It has been said that Necessity is the Mother of Invention. There is no better necessity for an inventive solution than a hurricane bearing down on one’s home base. That was my night of September 11th and my normal hurricane role – being stuck in the pouring rain.
As a New Orleans native and dealing with hurricanes as far back as I can remember, one thing is clear: Should a hurricane come your way, it is a near certainty you will lose electricity -- and it will be gone for days if not weeks. Worse, Gulf Coast hurricanes occur principally in August or September…meaning oppressive humidity, brain-numbing 95+ degree heat, and nasty smelling refrigerators. Whatever was once refrigerated soon dissolves into an unrecognizable, mold-infused goo.
That lifetime of accumulated hurricane experiences weighed heavy while facing my most troubling, immediate dilemma: A 45KW LPG-fueled generator that would start, run for a mere 15 seconds, and unceremoniously shut down. That sound of unwelcome silence sends chills up a guy’s spine and, yes, a machine can project the equivalent of a ‘one finger salute.’
I’ve owned my big, beautiful 45KW generator for 15 years. With its 1,800 RPM V-6 engine, 1,000-gallon LPG fuel tank, auto start/shutdown features, and 50% power reserve, this brute was the answer to all prayers for anyone homesteading in Hurricane Alley. This baby even includes an auto-exercise feature that runs its massive engine reliably each week. Yet, unlike its exercised clockwork, the historical odds of the damned thing starting at “The Moment of Truth” is at best 50%. In an emergency, who needs those sorts of odds?
Try to imagine the broad range of emotions felt as the ice-cold water of torrential rain runs down one’s back while trying to coax life into one of these dead behemoths. Those experienced in the ways of hurricanes wonder what drives them to arrive most often in the dead of night. Some claim it’s Nature’s way of instilling even more fear and anxiety as tidal surge and extreme winds (not to mention occasionally imbedded tornados) inch ever closer toward landfall.
So, when my generator decided to play mind games mere hours before Hurricane Francine’s nighttime arrival, I had had enough and was driven to enjoy the full range of air-conditioned comforts only an operational generator could provide. In short order, I diagnosed the shutdown problem…a low coolant alarm designed to protect said generator from overheating.
The sensor was located at the top of the radiator (see the white item, above) and a quick inspection of the coolant level confirmed the level was correct. So, either the sensor - for reasons unknown - had decided to become SK (a Silent Key in Ham Radio terms) or the generator’s controller board had sustained yet another unscheduled failure. Praying the sensor was solely the culprit, I thought about how to best simulate a working coolant level sensor.
By closely examining the sensor’s electrical plug and seeing only two connection points, its operation became clearer. When the coolant level was correct, a small electric current was allowed to flow yet the current would be interrupted if the coolant level fell below the sensor’s physical placement. After noodling on this a bit (noodling actions expedited due to an accelerating rain rate), could a low-value resistor simulate a correctly functioning coolant sensor?
A quick (dripping) visit to my Ham Shack/electronics lab yielded a 8.2 Ohm 2-watt resistor whose wire leads neatly fit within the sensor’s connector.
With the resistor’s leads jammed into the connector (taking the place of the SK’ed sensor) and with grand expectations, I pressed the generator’s manual start button. The V-6 engine immediately roared to life and, to my delight, stayed roaring!
Our generator ran reliably for the next 30 hours until commercial power was restored --- not missing a beat. The moral of the story is simply this: When confronted by adversity, take a step back, rely on your education (formal and self-taught), toss in a dash of common sense, and dig deep into past years of problem-solving experiences.
When the situation is at its worst, one’s confident ingenuity can win the day. You’ve got this!
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