Overheated Perkins

[gcyeaw]

Well, after 14k miles of trips and a hundred or more hours on the generator since I last had an issue, it quit today. Just what I needed at the start of the big trip. It's 97 and all ac's were on. We are boondocking at Greenbelt NP. I had to start the engine to bring up the air so I could open the draw. I need a hand pump for emergencies

I started it and the fan ran but it shut down right away. I popped the wire off the high temp switch and it ran fine I shot the high temp switch area and it was well over 200. I checked the rest of the parts of the system and it was much cooler. I figured that when it shut down the area at the rear of the ending heated up from residual heat. Anyway, after disconnecting the switch and starting the gen, it ran fine and cooled down to 160 pretty quickly. I left the draw open.

So why did it get hot? I felt the air from the fan and it seems to exit the top and sides of the shroud mostly, with little coming out the rear of the shroud. There is no blockage and if I recall this is the way it has always been. I suspect that since I insulated the compartment, the insulation is close to the side and top of the shroud and is probably interfering with the flow. I need to remove it around the fan and shroud area. I will do that and see if the issue is resolved.

For now the draw is partially open and the over temp switch is back in the circuit.

[Buckeye Bird]

Glad it was something fairly obvious and an easy fix. Our Powertech shut down on us from getting too hot a few weeks back when running just the 2 A/C's in 95 degree heat. We ended up using the same solution-opening it up a little to facilitate better air flow and all was fine. I am going to try and clean out the radiator fins this week before heading to Wilmington to see if that helps. It is supposed to be around 100 on Sat.

[birds_first]

I would say it is just that time to replace the high temp switch. After all these years it is bound to fail. Just think of how many times it has expanded and contracted over its lifetime. This time it just went a little further and did its job. At least you were not on the road and you were able to figure it out fairly quickly. Question should be how did Cathy hold up? Two years ago in 100+ degree in South Dakota a breaker failed on mine and you would thought it was 1000 the way Fran carried own. I still hear it today

[gcyeaw]

Originally Posted by birds_first

I would say it is just that time to replace the high temp switch. After all these years it is bound to fail. Just think of how many times it has expanded and contracted over its lifetime. This time it just went a little further and did its job. At least you were not on the road and you were able to figure it out fairly quickly. Question should be how did Cathy hold up? Two years ago in 100+ degree in South Dakota a breaker failed on mine and you would thought it was 1000 the way Fran carried own. I still hear it today

John,
One reason I was so quick to try the temp sensor is that the old one failed two years ago. It took a few minutes longer to figure it out back then. I already have a new one installed.

Kathy's first words were "How far is it from here to that generator guy in Pennsylvania?"

[sfedeli]

Gardner- Could it have been the capacitor on the fan motor? Was the fan blowing when it shut down? I have a spare 220V fan motor in the shed that came off John Ely's '86 PT40. It will work on your Perkins too. You're about 2 hours away. Call if you want to take it along on the trip just in case.

[gcyeaw]

Shane,
The fan is running full speed as far as I can tell. I have restarted the gennie several times with no issues. A new cap is easy to find if needed. A new motor is a bit tougher, but I have no space to put it Thanks for the offer, however.

I cut away a block of insulation along side the fan shroud area and closed the draw, so far it is running 160 degrees, but it isn't that hot out yet. It ran three hours last evening with the draw open about 8 or 10 inches. No overheat issue yet. It's gonna wait till we get to the Ohio Mile and the ambient temp goes to 100+ outside

Gardner,

The Powertech's have a squirrel cage fan mounted at the back of the enclosure designed to keep some minimum amount of airflow passing over and around the generator head. We also have remote mounted radiators which keeps the heat away for the genny head. From what I'm reading, it sounds like the radiator, fan, and shrouding is in good shape and working properly. It sounds like there's excess heat in the area of the over-temp shutdown switch which I think is coming from the genny head. Any chance of installing a squirrel cage fan to get more ventilation into and out of the genny enclosure?

[gcyeaw]

Originally Posted by davidmbrady

Gardner,

The Powertech's have a squirrel cage fan mounted at the back of the enclosure designed to keep some minimum amount of airflow passing over and around the generator head. We also have remote mounted radiators which keeps the heat away for the genny head. From what I'm reading, it sounds like the radiator, fan, and shrouding is in good shape and working properly. It sounds like there's excess heat in the area of the over-temp shutdown switch which I think is coming from the genny head. Any chance of installing a squirrel cage fan to get more ventilation into and out of the genny enclosure?

David,
I need to look into that. It's pretty tight in the gennie compartment, but perhaps some re-arranging might help. If I moved the battery to a different place it would be easier. I have room in my new battery tray, but need to locate the aux relay where I could make the new battery connection to get back to the genny compartment.

You know what to do... Maybe something like a remote mounted sucker fan with race-car brake style duct work connected to an opening at the top/rear of the enclosure, with natural convection currents working in your favor.

[gcyeaw]

OK, it crapped out again. The fan stopped. I opened the high temp switch and it starts and puts out AC, but the fan doesn't run. Is there a thermal switch on the fan motor? That could be tripping, or it has another problem. But since it puts out AC I am conficent the generator and voltage regulator are OK.

Trying to contact Shane to get the motor he has..but it is the evening of the 4th after all....We will head for Hershey in the morning if I can get in touch with Shane.