CAT DIESEL RUNNING UNDER LOAD 1959 Caterpillar Generator Testing
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- Опубліковано 11 вер 2024
- In this video we take a closer look at the generator end itself.
It is good practice to check the integrity of the winding insulation prior to operating a generator set that has sat in a non climate controlled area for many years.
My main goal in this video is to determine the generator's field power requirements so that a replacement regulator / exciter can be located.
That 40 minutes went fast! A good way of knowing that you are watching interesting content. It’s over way too fast. Good stuff.
Agree
40 mins well spent to
Absolutely love the fact that you dont mind running these old gems at full load for a time. That's what they were designed to do and you do more than just look at them. You run em! Thank you so much for your time as I respect that these displays take a tremendous amount of time to set up. Take care!
does more damage letting em just sit than running em once a while
Having been in heavy elect industry my whole life, this is grand vid showing the absolute basics on how to generate energy.
I love the fact you put such faith in an aged prime mover and generator.
Shows how beautifully built and designed this is. A credit to CAT and the American solid way of doing things.
High fives from Aussie..🙋♂️🙋♂️🙋♂️🙋♂️🙋♂️
Thanks Matthew. I miss your fellow Aussie, Ed Jones, AKA Aussie50. He had a mind for mechanical stuff and mayhem. He also knew his way around cars and kept what was his running well. He also had an old Westinghouse DC generator that he had running for awhile. I had a hand in digging up some docs on wiring and exciting the field windings (forgot to warn him about the kick it inflicts), so I'm glad to have assisted in bringing that old girl to life. He was good people, humble and hard-working.
👉👍
I love the sound of a turbo diesel at almost 100% load.
and she's roaring like a beast, and purring like a kitten at idle.
Neighbors are like
Who’s driving a tank through the neighborhood
Oh that’s just weird generator guy
Lol good job mike
Enjoyed the video
There must be no HOA rules.
@@Jimmyzb36 What HOA? Mike had to find a place without a home owners association!
@@Jimmyzb36 no one with a brain would put up with an hoa.
I'm older than the generator and droop is definitly a factor....
Me too-but life is a lot more calm and I can make rational decisions !
LMAO!!! I hear ya!😩👈 🤣
My Dads 73 and says the only reason he takes half a Viagra tablet every morning, is so he don't pee on his slippers !
I thought the last time was good...
Replaying just to hear that old girl sing some more! Sounds far better than any radio station nowadays
Just replace static with that and a lot of us would be happier
Kudos to the engineers at Cat for designing such a robust unit . Cool vid 👍
Yep, All the new emissions compliant ones will have shit themselves and died long before this one even reached it's broke in running hours.
@@tcmtech7515 all the covid thing is because of the pollution we caused , proud of these old units but dosent mean that we should use them
@@Tsifdgoyddo How is covid 19 due to pollution?
@@Rocky-ne9vf Most likely that post was from another clueless virtue signalling leftist tool child or bot.
They are the only things I know of online that would post such stupid unsubstantiated stuff.
Probably designed with a slide rule and brain power by an engineer, rather than being designed by an accountant like everything these days seems to be.
I own a generator business and do A LOT of maintence (on newer equipment only). Just by the sound of this old lady, I can tell that back in the days the specs were WAY more conservative than todays...
Today when you (resistively) load 150 kW a 150 kW machine it simply can't take one single extra watt. You can feel, see and hear that the engine reached it absolute max.
This one, like you said... Doesn't even care... In todays specs they would rate it at least 200 kW easily.
Once again I'm not used to this high current excitation values in newer equipment... Even 400 kW ones are using only 10 amps regulators.
Great content, learned a lot.
That old cat was just a purring under full load and loving every bit of it and saying its about time i get to work. 💪💪💪
The generator was handling the load well also.
Very nice genset you have there.
Thank you for all the work you put into making this video for us to watch.
Diesels love being under a load.. In fact, a diesel that doesnt see any load doesnt tend to last very long.
Old saying: "The man who.knows 'how' will always have a job. The man who.knows 'why' will be his boss."
Unfortunately in this modern throw away world there are precious few who still understand 'why' things work, Mike is quite a rarity these days.
I must not be as philosophical as you all, because they seem like the exact same thing to me XD
Lucas Cole the mechanic know how to fix the truck, the boss knows why he needs the mechanic to fix the truck
@@gmeister03 I understand that part, but as to how that makes the boss "superior" to the mechanic is beyond me. without the mechanic the boss wouldn't have a job...
@@gmeister03If you're implying that the boss also knows how to be a mechanic, and not just fish out orders, then I can see that, But doesn't it seem quite off, how in our society it's seen as a better thing to be telling people what to do, rather than honing your own skills at the thing you're ordering. I'd have far more respect for the boss who shows the mechanic how to do the job, rather than just tell him do this and that while sitting in a chair taking calls.
I like the saw tooth exhaust tip. Great video!
Agree! :-)
Birds wont perch on it and fall in.
It reminds me of the hat Jughead wore in the Archie comic.
Do you know the purpose in doing it that way? Is it a diffuser?
@@ChrisPBacon-yz6nk Not sure
Probably the most that generator has been loaded up in many many years
Yes, 100% Correct Most installs do Not Run them At Full Duty Cycle Like Shown Here You Could see Once the Chamber Temps were Up over 270C She started to Spit Carbon out the Pipe. Once the Pot is around 300C Then Carbon Deposits will No longer Form. Even in this Film that engine is still not at Full Load Running at Full Capability Built To last a lifetime, it will if maintained You have a Spot on teacher here if you are taking Notes. Stay safe I Have seen people die working on Big Power systems. If you are not a skilled Genset mech then call someone who is like the Small Engine Mechanic. Top Video stay safe everyone.
@@Rs500ybd This is why even with car engines, its good to flog the piss out of them once in a while. Build that cylinder temp and pressure. Good for the piston rings and burns off carbon buildup
Imagine this guys excitement when his power goes out! Awesome video really enjoyed it.
Boy I wish I had your knowledge. I’m like a sponge when I watch you work. Thanks teacher.
Heh heh, *nice test setup!* That big Kitty Kat started huffing and puffing pretty good around 80% load. You could see in the exhaust, all the bats and bird nests from the last 20 years getting evicted.🤣 I could watch this all day!! I'd say this generator is still good for another 20 years once you get the right exciter for it. Speaking of residual magnetism, I've have a couple of old Coleman gen sets in the past that would lose their magnetism if they sat too long without being run. Generally you could get them lit up again by simply plugging in an older 1/2" drill (no speed control), and just spin the chuck by hand a few times to give it a little nudge. I've had a couple cases where I had to tape a big magnet to the side of the drill, so it would actually generate a little more voltage to get the generator to light back up.😉
Careful about that, that feedback will knock you on your britches.
I’ve owned semi trucks with caterpillar engines with over 3,000,000 miles worth of use. Watching this video makes me like them all the more! Great video thank you for sharing!
There is something I just absolutely love about seeing a 60 year old piece of equipment still put in the work she was built to deliver on day 1. She's definitely a beast. I wish I had a use for a piece of gear like that but I don't have an office building, lol.
Absolutely! You nailed it.
We run outdoor parties sometimes with a Siemens Schuckert alternator (220/380V 3Ph @ 75kVA) powered by a MaK Diesel engine. The alternator head is from the 1930s and the engine too. The alternator has a compound regulator (the iron core of the three phase compound choke weighs about 75 kilograms) and works just incredible. You start that thing up and you can forget about it for the whole weekend. Just add fuel sometimes. a lot of fuel...
@@albinklein7680 I'll bet it's a beast. I don't have any use for really anything over a 10kw and that's if I have to run AC units off of it. Wouldnt mind finding one of those old 45kw detroit diesel military gensets.
@@Shane-Singleton I'm on a budget. I picked up a light tower from a rental equipment auction. 6KW unit continuous rating to run 4 1.250KW Metal Halide lamps with the auxiliary load of the ballasts. Unit is rated for 8KW overload for 1 minute and 6 KW continuous. It runs quiet. Use it to power the stage at outdoor concerts. After the concert, the lights are useful to help the crowd disperse and musicians to pack up the gear. Buying one is much cheaper than renting one for all events. Paid less than $1,000 for it. Love a good auction. I can tow it with my motorhome to the event.
@@isettech I picked up an old light tower from my local breakers yard, 60' telescopic lattice tower with a 2 cylinder Lister genset on it. Actually wanted the tower for setting up at radio events etc. Sold the genset after getting her running and generating, for the first time in decades, for a lot more than I paid for the whole thing. I have smaller lighter and more powerfull gensets I can mount on it if need be. Yes as well as throwing money at radios I also throw money at vintage machinery too lol.
Mike, you have a better grasp of power generation than a lot of younger electrical engineers. When calculating excitation requirements, remember your test was at unity Power factor. The excitation would have to go higher depending on the reactive power required.
That old Cat was working up a sweat! Looked like maybe a dribbling injector occasionally, but that might clear up with some run time. Exhaust looked clear at max load after a bit.
I think it was just 40 years of no load exercise running burning out. I’ll bet she would have made a nice show of glowing carbon chunks out the stack if it’d been dark enough.
Just an AWESOME video!! Love hearing the ol' Cat purr like a kitten. You threw everything you had at her and she took it like a champ. Old iron at it's finest. Nice work, we need more video's like this please!
Cats love to get a good stretch in now and again.
Mine just likes to sleep on the Couch 😁
That was just terrific, thanks so much for taking us along for the ride. As a big fan of diesel electric locomotives EMD, GE, Alco this is a window into load testing of the power plant and generator on a smaller scale. Love to hear that turbo and the exhaust note change under load. Bid thumbs up.
As an Electrical and Electronics Engineer I loved the load test and all the reading note down and as a petrol head I love the whistling turbo and the Cat purrs like a kitten what a bulletproof Machine. They sure don't make em like that no more.
Going back through all of your old videos. Had to chuckle when you tipped in 400A, "Oh yeah!"
Yep, you make all people happy.
Excellent video, remember that power factor will make a much bigger difference on field current, much more so then resistive load. The resistive load tests the engine HP, an inductive load tests the excitation system. The same analogy comes into play with paralleling generators, share KW by adjusting engine governors, share KVAR by adjusting excitation.
Not what I thought I would see when I clicked on Small engine mechanic.... subscribed!
The Full loading of this Cat reminds me of hot Summers nights in 1966 Cu Chi , Vietnam at the 25th Med Battalion.I was running a brand new 353 Detroit against a 30KW, loaded many nights to 36-37 KW blowing black smoke and me watching the temp gauge praying the needle would stay off the cut-off overheat switch and we did not lose all our hospital power....because if it did it I had to go and crank up several smaller generators to cover the loss of the 30KW....(I kept a couple 10KW on the idle run just to switch quickly if the 353 DID overheat. That 30KW had an electric governor that was so fast that when a refrigerator switched on The governor sensed the voltage drop BEFORE the load hit the generator and caused the 353 Detroit to burp UP in speed just a bit...you could see it on the Cycle meter bouncing up every time a substantial load hit. Memories of an old Combat Medic....
Damn..that old son never missed a beat even after all these years! Great durability.
Thise old D-series Cats LOVE load. Run them in backup service at 40% or less, not so much. D-349 at 240 KVA gets soupy and sooted up pretty quick. Give it 1100 for an hour, clean as a whistle. That's a great sounding D-337.
Doesn't matter that I have no clue what an 'exciter' is or does. Just love seeing old diesel come back to life.
Don't have a clue about all this but, love the sound of that engine! That alone, kept me watching the whole time!
The engine on that set is a beast! I never heard it react at all when any amount of load was added!
That's because it needs to keep a constant RPM. But that turbo sure took a jump with each load.
@@russellhltn1396 Yeah it did...every time he went up a percent mark on the data table you could hear the turbo spool up...so cool
Used to work at a place that had several large gensets,for egress lighting and to keep sewage pumps running.Biggest problem we had was that the load was only around 10/15% of genset capacity.Everyone was always complaining that the gensets smoked too much.I was engine mech,electiican were task with loading.worked there 20 years never was able to convince anyone that genset would would be more efficient at about 50% if we were running 24/7 which we did during power outages.Also had one one small genset (50KW) that was wired up so screwy that the three different legs of the load were as much as 25/30% different.
Great video, wonderful sound. Glad to see the old girl come to life. You got a good hobby.
Great Stuff Mike!! I really enjoyed it ! Interesting and educational...I found myself rooting for the Ole Cat to make the numbers.
I like how you can hear the turbo RPM increase each time the load is increased.
This exercise brings back great memories of the Electricians doing Load bank tests on the large Electric Drive haulers. I was getting a little anxious during this test as to how much fuel was left in the barrel.
Excellent job analyzing the field power requirements. Love that old CAT!
My son needs a generator for his home and server, i have been looking to learn more so i can help him decide, boy did i come to the right place. Riveting videos, thank you for being of the mind to share your skills with us.
That's a seriously impressive unit, running as sweetly as that after so many years..... and it sounds amazing too !!!
I’m amazed how quickly diesel engines got to their modern form. 1959 and the injection system and turbocharger were already similar to modern, gas engines did exist with amazing tech back then, but they weren’t nearly as refined.
that big old cat was loving that load up.. and the music it makes 😍
Watching you is better than any tech manual I ever used 😊👍👍🇺🇸
A very interesting demonstration of field and load generation! Thank you!
I haven't seen a demo like this, since my industrial controls and generation days in college.
Thank you again, sir!
I really enjoyed your video and watched all of it from one end to the other....I`m an industrial electrician and I`ve many times done this type of test on big gen-sets....Retired now but loved every year of my work....CHEERS
I agree, the old cat sounds great!
Very informative and interesting. And I absolutely enjoy the sound of that engine under load! Thanks for posting.
Great job Mike, I could have used you in my one business, you are a very experienced mechanic for your age, more so than some of my much older seasoned mechanics. !!!
Luv that CAT turbo whistle as you loaded the old girl down ... she just kept hauling into it ... bet that little drum of diesel was going down pretty quick.
Yea, she was thirsty under heavy load!
Thanks for checking it out!
Load testing CATs and Cummins is one of my favorite things! Sounds great, cant beat old iron diesels.
The air pump up on the manifold sounds amazing.
To think it was putting out a sound like that since 1959 and anybody decided to go any other route.
I dont really know whats going on, but it looks rather interesting 😊
Love that sound of the engine and turbocharger at near full load. Not much smoke, so the engine seems to be in excellent condition for it's age. Thanks a lot for making this video. Greetings from Thor in Norway.
Few people should or could do what you just did, but you were confident and capable, working very methodically towards a goal, and achieving it safely. I have the knowledge myself to do that kind of work ( but NO experience specifically, with generators) as an electrician I have built circuits up to about 1600A 400V 3P so I have a healthy respect for working with high currents. I am very curious about why most Americans use yellow press on connectors almost exclusively, can you explain that ? your transformer, rectifier, gauge board were connected with yellow connectors, but with wire significantly smaller then demanding that size, almost all You Tube videos show near exclusive use of yellow connectors, no matter what wire size, it puzzles me tremendously, in the "automobile" range there are 3 sizes Red, Blue, and Yellow (perhaps 4, sometimes I see a Black connector, of unknown size) Keep up the great work, I am looking forward to seeing more about the big CAT generator.
What kind of brilliant hard work went behind this video.
This was a fantastic video. I learned a lot. I was getting nervous as you increased the load up to 150, you could really tell that the engine was under heavy load. But, it came through "flying Colors". Quite amazing for such a old device. Thanks.
I love watching this guy troubleshoot an engine and generator. I don't know what it is about a generator that fascinating to me, but I own 6 and everyone works. Occasionally I'll fire one up just to see it strain. Burning the soot out of it like SEM says. I really like your videos, have learned much from them. Thank you.
This is one of the most interesting things I have watched. I was mesmerized the entire time. Way to go.
Those old Cat gensets were way overbuilt to take years of use and be reliable. The old D-9 powered unit I used to operate and maintain used a 60v exciter piggybacked on the main rotor. We didn't usually run it in the winter and sometimes in the spring, at startup time, it would lose exciter charge from non-use, so I would have to jump start with a 9v battery at the regulator to charge the exciter. Once it got going, you wouldn't have to do that the rest of the season. We ran that unit for 22 yrs. while I was there and I recall replacing the regulator twice, and that is about it. That unit you have there is pretty nice and sounds really good under load, which is what it needs to clean her up. You do a hell of a job with your testing and maintenance Mike!
Your clearly worded explanations are much appreciated!
Another great video, enjoyed watching you put her through her paces.
Great video. Lovely to see the Cat get loaded up; and to hear it - loved the turbo whistle each time you put another load bank on! I've never really been able to wrap my head around the electrical side of generators and how they work but it was interesting to see you go through the wiring scheme and now (I think!) I understand what an exciter is for and how it works...
That has cleared the carbon out of the old girl. 😀 I bet she's running much better now. Cat engines run best when they are loaded.
Thank you that's a great bit of video I have pulled out of a wood a cat D315 ex us milatry in its working clothes navy gray not run for over 25 years we had to empty pony motor fuel tank of water amazing we got the old girl running same day and the main engine but sadly the generator was in poorly parts missing we got all new part's from caterpillars in the States and after few weeks we got her running all original part's we dropped off the 3 phase to a single phase as per plate on the side of the genset it's now running sweet and we have had it running in a vintage show Very happy to keep there's old girls going they deserve to be kept running after service in the military. Great video well done thank you 🤠
Awesome test, so nice deep rumble from Diesel at full load and when adding load! Diesel likes that, clearing old soot and crap from exhaust and heads!!
16:41 the coal chimney made lose it :))) ah, man, that was so funny to me. Great job man, this genset is a happy puppy.
1959 and it can run that well - Sweet...
O60820/1232pst Good day to you. You are a great Diesel Master Engineer. I admire your ability to explain and exhibit revival of Caterpillar Diesel Power Station. I’m pretty sure this power station will run in full power for decades together again. I’m wondering as to why this station was decommissioned, in the first instance.
A Diesel Engine never dies, though it can be killed. I’ve seen 1939 Perkins Diesel pumps running, even now.
Thank you, very much for taking time and energy to exhibit your thorough knowledge and expertise to general public. Stay safe stay Blessed. 73s
Lawyers
That's what makes a Kitty happy! Running it on a load! The original crusher here was Cat powered. D8 or 9 pony motor start. 3-phase of course. Had a jaw, a cone, a big shaker and a bunch of belts. I got to fire it up sometimes. It was in a trailer and pitch dark till the diesel fired up at Idle. Then you got a dim light bulb. Then a warm up and rev it up. Had 2 handle starters for the cone and jaw motors. The rest were push button. The big starters had a WIRE to hold the handles back in Run position. No safety. Years ago. You did GOOD! Sweet running genset!
Graphic illustration of what an AVR does! I'll show this to my engineers thanks!
This video made my day. I appreciate the time and work you put into this video as well as the clear narration. Well done!
Great video 👍 That Cat is robust!
Could you please do a video on how to properly phase and run two smaller generators in parallel!
I use two light towers at my house for backup.
I run only one as backup in spring & fall, but in winter and summer I run the two in parallel to handle the load of two heat pumps + normal house loads. Gives great flexibility, efficiency and redundancy.
I think a lot of people would find this interesting.
How good to see someone who actually knowswhat he isdoing. Byy the way, I think that "Megger" is an Evershed and Vignoles test set. ( I worked in a cable factory for 256 years testing all cables up to 300kV
Hey @SmallEngineMechanic
Considering you used one of the phases to power excitation, your total engine load was actually higher than 150kw by about another KW, due to the field power, but also proven that you dont need a separate exciter gen.
Have you considered having a rectifier on each phase to feed a DC bus, and deriving the required excitation power from that via some sort of regulator (eg Programable DC-DC converter and a Controller) so that you dont need to install the dedicated Exciter, or at the very least only need a small one?
Having a rectifier on each phase means any phase can supply the excitation power, and any phases with lighter load on it will sit at a higher voltage and will then supply the majority of the excitation load which will help to even out phase loads if slightly out of balance.
For that matter if you used phase power, but still needed initial excitation power, you could just derive that from the Start batteries thru an Isolated DC converter, and as soon as you apply some field from this, you will start getting power from the phases, and self excitation will sustain at that point.
@KSSilenceAU I don't see the need for the dedicated Exciter - when @SmallEngineRepair has already proven this setup, in this video, already produces power.
Yes... like he said. :)
The most interesting vid ive seen on youtube in a long time, basically 40 minutes of an old cat purring like a kitten. Nice job testing an old unit in a safe environment
That was an awesome job bringing the old girl up to test load, good job.
Thank you for taking the time to make such an informative interesting and downright professionally edited UA-cam video, thank you for sharing your knowledge superb job. I appreciate your time and effort
I learned something new today from you
For a small shop, you sure have some equipment worth a lot. You must have had a father that handed it down or built up your tools of the trade slowly because if you would get set up all at once, that would set you back a small fortune for a start-up business. I am impressed. Your not afraid of work and you will go a long way with your skill. God bless you and your business.
I dont know half of the things hes talking about but it sure sounds like he knows what hes doing. Subscribed.
Absolutely love the sound of that ol cat my rock quarry runs a d353 unit witch is a d9 engine I'd swear you could run new York city of that thing awesome video
“Droop is a fact of life”-I’d buy that shirt or hat. Great video and learning experience!
HOA must love you haha.. btw that engine sounds AMAZING. Could hear this all day. Great machine.
The megger readings were probably lowered a bit by moisture in the winding insulation. You probably didn't run it long enough to get the alternator hot enough to dry it out, but it'd be interesting to megger it again before and after you run it next time.
Great test of fine old equipment.
Shoutout from TAT Express out of Hutchins, TX
Was testing an 800kw set once. Did a stepped up test like this, but near the top we could never get full power. After hours of head scratching by the higher ups, I realized that we were a bit low on fuel. The return fuel had gotten really hot, which then got circulated, and got even hotter. With the lower density of the screaming hot fuel, it just didn’t have the energy. We added a couple hundred litres of cool fuel... and we got full output!
What a beast! Loved the video, so wonderful to see a young person with knowledge and skill. 400 amps! Yahoo! I bet you don't need to worry about the power going out at your house. 8^)
Gotta love the Stainless Steel graph paper...
Nice to see the quality of the build. Thanks for the complete run through.
That's pretty impressive for such an old piece of equipment. She sounded pretty happy.
It sounds SO much better after a good beating.
Delicious... That big 6 cylinder engine didnt even flinch. The heat dissipated by those load banks would have been impressive.
Well I can definitely say I don't know a damn thing about electric or generators but that's why I was trying to watch I really love those cat diesels that baby was purring right away and the best sound was when you let it down and I can hear that whining just love it just love it and from what I got from the video the generator is a good generator so great video thank you so much you stay safe stay well and as always God bless
Great video. Amazing to see that old beast still putting out!
Amazing video. That motor didn't even break a sweat!
I really enjoy seeing the older generators holding up well.Wish I knew you when I lived in Jersey, it would have been great learning from you.
Great demonstration, logically designed for easy understanding. Well done!
Wow !!!!! Can't believe just how well that Old Cat runs .... Thanks for a Brilliant Informative vidclip ..... Cheers from NZ
Thanks for sharing mike. Engine seems to be running strong and the Generator seems to be making good power. Love the old cats. They hard to beat. Here kitty kitty. LOL
Great fun watching you bring it back to life and testing it out :-) Happy 4th.
Beautiful sound! Gotta love watching her work!