Stormin Mormon wrote, on Mon, 15 Dec 2014 18:42:22 -0500:
The main problem with *outdoor* rat poison is that the animal dies, and some poor unsuspecting scavenger eats it and dies also.
So, I have to be careful.
Stormin Mormon wrote, on Mon, 15 Dec 2014 18:43:28 -0500:
That's a good idea.
First thing I will do though, is get the tuneup part done, and then I'll see what I can do about the wire. It is odd that not only is the insulation totally gone, but the wire looks like it was manipulated since the strands are separated and many are broken.
But, that's not a moving part.
So, I suspect animal damage; but I don't know, for sure.
On Tue, 16 Dec 2014 07:05:40 +0000 (UTC), "Danny D." wrote in
How about just using a mouse trap?
Danny,
I am delighted that you are converging on a solution, and that help has been available. It is true that a login is required to participate in Ziller's forum, but the benefits of talking with many experienced Generac trained people who are fixing these units on a daily basis should not be underestimated. They have solved a tough problem I was having (and I have 2 engineering degrees and 40+ years of repair experience!) so I just wanted you to get the best and most direct assistance.
I also urge you to buy the Generac brand maintenance kits going forward. Everything you need for annual maintenance is there, and they are not outrageously priced. Once you make the annual maintenance simple you will be less likely to put it off in the future.
Best of luck Danny and hope I have provided some useful inputs here.
Smarty
-1 as far as I am concerned!
There are many product-specific forums on the Internet which have very advanced users as well as product designers which are vastly better at solving product-specific issues compared to a home repair forum. I consider them a great asset and hardly consider a login as a good excuse for not making use of these resources.
CRNG wrote, on Tue, 16 Dec 2014 07:40:18 -0600:
Might work, as long as the vibrations don't set it off.
Get an automatic e-trap Shocks the little beggars to death and hols up to 20 carcasses???
+1
When you get to something as specific as a certain model standy generator, if there is a forum with people with experience, far more likely you're going to find more useful, pertinent information there and quickly too. That's where I would go.
I doubt that a dead rat has enough poison in it to kill the next larger animal.
With that much exposed copper, I'm guessing that cylinder is weak, or not firing. Please include the wire in your tune up done.
- . Christopher A. Young Learn about Jesus
Just for the record, only one of them is on the high voltage side, the one that isn't too bad. The other one, blue, is on the primary side.
They aren't bolted on. It's a conventional spark plug, with nothing to bolt to.
trader_4 wrote, on Wed, 17 Dec 2014 06:17:57 -0800:
UPDATE:
Unfortunately, for me, in the middle of the rainy night, the power went out again (second time in as many days), with the
8KW generator still lying fallow, no battery, no oil, and all the covers off and electrical breakers off.Sticking my head outside on the balcony, I could hear all the neighbors' generators roaring in the rainy night, so, I knew it wasn't just me, so, I rolled over, and groaned, and went back to sleep.
At around 5 in the morning, my 10-year old grandson wanted to get on the net so I rolled out of my nice warm bed, grabbed a flashlight, and went out with him to put it back together in the dark misty air (nice sky though).
It was hard to see, but, we then hit upon the idea of using the car's headlight, so, with better illumination, we soon had her running again (still on the old plugs) before sunlight.
My grandson is probably too young for such things, as he was very uncomfortable in the dark, cold, and rain, and he worried far too much that we'd get electrocuted (his mom always tells him that I break far more than I fix, heh heh ...).
BTW, at what age do you start having children work with you on your "real" home repair projects? Is 10 still too young?
trader_4 wrote, on Wed, 17 Dec 2014 06:17:57 -0800:
I picked these up at Kragen/O'Reilly this morning to pull the plugs off.
If the plugs do just pull straight out, this will give me the leverage, minimizing the risk to the "wire" from the tremendous force that is needed.
CRNG wrote, on Mon, 15 Dec 2014 04:17:46 -0600:
I did have the battery checked:
It's from 2010 & it has a slight bulge (probably froze at some point?).
The parts guy instantly pronounced it dead on sight, but, I had charged it up the night before on a 6-amp charger and it seemed to be taking
2 amps without issue and holding a charge under the open-circuit no-load test of a voltmeter.I had the Kragen/O'Reilly guy test it under load on his battery tester, which took about 10 minutes, and the report came back as "Good", but that the battery was on its last "quarter of life".
Given that the battery is 4 years old, I'm sure it *is* on its last quarter but I asked if they input the date, and they said no, so, the machine must be evaluating the dynamics of the battery under load.
It has an easy life though. It just sits there and starts the generator once a week, and gets charged for 20 minutes to repay it for its effort.
Stormin Mormon wrote, on Wed, 17 Dec 2014 08:46:35 -0500:
I picked up this little guy inside the garage a few days ago:
I put gloves on, and picked him up. He was too sick to run away.
Dunno if he ate any of the rat poison inside the drawers in the garage, or not.
I didn't have the heart to kill him outright, so, I put him inside a hollow log outside. I checked today, and he was gone.
People mature at different ages, you poopy head and some never grow up, toilet paper nose. (I'm over 50, for example.)
Most tens can observe, simple tasks, and all. I think you did good to put him into the action. He will be FAR better off in life if he can turn screws, replace spark plugs, fill oil, check dip stick, and so on. Wish more grand parents brought the kids into reality.
At 5 AM, tell your grand son to get his buns back to bed and don't come out till
8 AM. Next time he wakes you at 5 AM, he will be shoveling to find the clean out trap in the back yard.- . Christopher A. Young Learn about Jesus
Stormin Mormon wrote, on Wed, 17 Dec 2014 13:19:34 -0500:
:)
He gets up early. Goes to bed early too. Watches computers all day. Aspergers. Cute kid.
If only his mom didn't tell him all the time his grandad breaks everything he fixes. :)
I've got mild to moderate aspergers. I relate to people through work. You can see me on my Amazon dot com profile. And then you can send his pic, and we'll decide if he's old enough to pull spark plugs.
- . Christopher A. Young Learn about Jesus
Unless a battery has an internal short almost all batteries will show full voltage without a load. The open circuit voltage tells almost nothing unless the battery is totally bad or dead. .
It's being charged/maintained 24/7 by the generator controller using AC line power. It doesn't need the generator running to charge it. Four years old, on the last quarter of it's life per the load test, it's already been taken out, critical need in a power outage, seems like an easy decision to me.
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