so i dont really know too much about gensets .... i got that there is an engine, and an alternator right behind it that converts mechanical energy into electricity or i guess kilowatts.... the brands i really know are sdmo, cat, volvo, maybe perkins or Detroit diesel, and for the alternator i heard the name leeroy somers . can someone tell me some popular engines, and more importantly the most popular alternators that generators use. and am i right that generators convert mechanical energy into electricity? or am i missing something if someone can help me out that would be great
That's the gist of it. The controls are just as important as engine and alternator (generators are technically DC, but lets not get technical) The generator manufacturer typically makes the alternator and assembles the "whole works" and sometimes uses different makes of engines for different models, so any engine can be found in generators somewhere, deere, cummins, isuzu, tecumseh... Go over to smokstak, more than you'll ever want to know about generators.
thanks for the help by the way, you from the west indies ?
American state of WIsconsin.
You have listed some larger diesel generators. Smaller ones seem to be Isuzu, Kubota, John Deere powered. Then there are gaseous fueled ones which the smaller ones generally use small car engines repurposed for propane/natural gas and the larger ones use modified diesel engines, but there are exceptions to this in both ways. Gen ends made by Stamford/Newage, Marathon, Mecc Alte, Kato, Denyo, Katolight, and some others. The main thing to remember is that no two gensets seem to be alike or even similar. Any combination of engine seems to be used with any combination of generator end, and the electronics and controls are made to match. You will always be having something new thrown at you. Other things to remember: the generator is a synchronous machine and a 2 pole gen will run 3600 RPM, 4 pole 1800, and 6 pole 1200 RPM. (Divide by 1.2 for 50 Hz countries) This translates exactly to the frequency you are reading on your meter and it is fairly critical for customer electronics to run as close as possible to the target frequency within the limitations of the engine governor system. Another thing to know is that the main stator is the part that is stationary and is hooked to the load breakers and has a few other auxiliary wires but not many. It produces the AC that your loads are connected to. The main rotor/field/whatever you call it supplies the necessary rotating magnetic field from engine motion to produce current in the stator and it does this by consuming DC that is made for it either by the voltage regulator (a little piece of electronics tucked away somewhere) or it has another, smaller, generator on the same shaft as the big one that is fed power by the voltage regulator and makes power for the main field by way of some rotating diodes mounted on the shaft between the two generators. The more power out, the harder the engine works, but speed is always more or less the same. That is 101 in a nut shell, I think....
damn that was well put :thumbsup thank you but tell me what do you mean by 4 pole, 6 pole , and 2 pole
Rotors are like magnets but they are electromagnets. If you have 1 magnet it has 2 ends. 2 magnets have 4 ends and 3 magnets have 6 ends. Any number is possible, but 2 pole is small high speed generators, 4 pole up to several hundred kilowatts and 6 pole some older Detroit Diesel and who knows what else. 2 and 4 pole rotors: 6 pole rotor: Page that teaches about them: http://www.fastonline.org/CD3WD_40/CD3WD/ELECTRIC/GTZ021E/EN/B309_6.HTM
ok i got you know....... and thank you again, you really helped me out here
Not trying really to revive an old thread but if anybody wants it I have a bunch of Generator training materials.
hell yea i dont mind at all, the more info the better. how would you like to send them?
PM me your email and I'll send you what I have.