[AT] OT - Old generator blowing smoke

[Steve W.]

charlie hill wrote:
> Steve, your reply (at the bottom for readers not following) makes sense.
> I was wondering if there was some sort of metering or check valve that
> might be malfunctioning causing it to over fill the base.  You're saying 
> that
> it uses the seal on the cap to control flow from the reserve tank to the
> engine.  That is an elegantly simple way to control the flow and if it flows
> too much oil into the engine the excess is going to get sucked into the
> combustion chamber and burned causing smoke.
> 
> Charlie
> 

Yep it works a lot like an automatic pet waterer that uses a sealed 
bottle to top off the bowl. I have one in the other room that uses soda 
bottles. Works great to keep the animals bowl full.

In the oiler as long as the oil is above the level of the hose going 
into the crankcase there is no flow. As soon as the oil level drops 
below that, oil flows to fill it back up. The inline valve acts like PCV 
valve. It lets the oil flow into the engine but hold the pressure away 
from the tank.

One thing to watch for, Don't tip the engine away from the oil 
reservoir. It will think the engine is low on oil and try to dump 
whatever is below the valve into the crankcase.


> -----Original Message----- 
> From: Steve W.
> Sent: Saturday, September 24, 2016 8:23 PM
> To: Antique tractor email discussion group
> Subject: Re: [AT] OT - Old generator blowing smoke
> 
>> On 9/23/2016 9:59 PM, Scott Williams wrote:
>>> This isn't exactly on topic, but I've been working on an old generator I 
>>> got
>>> at an auction.  It's a Dayton Professional Brushless Generator from 1988, 
>>> it
>>> has a Briggs & Stratton 16HP I/C (Industrial/Commercial) engine, cast 
>>> iron
>>> bore (model 326437, type 0782-01 code 88102514) "9000 Volt Amps Max, 7200
>>> Watts Rated".  The engine has a tank on it that holds oil, and it keeps 
>>> the
>>> sump full somehow, and if it runs out, the engine won't run.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I was having trouble getting a spark until the 'lightbulb' went on (in my
>>> brain, that is) and I topped up the oil tank.  Instant spark (after a lot 
>>> of
>>> pull-rope wrapping and pulling, huffing and puffing.)  I had already 
>>> cleaned
>>> the varnish out of the carb, so I was able to get it to run a little, but
>>> not much, it would die when I took off the choke.  I came back the next 
>>> day,
>>> after charging the starting battery up, and got it running again easily -
>>> BUT - geez, was this suddenly a smoke machine!  Total fog bank!!  When I
>>> realized it wasn't going to clear out on its own, I shut it down, then 
>>> had
>>> to wait for about 10 minutes as I watched smoke roll up and out of my old
>>> garage door.  This is on the house that burned 2 years ago, and that 
>>> smoke
>>> was like a bad flashback.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I can only suppose that somehow, there's  a vacuum line or something 
>>> sucking
>>> oil into the carburetor.  However, I have only seen a couple pictures 
>>> other
>>> B&S engines with the oil tank (both on this same model generator,) and I
>>> haven't seen any manuals showing them.  Where can I learn about this 
>>> system?
>>> I assume the "type" of the engine includes this feature, but I've not 
>>> found
>>> any info at all about the "type" codes.  If I just  knew what the tank or
>>> the system was called, I'd be able to do a search.  It's too dark out 
>>> there
>>> to get a picture of mine now, but these pics show the generator I have.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> TRACTOR CONTENT: I still haven't tried patching my old radiator on the
>>> MF135.  We don't have any outside faucets on the new house yet (plumbers 
>>> are
>>> still here every day, who knows when this will be a priority for them.) 
>>> and
>>> I need to clean off the radiator before I can work on it.  Planning to 
>>> try
>>> JB Weld before I order a new one.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Scott in Penfield NY
>>>
> 
> Looks like the cap on the tank is the wrong one and isn't sealing. They
> need the tank to be sealed or they will dump extra oil into the engine
> and cause it to smoke.
> 
> That valve in the line serves as the control for the oil level.


-- 
Steve W.