Classic 345 Generator

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by gunner

Installed another Voltage Regulator today, the results are:
No Load Volts 122.3
1500 Watt Load Volts 116.8
3000 Watt Load Volts 113.3
I believe it is fixed unless someone has voltage readings that are higher under load.

Gunter, those numbers are probably about as good as you're going to get. Obviously the regulator made a difference so I'd say you're good to go.

Brad

Edit: If you have a Kill-A-Watt you could check the frequency and that would tell you if the voltage is low because of engine RPM or if the regulator is just letting it drop slightly below 120vac.

[gunner]

I do have a Kill-A-Watt, that is what I used to set my RPM to achieve 60HZ. Here are the results of the HZ at various loads:
No Load Volts 122.3 60.8 HZ
1500 Watt Load Volts 116.8 60.1HZ
3000 Watt Load Volts 113.3 59.1 HZ

[bkahler]

Gunter, are you loading just one leg of the generator or both legs?

Unless you've been running your rear air conditioner during this testing then you've likely only been checking one leg. What I would suggest as a test is to run the generator, turn on the rear air so the condenser kicks in and then load the other leg with 1500 watts and then 3000 watts and then take readings.

This will tell you how well the generator handles a full load. You might also take a voltage reading of the leg running the rear air conditioner to see if it's any different than the other leg under load.

On the 310 the 2nd leg of the generator only runs the rear air. I'm assuming the 345 is the same but it might be that on the 345 the air conditioner on the 2nd generator leg might be the front AC unit. So be aware of that possible difference in my description above.

Brad

[gunner]

I am only testing the one leg under load. Being in Ohio and being winter using the rear air conditioner is not feasible, condenser will not kick in. I did change the rear air conditioner to run either from the transfer switch or a separate electrical cord using 20 amp male and female connectors (hope it makes sense). I can plug into the female connector from the transfer switch that would normally power the rear air and apply a load on that leg of the generator to accomplish what you are suggesting.

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by gunner

I am only testing the one leg under load. Being in Ohio and being winter using the rear air conditioner is not feasible, condenser will not kick in. I did change the rear air conditioner to run either from the transfer switch or a separate electrical cord using 20 amp male and female connectors (hope it makes sense). I can plug into the female connector from the transfer switch that would normally power the rear air and apply a load on that leg of the generator to accomplish what you are suggesting.

Yes, it makes sense. I call it the poor mans 50 amp service
Just have to make sure that rear AC is completely disconnected from the RV service to run it on the external 20 amp plug.

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by gunner

I am only testing the one leg under load. Being in Ohio and being winter using the rear air conditioner is not feasible, condenser will not kick in. I did change the rear air conditioner to run either from the transfer switch or a separate electrical cord using 20 amp male and female connectors (hope it makes sense). I can plug into the female connector from the transfer switch that would normally power the rear air and apply a load on that leg of the generator to accomplish what you are suggesting.

Yep it makes sense. I did something similar to the 310 only I used a DPDT 250vac rated switch so all you have to do is flip the switch to select the 2nd shore power line or select the generator as the feed for the rear air.

[gunner]

Did the test as you suggested; it appears my voltage is increasing from the last test.
Measurements taken at both the Main line and Rear Air conditioner line simultaneous.
Main Line No load 125.7 volts 60.5 Hz.
2846 watt load 114.3 volts 57.9 Hz

Rear Air line No load 123.1 volts 60 Hz
1546 watt load 122.0 volts 58.1 Hz

I may want to increase engine speed slightly to increase Hz under load.
I also like your idea of adding the DPDT switch to eliminate having to change the male and female plugs. What switch did you use a simple panel switch or something more heavy duty like a wall switch?

[gunner]

There is a benefit of having a female receptacle from the generator and a separate female receptacle from the separate 20 amp cord that power the rear air conditioner; it allows me to plug in a heater for the cool fall nights and have another heater that runs from the main 30 amp line. Since I have upgraded my air conditioners I no longer have the heat strips that were part of the Coleman air conditioners.

[bkahler]

Gunter,

I used this Leviton 1286 20-Amp 120-Volt Toggle Double-Pole switch to swap between the generator (or main shore power) powering the rear air conditioner and the separate 20 amp power cord that is plugged in via the generator compartment.

This following pdf file contains all of the 120VAC wiring diagrams that I generated for my old 84 310 including all of the modifications I made to the 120VAC system. Page 4 is where I show the switch mentioned above.

310-ac-wiring-diagrams.PDF

Brad

[gunner]

After using my Generator with the new Voltage Regulator for approximately 7 hours running my front Air Conditioner, while traveling, the Voltage Regulator failed. I reinstalled my original Voltage Regulator, the no load voltage is 115 and with the Air Conditioner Compressor on voltage dropped to 111 volts. I purchased a complete same Model Generator a couple days ago out of Michigan. I will use this for parts only since it is not in the best of shape (carburetor etc. needs rebuilt). I took the Voltage Regulator from that unit and installed it into the Generator in my Motorhome. The Voltage Regulator is the original style, the resulting voltages where 118.4 no load and 116.3 with Air Conditioner Compressor load. I hope this one will be the last one I need to purchase since they are no longer available. I did contact the company bkahler recommended for possibly repairing my Voltage Regulators, they asked for additional information which I provided but I haven't received a reply since they were shut down last week.

[bkahler]

Gunter, that's the same method I used to get a replacement regulator for my old Kohler. Someone was selling the generator parts because he only wanted the motor for some project.

I'm glad you found something that's working.

[gunner]

One thing I found odd was my original Voltage Regulator which are encapsulated had a capacitor and a resistor in series soldered between the + and - terminals. It appeared it was that way from the factory. The one that came out of the Generator I just purchased and the serial number is 1,000 larger does not have this addition. I wonder what the purpose of the cap/resistor was and what affect it has on the voltage output?
On a side note I now have numerous spare parts with the purchase of the complete used Generator assembly. The problem now is finding a place to store it.