Powerline 10/1 Smoking

[Listerational]

Hello and Merry Christmas,

I ran my Powerline 10/1 for about 10-minutes, turned it off for about 10-minutes and then ran it again however the second time I ran it it started smoking profusely. I could not see too much because it is in the garage and visibility was quite poor but I did notice quite a bit of smoke coming from the air filter. After shutting it down I took the cover off of the air filter and the filter is black and there appears to be a ring of some sort of crud around the top of it.
I put some oil in it before starting it the first time but it ran fine the first time. It only started smoking the second time. I am wondering if the muffler system got full of oil from the exhaust the first time run and then during the 10-minute rest the oil drained back down into the manifold and then flowed into the intake manifold somehow. I have a 2" diameter by 6" long pipe nipple at the bottom of the muffler to catch stuff like this though. The generator sounded like it was running pretty good but just smoking.
Could someone share their thoughts with me on this issue?

Thanks,
Jim

[Thob]

Is there any possibility that it was running backwards the second time?  It has happened before!

[Listerational]

I started it up again and it's not smoking. If I can come up with an explanation I will definitely post the findings.

Thanks,

Jim

[Listerational]

Is there any possibility that it was running backwards the second time?  It has happened before!

I crank it by hand and it only goes one way. I have a valve on the top of my muffler stack and it was open. I do not know how it could have been running backwards. Sounds like an interesting idea though. The ACA appears to be running backwards :}

[millman56]

  Hi Jim,    maybe the  injector needle was sticking up off its seat during the second run, the filter  may black due to sucking smokey air in.   Are you coughing black crud up?   

Mark.

[Thob]

Which side of the air filter was black?  The side towards the engine, or the side away from it?

[Listerational]

Which side of the air filter was black?  The side towards the engine, or the side away from it?

It appears that both sides are black. Also the filter had a foam prefilter around it and it was completely burnt up. The person at the auto parts store seemed to theorize that the engine may have backfired and caught the prefilter on fire.

Thanks to all for the good input.

Jim

[Listerational]

Which side of the air filter was black?  The side towards the engine, or the side away from it?

It appears that both sides are black. Also the filter had a foam prefilter around it and it was completely burnt up. The person at the auto parts store seemed to theorize that the engine may have backfired and caught the prefilter on fire.

Thanks to all for the good input.

Jim

I was wondering if I damaged anything while running it with the prefilter on fire. Also, Does anyone know of a smoke and CO detector that includes a set of open contacts that I can tie into an automatic shutoff on the generator?

Thanks,

Jim

[dieselgman]

I used to install alarm systems and we used several brands of hard-wired 120vac smoke sensors that had the sensor contacts for triggering the main control. I don't recall any specific brand names or models though. That should be very easy and commonly available. A good idea if you can get a unit that does not false-alarm in your application and environment.

dieselgman

[Listerational]

I used to install alarm systems and we used several brands of hard-wired 120vac smoke sensors that had the sensor contacts for triggering the main control. I don't recall any specific brand names or models though. That should be very easy and commonly available. A good idea if you can get a unit that does not false-alarm in your application and environment.

dieselgman

Hello dieselgman,

I found this on the Home Depot website. It appears to be exactly what I need. I am going to order it now. I think that I am going to find a solenoid that will pull up the lever on the generator which in turn will turn off the generator. When the smoke detector detects smoke it will engage the solenoid.

Thanks,

Jim

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Gentex-Hardwired-Interconnected-Photoelectric-Smoke-Alarm-with-Battery-Backup-and-Relay-Contacts-9123F/202934194#

[buickanddeere]

 A diesel running backwards and blowing exhaust out the intake is not uncommon.
 I was tractors pulling and was a 1/4 second too late on the clutch before stalling. The diesel kicked back over running backwards. Oil was blown from the oil bath aircleaner all over myself in front of the crowd .

[Listerational]

I have noticed just today how easy it would be to reverse itself.

[ronmar]

Have you checked your valve lash and cam timing?  It could be it is simply a matter of leakback thru the intake.  What kind of load do you have on the engine?

[Listerational]

About 3,000 watts of resistance load from 2 - 1500watt space heaters. I have not checked those two yet. I will have to study this.
Thanks,

[Listerational]

I've got the 7.5kw generator breaking in under a 3 - hour,  5,000watt load. Currently the small radiator overflow tank is filling up quickly (16 - ounces in about 20-minutes). Is it ok to shut the generator down before the three hours is up in order to drain the radiator overflow tank? Do I have to put the fluid back into the system or can it just wait until the three hours are up?

Thank you,

Jim