All Systems Go
by Jake on Jun.10, 2006, under Other Projects
I’m finally able to get up and about again (whew!) – I’ll be seeing someone about that siatic nerve thing next week but for now, that’s behind me. There’s good news with the generator as well. I installed the new Flight System’s voltage regulator (they claim to have a heavier duty version of the factory Onan part) and everything runs great again. It turns out that the voltage regulator is a pretty high-tech and sensitive piece inside these generators. During start-up, it steps up and applies 18V to the field to get the current flowing the correct direction, then it constantly monitors the output AC of the generator and modifies the field voltage to keep it stabilized. Apparently the original Onan regulator suffered from some sort of “startup failure” that this Flight Systems regulator protects against…that’s probably what got me when I was relentlessly trying to get it to start during the ice storm we had last winter. This new regulator is also filled with a gel instead of epoxy and they claim that it is repairable – another plus. At any rate, I need to tweak the govenor slightly so that the frequency the generator is outputing drops about 3Hz to keep the governor stable (keeps it from looping or “hunting”). I also need to understand a little more about fine tuning the carburetor so I’m sure to get the best efficiency out of it – I’ll be buying one of the factory service manuals to make sure I’m turning the right screws this time. As for the other carburetor, It’s a pretty simple device, I’ll be cleaning it up to keep as a backup in the future since this thing tends to sit from time to time. The Team Seacats “Sailing Shack” is now ready for some summer nights with the A/C running.
Originally uploaded by Team Seacats.
PS – we’ve just discussed making a major refit to the interior – on the overcab (over the driver/passenger front seats) we currently have large cabinets and a 19″ TV…we’ve decided to strip this out and convert the overcab for a bed – maybe putting in a flat panel tv later. This will allow us more sleeping space – as usual, we’ll keep it real here.
