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OT Coleman PowerMate Generator

I bought a Coleman PowerMate Generator (ProGen 5000) about 3 years ago. Saturday evening about 5:00pm the power went out. The power co. arrived about 7:00pm spent an hour testing and said "I think the problem is a bad transformer." He left the scene. I have several freezers that I needed to keep frozen. I pulled out the still unopened generator box and put the wheels, feet and handle on the generator. I put oil in the engine and went to get gasoline. (The price of gas really sunk in when 2- two gal cans cost me $16.00) I started the generator, plugged in all the freezers and noted indicator lights were on. I logged all the temperatures and noted after about an hour and 15 minutes all temperatures were lower than originally noted. Everything was working as it should. During all this time we had missed supper so went down the road for a bite to eat. We returned within 45 minutes, the generator engine was running but I had no indicator lights working. Somewhere around 10:30pm the current stopped flowing. The circuit breaker had not tripped. The power company was back with a crane and transformer, they installed it and power came back on at 12:00am. They did good! All the food is fine. Today I called Coleman PowerMate and the recording said they have no services rep available at this time. I thought maybe they weren't open yet so I waited an hour and called again, same message. I checked the internet, The company is closed, employees have been laid off.

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They are being sued for overrepresenting specifications and service problems.

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Hope you had a better weekend. Mike

PS. Sunday I found out my brother-in-law bought the same unit, his only worked a short time also. He bought a Honda.

Reply to
amdx
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"amdx" wrote in news:64ff5$484d59b4$18d6b40c$ snipped-for-privacy@KNOLOGY.NET:

wonder if it was an infant failure? perhaps in the field energizing circuit.ISTR some folks on alt.home.repair discussing failed portable generators and that being a problem. It may be a simple fix.

you have SEVERAL freezers?

What do you do during storm season? Perhaps you should buy a whole-house generator,run on nat.gas or propane.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net
Reply to
Jim Yanik

You need about 4 K watts per fridg to get good reliable starting cuurent. You would have had to start each device in sequence for a small generator like that to run several freezers.

greg

Reply to
GregS

Thanks. Jim, The manual does have a procedure to perform if there is a loss of residual remagnetism. I may be wrong but it seems to me if the unit produced power for an hour and was never shut down it would not lose its residual magnetism. What ya think? Thanks for the tip on alt.home.repair. Mike

Reply to
amdx

I would guess that since it had just been used the first time, that a loose wire vibrated off somewhere between the generator and the output jacks.

--
Joe Leikhim K4SAT
"The RFI-EMI-GUY"©

"Treason doth never prosper: what\'s the reason?
For if it prosper, none dare call it treason."

"Follow The Money"  ;-P
Reply to
RFI-EMI-GUY

I did an external check, didn't see any problem. I'll pull a cover and look inside. Thanks, Mike

Reply to
amdx

Come on, fellers, learn to snip.

Jim

-- "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." --Aristotle

Reply to
RST Engineering (jw)

snip, snip.

Ok, I went out and checked connections, looked good. I got out a 12v power supply and connected it per the manual to remagnetize the unit. I heard the motor drag down, plugged in a light and it is producing power. With a small 50 watt load the output voltage is only 104 Volts. I came in wrote the post, then decided to try a bigger load. The unit had lost its magnetism. I remagnitized it and connected an 1800 watt load and the output voltage is only 94 volts. Doesn't seem good! Mike

Reply to
amdx

Mike,

I bought a Honda EM2500X after the Northridge earthquake in 1994 (I had to wait for the shaking to stop). I hadn't used it since then and foolishly didn't treat the gas and didn't keep it full of gas.

A few weeks ago, I decided to get it running. I assumed the carburetor and gas tank needed attention and I didn't even attempt to start it. So, I cleaned the caburetor and the gas tank (a simple job). It fired on the first pull and runs a 1200 watt heat gun with almost no drop in output voltage.

The Honda's do cost a little more than others. Now, I know why.

Bob

--
== NOTE: I automatically delete all Google Group posts due to uncontrolled 
SPAM ==
Reply to
BobW

My hindsight is almost 20-20. :-) Mike

Reply to
amdx

It sounds like whatever should be powering the field coil isn't. Whatever circuit you were attaching that 12V to is the circuit that's haywire. Chances are even that it lost a connection (as suggested) or, since this brand seems to suffer from infant mortality, that some design defect in the field control circuit has made it blow a part.

--

Tim Wescott
Wescott Design Services
http://www.wescottdesign.com

Do you need to implement control loops in software?
"Applied Control Theory for Embedded Systems" gives you just what it says.
See details at http://www.wescottdesign.com/actfes/actfes.html
Reply to
Tim Wescott

"RST Engineering \\(jw\\)" wrote in news:l6adnRxDGIylNNDVnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@supernews.com:

learn to quit TOP POSTING.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net
Reply to
Jim Yanik

I guess some people just freakin' don't understand or need to be retrained after every coffee break.

Jim

-- "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." --Aristotle

Reply to
RST Engineering (jw)

Thanks Tim, I'll try to find some general info (if I can't find specific to this generator) on ac generators and see what the field drive circuit looks like. I read one posting about two defective diodes in one mans generator.

Reply to
amdx

snip, snip, chop, thwack, stomp, stomp, stomp.

SCNR :-)

It sure doesn't sound good. I don't know this generator but if this one has a DC voltage applied to slip rings then that is often used to regulate the output. So if this regulator went bad the generator may become unregulated and eventually lose residual field.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

"gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
Use another domain or send PM.
Reply to
Joerg

Thats the problem with bottom posting!

-- Joe Leikhim K4SAT "The RFI-EMI-GUY"©

"Treason doth never prosper: what's the reason? For if it prosper, none dare call it treason."

"Follow The Money" ;-P

Reply to
RFI-EMI-GUY

Greg, that may be fine in theory, but, I ran 6 freezers, all of them started, all of them ran and all of them had a 4 to 7 degree temperature drop in the hour that they ran. I have individual thermometers on each freezer. Four of these frezers are newer Kenmore freezers if that means anything. Luckily they were all set between -4F and -12F when the power went out. One old freezer got up to 12F, the new ones only rose to 7F. Mike

Reply to
amdx

"amdx" wrote in news:6b7de$484dc03c$18d6b40c$ snipped-for-privacy@KNOLOGY.NET:

those diodes must be in the DC outlet section,as AC generators don't need diodes for AC output.

The 94V output is a clue to the failure;you are generating voltage under load,but low. I'd say the field coil is not being energized sufficiently.

maybe one section of the field coils opened,perhaps a bad solder joint.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net
Reply to
Jim Yanik

RFI-EMI-GUY wrote in news:aEk3k.2300$ snipped-for-privacy@bignews3.bellsouth.net:

bottom posting is UseNet convention.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net
Reply to
Jim Yanik

"amdx" wrote in news:dd88a$484dd70d$18d6b40c$ snipped-for-privacy@KNOLOGY.NET:

WHAT do you use SIX freezers for? Waiting for the big disaster? You've aroused my curiosity.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net
Reply to
Jim Yanik

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