Which of these three generators do you like the best comparison

Chainbreaker said:

...There is an inconsistency though, if I am reading the Kubota Spec Sheet on the V3300 engine correctly. On the spec sheet Coug supplied it states: "Stable, predictable power. A unique fly-ball governor system stabilizes and regulates energy output for safe, predictable performance."

However, Abraham's spec's state: "Electronic Governor Mfg. by Precision Governors".

Perhaps Cummins somehow went with an electronic governor, or is that a typo?

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maniatopoulosg said:

I would probably go with the one that you can get parts the easiest for


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Coug said:

Both Kohler and Cummins have worldwide parts distribution, as do John Deere and Kubota, so likely a toss up either way.


Nearby there is a dealer/distributor that covers both Kohler and Cummins generators that claim to have trained and certified techs. This is for marine application, but there isn't going to be much difference between marine use and prime power, so they should be good for both parts and service if they make house calls.
Might give them a call first, see if they do send techs out and if they will do on site repairs, or if you'd have to take it in to them for repair.

https://www.noonsite.com/business/todomar-albornoz/

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Chainbreaker said:

I would call Abraham Generator Sales first thing Monday morning and ask them the mfg's projected fuel burn rates for the gensets you are interested in at various loads...1/4, 1/2, 3/4, & 100%. That should get you in the ballpark of what to expect on fuel consumption. I can certainly understand that fuel consumption on an island is of paramount importance. I think the suggestion of trying to use solar for some of your needs is a long term goal to consider.

My experiences with turbo's on gas engines in cars is that they tend increase fuel burn. But that may be due to lead footing it in turbo'd cars. One of my cars is a bi-turbo V6 2.7L S4 Audi and no matter how conservative I try to drive, its gas mileage is not great. On the other hand, I have a 5.9L Turbo Cummins Ram HD truck and it does OK fuel wise especially when loaded & towing considering the weight factor weight. But that's apples & oranges comparing gas to diesel turbo's. To me if the engine is smaller (less pistons & displacement) and boosted via turbo each cylinder is doing more work as compared to a normally aspirated engine with more cylinders. But there is drag and rotating mass to take into consideration. The fuel burn rate projections supplied by mfg's should sort this out though.

Now regarding complexity and failure points... a turbo'd engine typically has more complexity/parts to fail vs a normally aspirated engine. Turbo bearings failures, oil seals failing allowing oil into intake air, coking of oil if right oil is not used & shutdown too hot are some of the potential issues that could be encountered in a turbo'd engine. If a turbo'd engine is not run with enough load it does not get hot enough you run the risk of wet stacking.

As far as the 25 kw normally aspirated Kubota, if it was broken in right and you use a good quality synthetic oil (Rotella T6 full synthetic, etc.) it should run a very very long time. The Japanese do a really good job of engineering and putting their engines together right.

Anyway, these are just my opinions for what its worth...I'm not a diesel mechanic or engine builder and don't have any experience using any of the generators you are considering.

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simp5782 said:

You might see about one of the military seabox units. They sold a good many off awhile back. Big diesel/electric freezer

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Chainbreaker said:

If fuel consumption is a driving factor here is another generator to consider from Hardy Diesel. BTW, Hardy Diesel website has been up for me.

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Chainbreaker said:

Never mind, I see that on this generator it has the "Power Command 1.1" installed as an option. Also, if you were to ever fry the governor control board it is showing up on eBay as a $1,800 board for replacement.

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Philratcliffe said:

...Are turbo engines more prone to wet stacking?

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Chainbreaker said:

All diesel engines are prone to wet stacking over time if not run with enough load. However, since a turbo-diesel has the turbine down stream of the exhaust, the exhaust side of turbine blades are subject to the unburned fuel slobber coating them and making them less effective. So its especially important on a turbo-diesel to routinely run in the 50 - 75% load range to prevent that from occurring. That's why on water cooled diesels you see thermal insulation jackets installed on diesel exhaust manifolds in order to retain heat.

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Philratcliffe said:

Thanks so much for that explanation. Let me ask you a Q. Since the kohler I plan to by is a 30kw standbuy gen it’s actually only a 27kw continuos power correct so should I figure 50% load @ 1/2 of 27kw?
I think I will be @ 21-25kw load in the day time and will run my 005 at night at about 34kw

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Chainbreaker said:

Yes, if you can maintain a fairly continuous load in the 50% range of continuous power rating, since that is how you are running during day, I would think it should do fine. I've read that the low end threshold is 30% & ideal is 70%. So 50% should do no harm, however you may want to load it up to 100% load every now & then (perhaps monthly) for a couple hours to ensure any deposits get burned off.

If you have an IR Temp gun you can take readings after genset has thermally stabilized at various loads & locations...exhaust manifold, hot side of turbo, individual cylinder heads, etc. Ideally you can then establish & record a set of reference baseline readings under various loads. Then if you suspect something is amiss down the road it would be good to have those readings on hand to help troubleshoot problems...fouled injectors, low cylinder compression, valve timing, etc. The more information you accumulate now, the better.

BTW, I always run synthetic oil on any engine that has a turbo on it. As much as you run your fleet of gensets you should look into bulk purchase of 55 gallon drums of a HD synthetic diesel oil if you can find a way to have it shipped in.

HERE is a good article on wet stacking.

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Philratcliffe said:

Do you think I should wrap the exhaust manifold on the 30kw kohler to help it not wet stack at 50% loads and don’t turbos like the air pushing them as hot as possible?

If the engineers did their job & its OEM spec'd without exhaust wrap/blanket you should not have to in your climate. If you were running in an arctic climate it would be a different matter. If you don't see any evidence of wet stacking you should run it the way it is.

Will running it at 99 percent continuously lead to an early demise?

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