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Cheaper generator for electric preheater? $158 from Home Depot; will this work?

tigers2007

By tigers2007
in Miscellaneous Aviation Talk

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tigers2007 Mentor

tigers2007

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Hey guys I just got off the phone with Insight and they claim the G2 can interface with this generator. It is just a single cylinder so you only get EGT/CHT for one. I'll call up Mike Busch later and ask if we can upload data to Savvy Aviator for analysis.


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carusoam
carusoam

Mooney pilots are an interesting lot... 1) one pilot says run the generator till it fails and then buy another... 2) the next gives guidance on normal and proper maintenance... 3) the t

Bob_Belville
Bob_Belville

Jim Cancil will make you custom cowl plugs, probably tail cone as well. Great vendor to and supporter of Mooney owners.  

peevee
peevee

I have to admit I like the flags that remind me if I forget to remove the plug. 

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carusoam Grand Master

carusoam

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Mooney pilots are an interesting lot...

1) one pilot says run the generator till it fails and then buy another...

2) the next gives guidance on normal and proper maintenance...

3) the third mounts a Hobbs meter on it to aid in a better maintenance program...

4) the fourth wants to equip it to perform single cylinder gami spreads...

Fun stuff,

-a-

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larryb Mentor

larryb

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Mine came today. I added oil and fuel, it started right up. I connected a 500 watt halogen light to test it with. It seemed fine. Maybe 10 or 20 minutes later it started spewing out clouds of smoke. Smells like burning oil. I'm talking enough smoke that would attract the fire department at your airport. I ran it for longer, maybe an hour total. Sometimes it runs clean, other times lots of smoke. You can hear a pitch change with the smoke. I called the help number in the manual, they must have closed early for the holiday. I'm probably just going to return it to Home Depot.

I am disappointed. It did seem the perfect size and weight for running the reiff on the road. I have a couple Honda EU2000's. They are great, but a little heavy and awkward to fit through the baggage door. 

I recommend anybody who bought one of these give it a through break-in. Run a couple tanks of fuel with a 500 watt load to make sure you got a decent one.

Larry

larryb Mentor

larryb

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No, I don't need the 2000 for the plane, it's just what I have already. I was seduced by the sportsman cheap price. But I should know better, I've already sworn off Harbor Freight poor quality tools. 

tigers2007 Mentor

tigers2007

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Make sure the choke is off. I noticed that it really does not care to be under load with the choke on. I suppose we'll see how many time-bomb soon. I'm going to do the same test but with a full 800 calculated watts.

I think these have a 1-year warranty? My credit card doubles the coverage.

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larryb Mentor

larryb

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It wasn't the freshest fuel, but stored in an air-tight metal gas can that I use for my lawnmower. I did not mix oil in the fuel like for a 2-cycle engine. If it were old fuel, I would have expected it to be universally smoky, not bursts of smoke with clean running in between. 

tigers2007 Mentor

tigers2007

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What were the EGT and CHT? Might have to ream the valve guide. Reference the Xizang Service Bulletin 1646.

I wonder if that thing has a sticking valve though? I know that diesels blow out white smoke when there is a lot of unburned fuel.


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Marauder Grand Master

Marauder

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I took mine out to the airport today and gave it a good run. My Reiff Turbo XP pulled 617 watts and the unit handled it fine. Once I added a 250 watt lamp, it was still online but was running full out. Putting two lights in the circuit was enough for it to go offline.




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Marauder Grand Master

Marauder

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Yes the choke was off. https://vimeo.com/196908985


That looks like a piston ring hasn't seated correctly. I could tell that they appeared to have test run them since I saw residual oil in the reservoir and some fuel in the primer bulb.

Maybe just run it hard to see if it will seat.


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tigers2007 Mentor

tigers2007

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The user manual doc's for this insist to NOT return it to the store (common now) and to deal with the factory's customer service. I'd return that to HD in a heartbeat. Not worth dealing with a 3 month nightmare with an outside service tech for something so small and trivial.


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Marauder Grand Master

Marauder

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Just thought of another thing. These small engines are pretty sensitive to the amount of oil in them. Any chance there is too much oil in it? I carefully measured out the 10 ounces required. It's not a lot.

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larryb Mentor

larryb

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I filled the oil to the level depicted on the graphic. I did not measure out 10 oz. I'm pretty sure there was something wrong internally in the engine. I ran it for about an hour total and it was still smoking now and then at the end of the run. Even though it smoked a lot, it still seemed to have the same amount of oil in the crankcase at the end. 

I did try calling the number in the manual, but they were closed. Not wanting to keep it over the holiday I filled out the Home Depot on-line return form, they sent me a UPS shipping label, and I dropped it off at a local UPS store yesterday. Once UPS scans the box Home Depot processes the refund.

The question is now, do I try again? Or go with a Honda EU1000 for $800. Or do nothing. The truth is, I haven't had the need for a generator to pre-heat in the winter in the 5 years I've had the plane so far. But this one seemed like a good deal just to have on hand. 

neilpilot Mentor

neilpilot

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38 minutes ago, larryb said:

I filled the oil to the level depicted on the graphic. I did not measure out 10 oz. I'm pretty sure there was something wrong internally in the engine. I ran it for about an hour total and it was still smoking now and then at the end of the run. Even though it smoked a lot, it still seemed to have the same amount of oil in the crankcase at the end. 

Interesting that the oil level hadn't dropped, but maybe a small amount of burning oil goes a long way.

I just received the same generator, but haven't yet given it a try.  Now I need to give it a 1-2 hour test run.

peevee Grand Master

peevee

Posted
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I don't know how it is on that motor, but on my Honda lawnmower the dipstick is checked while unscrewed, not when it's bottomed out. Maybe that one is the same way and it read OK but was actually high on oil? 

Tony Armour Proficient

Tony Armour

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Regarding the oil, it said to "start" with 10oz and then something like fill to almost overflowing. Mine took 12oz and was about to run out. I haven't ran it long but it did run my 7amp leaf blower fine. 7amp may just be the start load though. I need to give it a good test. Looks to be a neat little unit.

Regarding propane bottles. I have a little Goped scooter that runs on propane (factory propane engine) and have carried the little bottles (6 or so) several times . I imagine at atleast 14k and hours at 10k. I think you would have really really high to pop one. I bought this one so I wouldn't have to deal with gas smell in the cockpit. Knowing how long a little bottle lasts with the scooter I bet it would last quite some time on this genset

MCDsiena Enthusiast

MCDsiena

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I didn't get a chance to get it under load but it started on the second pull and ran perfect with no smoke. I am not familiar with competitive units but I was surprised with how quiet it was I expected it to be louder although it was not under load. 

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Browncbr1 Grand Master

Browncbr1

Posted
Posted

Santas elves brought me one.  Started right up. I ran it without load for a while and it seemed to miss every now and then, but runs well enough. I hooked up 500watts of old and it gets much louder.  At idle, db level is comparable to Honda, but under load it is way louder than Honda.  Still, at $158, it can't be beat.  

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tigers2007 Mentor

tigers2007

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Found a Sportsman brand 2200-watt inverter generator for $299 too: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sportsman-2200-Watt-Gasoline-Powered-Recoil-Start-Portable-Digital-Inverter-Generator-with-Parallel-Capability-CARB-Approved/435994295

Found another 2200-watt on Wal-Mart.com's website for $236: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Tailgater-Camping-Special-Energy-Storm-ESi2000i-CA-California-Sales-Compliant-105cc-Gasoline-Powered-Inverter-Generator-light-weight-power-50-State-C/40333201#read-more

 

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