I love this kind of content. I love to see you do a series on this project. Like what you are going to do to make it reliable and how you are going to install it into home power systems.
Do you know anyone that repairs small generator heads? I have two honda generators a 5.5kw and 11kw that both heads shorted and I cant seem to find any shop that can rewind or repair them. Or maybe a source for used or affordable replacements. I know this isnt what your channel is for but I thought since your so knowledgeable about electricity you might know some folks or maybe what type of shops or supply stores (used or new) I could find such things...or anyone in the comments have any ideas?
I just wanted to say Thank You. Eight days ago, I had open heart surgery and had, at that point been in the hospital six days prior to the surgery. Since August 2, I have been in and out of the hospital several times. WHAT I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR ARE YOUR VIDEOS. They made my stay in the hospital much more bearable (I took a laptop) and several of the nurses would pop in from time to time to see what you were fixing in whatever video I was watching. I just hope that my cardiac thoracic surgeon is as good at fixing things as you are. I go back to work in seven weeks at which time I will become a patron. In a way, you helped me through all this almost as much as anyone else. THANKS!
Really cool project Mr. Carlson. Making the neighbors jealous and Mrs. Carlson happy. I'm glad to see your mechanical knowledge. I really enjoyed seeing you modify the EGR system on your Camaro, it was neat to see the results compared with the averages of more modern vehicles. My only formal training has been to become a mechanic but I have more of an interest in engineering, I just don't really know where to start to teach myself. The prospect of tens of thousands of dollars in debt is deterring me from returning to school. With that said, I'm grateful you're sharing your knowledge with the world, I find it asinine that someone would down vote this.
I, of course, know nothing of your situation. However, as someone who returned to school later in life, I would encourage you to do it. Take a single class, not too ambitious at first, and see how it feels. If the debt can be re-paid with a year or two's increased earnings, it is worth it if it makes you happy.
I'm old enough to remember car electrics being just plugs,points condensors! But now 40+yrs in the trade as a mechanic I find myself subscribing to your brilliant channel to learn the abstract conscepts behind electronics in order to repair my customers vehicles which are now all wires, circuits, sensors and actuators, which the added fun of nodes, networks, hexidex codes, software et al........... Thought ypu would like to know that everything I pick up from you gets passed straight on to my apprentices. That curve tracer is sweet, watched the build video but not until it's practical use here did I appreciate the trace interpretations. Thanks.
Vehicle CANBUS systems are all kinds of fun in addition to the engine management systems. I was a Drivability and engine computer systems tech for my local GM dealer for 30 years. Been out of working at the transistion from resistive multiplexing to canbus systems and oh how it's changed. We're not auto techs anymore, we're electronics technicians. Lol
I had this exact generator in a 1980 Holiday Rambler Class C motor home. Reliable was it's best trait, vibrations in the motor home it's worse. But she never failed to start and sometimes ran 24 hrs. while dry camping in hot weather. Onan made a smooth generator for sure.
@@andyrecord I had to look 2 times cause i didnt think Paul did engine work or even knew how to since it seems hes more into electronics itself, but since its a generator i do see why he chose to do a video on it.
A little late to this, I just took possession of one, and your electrical checks are fantastic information for me! Thanks again! LOVE that you've shown a mechanical video!
My fathers garage looked just like that. He had lots of shelving with electronics test gear and old ham radio equipment all over the place. There were work benches with oscilloscopes and multi-meters and power supplies and lots of tools. He even had drawers full of the old tubes for radios and TV's. There were transmitters and receivers and antenna's. Old teletype machine with the paper punch tape that would run through it. I remember one year we took all the paper punch outs, the little dots, and put them in balloons with helium and let them go in my grandmothers kitchen. She had to pop the balloons to get them down. Ha Ha, It rained millions of tiny little paper dots all over her kitchen. I really miss my dad and those days.
Positive earth! (No, but just to say the Canadians had to learn something from the British.) These gensets run at 1800 rpm, so much quieter than the 3600 screaming, less copper, etc. machines. Keep those videos on line!
LOL! I cringed at that when he pointed out Red as the negative. Someone not paying attention, or accustomed to Red as the positive, might connect the battery backwards.
Converted my Onan 4.0 rv genset 4 bfa-1r/16004c to Propane while living on a mtn top in Boulder Creek CA with a 500 gallon Lp tank 2000 heart Interface Inverter and 4 Trojan batteries. I lived in my cabin for 10 years or so. Still have it and will for life.
The same thing came to my mind. I some way Mr. C goes the typical Mustie1 route: Check for spark first. For some funny reason Mr. C also talks the exact same way Mustie1 did narrate his Onan video. Just exchange in your mind the two voices, and you could hear a typical Mustie1 narration :) Too funny
I just found your video the day after someone gave me a Miller AEAD-200LE. I saved the video and a few days later realized that the generator that you are working on is very similar to the Miller welder/generator that I have. Thanks for the walkthrough!
I know absolutely nothing about electronics except that I was a shortwave listenener many years ago. My rig was a now obsolete Hallicrafters SX110 and I had a center tap antenna. Pulled in some pretty distant stations. Then I saw that you also know a lot about cars. Watched your vid on making your car passable for the emissions test. And then today I watched your video on the generator. Pretty impressive. Enjoy your videos very much. Very informative.
What about wiring it in ? I would expect that he adds something which stabilises the voltage and also thinking about safety of himself, the ones who connects and starts it and the physical safety of the utility's line workers ! Line worker safety = make sure to disconnect the incoming line from your owns equipment ie generator while the generator is in service. Remember that if the line power is down and you connect the generator to your incoming line , on the other side of the nearest transformer , it will be HVAC !
Stefan Skoglund I happen to be very aware of the safety requirements to ensure that you don’t backfeed the grid, I’m more interested in how he intends to go about that part (manual transfer switch, interlocked contactors etc.) and also how to select what loads are powered by the generator. And seeing Mr Carlson, who does engine maintenance with a curve tracer, wire in a generator should be quite interesting. Also, I might add that transfer switches and interlocks are something more commonly found on home setups, most permanent larger gensets (50 kVA and up) these days have a option of synchronizing with the grid with the explicit intention of feeding power into the grid. The idea is to be able to fully load the genset during test firings. And a back fed line is something you always have to expect when working on HV distribution system, especially these days with all sorts of grid tied PV arrays and other microproduction. And technically, a cold line should always be earthed on both sides of a fault before anybody touches it, and these dead phase-to-phase and phase-to-ground shorts will pop the transformer fuses instantly if there’s any real power being fed in.
@stephen john gray A transfer switch CAN have that function built in, but not necessarily. Its primary purpose is to disconnect the house wiring from the grid to both keep it from trying to power the whole neighborhood as well as protect line repairmen from getting electrocuted. The first transformer past the house would step it up to a few thousand volts minimum.
I spent so long looking for a starter motor! Thanks for covering that! I don’t have a curve tracer, so I used an ohms meter, and that worked too. Thank you for this video! I just bought a onan generator out of an rv and I know nothing about how it works, and this video is very helpful!
I have never seen anyone go through an entire system so thoroughly, but now I feel like I know what to look for with such a system. Thanks, this was fantastic.
The reversed colors for the battery connection are making me twitch! You one-upped Mustie1 with the curve tracer...pretty nifty to see that in action...the combination of two of my interests now covered by two of my favorite creators. I am very interested in seeing the generator re-wired & installed...please continue this video.
Just sold my 60s onan 15kw model 15.0jc. Had a 4cyl air cooled motor built by Studebaker and a massive generator head. Great unit but too big for my needs :) cool vid, these Onans will run forever!
Mr. Carlson i can’t hold it back any longer your knowledge has became a strong Inspiration for me! I started as a young child working on small engines took stuff apart to understand what does what, as I grew older my knowledge capacity got greater, (you never stop learning!), and I moved to several other hobbies. Electronics has became my top favorite, but watching You listing to your advice, and everything! I truly appreciate your effort, and time to show and do all of it, and it’s became truly Inspirational for me!
My Carlson, you are amazing. I love how when I search for a good video on random “how to” or “about videos” you are often on the list of suggestions. You are always the best video on the subject. I need more people like you in my life. Although I think you are a one of a kind dude. I appreciate what you do and how you do so. Thanks for it all!
Great checking on the motor Paul. Good that you had no dramas with the engine. Seems to purr nicely. No adjustments needed by the looks of things... WELL DONE!!! 10/10
I can't believe Mr Carlson of all people didn't flip the multimeter to frequency to see if the run speed needed adjusted! Sadness! Still great video, loved it.
Great old generators. I found the earlier version of your jenny many years ago in a field and drug it home,it was in poor shape due to being rained in for many years. I tore it down,rebuilt the engine and restored it all to operation. That was 15 years ago and it's still going today. Keep good oil in it,filtered fuel and keep up maintenance and they run forever.
I am utterly FASCINATED at how you troubleshoot a generator motor like this. I am coming from a mechanics standpoint, and I would have started and done things COMPLETELY different. Interesting video!
As a professional mechanic and very amateur electronic hobbiest this is the first video of yours where I don't feel completely in over my head:). Of course I've never broken out a curve tracer to check for spark.....
Don't rev the engine. The armature can't take a lot of centrifugal force. The windings can be damaged from too many rpm's. The voltage can be adjusted from the shunt field resistor in the rear of the generator. Set your hertz to 62.5 no load. That's about 1850 rpm. The engine has a oil pressure switch. I went to the Onan factory in 1987 and got certified on repairing RV gensets just like that. Last buy a bigger muffler. Under load that thing will make a lot of noise.
@@BruceNitroxpro Yeah, but he's being alarmist, it wasn't rev'ed more than a couple hundred rpms. It's highly unlikely that would damage anything, especially given the engine is typically governed/limited in throttle travel to prevent excessive rpms. Regarding the muffler, it sounded like Mr Carlson intends to pipe the exhaust outside and use a larger muffler, meaning the one he's put on there for now is primarily for testing purposes, to keep it from being too loud while working on it. So his recommendations with respect to those two issues, while surely appreciated, are basically unnecessary. The rest is solid advice, assuming he can't find a service/owners manual that provides specific settings for that generator.
My dad bought a camper in the early 1970's that had Onan genset in it. He also bought a manual for it later. The generator head used an armature in it. The manual was very easy to read through to fix things on your own. The sparkplug wires had a braided wire coax like covering to reduce the rfi generated by the unit. The unit we had, had the blower sucking the air across the engine cooling fins and out the side port.
mr carlson. I can rewind the whole genset. that is my specialty. but I am not as advanced of a electronic technician as you are. I always love your diverse knowledge of all things electrical. keep up the great work as it helps thousands.
"Almost confused, ... its like 'Mustie1' morphed into 'Mr C' Nice to see you outside the lab. ... the backdrop shelf of stacked up future electronics projects is interesting to see too.
...just for a moment, I expected watching the exhaust attachment goes airborne right though the garage roof while starting up the motor :) Repairing stuff while filming freehand isn't an easy task and I have to thank you for taking the extra time to share this with us! Many Thanks Paul, have a great Week!
As if I weren’t already hooked on this channel, now here’s a “Will It Run” video (a la the Mustie1 channel)... YYYESSS! Now I’m more hooked than ever! I can’t wait until the next billing cycle on Patreon hits so I can start digging into my electronics learning at the highest/customized/personalized level! Exciting stuff! Thanks! 😊😊😊
I can't tell you how many of these generators I've seen abandoned in old Kmart stores. They used them for the emergency lighting circuit and most of them purred like kittens. I used to test them because they were still hooked up so they were considered in use but man I would have taken any of them home. Great great generators.
Interesting and enjoyable video. One thing concerned me though, you kept holding the RED battery lead and calling it the Negative connection. EVERYTHING I have ever dealt with in electronics has Red as the Positive and Black as the Negative. Did I miss something?
Yes, I agree. As soon as he touched that red terminal and said the "negative" my eyes flew open. I've then noticed a short time later that somebody had used the incorrectly coloured cables. I do have to say, I have been watching Mr. Carlson lab for a couple of years. And when he pulled out this Onan generator, he got A LOT more street cred with me.
I have fixed many generators. Usually a carb rebuild and back up and running. Onan built a tried and true product, as we have seen here. I have seen them in many motor homes/coaches. You can't beat them. Nice video, it reminded me of your first video with the mustang emissions, that was really cool stuff.
Thank you Paul, excellent video, don't really understand why people down vote videos that impart useful knowledge, how about designing an electronic ignition module to replace the old mechanical ignition system, I think others would be interested to see you do that, thanks again Paul, and here's an extra thumbs up from me 👍.
brought back some memories for me. my friend and I used to have classic cars that we collected, and were working on restoring 2 Hudson's, a 47 and a 49, a 53 Nash Ambassador, and an already fully restored 1954 Packard. the 1947 Hudson that had an electric fuel pump. the clacking noise underneath the floorboard would be fast at first, and as the Carburetor bowl filled, the clacking would slow, signaling that the bowl was full,and then you could start her up. he was of the generation when these cars were an everyday thing, and he taught me alot ,like how to prime the carb, on mechanical pump engines, adjusting and replacing the points, setting the timing, replacing brakes, and on and on. I miss him, and the Cars. ☹
@Dave Micolichek You are correct , 1800 rpm units are getting hard to come by because they are known for reliability and low fuel consumption. Only way i would run a generator is if its 1800 rpm hands down the best.
Love this video! I have one of those older Onan's in a 1974 Revcon. I got it running but it dies out after a few minutes and suspect the problem is in the fuel lines from the fuel tank. Can't wait to get back to work on that project. Good job sir! I really like your work
Nice change of pace from the electronics. Very interesting. I also liked seeing all of the electronic devices and goodies in the garage. Looks a lot like mine.
To paraphrase Monty Python…."and now for something completely different". Also you can sell this for $15K to folks in Northern California if delivered!!
the red and black cable sorta stumped me, but I have to say, that was amazing watching you figure out what the problem was without even turning a wrench. Well done!!
Just a suggestion, when you change the oil, go to the Amsoil web page, and order Amsoil 100% synthetic oil for air cooled engines. This will extend the life of all the bearings and will lower friction in the engine. I have a 10 year old John Deere riding mower and it has only seen the Amsoil products with regard to lubrication. It starts and runs like it was new. I also use the Signature synthetic oil in all my vehicles. I highly recommend you have a look. Generators work hard during their lifetimes, and Amsoil is a stellar performer. You’ve done a lot for me and I’ve enjoyed your TH-cam videos and I’ve become a Patreon because of your constant adherence to correct troubleshooting and instruction for individuals who want to hone their skills or learn electronics. So, I thought I would return the favor. I suggest you visit Amsoil’s web page and have a look. It’s worth the trip. Cheers!! Excellent video. Thank you!!
I use an Onan 4.0BFA RV genset I converted to natural gas for backup power. These 1800 RPM gensets are from a time when durability was more important than cheap manufacture.
I love you mechanical vids, probable cause they are the only ones where I understand %100 of what you're doing. lol. The air compressor and Firebird emissions vids are some of my favs.
@Dave Micolichek Depends on where you look on the web, there are still lots of new old stocks laying around plus if you know how to cross referance you could sub in needed parts with modern parts.
So glad I'm not the only one who keeps more stuff in the garage than cars! :D Can't let my wife watch this though, or she'll make me organize it. D: Thanks for the great video as always! Love watching the diagnostic/troubleshooting process.
I enjoy electronic and mechanical, so all those videos are informative and educational. I also enjoy the innovate ideas you use to fix common problems.
When I was in the Air Force I worked on Onan engines that looked very much like this in mobile light carts. They were very easy to work on as you said.
Excellent! Now that you know “it will run” hope you’re going to post an “after” video showing the cleanup, rewiring and, most importantly, the oil change. Thanks for your great work Mr. Carlson.
I hope to one day to have a wide of a spread of knowledge as Mr. Carlson does. I know alittle about alot of things but he knows everytbing about everything.
Another excellent video. We don't need generators around here much during the winter, just during the Summer time and Hurricane season. Try going without power for 16 days when its hot, humid and the mosquitoes are hungry!
Onan 2-bangers are sweet running engines and the 4-pole generator is an 1800 r.p.m deal. I have a 2.5 k Onan and it's about that size, just a 1 banger.. Runs like a swiss watch. Good deal!
Very interesting as I used to use these generators in the TV links trucks I ran for ITN News in the UK. We had to keep them running when we were miles from anywhere up on a hill as a microwave mid-point.
My parents had a motorhome with Onan generator. it always ran no matter how long it sat. it sure came in handy when the power went out and you needed to get water out of the well
Well this is a very good demo. Has mechanical and electrical, very useful this time of year. Time for me to get mine out and look it over and run it for the first start up of the season.
you don't dissapoint, not once!, Nice sound on the genny, i like it a lot, I have an honda inverter 30IS very dependable equipment but a delicate unit because of the inverter electronics, that onan looks like a tank!, please do another video if you can once you rebuild it or during the process, thank you!.
I love that old oscilloscopes behind You.. I got .Electric engineering degree year 1986..Know how to used them ... Got RV need to fixed generator Thanks for that video ..
To learn more about electronics, and gain access to my designs and inventions, click here: www.patreon.com/MrCarlsonsLab
Nice work Mr Carlson. Do you have a home PV array and battery, as well, for autonomous power?
Excellent video. I would be interested in seeing the permanent installation plus any additional work you'll be doing on this Onan.
You've seen the will it run trends, bit late aren't you?
I love this kind of content. I love to see you do a series on this project. Like what you are going to do to make it reliable and how you are going to install it into home power systems.
Do you know anyone that repairs small generator heads? I have two honda generators a 5.5kw and 11kw that both heads shorted and I cant seem to find any shop that can rewind or repair them. Or maybe a source for used or affordable replacements. I know this isnt what your channel is for but I thought since your so knowledgeable about electricity you might know some folks or maybe what type of shops or supply stores (used or new) I could find such things...or anyone in the comments have any ideas?
I just wanted to say Thank You. Eight days ago, I had open heart surgery and had, at that point been in the hospital six days prior to the surgery. Since August 2, I have been in and out of the hospital several times. WHAT I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR ARE YOUR VIDEOS. They made my stay in the hospital much more bearable (I took a laptop) and several of the nurses would pop in from time to time to see what you were fixing in whatever video I was watching. I just hope that my cardiac thoracic surgeon is as good at fixing things as you are. I go back to work in seven weeks at which time I will become a patron. In a way, you helped me through all this almost as much as anyone else. THANKS!
Thats great Robert, I'm glad I can help make this process easier for you. Thanks for sharing your story, and your feedback too!
Really cool project Mr. Carlson. Making the neighbors jealous and Mrs. Carlson happy.
I'm glad to see your mechanical knowledge. I really enjoyed seeing you modify the EGR system on your Camaro, it was neat to see the results compared with the averages of more modern vehicles. My only formal training has been to become a mechanic but I have more of an interest in engineering, I just don't really know where to start to teach myself. The prospect of tens of thousands of dollars in debt is deterring me from returning to school.
With that said, I'm grateful you're sharing your knowledge with the world, I find it asinine that someone would down vote this.
I, of course, know nothing of your situation. However, as someone who returned to school later in life, I would encourage you to do it. Take a single class, not too ambitious at first, and see how it feels. If the debt can be re-paid with a year or two's increased earnings, it is worth it if it makes you happy.
Mechanics and engineering can't be taught you either have it or you don't. Mechanics are a dying breed.
I'm old enough to remember car electrics being just plugs,points condensors! But now 40+yrs in the trade as a mechanic I find myself subscribing to your brilliant channel to learn the abstract conscepts behind electronics in order to repair my customers vehicles which are now all wires, circuits, sensors and actuators, which the added fun of nodes, networks, hexidex codes, software et al...........
Thought ypu would like to know that everything I pick up from you gets passed straight on to my apprentices.
That curve tracer is sweet, watched the build video but not until it's practical use here did I appreciate the trace interpretations. Thanks.
Thanks for your feedback Jamie!
Vehicle CANBUS systems are all kinds of fun in addition to the engine management systems. I was a Drivability and engine computer systems tech for my local GM dealer for 30 years. Been out of working at the transistion from resistive multiplexing to canbus systems and oh how it's changed. We're not auto techs anymore, we're electronics technicians. Lol
I had this exact generator in a 1980 Holiday Rambler Class C motor home. Reliable was it's best trait, vibrations in the motor home it's worse. But she never failed to start and sometimes ran 24 hrs. while dry camping in hot weather. Onan made a smooth generator for sure.
I thought I was watching Mustie1 at first when I saw this come up in my feed.
Lmao i thought that too 😂
Next Paul will do an AvE style teardown and rebuild! "careful not to release the schmoo!"
Me too! Expect Mustie would have that carb in the ultrasonic cleaner before even trying to start it!
@@jimb032 Yeah you know he would lol. , He would be testing all the generator head and adjusting the carb to maintain 60 hurtz
@@andyrecord I had to look 2 times cause i didnt think Paul did engine work or even knew how to since it seems hes more into electronics itself, but since its a generator i do see why he chose to do a video on it.
A little late to this, I just took possession of one, and your electrical checks are fantastic information for me! Thanks again! LOVE that you've shown a mechanical video!
My fathers garage looked just like that. He had lots of shelving with electronics test gear and old ham radio equipment all over the place. There were work benches with oscilloscopes and multi-meters and power supplies and lots of tools. He even had drawers full of the old tubes for radios and TV's. There were transmitters and receivers and antenna's. Old teletype machine with the paper punch tape that would run through it. I remember one year we took all the paper punch outs, the little dots, and put them in balloons with helium and let them go in my grandmothers kitchen. She had to pop the balloons to get them down. Ha Ha, It rained millions of tiny little paper dots all over her kitchen. I really miss my dad and those days.
Did your Grandmother paddle you? ;)
thats one way to make grandma mad
i sprayed my grandma's fridge with the kitchen faucet pull out hose once
No, But she sure did take it out on my dad. I never saw my dad run so fast. LOL
How nice that he does these videos for anyone to see and explains in detail the procedures...bravo sir!
Oh, it hurts my head seeing red negative cable and black positive cable...
I agree, the things people do *rolls eyes*
Come on... it's almost standard in China... Matter of fact it could be all sorts of color combinations.... DOH! :P
Positive earth! (No, but just to say the Canadians had to learn something from the British.) These gensets run at 1800 rpm, so much quieter than the 3600 screaming, less copper, etc. machines. Keep those videos on line!
LOL! I cringed at that when he pointed out Red as the negative. Someone not paying attention, or accustomed to Red as the positive, might connect the battery backwards.
haha thanks! same here 😁
Converted my Onan 4.0 rv genset 4 bfa-1r/16004c to Propane while living on a mtn top in Boulder Creek CA with a 500 gallon Lp tank 2000 heart Interface Inverter and 4 Trojan batteries. I lived in my cabin for 10 years or so. Still have it and will for life.
Mustie worked on a tube radio, now your working on a generator, you guys have got to be buddies, and are screwing with us.
The same thing came to my mind. I some way Mr. C goes the typical Mustie1 route: Check for spark first.
For some funny reason Mr. C also talks the exact same way Mustie1 did narrate his Onan video. Just exchange in your mind the two voices, and you could hear a typical Mustie1 narration :) Too funny
Imagine a colab between Mr. Carlson and mustie1? That would make my millennium
A collaboration would be an awesome idea!!! Maybe they could tackle the homemade Lamborghini together.
@
Mustie1 is a you tube channel the guy's name is Darren I believe and he works on mainly older small engine powered items check him out!
I just found your video the day after someone gave me a Miller AEAD-200LE. I saved the video and a few days later realized that the generator that you are working on is very similar to the Miller welder/generator that I have. Thanks for the walkthrough!
What a great video at first I thought it was a Mustie1 video, but a very different approach and I liked it very much!!
So did I! Mustie is such a god for making long videos :)
Same here mustie is a Rockstar in salvation.
Mr.Carlson is a Genius when it comes to Electronics.
Como beo el video en espanol
I know absolutely nothing about electronics except that I was a shortwave listenener many years ago. My rig was a now obsolete Hallicrafters SX110 and I had a center tap antenna. Pulled in some pretty distant stations. Then I saw that you also know a lot about cars. Watched your vid on making your car passable for the emissions test. And then today I watched your video on the generator. Pretty impressive. Enjoy your videos very much. Very informative.
Please make a video on the “permanent installation” as well, I’d be interested in seeing how you go about wiring it in!
What about wiring it in ? I would expect that he adds something which stabilises the voltage and also thinking about safety of himself, the ones who connects and starts it and the physical safety of the utility's line workers !
Line worker safety = make sure to disconnect the incoming line from your owns equipment ie generator while the generator is in service. Remember that if the line power is down and you connect the generator to your incoming line , on the other side of the nearest transformer , it will be HVAC !
@@TheStefanskoglund1 That's where a transfer switch comes in.
Stefan Skoglund I happen to be very aware of the safety requirements to ensure that you don’t backfeed the grid, I’m more interested in how he intends to go about that part (manual transfer switch, interlocked contactors etc.) and also how to select what loads are powered by the generator. And seeing Mr Carlson, who does engine maintenance with a curve tracer, wire in a generator should be quite interesting. Also, I might add that transfer switches and interlocks are something more commonly found on home setups, most permanent larger gensets (50 kVA and up) these days have a option of synchronizing with the grid with the explicit intention of feeding power into the grid. The idea is to be able to fully load the genset during test firings. And a back fed line is something you always have to expect when working on HV distribution system, especially these days with all sorts of grid tied PV arrays and other microproduction. And technically, a cold line should always be earthed on both sides of a fault before anybody touches it, and these dead phase-to-phase and phase-to-ground shorts will pop the transformer fuses instantly if there’s any real power being fed in.
@stephen john gray A transfer switch CAN have that function built in, but not necessarily. Its primary purpose is to disconnect the house wiring from the grid to both keep it from trying to power the whole neighborhood as well as protect line repairmen from getting electrocuted. The first transformer past the house would step it up to a few thousand volts minimum.
I spent so long looking for a starter motor! Thanks for covering that! I don’t have a curve tracer, so I used an ohms meter, and that worked too. Thank you for this video! I just bought a onan generator out of an rv and I know nothing about how it works, and this video is very helpful!
It was great to see a slightly different aspect of Mr Carlson.
Great that it ran without too much work on your part.
I have never seen anyone go through an entire system so thoroughly, but now I feel like I know what to look for with such a system. Thanks, this was fantastic.
You're very welcome Mark.
The reversed colors for the battery connection are making me twitch!
You one-upped Mustie1 with the curve tracer...pretty nifty to see that in action...the combination of two of my interests now covered by two of my favorite creators.
I am very interested in seeing the generator re-wired & installed...please continue this video.
Red is black and plus is minus?
Yes but Mr Carlson didn't break out the ultrasonic cleaner. Mustie would have had that carb in the ultrasonic in under 5 mins of the video. :)
Just sold my 60s onan 15kw model 15.0jc. Had a 4cyl air cooled motor built by Studebaker and a massive generator head. Great unit but too big for my needs :) cool vid, these Onans will run forever!
I love mechanical devices as much as I do electronics. I hope you show us the generator again after you've done all the cleaning and rewiring.
Mr. Carlson i can’t hold it back any longer your knowledge has became a strong Inspiration for me! I started as a young child working on small engines took stuff apart to understand what does what, as I grew older my knowledge capacity got greater, (you never stop learning!), and I moved to several other hobbies. Electronics has became my top favorite, but watching You listing to your advice, and everything! I truly appreciate your effort, and time to show and do all of it, and it’s became truly Inspirational for me!
My Carlson, you are amazing. I love how when I search for a good video on random “how to” or “about videos” you are often on the list of suggestions. You are always the best video on the subject. I need more people like you in my life. Although I think you are a one of a kind dude. I appreciate what you do and how you do so.
Thanks for it all!
You are so welcome!
Great to see this sort of content alongside your electronics, thanks.
Great checking on the motor Paul. Good that you had no dramas with the engine. Seems to purr nicely. No adjustments needed by the looks of things... WELL DONE!!! 10/10
I can't believe Mr Carlson of all people didn't flip the multimeter to frequency to see if the run speed needed adjusted! Sadness! Still great video, loved it.
Exactly my first thought!... I was interested what frequency this thing was chooching at... I did note the voltage fluctuations...
I think he left his frequency standard at the shop. (I was curious too)
Great old generators. I found the earlier version of your jenny many years ago in a field and drug it home,it was in poor shape due to being rained in for many years. I tore it down,rebuilt the engine and restored it all to operation. That was 15 years ago and it's still going today. Keep good oil in it,filtered fuel and keep up maintenance and they run forever.
That muffler was /so/ close to achieving liftoff.
Very nice generator, hope it will serve you for many years to come.
I am utterly FASCINATED at how you troubleshoot a generator motor like this. I am coming from a mechanics standpoint, and I would have started and done things COMPLETELY different. Interesting video!
Paul, you always catch me as I am getting ready for bed! Well sleep can wait.
God i was about to sleep too 😤
Me too
As a professional mechanic and very amateur electronic hobbiest this is the first video of yours where I don't feel completely in over my head:). Of course I've never broken out a curve tracer to check for spark.....
Don't rev the engine. The armature can't take a lot of centrifugal force. The windings can be damaged from too many rpm's. The voltage can be adjusted from the shunt field resistor in the rear of the generator. Set your hertz to 62.5 no load. That's about 1850 rpm. The engine has a oil pressure switch. I went to the Onan factory in 1987 and got certified on repairing RV gensets just like that. Last buy a bigger muffler. Under load that thing will make a lot of noise.
thendric
Wow... what he said.
he only tapped throttle lightly, from a layman's perspective. so, better no revving at all?
@@AlexanderBukh , Yup. That's what he said.
@@BruceNitroxpro Yeah, but he's being alarmist, it wasn't rev'ed more than a couple hundred rpms. It's highly unlikely that would damage anything, especially given the engine is typically governed/limited in throttle travel to prevent excessive rpms. Regarding the muffler, it sounded like Mr Carlson intends to pipe the exhaust outside and use a larger muffler, meaning the one he's put on there for now is primarily for testing purposes, to keep it from being too loud while working on it. So his recommendations with respect to those two issues, while surely appreciated, are basically unnecessary. The rest is solid advice, assuming he can't find a service/owners manual that provides specific settings for that generator.
My dad bought a camper in the early 1970's that had Onan genset in it. He also bought a manual for it later. The generator head used an armature in it. The manual was very easy to read through to fix things on your own. The sparkplug wires had a braided wire coax like covering to reduce the rfi generated by the unit. The unit we had, had the blower sucking the air across the engine cooling fins and out the side port.
Now I got a lesson I didn't expect. I didn't really understand the usability with the Curve Tracer, but NOW ... GREAT!
I definitely would enjoy seeing the "restoration" you do to this generator. And I'd also be interested in the wiring and installation details. Thanks!
I love these gensets. I got one that is roughly the same shape but much larger at 65 KW. Nice job Mr Carlson.
Let’s see if this generator will run *breaks out the curve tracer*
Oh this one’s going to be good
mr carlson. I can rewind the whole genset. that is my specialty. but I am not as advanced of a electronic technician as you are. I always love your diverse knowledge of all things electrical. keep up the great work as it helps thousands.
Does this thing have a starter ??
"Almost confused, ... its like 'Mustie1' morphed into 'Mr C'
Nice to see you outside the lab. ... the backdrop shelf of stacked up future electronics projects is interesting to see too.
...just for a moment, I expected watching the exhaust attachment goes airborne right though the garage roof while starting up the motor :) Repairing stuff while filming freehand isn't an easy task and I have to thank you for taking the extra time to share this with us! Many Thanks Paul, have a great Week!
Thanks Ralf (and family) :^)
As if I weren’t already hooked on this channel, now here’s a “Will It Run” video (a la the Mustie1 channel)... YYYESSS! Now I’m more hooked than ever! I can’t wait until the next billing cycle on Patreon hits so I can start digging into my electronics learning at the highest/customized/personalized level! Exciting stuff! Thanks! 😊😊😊
Awesome! I have maintained & operated Onan gensets for 20 years, but I have never seen one this old. LOL
Paul, the second you say “Welcome to Mr Carlsons lab” I’m in.
"Hi everyone!"
Why has this channel not got more subscribers? It's awesome.
Should have taken a look at the frequency to see if it would maintain close to 60 Hz.
I can't tell you how many of these generators I've seen abandoned in old Kmart stores. They used them for the emergency lighting circuit and most of them purred like kittens. I used to test them because they were still hooked up so they were considered in use but man I would have taken any of them home. Great great generators.
Mr. Carlson at 1 am?
But I was about to sleep...
Nice generator.
I love to take a look on some different equipment.
Best regards from Brazil my friend.
Thank you very much!
Interesting and enjoyable video. One thing concerned me though, you kept holding the RED battery lead and calling it the Negative connection. EVERYTHING I have ever dealt with in electronics has Red as the Positive and Black as the Negative. Did I miss something?
Yes, I agree. As soon as he touched that red terminal and said the "negative" my eyes flew open. I've then noticed a short time later that somebody had used the incorrectly coloured cables.
I do have to say, I have been watching Mr. Carlson lab for a couple of years. And when he pulled out this Onan generator, he got A LOT more street cred with me.
@Lassi Kinnunen , I am well aware of that, it is just that I expected that Mr. Carlson would have noticed it and changed it to the correct color code.
I have fixed many generators. Usually a carb rebuild and back up and running. Onan built a tried and true product, as we have seen here. I have seen them in many motor homes/coaches. You can't beat them. Nice video, it reminded me of your first video with the mustang emissions, that was really cool stuff.
I am shocked that your garage is full of old radio equipment. :p
Thank you Paul, excellent video, don't really understand why people down vote videos that impart useful knowledge, how about designing an electronic ignition module to replace the old mechanical ignition system, I think others would be interested to see you do that, thanks again Paul, and here's an extra thumbs up from me 👍.
If only you had enough electrical gadgets to to offer it a proper load test ;-)
There is nothing of that sort even within 40 km of his place lol
Wonder if he could run his whole lab at once on this little guy
LOL! He had a 1kw RCA AM broadcast transmitter next to the back wall of his garage. That would suck up most of the juice that thing could put out.
brought back some memories for me. my friend and I used to have classic cars that we collected, and were working on restoring
2 Hudson's, a 47 and a 49, a 53 Nash Ambassador, and an already fully restored 1954 Packard. the 1947 Hudson that had an electric fuel pump. the clacking noise underneath the floorboard would be fast at first, and as the Carburetor bowl filled, the clacking would slow, signaling that the bowl was full,and then you could start her up. he was of the generation when these cars were an everyday thing, and he taught me alot ,like how to prime the carb, on mechanical pump engines, adjusting and replacing the points, setting the timing, replacing brakes, and on and on. I miss him, and the Cars. ☹
That is nice it's low rpm 1800 not as noisey
@Dave Micolichek You are correct , 1800 rpm units are getting hard to come by because they are known for reliability and low fuel consumption. Only way i would run a generator is if its 1800 rpm hands down the best.
I have one it came out of a big motor home. It's wired 120 5k model
@@dannyfreitas2120 Yeah they came in 110v 220v and combo 110/220v units. I at one point had all 3 of them like that.
Love this video! I have one of those older Onan's in a 1974 Revcon. I got it running but it dies out after a few minutes and suspect the problem is in the fuel lines from the fuel tank. Can't wait to get back to work on that project. Good job sir! I really like your work
what about load testing the generator to make sure all the fields are operational
after rewiring, i'd guess
Nice change of pace from the electronics. Very interesting. I also liked seeing all of the electronic devices and goodies in the garage. Looks a lot like mine.
"little" curve tracer … almost as big as the motor :D
The Florida pool pump motor bearing repair guy When Service Calls Longwood approved ! that was good info Mr Carlson
To paraphrase Monty Python…."and now for something completely different". Also you can sell this for $15K to folks in Northern California if delivered!!
the red and black cable sorta stumped me, but I have to say, that was amazing watching you figure out what the problem was without even turning a wrench. Well done!!
I would have thought, with a name like Onan, it would start itself...
Ah, another person familiar with Biblical figures.
Did you ever feel like you were the only one who made that connection?
@@captaintrips2980 Yes, and I can see from your incredible rhetorical abilities you're a master debater....
Having read this comment, I don't feel quite so bad about my first thought on seeing the name of the generator.
@@srduke Well at least it's not as bad as the name of the guy who started the company, Mr. Harry Palmer
.
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[Note: That's fake news ;-)]
Unique approach to starting a ICE generator, excellent job.
Thanks for sharing.
Just a suggestion, when you change the oil, go to the Amsoil web page, and order Amsoil 100% synthetic oil for air cooled engines. This will extend the life of all the bearings and will lower friction in the engine. I have a 10 year old John Deere riding mower and it has only seen the Amsoil products with regard to lubrication. It starts and runs like it was new. I also use the Signature synthetic oil in all my vehicles. I highly recommend you have a look. Generators work hard during their lifetimes, and Amsoil is a stellar performer.
You’ve done a lot for me and I’ve enjoyed your TH-cam videos and I’ve become a Patreon because of your constant adherence to correct troubleshooting and instruction for individuals who want to hone their skills or learn electronics.
So, I thought I would return the favor. I suggest you visit Amsoil’s web page and have a look. It’s worth the trip. Cheers!! Excellent video. Thank you!!
Your maintenance, and care are what net you the results.
I use an Onan 4.0BFA RV genset I converted to natural gas for backup power. These 1800 RPM gensets are from a time when durability was more important than cheap manufacture.
Paul, you said “back at the house” - where is your shop? I was under the understanding your shop was in your basement.
this appears to in a garage, detached garage at same location (I think from previous videos) maybe it was an attached garage lol
I see your Work Mate in the background. I've had one for years. Could be one of the most handy tools that I've ever had.
It smells Mustie in here.... ;)
😂 ikr!!!
I love you mechanical vids, probable cause they are the only ones where I understand %100 of what you're doing. lol. The air compressor and Firebird emissions vids are some of my favs.
Right when I was going to turn it off and go to bed... thanks! 😝
me too
I have an onan cck very similar to yours. They are excellent generators. Glad to see you now have one!
"Onan"? Given what happened to Onan in the Bible (Genesis 38), that is a strange name for a generator.
Lol being raised in a Christian church, I'm somewhat ashamed this is the first time learning of this. Could give everyone a summary?
I guess I have heard the story before but forgot the names. Pretty weird though
Or... it was named after David Onan.
Well this was a big surprise, yes you do have a little clean up but Onans are some of the best out there. And very reliable. Thanks for sharing...Vic
@Dave Micolichek Depends on where you look on the web, there are still lots of new old stocks laying around plus if you know how to cross referance you could sub in needed parts with modern parts.
Can you make a new video:
My entire estate walk through :)
Excellent video. One thing I'd like to learn more about is generator, welder and transformer repair. Cheers.
So glad I'm not the only one who keeps more stuff in the garage than cars! :D Can't let my wife watch this though, or she'll make me organize it. D: Thanks for the great video as always! Love watching the diagnostic/troubleshooting process.
I enjoy electronic and mechanical, so all those videos are informative and educational. I also enjoy the innovate ideas you use to fix common problems.
When I was in the Air Force I worked on Onan engines that looked very much like this in mobile light carts. They were very easy to work on as you said.
Excellent! Now that you know “it will run” hope you’re going to post an “after” video showing the cleanup, rewiring and, most importantly, the oil change. Thanks for your great work Mr. Carlson.
Well Done!! Enjoy Mechanical Videos Very Much. Great way to show uses for your inventions & equipment outside the lab.
i dont know what you lot thought but I think it was brilliant, thanks Mr C.
Interesting to see and watch. Cool seeing the curve tracer also. Thanks for sharing!
I hope to one day to have a wide of a spread of knowledge as Mr. Carlson does. I know alittle about alot of things but he knows everytbing about everything.
I forget your a petrol head. Nice to see your heavy metal thanks for sharing
Thank you tons for this video; I'm working on fixing one of these right now
Another excellent video. We don't need generators around here much during the winter, just during the Summer time and Hurricane season. Try going without power for 16 days when its hot, humid and the mosquitoes are hungry!
Thanks Paul! Nice generator.
That has been well looked after. Apart from the sticky choke, it sounds as sweet as a sewing machine. Good find!
Onan 2-bangers are sweet running engines and the 4-pole generator is an 1800 r.p.m deal. I have a 2.5 k Onan and it's about that size, just a 1 banger.. Runs like a swiss watch. Good deal!
Interesting to see that your diagnostic methodology works as well in the mechanical realm as it does with electronics.
So glad I stumbled upon this channel! Great content
I lost it when you pulled out a curve tracer to check out an engine's ignition. Thanks!
Very interesting as I used to use these generators in the TV links trucks I ran for ITN News in the UK. We had to keep them running when we were miles from anywhere up on a hill as a microwave mid-point.
My parents had a motorhome with Onan generator. it always ran no matter how long it sat. it sure came in handy when the power went out and you needed to get water out of the well
Well this is a very good demo. Has mechanical and electrical, very useful this time of year. Time for me to get mine out and look it over and run it for the first start up of the season.
you don't dissapoint, not once!, Nice sound on the genny, i like it a lot, I have an honda inverter 30IS very dependable equipment but a delicate unit because of the inverter electronics, that onan looks like a tank!, please do another video if you can once you rebuild it or during the process, thank you!.
I'm actually not surprised by this video. Onan made some excellent stuff, and this one has been taken care of.
You are one impressive man. Thanks for the continued inspiration.
I love that old oscilloscopes behind You.. I got .Electric engineering degree year 1986..Know how to used them ... Got RV need to fixed generator
Thanks for that video ..