Power's Back On, Generator's Gone

Sometimes reading the instructions just isn't enough.

When I got this old beast of a generator running last year, I figured I'd have to take care of it. I changed the oil, gave it a new battery, cleaned out the air filter. And it rewarded me by starting right up when we lost power on Friday. It ran for 44 hours. I wondered if that was pushing things, but I was afraid that if I turned it off, it wouldn't turn back on again.

There's been something up with the starter battery since the start - where it doesn't seem to re-charge with use. So I've been keeping the bettery in the house on a trickle charger, ready to go. Only problem is, once the thing's running, I've got no way to re-charge it. I guess I could have tried pulling it from the generator and putting it back on the trickle-charger, but I wasn't sure if I could safely pull it out with the generator running.

As for the oil, I wasn't too worried. There's a warning light that's supposed to go on if the oil gets low, and an emergency shutoff circuit too. A label says to change the oil after 100 hours of use. I figured I was good for two more days.

Well, when it came to a stop Sunday, it became clear that my confidence was unfounded. The flywheel was seized up and almost impossible to move, and the battery was hissing and venting steam that smelled of sulfurous rotton eggs. I'm glad I wasn't smoking at the time. I've since read that that's highly explosive hydrogen gas.

I'm still not sure what's going on with this battery. I thought maybe it was overcharged. Testing it with a meter revealed it was at 13 volts, but my emergency car-jump starter reported 14.1 volts. And yet it wouldn't give any juice to the generator at all. Any ideas from the engineering crowd?

And it turns out the thing must have been burning oil. I guess the warning light and the shutoff circuit didn't do their jobs. The reservoir was empty. So I added some, wrenched the flywheel around until it loostened up again, and waited for the battery and motor to cool down. I grabbed the smaller starter battery from the lawn mower and boosted it with an emergency car jumper. Turned the key. I got it to the point where it would spin for a most of a cycle and then come jerking to a stop. Forced it through the compression phase and then repeated. But it didn't sound like anything engine-y or ignition-y was happening at all. So whether it's borked completely or I just need to fully juiced battery to start it, I guess we'll find out later.

It's amazing how fast a starter battery drains, when you keep using it to crank an engine that won't start. They really do shoot their load all at once.

In any case, I've had my fill of generator service for now. I think I'd like to find a smaller one with a pull-cord starter sometime before next winter. Or maybe just go to a hotel in the city next time we have a big storm.

For some good news: just as I was coiling up the extension cords, grumbling and swearing, and planning to take a drive to my mother's place to spend the night (an hour farther away from work the next day) the power came back on. So if there is a god, it turns out he answers curses as well as prayers.