The 36 Volt batteries may also be why you are falling back into crank mode. Some of those old relays had current sensing coils and voltage coils, ie four wires going to the coil, you may be dropping back on an 'undercurrent' situation. Take some time and trace it out, don't give up on her it's a beautiful piece of history. Those old engineers designed some great equipment with not much more than a piece of wire and a spring didn't they! Again, well done sir!
You have found a gem there sir, well done. My only suggestion would be to change the starter batteries to five 6 Volt batteries, giving 32 Volts. This was a common voltage for 'lighting plants' here in Australia back in the early days. 38 Volts is not quite enough to charge three 12 Volt batteries, which need minimum 13.5 Volts to charge making 41 Volts minimum. Five 6 Volt batteries, nominal 32 Volt will charge nicely at 35 V, making your 38 perfect.
I hope it went to a good home! Had I known it was going to be for sale, I would have been an enthusiastic buyer... :) I've got a couple of the dc versions of this set, both non running, and one rusted out internally. I'm hoping to get the other one going eventually, but it would be fun to have an ac one too!
I am really amazed that something that old still works so well and automatically. Please let me know when you come across one. Thanks for showing us great stuff.
Very nice indeed, sounds really good under load. I was very supprised by how quickly it fired up when the mains power cut, the benefit of a petrol rather than diesel generating set.
Very cool! Great job getting it working. I have a bunch of parts for my 800a21 kohler comming in from ND now. I will have the fuel pump working, and I still need to figure out how to get the automatic control box working again. I have an outlet wired directly to the gens output at the moment but it wont start itself yet.
Hey, I just had another thought- if there is no load connected to the generator upon loss of main power, does it still start? Or does it then work like the auto start ones, that only start and only stay running in the presence of a load?
I think the flickering could be related to the start winding in the generator generates electicity to charge the batteries back up after start. Once they reach normal voltage the relay cuts, and the voltage drops sligly, enough to activate the charging circuitry again. But "calmes down" when batteries are fully charged. - just a theory, I know very little about older gensets, but it might make sense...
Hey Mike enjoy enjoy your videos even if most times I don't understand them! LOL anyway have a suggestion tape or glue some microphone fuzz over your mic. on your camera, it will help to keep the wind noise down, fyi keep up the good work
I suppose that could be possible, although it does not happen regularly and the charge rate does not change according to the ammeter. If I could find a schematic for the circuit I could determine the cause.
Wonderful runner! My ER-2 starts ok on 24 volts but the starting relay clicks in and out once it's running so I disconnect a battery cable. Now, it has stopped generating. I wonder if I toasted something. I have a schematic in the manual so I have hope of fixing the problem.
those selenium rectifiers have a habit of going short after many decades , best to replace or put suitable fuse in transformer feed (primary) 1.5~2amp ? otherwise it all looks great just a couple meters to finish off.
Cool Old Generator I wish my Onan's ran that well, lol I think they would if I converted them to, LPG, but that's like $200-$400, each I think someday I will convert my 5KW Onan because I plan on installing it in a permanent application. Any idea where the generator was used, and what it was used for and how long ago was it in a permit application? Were you on the crew that decommissioned it?
Ten years later still a awesome video! 😃👍
The 36 Volt batteries may also be why you are falling back into crank mode. Some of those old relays had current sensing coils and voltage coils, ie four wires going to the coil, you may be dropping back on an 'undercurrent' situation. Take some time and trace it out, don't give up on her it's a beautiful piece of history. Those old engineers designed some great equipment with not much more than a piece of wire and a spring didn't they! Again, well done sir!
Love those 1,200 rpm Kohlers! Just bought one today at a swap meet for $100 - runs and makes power!
lucky, i wish i had one, i really want one as a home backup
You have found a gem there sir, well done. My only suggestion would be to change the starter batteries to five 6 Volt batteries, giving 32 Volts. This was a common voltage for 'lighting plants' here in Australia back in the early days. 38 Volts is not quite enough to charge three 12 Volt batteries, which need minimum 13.5 Volts to charge making 41 Volts minimum. Five 6 Volt batteries, nominal 32 Volt will charge nicely at 35 V, making your 38 perfect.
I'm impressed with how quick it switched over, started up and started producing power.
Yup... and then the instant changeover when the utility input was turned back on again. That was a superb restoration.
I hope it went to a good home! Had I known it was going to be for sale, I would have been an enthusiastic buyer... :) I've got a couple of the dc versions of this set, both non running, and one rusted out internally. I'm hoping to get the other one going eventually, but it would be fun to have an ac one too!
I am really amazed that something that old still works so well and automatically. Please let me know when you come across one. Thanks for showing us great stuff.
That is WAY Cool !!! You have got it working good That would be nice to have in a small shop or a Cabin in the woods
Very nice indeed, sounds really good under load. I was very supprised by how quickly it fired up when the mains power cut, the benefit of a petrol rather than diesel generating set.
Wow that's so AWESOME. Subbed. I love electronics. Those meters are so awesome. Triplet!? You gotta fix the AC meter! Nice.
nice job!
Funny thing is, so do I. Was a pretty neat thing.
I miss it already!!
Very cool! Great job getting it working. I have a bunch of parts for my 800a21 kohler comming in from ND now. I will have the fuel pump working, and I still need to figure out how to get the automatic control box working again. I have an outlet wired directly to the gens output at the moment but it wont start itself yet.
Hey, I just had another thought- if there is no load connected to the generator upon loss of main power, does it still start? Or does it then work like the auto start ones, that only start and only stay running in the presence of a load?
These lasted a long time because the engine ran at only 1200 RPM and used a 6 pole generator head. low compression engine. They are really cool
I think the flickering could be related to the start winding in the generator generates electicity to charge the batteries back up after start. Once they reach normal voltage the relay cuts, and the voltage drops sligly, enough to activate the charging circuitry again. But "calmes down" when batteries are fully charged. - just a theory, I know very little about older gensets, but it might make sense...
Hey Mike enjoy enjoy your videos even if most times I don't understand them! LOL anyway have a suggestion tape or glue some microphone fuzz over your mic. on your camera, it will help to keep the wind noise down, fyi keep up the good work
I suppose that could be possible, although it does not happen regularly and the charge rate does not change according to the ammeter. If I could find a schematic for the circuit I could determine the cause.
Wonderful runner! My ER-2 starts ok on 24 volts but the starting relay clicks in and out once it's running so I disconnect a battery cable. Now, it has stopped generating. I wonder if I toasted something. I have a schematic in the manual so I have hope of fixing the problem.
those selenium rectifiers have a habit of going short after many decades , best to replace or put suitable fuse in transformer feed (primary) 1.5~2amp ? otherwise it all looks great just a couple meters to finish off.
Cool Old Generator
I wish my Onan's ran that well, lol
I think they would if I converted them to, LPG, but that's like $200-$400, each
I think someday I will convert my 5KW Onan because I plan on installing it in a permanent application.
Any idea where the generator was used, and what it was used for and how long ago was it in a permit application?
Were you on the crew that decommissioned it?
If you can find another one you could be the proud owner of a Bessimer!
it runs better than my 2 year old 1500w genarator
you know what work good for a load is a hair dryer or heat gun also a toaster works good
How hard would it be to recreate the automatic switching function?
I found a similar schematic:
www.oldengine.org/members/diesel/Kohler/Kohler12.htm