Tree down, on generator power now

[DieselAddict]

Today around 5pm a tree came down on the main road that took out the power line and damaged a couple of poles. Decided to pull out one of the MEP1030s to see how they work in real life. They worked great on the load bank.

about an hour in and the generstor kicked off. Looked at the screen and it shutdown on overheat. the belt broke. Ok, back to ole reliable MEP803. Ran for a few hours longer and the update was not good. Power won’t be back anytime soon. I didn’t want to run the 803 with no real load all night so I went over and got the other 1030 that i use for the off grid property. I checked the belt first and it looked to be ok. It’s out purring away in the yard now.

Tomorrow I will if I can get a couple belts locally. Don’t want to be left wanting over a simple,thing.

 

[Scoobyshep]

This is why I keep a spare belt on hand.


And several spare generators...

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

 

[DieselAddict]

Yea, I got all the spares for the 80X machines. I only have a pair of the 1030s so far so I haven’t developed the inventory for them.

 

[DieselAddict]

Got a new belt installed. The "metric" version of the belt wasn't available but the imperial version was available at O'Rileys. The number I bought was 3VX350 for $25. You can get the belts cheaper online but if you need one RIGHT NOW, you can go this route.

The job requires only a 10mm socket, ratchet and extension.



Remove the engine cover on the end opposite the control panel, 10mm bolts. Loosen them, don't remove them. The cover slides up and then removed.




I didn't have to remove the old belt. It had removed itself already.

Loosen both alternator bolts. The one you can see through the open cover and the one at the top on the adjuster bracket. I originally started with a wrench but a socket and ratchet work better here around the bracket.



Install the new belt and tension it by pulling on the alternator at the top along its bracket.



I started it and let it run for a few min to seat the belt. This will normally loosen it a little (it did). After shutting it down I re-tensioned the belt and ran it for 20 more minutes to monitor engine operating parameters. All normal.

You can see in this photo that after the belt ran in a few min that it needed to be tensioned. This is too much movement. Hope this helps!

 

[Light in the Dark]

Thats one of the few benefits Ive found in the AMMPS sets... easy access to the front of the engine. The rest of the envelope is too tight, and way too annoying for this codger.

 

[Ray70]

I've used this place several times for belts for everything from band saws, snow blowers, backhoe etc.
Some as cheap as $5 each.
No good in an emergency or for 1 or 2 belts after shipping cost, but definitely worth checking out is you need several belts for a project a few days later in the week!

V-Belt Global Supply, LLC. | V-Belt Online Catalog

Shop VBeltSupply.com for power drive belts! We are the largest online distributor of v-belts, including industrial, Kevlar, timing, cogged, and more.

www.vbeltsupply.com

 

[2Pbfeet]

For those with lots of engines, there are also Accu-link type belts;

Amazon.com

It comes in A and B profiles, and useful to have a belt that will work anywhere in a pinch. Not super cheap, but great to get the lights on, and can be taken off and saved for next time.

All the best,

2Pbfeet

 

[DieselAddict]

Took some time today and gave them both a severe cleaning. They look so much better.