Generator blower

[encantotom]

the blower for cooling the generator was very noisy. my generator has a ton of hours on it and i think the blower is original.

the original is a dayton (grainger) 2C975. it is replaced by a 4TM02. $150.

the old one has brass sleeve bearings. the new one has ball bearings. it came yesterday and was dented so they have another one coming.

i did the same thing on my 1990. you have to cut the mounting plate off and weld it onto the new blower.

hopefully it will quiet things down a lot. the old one was making quite a bit of vibration noise.

later

tom

[rheavn]

Tom,
Thanks for the part number. Just checked Grainger in my area and all the stores are back ordered. Good to see they replaced the sleeve with bearings. That is an improvement. Mine works good now, but................

[encantotom]

5NRD2 is the one that replaces the 4TM02. it is $211

evidently i got the last 4TM02.

tom

[tuga]

Tom,

Just curious; how many hours do you have on your generator?

My coach is 14 years old and I have 3500 hours on the generator. That averages about 250 hours per year. I would say that is normal.

I have heard stories that these generators can last up to 30,000 hours before they need an overhaul.

[encantotom]

Hi Tuga,

my generator has 8450 hours on it. remember my coach was owned by two different race teams. they used the generator ALL the time.

It does appear from the receipts that the kubota engine was rebuilt, but the receipts are not clear. i called the WW Williams dealer that did the work and the pulled up the same receipt and said they couldnt tell but that it looed like a a new engine had been put in. the receipt reads like they put a rebuilt kubota engine in it. i think that is the case because the engine sports a new paint job. that was only about 13000 miles ago so i assume about 500-750 genny hours. so if that is the case, the kubota was replaced at about 8000 hours. all of that is speculative based on sketchy receipts.

nonetheless, that blower has a lot of time on it. the biggest thing for me is noise. the bearings on the older blowers are brass sleeves. the new one i got has regular ball bearings. i mean the bearings on the 1" shaft that turns the squirrel cage.

my genny runs great.

later

tom

[lbrachfe]

I have 1055 hours in 8 yrs of use

[encantotom]

my 1990 has about 1700 hours. these engines run forever. i think if mine was replaced it was an early failure. it did say some kind of seal was leaking.

at my usage i will never put another 1000 hours on it

i wonder what the life of the genny head is?

tom

[HoosierDaddy]

Has anybody tried reworking the fan to accept replacement ball bearings?

[encantotom]

i considered it and even asked grainger tech support if the bearings would work on it. but the bearings from them were half the price of a new blower.

i can eat up 140 bucks pretty fast running around looking for things.

tom

[wanderlodgeguy]

A good friend of mine worked "in camp" where they used diesel 7.5KVA and 15 KVA generators for all their power. They ran their gens 24/7, and in the last few years they have been running about 8 hrs/day nad using battery banks. They would have the gens removed for replacement at 25,000 hrs. They would still be working but experience taught them it was more cost effective to replace them rather than using to fail. I don't think that our motor home gens willl last that long due to a lack of use. Mine has 1400 hrs on it

Peter Haggins
96 WB mid door
Wanderlodge
Courtenay, BC

[Richard and Rhonda]

Dean,

I looked into putting sealed bearings in instead of the oilite sleeves. I could not find a direct replacement for ID and OD that would work, so I went back with the sleeve replacements from Grainger. I think they were less than twenty bucks.

Interestingly enough, the bearing books say that sleeves are quiter than ball bearings. I don't know that for a fact, just read it when I was researching bearings. I do know that when the sleeves wear, the fan produces a low freq rumble. That went away with new sleeves.

Maybe someday I'll get energetic like Tom and replace the entire unit.

[encantotom]

there ya go....with real data instead of my gut feel.

my blower has 8500 hours on it. it is really crusty.

tom

[Barry Rooker]

My 2001 coach's 20KW genset (Kubota 4 cyl) has 4,000 TT. It was a NASCAR coach so they ran the generator. PowerTech, the assembler, calls this generator their 10,000 hour unit but says with proper maintenance, it'll easily go longer. I've a friend in the refrigerated trucking business, he often has way over 10,000 hours on his refrigeration units when he trades trailers. For him the engine is never a concern about reliability, it's the cooling components in his case.

[folivier]

If you think about it a 10,000 hour life span would be roughly 600,000 miles. That's what a properly maintained diesel should do. Mine only has 1750 hours or a bit over 100,000 miles. Many more to go!

[encantotom]

today i put in the new dayton blower. had to drill a few new holes and make some extra screws in the motor bracket to make it stronger. took the steel mounting frame off of the old blower and had it welded onto the new blower. then painted it gray.

of course i broke the windshield wiper fluid pump when i put in the blower. fortunately a new one was only 15 bucks at autozone so i put it in when i was done.

had to play around a bit to get the motor adjusted right. put a new pulley and belt on while i was at it.

when i first fired up the genny there was a horrible rattle, but i found that the electrical box in had put on the side was rattling so i took it off and put foam under it and all was well.

now it is all very quiet.

but as usual, i found that the genny radiator has a pinhole leak so i need to take it out to get it fixed. one thing at a time.

tom

[express1]

No Tom, not "one thing at a time" sounds more like a dozen things at a time!! Looks like your are doing a wonderful job and having fun doing it.......Wish Connie and I could be there to help watch.....

[encantotom]

matt, please come and visit us. coach or no coach. we have plenty of room for you and connie to stay with us.

tom

[prairieschooner]

Matt, Did you let Tom know that you are "homeless" yet?

[chockwald]

Tom, for a guy who is a short timer at home you get a lot done. All the repairs you helped me with are going strong, as I would expect. The one I did by myself is going strong too. Really enjoying the LED lights we put in. Looking forward to seeing the progress on your new coach.

[encantotom]

thanks clarke. it doesnt seem like i get all that much done.

jim and gail are coming over for dinner tomorrow nite. it will be good to see them. they are staying out in apache junction for a few weeks.

tom

[Barry Rooker]

The Kubota genset in our 2001 has 4,000 hours as it was a NASCAR rig. That's where it got the hours. The manufacturer PowerTech calls the it a 10,000 hour unit but says it'll go longer with proper maintenance. I've friends using the Kubota engine way beyond 10,000 hours. As RVers, we'll never wear it out, adding about 50 hours each year which includes a one hour pre-arrival cool down of the coach in the summer. Using synthetic oil, replaced the radiator's core this year as it was running hot. Good to know of the Grainger ball bearing replacement fan assembly.

[express1]

Matt, Did you let Tom know that you are "homeless" yet?

:o Do you know something I don't?

I still have home and coach.......This morning anyway!!!!

P.S. Connie is even still giving me a chance.......:wub:

Tom is doing so much work, I'm getting blisters just reading.....