more
serious. A couple of weeks ago, I started the generator, I thought
perhaps, prematurely without allowing the glow plugs to run long
enough as the engine was clearly stumbling and not running on all
cylinders.

Looking at the engine, it appears that on injector has been replaced
(from the look of the paint, etc.) so the engine may have had
problems in the past.

I'll call Powertech tomorrow, but I'd appreciate any thoughts anyone
may care to offer.

Pete Masterson
'95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42
aeonix1@...
On the road at Denver Colorado

[davidkerryedwards]

Black exhaust is overfueling. This could equal underairing. I'd check the air
filter again to
see if it is clean. The other factor to consider is the elevation. Denver air
is thin enough
that unless the engine has an altitude compensator of some kind, you may be
running rich
simply due to the elevation.
Diesels Only on West Alameda is a good shop if it turns out you need mechanical
service.

Kerry
82 FC 35
Denver

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, Pete Masterson wrote:
>
> Yesterday and again today, the Powertech 15kw generator started
> acting up. The problem seems to be the Kubota diesel engine. The
> exhaust is black and sooty and the engine isn't putting out full
> power (noted that the voltage had dropped down to 100 vac from the
> usual 120 vac)
>
> I changed the air filter last summer -- solving a sooty exhaust
> problem (without any loss of power) at that time, but this seems more
> serious. A couple of weeks ago, I started the generator, I thought
> perhaps, prematurely without allowing the glow plugs to run long
> enough as the engine was clearly stumbling and not running on all
> cylinders.
>
> Looking at the engine, it appears that on injector has been replaced
> (from the look of the paint, etc.) so the engine may have had
> problems in the past.
>
> I'll call Powertech tomorrow, but I'd appreciate any thoughts anyone
> may care to offer.
>
> Pete Masterson
> '95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42
> aeonix1@...
> On the road at Denver Colorado
>

[Pete Masterson]

No Racor for the genny. I replaced the fuel filter (a spin on one)
last summer when I changed the air filter. I have a spare with me ...
I can put it on...

But with all the soot and smoke, it seems like there's plenty of fuel
-- it's just not burning right.


Pete Masterson
'95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42
aeonix1@...
On the road at Denver Colorado



On Jun 5, 2007, at 6:23 PM, erniecarpet@... wrote:

> Pete- do you have a separate Racor filter for your generator. Maybe
> its a
> fuel starvation problem?
>
> Ernie Ekberg
> 83PT40
> Livingston, Mt
>
>

[Pete Masterson]

I considered the altitude. I had a bit of black smoke when I was
through here last year when I bought the coach ... but this is a
_lot_ more black smoke. I was getting some while in Texas -- some
3000 ft lower elevation.

I'll swap the air filter (I have a spare on board) and see if that
helps.

Pete Masterson
aeonix1@...
'95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42'
Sitting in the Camping World parking lot in Denver waiting for an AC
service in the morning...




On Jun 5, 2007, at 6:32 PM, davidkerryedwards wrote:

> Black exhaust is overfueling. This could equal underairing. I'd
> check the air filter again to
> see if it is clean. The other factor to consider is the
> elevation. Denver air is thin enough
> that unless the engine has an altitude compensator of some kind,
> you may be running rich
> simply due to the elevation.
> Diesels Only on West Alameda is a good shop if it turns out you
> need mechanical service.
>
> Kerry
> 82 FC 35
> Denver
>
> --- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, Pete Masterson
> wrote:
>>
>> Yesterday and again today, the Powertech 15kw generator started
>> acting up. The problem seems to be the Kubota diesel engine. The
>> exhaust is black and sooty and the engine isn't putting out full
>> power (noted that the voltage had dropped down to 100 vac from the
>> usual 120 vac)
>>
>> I changed the air filter last summer -- solving a sooty exhaust
>> problem (without any loss of power) at that time, but this seems more
>> serious. A couple of weeks ago, I started the generator, I thought
>> perhaps, prematurely without allowing the glow plugs to run long
>> enough as the engine was clearly stumbling and not running on all
>> cylinders.
>>
>> Looking at the engine, it appears that on injector has been replaced
>> (from the look of the paint, etc.) so the engine may have had
>> problems in the past.
>>
>> I'll call Powertech tomorrow, but I'd appreciate any thoughts anyone
>> may care to offer.
>>
>> Pete Masterson
>> '95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42
>> aeonix1@...
>> On the road at Denver Colorado
>>
>
>
>

[davidkerryedwards]

That parking lot is pretty clean. You might try running it for a minute with
the filter
removed and see if you get enough air flow to solve the problem.

Kerry
82 FC 35
Denver


--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, Pete Masterson wrote:
>
> I considered the altitude. I had a bit of black smoke when I was
> through here last year when I bought the coach ... but this is a
> _lot_ more black smoke. I was getting some while in Texas -- some
> 3000 ft lower elevation.
>
> I'll swap the air filter (I have a spare on board) and see if that
> helps.
>
> Pete Masterson
> aeonix1@...
> '95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42'
> Sitting in the Camping World parking lot in Denver waiting for an AC
> service in the morning...
>
>
>
>
> On Jun 5, 2007, at 6:32 PM, davidkerryedwards wrote:
>
> > Black exhaust is overfueling. This could equal underairing. I'd
> > check the air filter again to
> > see if it is clean. The other factor to consider is the
> > elevation. Denver air is thin enough
> > that unless the engine has an altitude compensator of some kind,
> > you may be running rich
> > simply due to the elevation.
> > Diesels Only on West Alameda is a good shop if it turns out you
> > need mechanical service.
> >
> > Kerry
> > 82 FC 35
> > Denver
> >
> > --- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, Pete Masterson
> > wrote:
> >>
> >> Yesterday and again today, the Powertech 15kw generator started
> >> acting up. The problem seems to be the Kubota diesel engine. The
> >> exhaust is black and sooty and the engine isn't putting out full
> >> power (noted that the voltage had dropped down to 100 vac from the
> >> usual 120 vac)
> >>
> >> I changed the air filter last summer -- solving a sooty exhaust
> >> problem (without any loss of power) at that time, but this seems more
> >> serious. A couple of weeks ago, I started the generator, I thought
> >> perhaps, prematurely without allowing the glow plugs to run long
> >> enough as the engine was clearly stumbling and not running on all
> >> cylinders.
> >>
> >> Looking at the engine, it appears that on injector has been replaced
> >> (from the look of the paint, etc.) so the engine may have had
> >> problems in the past.
> >>
> >> I'll call Powertech tomorrow, but I'd appreciate any thoughts anyone
> >> may care to offer.
> >>
> >> Pete Masterson
> >> '95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42
> >> aeonix1@
> >> On the road at Denver Colorado
> >>
> >
> >
> >
>

[Pete Masterson]

Kerry,

Thanks ... I just put on a new filter, and the genny is back to
normal. Voltage is up to 127 on my multimeter -- the exhaust is
slightly black -- and _that_ I attribute to the altitude. I must have
encountered more dust along the way than I thought.

Pete Masterson
aeonix1@...
'95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42'
Sitting in a Camping World parking lot for the night in Denver Colorado.




On Jun 5, 2007, at 8:35 PM, davidkerryedwards wrote:

> That parking lot is pretty clean. You might try running it for a
> minute with the filter
> removed and see if you get enough air flow to solve the problem.
>
> Kerry
> 82 FC 35
> Denver
>
>
> --- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, Pete Masterson
> wrote:
>>
>> I considered the altitude. I had a bit of black smoke when I was
>> through here last year when I bought the coach ... but this is a
>> _lot_ more black smoke. I was getting some while in Texas -- some
>> 3000 ft lower elevation.
>>
>> I'll swap the air filter (I have a spare on board) and see if that
>> helps.
>>
>> Pete Masterson
>> aeonix1@...
>> '95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42'
>> Sitting in the Camping World parking lot in Denver waiting for an AC
>> service in the morning...
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Jun 5, 2007, at 6:32 PM, davidkerryedwards wrote:
>>
>>> Black exhaust is overfueling. This could equal underairing. I'd
>>> check the air filter again to
>>> see if it is clean. The other factor to consider is the
>>> elevation. Denver air is thin enough
>>> that unless the engine has an altitude compensator of some kind,
>>> you may be running rich
>>> simply due to the elevation.
>>> Diesels Only on West Alameda is a good shop if it turns out you
>>> need mechanical service.
>>>
>>> Kerry
>>> 82 FC 35
>>> Denver
>>>
>>> --- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, Pete Masterson
>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Yesterday and again today, the Powertech 15kw generator started
>>>> acting up. The problem seems to be the Kubota diesel engine. The
>>>> exhaust is black and sooty and the engine isn't putting out full
>>>> power (noted that the voltage had dropped down to 100 vac from the
>>>> usual 120 vac)
>>>>
>>>> I changed the air filter last summer -- solving a sooty exhaust
>>>> problem (without any loss of power) at that time, but this seems
>>>> more
>>>> serious. A couple of weeks ago, I started the generator, I thought
>>>> perhaps, prematurely without allowing the glow plugs to run long
>>>> enough as the engine was clearly stumbling and not running on all
>>>> cylinders.
>>>>
>>>> Looking at the engine, it appears that on injector has been
>>>> replaced
>>>> (from the look of the paint, etc.) so the engine may have had
>>>> problems in the past.
>>>>
>>>> I'll call Powertech tomorrow, but I'd appreciate any thoughts
>>>> anyone
>>>> may care to offer.
>>>>
>>>> Pete Masterson
>>>> '95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42
>>>> aeonix1@
>>>> On the road at Denver Colorado
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>

[davidkerryedwards]

Glad it's fixed. It's a little late to be telling you this now, but the town of
Golden has a nice
RV park along Clear Creek just west of you. It's not listed in any guidebook
that I've seen
but it's in town, right on the creek at the Whitewater Park adjacent to a very
nice recreation
center/park with a bike path that runs right along the creek. Just a short walk
to Coors
and it's tour.

Kerry
82 Fc 35
Denver


--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, Pete Masterson wrote:
>
> Kerry,
>
> Thanks ... I just put on a new filter, and the genny is back to
> normal. Voltage is up to 127 on my multimeter -- the exhaust is
> slightly black -- and _that_ I attribute to the altitude. I must have
> encountered more dust along the way than I thought.
>
> Pete Masterson
>

[Gregory OConnor]

Pete, the electric fan that cools the radiator creates major dust.
Good filters choak up fast. when you run a diesel rich for a period
of time, it is always a good idea to change the oil.

GregoryO'Connor
94ptRomolandCa

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, Pete Masterson
wrote:
>
> Kerry,
>
> Thanks ... I just put on a new filter, and the genny is back to
> normal. Voltage is up to 127 on my multimeter -- the exhaust is
> slightly black -- and _that_ I attribute to the altitude. I must
have
> encountered more dust along the way than I thought.
>
> Pete Masterson
> aeonix1@...
> '95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42'
> Sitting in a Camping World parking lot for the night in Denver
Colorado.
>
>
>
>
> On Jun 5, 2007, at 8:35 PM, davidkerryedwards wrote:
>
> > That parking lot is pretty clean. You might try running it for
a
> > minute with the filter
> > removed and see if you get enough air flow to solve the problem.
> >
> > Kerry
> > 82 FC 35
> > Denver
> >
> >
> > --- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, Pete Masterson
> > wrote:
> >>
> >> I considered the altitude. I had a bit of black smoke when I was
> >> through here last year when I bought the coach ... but this is a
> >> _lot_ more black smoke. I was getting some while in Texas -- some
> >> 3000 ft lower elevation.
> >>
> >> I'll swap the air filter (I have a spare on board) and see if
that
> >> helps.
> >>
> >> Pete Masterson
> >> aeonix1@
> >> '95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42'
> >> Sitting in the Camping World parking lot in Denver waiting for
an AC
> >> service in the morning...
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> On Jun 5, 2007, at 6:32 PM, davidkerryedwards wrote:
> >>
> >>> Black exhaust is overfueling. This could equal underairing.
I'd
> >>> check the air filter again to
> >>> see if it is clean. The other factor to consider is the
> >>> elevation. Denver air is thin enough
> >>> that unless the engine has an altitude compensator of some kind,
> >>> you may be running rich
> >>> simply due to the elevation.
> >>> Diesels Only on West Alameda is a good shop if it turns out you
> >>> need mechanical service.
> >>>
> >>> Kerry
> >>> 82 FC 35
> >>> Denver
> >>>
> >>> --- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, Pete Masterson
> >>> wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>> Yesterday and again today, the Powertech 15kw generator started
> >>>> acting up. The problem seems to be the Kubota diesel engine.
The
> >>>> exhaust is black and sooty and the engine isn't putting out
full
> >>>> power (noted that the voltage had dropped down to 100 vac from
the
> >>>> usual 120 vac)
> >>>>
> >>>> I changed the air filter last summer -- solving a sooty exhaust
> >>>> problem (without any loss of power) at that time, but this
seems
> >>>> more
> >>>> serious. A couple of weeks ago, I started the generator, I
thought
> >>>> perhaps, prematurely without allowing the glow plugs to run
long
> >>>> enough as the engine was clearly stumbling and not running on
all
> >>>> cylinders.
> >>>>
> >>>> Looking at the engine, it appears that on injector has been
> >>>> replaced
> >>>> (from the look of the paint, etc.) so the engine may have had
> >>>> problems in the past.
> >>>>
> >>>> I'll call Powertech tomorrow, but I'd appreciate any thoughts
> >>>> anyone
> >>>> may care to offer.
> >>>>
> >>>> Pete Masterson
> >>>> '95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42
> >>>> aeonix1@
> >>>> On the road at Denver Colorado
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
>

[Gregory OConnor]

A frenchman with a flamingo posted that the crank case breather on
the powertecs vent too close to the airfilter and the paper element
gets a oily residu which gums up with dust quickly. I plan to take
Randys advice, heed the warning of Petes discovery and vent the
crankcase tube out of the airtight compartment.
GregoryO'Connor
94ptRomolandCa

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Gregory OConnor"
wrote:
>
> Pete, the electric fan that cools the radiator creates major dust.
> Good filters choak up fast. when you run a diesel rich for a period
> of time, it is always a good idea to change the oil.
>
> GregoryO'Connor
> 94ptRomolandCa
>
> --- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, Pete Masterson
> wrote:
> >
> > Kerry,
> >
> > Thanks ... I just put on a new filter, and the genny is back to
> > normal. Voltage is up to 127 on my multimeter -- the exhaust is
> > slightly black -- and _that_ I attribute to the altitude. I must
> have
> > encountered more dust along the way than I thought.
> >
> > Pete Masterson
> > aeonix1@
> > '95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42'
> > Sitting in a Camping World parking lot for the night in Denver
> Colorado.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Jun 5, 2007, at 8:35 PM, davidkerryedwards wrote:
> >
> > > That parking lot is pretty clean. You might try running it for
> a
> > > minute with the filter
> > > removed and see if you get enough air flow to solve the problem.
> > >
> > > Kerry
> > > 82 FC 35
> > > Denver
> > >
> > >
> > > --- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, Pete Masterson
> > > wrote:
> > >>
> > >> I considered the altitude. I had a bit of black smoke when I
was
> > >> through here last year when I bought the coach ... but this
is a
> > >> _lot_ more black smoke. I was getting some while in Texas --
some
> > >> 3000 ft lower elevation.
> > >>
> > >> I'll swap the air filter (I have a spare on board) and see if
> that
> > >> helps.
> > >>
> > >> Pete Masterson
> > >> aeonix1@
> > >> '95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42'
> > >> Sitting in the Camping World parking lot in Denver waiting for
> an AC
> > >> service in the morning...
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> On Jun 5, 2007, at 6:32 PM, davidkerryedwards wrote:
> > >>
> > >>> Black exhaust is overfueling. This could equal underairing.
> I'd
> > >>> check the air filter again to
> > >>> see if it is clean. The other factor to consider is the
> > >>> elevation. Denver air is thin enough
> > >>> that unless the engine has an altitude compensator of some
kind,
> > >>> you may be running rich
> > >>> simply due to the elevation.
> > >>> Diesels Only on West Alameda is a good shop if it turns out
you
> > >>> need mechanical service.
> > >>>
> > >>> Kerry
> > >>> 82 FC 35
> > >>> Denver
> > >>>
> > >>> --- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, Pete Masterson
> > >>> wrote:
> > >>>>
> > >>>> Yesterday and again today, the Powertech 15kw generator
started
> > >>>> acting up. The problem seems to be the Kubota diesel engine.
> The
> > >>>> exhaust is black and sooty and the engine isn't putting out
> full
> > >>>> power (noted that the voltage had dropped down to 100 vac
from
> the
> > >>>> usual 120 vac)
> > >>>>
> > >>>> I changed the air filter last summer -- solving a sooty
exhaust
> > >>>> problem (without any loss of power) at that time, but this
> seems
> > >>>> more
> > >>>> serious. A couple of weeks ago, I started the generator, I
> thought
> > >>>> perhaps, prematurely without allowing the glow plugs to run
> long
> > >>>> enough as the engine was clearly stumbling and not running
on
> all
> > >>>> cylinders.
> > >>>>
> > >>>> Looking at the engine, it appears that on injector has been
> > >>>> replaced
> > >>>> (from the look of the paint, etc.) so the engine may have had
> > >>>> problems in the past.
> > >>>>
> > >>>> I'll call Powertech tomorrow, but I'd appreciate any
thoughts
> > >>>> anyone
> > >>>> may care to offer.
> > >>>>
> > >>>> Pete Masterson
> > >>>> '95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42
> > >>>> aeonix1@
> > >>>> On the road at Denver Colorado
> > >>>>
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Yahoo! Groups Links
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
>