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Tool Talk Discussion Forum

Buying an older Winpower generator

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Far North

07-13-2005 04:38:24




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I called a guy about a 40 year old Winpower brand 12,000 Watt generator he has for sale. He said the coils need to be "excited" if the generator has been sitting idle for a long time. If this common and how is this done? Also, is $500.00 the going price for this age and size generator. Thanks.




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buickanddeere

07-13-2005 23:21:28




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 Re: Buying an older Winpower generator in reply to Far North, 07-13-2005 04:38:24  
Pay the man after the generator has run a 12,000KW loads for one hour. The bearings and gear box may contain old failed lubricant. Flush and fill. The brushes maybe stuck. The slip rings maybe coverd with green corrosion or have black carbon marks stuck on them. Flashing machines that have sat or have been jolted is normal.



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JMS/MN

07-13-2005 17:46:35




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 Re: Buying an older Winpower generator in reply to Far North, 07-13-2005 04:38:24  
I bought a new Winpower 25/45 KW in 1977 for about $1900. Always thought it was a good, reputable brand. Heard good things about Katolight, bad things about Pincor. Ours often sat unused for long periods- maybe over a year- but has always worked fine when needed. On local farm auctions, many brands go for less than $500, and are in the 15-25 kw range. When dairy was more common here, alternator prices were stronger because cows needed to be milked on time. Whatever you buy, make sure the unit can START the load you need to run.

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Robert in W. Mi.

07-13-2005 13:08:26




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 Re: Buying an older Winpower generator in reply to Far North, 07-13-2005 04:38:24  
Unless i saw it hooked to a tractor and working with a "load on it", i wouldn't give $500 for it.

I'd try flashing it where it is and see if it will work.

Robert



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Craig-MN

07-13-2005 11:27:03




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 Re: Buying an older Winpower generator in reply to Far North, 07-13-2005 04:38:24  
Yes, "exciting" the generator is common if it sits unused for a long time. The residual magnetism goes out of the parts so it no longer gets itself started generating.
Winpower is still in business. I've done some repairs on various generators like that. There are three common problems I have seen. 1. Loss of residual magnetism (needs to be "excited" or "flashed". 2. Diodes gone bad, simple and inexpensive repair if you know what you are doing. 3. The last problem I've seen is people trying to fix the thing themselves and they create more problems than they fix. The last one I had like that.... the guy replaced the main circuit breaker because he thought it was bad (it was not) and he switched around a couple of the wires and it would not work. Fortunately I could see some rub marks on the wires that told me he put it together wrong, I swapped the wires back and it worked.

I don't know about value. That depends on where and when. Someone I know told me they recently bought a couple different ones at farm retirement/estate auctions for less than $200.

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Jimmy King

07-13-2005 08:55:08




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 Re: Buying an older Winpower generator in reply to Far North, 07-13-2005 04:38:24  
A friend of mine had a farm sale about six weeks ago, he sold a alt. I don't know if it was a 15000 or 25000 as he had both. I am thinking it brought close to $2000.



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Charles (in GA)

07-13-2005 06:36:00




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 Re: Buying an older Winpower generator in reply to Far North, 07-13-2005 04:38:24  
Someone a while back had a post about this very thing. Apparently its fairly common, though I've never encountered it personally (but I don't fool with generators very much)

I thought I copied and saved the post, cannot find it now.

What you did was start the generator and plug a electric drill, regular brush type motor, in the generator and depress the trigger and while holding it, you turn the chuck backwards by hand. The drill acts as a generator and excites the generator and its starts working.

There were several testomonials from folks who tried it and it worked for them. I've never tried it however.

Charles

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Jet9N

07-13-2005 07:56:42




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 Re: Buying an older Winpower generator in reply to Charles (in GA), 07-13-2005 06:36:00  
Charles, this may be what you were refering to.

Field Flashing of Portable Generators
This tip comes from the Briggs & Stratton Customer Education Department. As an alternative to flashing a rotor winding with a battery applied to the brushes, an electric drill may be used. Follow these steps to flash the generator:
� Plug the electric drill into the generator receptacle. (Cordless drills do not work)

� If the drill is reversible, move the direction switch to the forward position.

� Start the generator

� While depressing the trigger on the drill, spin the drill chuck in reverse direction. This will excite the field and the generator will now produce electricity. If spinning the chuck one direction does not work, try spinning the chuck in the other direction as you may have the reverse switch positioned backwards. Use caution not to get your hand or other materials caught in the chuck. As soon as the field is excited, the generator will produce power and the drill will turn on.
The reason this works is because the electric motor in the drill will act as a small generator when spun backwards. The magnets in the drill's motor induce a voltage into the motor windings, which is fed back through the trigger, cord and into the generators receptacle. From there it goes into the power winding of the stator. The voltage going through the power winding creates a magnetic field, which is intensified due to the iron core of the stator laminations. The rotor intersects this magnetic field as it is spun past the power winding, thus inducing a voltage in the rotor winding. Once current flow is present in the rotor winding the rotor has been flashed.
If flashing the field does not make the generator work, you may have additional problems, besides a lack of magnetism in the rotor. Further testing will be needed. Hopefully, this will give a simple way to field flash your generator if needed

HTH

Jet

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