A catastrophe has occurred! A storm is on its way to your area, but you have an industrial generator for your company, so you are safe, right? Are you sure? Have you got your regular generator maintenance services correctly?
Diesel Generators are often erected with disasters in mind, but a well-functioning backup power system appears to be an expensive distraction from regular operations. However, it is not as expensive as a natural catastrophe and the associated loss of corporate functions that power outages frequently entail.
Preventative generator maintenance services are critical – and this write-up points out the common causes of generator failures. So, without further ado, let us see them.
Neglected Maintenance
Neglected maintenance is the most prevalent industrial generator issue. Consider the engine on an industrial generator to be the same as the engine in your automobile. It is commonly understood that there will be issues if the engine’s components are not checked for wear and tear in addition to preventative maintenance.
Proper engine maintenance is critical to the appropriate operation of your diesel generators. Generator maintenance services adhere to the manufacturer’s and distributor’s recommendations that frequently include regular, semi-annual, and yearly generator servicing. It often requires inspections and service to your:
- Air intake and exhaust
- Cooling system
- Engine monitoring
- Available safety controls and control panel
- Oil and fuel filter replacements
- System for getting started
- System for lubricating oil
- The fuel system
- Transfer switch that operates automatically
- Water separator upkeep
- and much more
A yearly load bank test is part of a regular maintenance plan. It eliminates wet stacking in diesel generators by removing unburned fuel, oil, and carbon from the cylinders and exhaust system. It will also exercise and test the fuel and cooling systems and remove moisture from the industrial generator and its engine.
Sizing And Loading Errors
Improper sizing of an industrial generator is a typical error. Businesses frequently desire to purchase a more powerful generator than is required for their application to grow for future demands.
Running diesel generators with too small a load, on the other hand, can cause catastrophic damage and inefficient inefficiencies. You must always use at least 35% of the generator’s load capacity it is running. Engine distributors frequently run into problems when a client indicates they will add more equipment soon. Unfortunately, if it does not happen quickly enough, the newly acquired generator will run inefficiently and sustain damage.
Wet stacking is a common problem caused by improper loading. It is frequent when an industrial generator is not operating with a sufficient load. As a result, the engine’s operating temperature does not rise sufficiently to allow the expansion joints in the exhaust system to seal thoroughly.
Running at too low a load does not completely burn the diesel fuel, enabling wet fuel to pool in the engine stack. These faults, when combined, cause moist gasoline to escape through the exhaust, causing severe difficulties such as devastating fires.
Supply of Fuel
When in operation, operators frequently do not give enough gasoline. The apparent impact of a fuel shortage is that the generator shuts down since there is nothing to burn for electricity, but another, less evident effect is that air enters the fuel system. Furthermore, not using your generator regularly might result in the air in the fuel system. The stricter tolerances on Tier 4 fuel systems can cause a diesel generator to shutting down.
Businesses that do not have a regular maintenance plan in place, paired with a lack of frequent consumption, will likely have stagnant gasoline in the tank. Stationary fuel promotes water condensation, which in turn accelerates microbiological development. This results in pollution and harmful sludge.
Other common causes of generator failure include:
- Block heater wear and tear
- Dead batteries
- Low coolant, no coolant or lack of oil
- Normal wear and tear
Key Solutions to Common Generator Problems
Regular maintenance is the simple solution to most industrial generator issues. Generator owners should have a service agreement in place with a generator manufacturer they trust.
A scheduled service agreement is the primary answer for reducing and avoiding generator issues in industrial settings. Collaborating with the generator manufacturer and distributor will also describe appropriate usage to ensure the proper load quantities are employed regularly.
