Kohler Command pro generator woes

Somewhere between the motor rewinders and your sparky or maybe both dont know $hit from yellow clay as my father inlaw would of said

Regulator isnt regulating, what would I know after doing this stuff for decades

Anyway, not a lot more to add from this silly bugger

Hope it sorts itself

Paul

No better he tells me, still varing berween
150 and 250 volts since hand throttle added!

Dave, forget worrying about the voltage at this stage. The engine has to hold a steady 3000 rpm on the governor at any load. Get that right first and then explore the electrical issue.

Doesn't sound like the spary knew what he was doing other than charging you too much to NOT fix the problem. A new carby might fix the problem and hopefully it does. As for the governor, go to YouTube and see how to set the governor on your average 4 stroke mower engine and do the same. Firstly test that there is spring tension on it and that it does pull it back to position.
Can't think how I've done some a long time back but from my fadinng memory with the throttle at idle and engine stopped the governor arm should be at full throttle. Once it starts then it should return to idle IF not under load.

Just one crazy idea, is the alternator slightly loose on the crank shaft?

Remove the spark plug and thread some window sash rope down the hole. The piston will jam up against it. Then tighten the alternator bolt. The alternator is tapered. Not keyed.

I know SFA about the generator/ alternator side of tis unit!
Wouldnt even know where to look for the regulator!
All you can do is send it to a so called expert, going by what you blokes are saying, this "expert"
may leave a bit to be desired!
With a fixed throttle instead of a govenor installed, I thought it would have been easier to control output voltage!
Dave_64

I have tried to explain this before

All you need to worry about with speed is frequency, were in Australia so it should be 50 hz

Revs control the frequency

Regulator controls the voltage

The governor controls what happens when current is drawn

So when Mum plug her curling iron in and switch it on, current then flows

The governor then tries it's best to keep the revs correct to maintain the frequency,the current drawn from Mums curling iron causes the motor to labour, the governor senses this and opens the carby a little, as speed recovers the frequency returns to normal and all is

The regulators job doesn't change, 240 volts and will stop it going above 240

So I think you need to sort the grain from chaff and start at the start

Whether carby is crook or not wont make much difference

If it gets a bit blocked in the carby, the governor will pull it open to try and maintain the revs
The regulator will still try and keep the voltage at 240

So Dad wakes up, puts the kettel on the current flow increases along with the demand for more power
The governor opens the carby up further and the motor picks up speed to maintain the frequency

Mums finished her hair and switches the curling iron off, current flow decrease so the governor closes the carby until revs are correct for the frequency

Kids plug their i phones into charge current increases, governor opens
Kettles done its job, current drops right off, the governor closes the carby a lot

This whole time the alternator should be doing its best to run at a constant speed (revs) to maintain the frequency 50 hz, this is very important for a few reasons

Voltage regulator should be constant at 240 volts

A capacitor is like a battery and will absorb spikes and dispate them slowly
I am guessing without ever seeing your generator the purpose of the capacitors purpose here are to smooth the power out, that is a guess only as I haven't seen any of this

Dunno if this of any help or not

Maybe check the regulator is grounded properly
Maybe check its connections, if the connections are crap it wont be able to reference anything to base the voltage on and will be all over joint chasing its tail

You will need to find a frequency meter now to set the governor again

Frequency is critical to safe operation

Good luck

Keep us posted

Paul

jon_d wrote:

Just one crazy idea, is the alternator slightly loose on the crank shaft?

Remove the spark plug and thread some window sash rope down the hole. The piston will jam up against it. Then tighten the alternator bolt. The alternator is tapered. Not keyed.

But make sure it is on compression stroke otherwise a bent valve can happen.

With a fixed throttle instead of a govenor installed, I thought it would have been easier to control output voltage!

Absolutely not. It has to run at 3000 rpm. Everything is balanced because they don't have a traditional regulator that controls the field.

As an FYI, I used to import these types of generators, pumps and welders etc from China in the early 2000's.

I still have a brand new 200Amp DC welder/5.4kw generator for a very, very good price if anyone want is. Melb only.


Just some more; re:

Absolutely not. It has to run at 3000 rpm

Please note that the inverter style generators which are usually contained in a plastic case do operate at different revs and the inverter inside the case generates 240V 50hz.

jon_d

Private message sent.
Dave_64

Dave,

I sent a message to your phone about dates and times. Did you receive it?

JD