803a not warming up

[NATCAD]

Good evening,
I have an 803a that is not warming up
With ambient around 21 F, it warms to 145-150 degrees.
There is some wind.

I have covered the air intake facing the wind with a some plywood, 90% coverage.
I have covered the exhaust 80% again with some plywood.
Temp is now up to 165F

Any thoughts?
That temp stays stable with 10% load or 70% load.

I thought it was the thermostat, so I replaced that a few weeks ago. No change in temp.

 

[rickf]

Did you test the new thermostat before installing? It certainly sounds like a bad stat that is staying open or opening far too early.

 

[Chainbreaker]

If 2 out of 2 thermostats are reading low perhaps its not the thermostats but the gauge or temp probe itself. Have you ever seen it come up to proper temp?

 

[Coug]

first things first, have you used a laser thermometer or anything else to verify the temp gauge is accurate? This will tell you if it's a sensor, gauge, or wiring issue.

Then after that it would be verify the thermostat is functioning properly (put it in a pot with water and a thermometer on a stove and see what temp it actually opens at).

 

[NATCAD]

My apologies,

The gauge reads zero, I need to fix it.

I've been measuring temperature on top rad hose both with IR and I have kurts remote start installed and top rad house and readout in kurts device are same-same. +-

I saved the original thermostat, I'll go boil it.

This generator I ran spring to fall, about 800 hours in 2020, temp gauge was working then, and always sat around 180.

Manual says they should come up to temp with no load right? Is that true in 0-20F environment with strong wind?

 

[Denvercaitland]

My apologies,

The gauge reads zero, I need to fix it.

I've been measuring temperature on top rad hose both with IR and I have kurts remote start installed and top rad house and readout in kurts device are same-same. +-

I saved the original thermostat, I'll go boil it.

This generator I ran spring to fall, about 800 hours in 2020, temp gauge was working then, and always sat around 180.

Manual says they should come up to temp with no load right? Is that true in 0-20F environment with strong wind?

I have been operating in similar climate range for the last month, temperature remains in the 180/190 range , no load to full load.

 

[Guyfang]

When you changed the thermostat, did you change the coolant? Did you drain the system completely? Every once in a spell, the hose coils turn to rusty junk. A bit of that could keep the thermostat open.

 

[NATCAD]

When you changed the thermostat, did you change the coolant? Did you drain the system completely? Every once in a spell, the hose coils turn to rusty junk. A bit of that could keep the thermostat open.

I did a complete drain, and reused the coolant which had about 500 hours on it. Was in good condition.

 

[NATCAD]

I have been operating in similar climate range for the last month, temperature remains in the 180/190 range , no load to full load.

What is this 'heater' switch you have on your main control board?!

 

[Light in the Dark]

His set has an arctic heater if I had to guess, plumbed into the cooling lines.

 

[NATCAD]

Sounds like a nice feature to have a generator happy - that would run on 24vdc?

To be clear, even in adverse conditions, with no load, my generator, if working properly should come to 180F, correct?

nathan

 

[Light in the Dark]

Yes it ties into the system, burns diesel from the day tank. A rather rare option, only issued to Mountain troops best I can tell. Moves the start capability from the -20F of the stock system, down to -50F. But at those temps, fuel gel is a bigger concern.

Your machine should hit 180 or damn close to it as is.

 

[Denvercaitland]

What is this 'heater' switch you have on your main control board?!

As LITD outlined it preheat the coolant.

Basically, I have been able to start the 803 without glowplug preheat.
to ~ -5°F so far. Wired independently from all other functions and bring the block temp to ~ +150°F on startup.

 

[NATCAD]

Looks like a beauty! I like that the coolant tube to block is size of the block heater outlet.
What are the costs on these items? Looks like a mini espar which are very expensive.
I have my generators outside my sea container which holds 800AH battery.
I wonder if using a dc based coolant heater inline might be an option?

 

[Denvercaitland]

Found this older post on the forum if it help.

Looks like it would be cost prohibitive to purchase necessary parts

https://www.steelsoldiers.com/showt...ization-kits&p=2092973&viewfull=1#post2092973

 

[Denvercaitland]

MEP802A & MEP803A winterization kits

Anyone out there know where I can get winterization kits for an 802A & 803A? NSN 6115-01-476-8973 NSN 6115-01-477-0564 respectively. Anybody have any positive/negative experience with these?

www.steelsoldiers.com

 

[Guyfang]

They come up in epay every so often. I have operated gen sets down to -30. without a kit. I will admit it makes it easier, but I always felt that there is little enough room in the box, and adding more wasn't something I would do. But then again, I dont live where you do.

 

[NATCAD]

I was able to get one from member here. Looking forward to installing it. Course it is nice a warm now.

 

[NATCAD]

AAR followup:
Temperature -25 to -30 Celsius, base temp, plus strong wind (generator outside in wind)
Arctic heater warms unit up to 180F no problem.
Turn arctic heater off, and start generator.
After 10 minutes running generator cooling down to 155 to 165F.
Freq starts to warble.
Drops load
Generator engine dies after some black smoking.

Solutions tried
Polished fuel and added howes anti gel - still cools down and stumbles, drops load and dies.

Added plywood to block off radiator (horizontal surface on top of generator), ran actic heater, put plywood infront of air intake directly in wind, run generator - generator keeps temp - and runs. Coldest temp with 40mph winds started to cool off to 175. Did ok with 100% load and warmed back to 180F.

Last try, defrost setting
Run arctic heater, block horizontal surface on top of generator with plywood, start generator, leave arctic heater running, check one hour later, set has defrosted and coolant temp 220. Even defrosted ice on aluminum hinge for control panel.

If having problems, I would run last way again for an hour or two and then turn heater off.

Questions remaining, is a 190 or 200F thermostat a good option?

Should a 750 watt coolant line heater with cord be considered, that I either charge from house battery, or once generator running, self powered convenience receptacle.
These are about 70$ and gives another option to warm and reduces fuel usage.

Does adding a coolant hose heater add complexity or fragility?

Should I mount the generator inside sea container, or potentially mount an 831a inside container with a nice transfer switch to select power source.

 

[Ray70]

Something still doesn't seem right.
I can't believe the engine isn't producing enough BTU's to maintain combustion??
There's gotta be something else wrong.
Once running the coolant temp shouldn't drop too much if the thermostat is working, and the machine should not smoke and shut down just because temp dropped from 180 to 150ish. These machines start fairly easily with no heat down to at least 0C. I can't believe it's shutting off on you only due to cooling down from 180 to under 150F.
Is your temp gage working now, or are those temps still from an IR temp gun?