L.I.P.S. Fix-up Thread

[CallMeColt]

Howdy,

Got myself one of the L.I.P.S. (Lightweight Independent Power System) generators a few days ago. Seemed complete so I went to look at it with a battery & some fuel. Started up & made power so I made the buy.

The model on the tag is 30D36R.

Did a bit more testing of it today. Ran it at full load for ~20 minuets. Topped off oil. Replaced the 120 volt outlets. Found some rods for the battery hold down.

Ordered the filters I need for it. It wasn't running that smoothly so I would guess filters & fresh fuel will remedy that. No idea how old the diesel is in the tank!

 

[nextalcupfan]

Looks neat, also seems like it would benefit from a better muffler...

 

[CallMeColt]

Looks neat, also seems like it would benefit from a better muffler...

Yeah, it probably would. The video does make it sound louder than it really is though.

 

[Coug]

Try running some seafoam or StarTron through the next couple fuel tanks to help clean things up.
Other than that seems pretty decent.

 

[CallMeColt]

Try running some seafoam or StarTron through the next couple fuel tanks to help clean things up.
Other than that seems pretty decent.

I added some PRI-D. Plan is to just drain the tank when I do the fuel filter & check to see how clean it is. Fill with fresh fuel, treat with PRI-D & SeaFoam, then run a whole tank at 100% load. Change the oil as well during this & use SeaFoam in the crank case. After all that, it should clean right out!

 

[CallMeColt]

Got it all fresh & new!

 

[CallMeColt]

Got to use it for a few hours with the power issues here in Texas.

This thing doesn't like the below freezing temperatures! The battery I put on it is much smaller than what is recommended & will be okay 95% of the time where I am.

Warmed it up a bit & it fired up. Gave it a few minuets then plugged in the heaters.

Loud, but works good. May make a way to plug it directly into my well & booster pumps if needed in the future. Should power one at a time.

 

[CallMeColt]

I used it this past weekend out at my off-grid place for a few hours. Mild this time of year so no need for 24/7 power.

It will start my A/C units fine & run my kitchen setup. Will also run my heat on the low setting. Not all at once but it does the job!

Will be a good backup for going out there as well if I can't tow the MEP 802A out there.

 

[CallMeColt]

I have ~34 hours on it now.

With the tank completely full, I got 9 hours of run time on my off grid cabin. Still had fuel in it but I packed up.

Not bad! This is going to be left out there as my backup power, My MEP-802A went down & was very happy I left it there last trip.

It wasn't running as smooth as I would like. Thinking it's in need of a valve adjustment.

Also needs a new bonnet gasket. Seeps the tiniest but of oil. Gotta find that part number.

 

[CallMeColt]

I guess I never posted when I did it.

I ended up finding a bonnet gasket that I thought was the right part number but needed to be modified a bit. Checked the valves and they were good. Gasket changed stopped the seep of oil though.

I added a bar across the top with a hole to put a D-ring in for easy lifting with my tractor or bed crane. Pained CARC match green.



45 hours now. Only used 3 gallons over that 11 hours of use since last time.

This thing sat out in the open sun at my cabin for almost 6 months and started first pull. This is why I love diesel equipment!

It was still running poorly at times and I think I figured out why.... I had hooked up the 12v charger to the battery and I guess it is not regulated so it blew my battery up! After the battery blew, it ran smooth as could be. It was struggling to push the 12 volts into the battery I'd guess. I should have known better on this. I will get a small charge controller to put on this to keep this from happening again, though, I really don't even need the battery as the pull start is smooth.

 

[CallMeColt]

I could have sworn I came back to update since the last post....

I ended up adding a 12v Solergizer just to keep the new battery I put on happy after blowing up the other one!



It was out at my cabin for another year! Didn't use it much, but got almost up to 60 hours on it.

Brought it back home for a full service and clean-up. Used some of the stenciled I got for other equipment & put it on this little unit to make it look better.



While it was at my house, a friend showed some interest in it that has been getting into military surplus equipment.

Ended up working a trade for some other small diesel generators that had not been going through yet & it's off to a new home!