Trouble with the 3k inverter

[Floridianson]

OK told my self I was done with the military Generators. Thanks to Allen years ago he bought all three 10k 5k and 3k. Knowing nothing about generators I did the unthinkable and picked up the 3k inverter from lake butler Fl. the other day. My thought was if I loose power I can still run my well with it. Picked it up got it home and checked for any visual problems. Fired it up and everything seems to be working. This morning problem runs for 30 seconds then short light and shut down. Go to TM trouble shooting and no luck. Log on to SS and first thread OP has problem and seems the same as me lives in Fl. high moisture / humidity. I even had it under the carport. So got a big fan running on it and will wait till this afternoon and try again. Dumb question what part is the humidity getting into and is there anything I can do about it?

 

[kloppk]

My suspicion is that moisture gets into the unsealed potentiometers on the main control board inside the inverter causing their resistance values to change. The potentiometers are there so that the manufacturer can adjust parameters such as the Short Circuit threshold and a number of other trip points and adjustments when the inverters are built and calibrated at the factory. There are a slew of them on the main control board.

If you get it dried out and working properly my suggestion would be to run it for a while on a day with low humidity (if there is such a thing in FL) to force additional moisture out of them. Then pop the side cover off the inverter on the engine side of it and seal each of the blue potentiometers with conformal coat or some nail polish to seal them.

 

[Floridianson]

Yea thanks fan running for a couple of hours and Sun came out. Fired up and no short and let it run for 20 min. with small load.

 

[FloridaAKM]

You might want to attach a bigger load to the output terminals instead of the convenience plugs to load the unit up so that you can see if it has been wet stacked. If it runs clean, then you have a great hurricane genset for your well, lights & computer (TV) if we have another big hurricane this fall. Plenty of fuel in your trucks to keep it running so you can concentrate on watching the rain & wind on the lake.

 

[Floridianson]

First thing this morning short / shut down. Tried the other OP's hair dryer trick down the inverter through the voltage switch trap door. Maybe 4 mins. and starts no short. Thanks kloppk you were spot on with the problem. I tried with small load running for 30 mins. yesterday with hood closed and thought that doing that would have dried out anything. Do not know how moisture is making it inside at night after it dries out from the days run with hood closed still in carport. Going to hook up somewhat bigger load asap and let it run for maybe an hour or little longer. If that does not cure the moisture problem then off comes the engine side panel of the inverter box and see what can be done inside there. Does not look like fun taking off that side panel but if it must be done it must be done. Thanks.

 

[Light in the Dark]

These little machines sound like such a PITA.

 

[SCSG-G4]

First thing this morning short / shut down. Tried the other OP's hair dryer trick down the inverter through the voltage switch trap door. Maybe 4 mins. and starts no short. Thanks kloppk you were spot on with the problem. I tried with small load running for 30 mins. yesterday with hood closed and thought that doing that would have dried out anything. Do not know how moisture is making it inside at night after it dries out from the days run with hood closed still in carport. Going to hook up somewhat bigger load asap and let it run for maybe an hour or little longer. If that does not cure the moisture problem then off comes the engine side panel of the inverter box and see what can be done inside there. Does not look like fun taking off that side panel but if it must be done it must be done. Thanks.

Moisture is in the air, and the metal cools faster than the air does, leading to water settling on the metal parts (hence your shorting problem). You need to store it either inside or in it's own air conditioned space if you cannot seal up all the places as kloppk suggested.

 

[Light in the Dark]

Moisture is in the air, and the metal cools faster than the air does, leading to water settling on the metal parts (hence your shorting problem). You need to store it either inside or in it's own air conditioned space if you cannot seal up all the places as kloppk suggested.

I'd store it at someone elses place, with their cash in your pocket, and exchange said cash for an 802.

 

[Floridianson]

I'd store it at someone elses place, with their cash in your pocket, and exchange said cash for an 802.

Bout ready to store it at someone else place and just spring for a propane whole house system. Then I can still live in the house if I loose power and not the military 373 trailer till the power is restored. Before I sold my other property 60 miles away if I lost power at my house I just hook up the truck and trailer and had power, water and a trailer I could go to.

 

[Guyfang]

20-30 min load test is not enough to do any good. The thing needs to get warm.

 

[m1010plowboy]

I hear if you put it in a bag of rice overnight you can make phone calls with it in the morning. Is there a spot to put absorbing material near the problem or use dielectric grease on connections? https://www.farmandfleet.com/blog/what-is-dielectric-grease/

I just stuffed freezers with 500 lbs of beef so we're getting set up for uninterrupted power supply...u.p.s.... We're getting Florida/Texas/Alaska weather and I need some quick inverter learnin'.

 

[Floridianson]

I hear if you put it in a bag of rice overnight you can make phone calls with it in the morning. Is there a spot to put absorbing material near the problem or use dielectric grease on connections? https://www.farmandfleet.com/blog/what-is-dielectric-grease/

I just stuffed freezers with 500 lbs of beef so we're getting set up for uninterrupted power supply...u.p.s.... We're getting Florida/Texas/Alaska weather and I need some quick inverter learnin'.

Well just my luck that I bought the one that has the protective coating getting thin or worn off. Hope it is an easy fix but no fun to get to.

 

[dav5]

Well just my luck that I bought the one that has the protective coating getting thin or worn off. Hope it is an easy fix but no fun to get to.
[/QUOTE
I have 2 of them and they are both moisture sensitive. One is at my camp in northern Ontario Canada. Even in the winter when it is really dry I have to run it for 20 minutes or so then shut it down which clears the fault light and then I can restart it and it is fine. When they are dried out they are great little generators but If I had to do it over again I would take Light In The Dark's advice and get an 802. The weight of an 802 makes it difficult to get it into a remote area though.

 

[Floridianson]

Yea if I dry it out with the hair dryer it will restart with no problems all the same day long. When I ran it for 30 mins. it still was fine the same day later on but it is when it sits over night the problem / short starts again. I will take the side panel off one day soon and see if there is anything I can do to seal up the exposed parts. Worse case if not I will just have to dry it out with hair dryer then use it for the well that day. Real worse case I can not fix it and I have to take a bar of soap and get my bath in the lake every day plus use lake water to flush the John.
Funny how dependent we have become on power in one form or another. If our survival depends on electric power we might be in trouble.

 

[Tow4]

Yea if I dry it out with the hair dryer it will restart with no problems all the same day long. When I ran it for 30 mins. it still was fine the same day later on but it is when it sits over night the problem / short starts again. I will take the side panel off one day soon and see if there is anything I can do to seal up the exposed parts. Worse case if not I will just have to dry it out with hair dryer then use it for the well that day. Real worse case I can not fix it and I have to take a bar of soap and get my bath in the lake every day plus use lake water to flush the John.
Funny how dependent we have become on power in one form or another. If our survival depends on electric power we might be in trouble.

How do you use the hair dryer if the power is off?

 

[Floridianson]

How do you use the hair dryer if the power is off?

I have a Honda 3k inverter that I bought for the 373 trailer and used it last time power was out at the house. I use the Honda at night for the trailer heat or AC and TV and fridge during the day. Runs everything in the 373 or house just fine that I need. The military unit was just for the well if I need it because the Honda does not do 220 volts. The Honda is real nice and light weight as I can pick it up and take it out or put it in the 373 trailer when not in use by myself.
I thought about mounting a Onan like Ray / Razor did on his trailer but then the power unit is only going where the trailer is. With my Honda I can take it anywhere and I have. I also do not need to live in my 373 full time it is just a man cave / emergency living quarters.

 

[FloridaAKM]

I bought a 3k inverter genset from Lake Butler GovPlanet just as James did & it had the same problems of tripping offline on short/overload. After letting the unit run a bit & warm up the electronics, it went to generating power & acting like it should. These unit are 2006 manufacture & have seen unknown service conditions before being auctioned off, so their not new by any means.

Mine has 52.4 hours on the meter & is in good shape & should take care of my hurricane needs/punchlist for my house if we go thru another powerless hurricane situation. The unit will not run my a/c, but I have provisions for that in place also.

I wanted this genset, so I bought it & it will be the last purchase of mine from Gov Planet as they have exceeded my tolerance level of their sales issues.

 

[smokem joe]

I have found if you unplug the wire harness on the side of the inverter you can start the unit and run it. The heat from the engine will dry out the moisture in 5 minutes or so. Shut the unit down, plug harness back in, and start unit as normal for operation with no fault lights.

 

[dav5]

I have found if you unplug the wire harness on the side of the inverter you can start the unit and run it. The heat from the engine will dry out the moisture in 5 minutes or so. Shut the unit down, plug harness back in, and start unit as normal for operation with no fault lights.

I guess my generator is an odd one. I can start it and run it without disconnecting the plug when it shows the short fault. I also remember some one posting way back when that if you open the little door on the top of the inverter that allows access to 120 vs 220 it can be started when the fault light is on.

 

[FloridaAKM]

I opened the generator back up yesterday after several hours of light rain & even though it was covered with a military tarp, water had condensed all over the inside of the generator cover. After leaving it open for an hour, it started right up & produced power as it is supposed to. The next move will be to put two weatherproof outlets under the control panel for 120v & 240v usage rather than pull power from the convenience outlets.

All in all, I am happy with it so far & there is a fuel storage tank full of JP8, 64 gallons that came with the other generator trailer.