I have a retired Bell System generator set installed as a whole house generator. The spec # is KS20523 L-1 8 11.
It is manual start / manual transfer with a DD353 operating at 1,800 RPM. It does not have a block heater.
It has a 12 lead generator presently set up in a parallel Wye for 120/208v 3 phase power.
I am using it for single phase 120/208v and hope I am not hurting anything by having an imbalance condition with no load on L3. I'm also hoping that my 240v appliances don't kick about operating at 208v. I would prefer single phase 120/240v. I realize that either way, the usable output is then only 20 kva, but that is plenty for my needs.
I believe that I could rewire the generator output leads into a double Delta for 120/240v but some of the leads are presently monitored for control / instrumentation and I don't want to mess anything up. Is there anything I should know or avoid before making this wiring change?
Also, the operating instructions say to lower the speed to 58 cycles during cool down before shutting the engine down.
This means that I am starting a cold engine at 1,740 RPM. It seems to work fine and has probably been started this way for its entire life (50+) years, but it is always in the back of my mind that it would be better to slow the engine much more, so that it starts at a much lower speed when cold on the next run.
I don't have a tach, but I do have a frequency meter. At some point while lowering the engine speed, the meter shows 60 cycles again (maybe 900 rpm? I'm not sure). Would anything concerning the generator itself be adversely affected by lowering the engine speed during cool down and then starting the engine at the lower speed. I would not transfer the load until the engine is warmed up and brought up to 1800 rpm, but I don't know what, if anything, detrimental may happen to the excitation or output voltage during these times below 1800 rpm. Also I don't know what the optimal starting rpm should be, maybe that point where it shows 60 cycles again on the meter?
Thanks for any help. Info on these old sets is hard to come by and actually finding someone with hands-on experience is even more difficult.
It is manual start / manual transfer with a DD353 operating at 1,800 RPM. It does not have a block heater.
It has a 12 lead generator presently set up in a parallel Wye for 120/208v 3 phase power.
I am using it for single phase 120/208v and hope I am not hurting anything by having an imbalance condition with no load on L3. I'm also hoping that my 240v appliances don't kick about operating at 208v. I would prefer single phase 120/240v. I realize that either way, the usable output is then only 20 kva, but that is plenty for my needs.
I believe that I could rewire the generator output leads into a double Delta for 120/240v but some of the leads are presently monitored for control / instrumentation and I don't want to mess anything up. Is there anything I should know or avoid before making this wiring change?
Also, the operating instructions say to lower the speed to 58 cycles during cool down before shutting the engine down.
This means that I am starting a cold engine at 1,740 RPM. It seems to work fine and has probably been started this way for its entire life (50+) years, but it is always in the back of my mind that it would be better to slow the engine much more, so that it starts at a much lower speed when cold on the next run.
I don't have a tach, but I do have a frequency meter. At some point while lowering the engine speed, the meter shows 60 cycles again (maybe 900 rpm? I'm not sure). Would anything concerning the generator itself be adversely affected by lowering the engine speed during cool down and then starting the engine at the lower speed. I would not transfer the load until the engine is warmed up and brought up to 1800 rpm, but I don't know what, if anything, detrimental may happen to the excitation or output voltage during these times below 1800 rpm. Also I don't know what the optimal starting rpm should be, maybe that point where it shows 60 cycles again on the meter?
Thanks for any help. Info on these old sets is hard to come by and actually finding someone with hands-on experience is even more difficult.