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Trouble starting my new generator… any recommendations?


acdbox

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Hello,

I am attempting to start my new silent 6kw generator for the first time, but am haveing difficulty. I have done my best to read the Chinese brands instructions, but haven’t got far. 
so far I’ve put oil in the engine, diesel in the engine connected the battery. When the ignition is turned, the engine try’s to turn over but fails.

I want to attempt to bleed the engine for bubbles in the tank, but am unsure as to which nut it is to turn, could you maybe highlight to me which one it is as a starting point please? Thank you

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Tries to turn but fails suggest a flat generator battery to me or undersized wiring between the battery and starter. What is the voltage at the battery terminals when trying to crank, ditto the starter terminals.

 

I can't see enough of the engine to advise on bleeding, it might be supposedly self bleeding. I would need to see the lift pump, filter and injection put with associated pipes to even start to advise. Maybe a make and model might help us find it on the net.

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Hello all, thank you for your input so far. Ok, so springy, yes; it turns over but does not start. I apologise I’m not clued up on engines and even less so with terminology.

 

the battery is brand new, but has sat not used since purchase last year.

 

tony brooks, it’s a bass sg8000, a Chinese brand I believe, but I think it’s my ignorance vs a poorly written manual… at least for newbies.

 

I can send more pics or answer more questions if needed to help isolate the problem.

 

andreas

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10 minutes ago, acdbox said:

Hello all, thank you for your input so far. Ok, so springy, yes; it turns over but does not start. I apologise I’m not clued up on engines and even less so with terminology.

 

the battery is brand new, but has sat not used since purchase last year.

 

tony brooks, it’s a bass sg8000, a Chinese brand I believe, but I think it’s my ignorance vs a poorly written manual… at least for newbies.

 

I can send more pics or answer more questions if needed to help isolate the problem.

 

andreas

Batteries don't hold their charge for that long - and it may not have enough oomph (technical term) to turn over the engine fast enough / strongly enough for it to start.

Do you have any means of charging the battery??

 

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8 minutes ago, acdbox said:

Hello all, thank you for your input so far. Ok, so springy, yes; it turns over but does not start. I apologise I’m not clued up on engines and even less so with terminology.

 

the battery is brand new, but has sat not used since purchase last year.

 

tony brooks, it’s a bass sg8000, a Chinese brand I believe, but I think it’s my ignorance vs a poorly written manual… at least for newbies.

 

I can send more pics or answer more questions if needed to help isolate the problem.

 

andreas

 

 

A battery that has sat for a year will have self discharged and will be 'flat'. You need to pout it on charge (probably for 12 hours +) and then try again.

 

Those are not by any stretch of the imagination 'silent' generators,.

 

Have you read the feedback on them ?

To bleed the system you need to disconnect the fuel line and suck the fuel thru and quickly replace the pipe.There is no bleed nipple / bleed point.

 

One example of feedback :

 

 

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 October 2020

Verified Purchase
would like warn anyone buying this product do not. I purchased it in August last year and deait has stopped working .I had it checked out by a engineer and he said its gobbed there is no electrical activity even though the battery is fully charged and still relatively new.Its supposed to be silent that couldn't be further from the truth its so loud and has rattled so much the casing that has the air filter in has sheared off.I am now going to have to replace it and am left fuming and upset this was a waste of hard earned money.
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So it looks like an enclosed portable site generator purchased from Ebay or similar so good luck with product support.

 

I have not managed to find a manual online so I think we need photos of the parts I have listed or of such instructions as you have.

 

It is listed as having low oil level protection so make sure the oil is dead on the maximum mark, otherwise it may not start.

 

As you have been told a one-year old left standing battery has probably had it, can you try jumping it off your boat batteries?

Edited by Tony Brooks
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4 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

So it looks like an enclosed portable site generator purchased from Ebay or similar so good luck with product support.

 

I have not managed to find a manual online so I think we need photos of the parts I have listed or of such instructions as you have.

 

It is listed as having low oil level protection so make sure the oil is dead on the maximum mark, otherwise it may not start.

 

 

 


Amazon were selling them but they are now withdrawn

 


image.jpeg.7ee7d66bdb7e8b51380445fc122dec81.jpeg

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7 hours ago, acdbox said:

 

it’s a bass sg8000, a Chinese brand I believe, 

 

Sorry to say this, but that's likely to be the problem. Why do people buy unsuitable cheap generators that nobody has ever heard of? Most people wouldn't dream of buying an unknown potentially substandard brand of engine for their boat, but for some reason that's par for the course when it comes to generators.

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I have an older generator with what looks like the same engine (chinese no-name copy of the yanmar L100).

 

red lever should be pushed to the right (it will click into position) then it should fire straight up on battery

 

if like mine you don't or cant use electric start then you will need to find the decompressor lever (usually above your picture)

pull the pull start gently until compression stops you

put the decompressor lever down

pull on the pull start and it should go

 

to stop the generator push the little red tab down to the right of the red lever (the red lever will drop back and the engine will die)

 

if you still can't get it to go follow the fuel line though, if there is nothing after the injector pump (the black bit just above your red lever) you may have the same problem as I had (detailed here) 

Edited by Jess--
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It's a Yanmar L100 copy, the lever is in the run position, the smaller lever above the oil filler is the stop lever. 

 

If it turns over and won't start with the lever in the run position and the decompressor lever not in operation there is no fuel. 

 

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.winget.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/YANMAR-L40-L100-SERIES-WORKSHOP-MANUAL.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiYjNmJ5bzxAhVeQUEAHVKQA8YQFjAAegQIBBAC&usg=AOvVaw3SwuWCyJFmIXBhfhwGMsU6

 

 

It's more likely 5.2 kw / 6 kva.

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23 hours ago, acdbox said:

I am attempting to start my new silent 6kw generator for the first time, but am haveing difficulty.

 

 

Just as a side question - How heavy is this Generator ?

 

Are you going to be lifting it on and off the boat when using it ?

 

It is not a good idea (in fact a bad idea) to run the generator on board the boat as the exhaust fumes can get inside the boat, build up and kill you.

The generator should be lifted off onto the bankside and placed downwind of your boat so the fumes do not blow back into your boat.

 

A couple of years ago a qualified Gas engineer / fitter tried to adapt the exhaust on his generator so he could use it onboard his boat.

The end of the story was that the exhaust fumes an CO killed his wife and daughter, he also almost died.

 

From the Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) website :

 

These are the core points that should never be forgotten.

  • Never install a portable generator permanently or make unauthorised modifications that are not supported by the manufacturer, or proprietary component supplier.
  • Never run generators on the boat, or on the bank near to doors, vents, windows and hatches. If you can smell exhaust fumes in the boat, it could mean the cabin is also filling with deadly carbon monoxide.

More details about generators on boats here :

 

Generator Safety | Boat Safety Scheme | Go Boating - Stay Safe

 

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Just now, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

Just as a side question - How heavy is this Generator ?

 

Are you going to be lifting it on and off the boat when using it ?

 

It is not a good idea (in fact a bad idea) to run the generator on board the boat as the exhaust fumes can get inside the boat, build up and kill you.

The generator should be lifted off onto the bankside and placed downwind of your boat so the fumes do not blow back into your boat.

 

A couple of years ago a qualified Gas engineer / fitter tried to adapt the exhaust on his generator so he could use it onboard his boat.

The end of the story was that the exhaust fumes an CO killed his wife and daughter, he also almost died.

 

From the Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) website :

 

These are the core points that should never be forgotten.

  • Never install a portable generator permanently or make unauthorised modifications that are not supported by the manufacturer, or proprietary component supplier.
  • Never run generators on the boat, or on the bank near to doors, vents, windows and hatches. If you can smell exhaust fumes in the boat, it could mean the cabin is also filling with deadly carbon monoxide.

More details about generators on boats here :

 

Generator Safety | Boat Safety Scheme | Go Boating - Stay Safe

 

no fear about carbon monoxide. it do not start

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2 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

I have found that diesel exhaust does not produce enough CO to set of an alarm.

 

You are correct, but it will settle in the bilges and is cumulative (admittedly Petrol is a far worse generator of CO)

 

Are boats in London required to fit CO alarms ?

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2 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

A couple of years ago a qualified Gas engineer / fitter tried to adapt the exhaust on his generator so he could use it onboard his boat.

The end of the story was that the exhaust fumes an CO killed his wife and daughter, he also almost died.

 

More than a couple of years ago. The accident happened on 1 April 2013. And she was his girlfriend, not his wife, and it was someone else's daughter he killed. He was later convicted of manslaughter.

Edited by David Mack
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20 minutes ago, David Mack said:

 

More than a couple of years ago. The accident happened on 1 April 2013. And she was his girlfriend, not his wife, and it was someone else's daughter he killed.

 

 

Time goes so quickly and the brain starts to fade, I should have re-read the MAIB report 

 

The woman was his partner & was the childs mother

 

The owner was accompanied by his partner Kelly Webster and Kelly’s 10 year old daughter, Lauren Thornton

 

On Monday 1 April 2013, the emergency services attended the motor cruiser Arniston on Windermere, Cumbria, where a mother and her daughter had been found unconscious. The two females were taken by air ambulance to Lancaster Royal Infirmary where they were pronounced deceased. A postmortem concluded that the cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning.................................

 

 

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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