HOHANK INTERNATIONAL GEN LATAM

Generator Maintenance Guide / 01

Before starting the diesel generator every day, what should be checked on site first?

Many outages do not occur suddenly. Insufficient oil, oil leaks, loose belts, weak batteries, clogged radiators and controller alarms can often be seen before starting the engine.

Applicable scene

It is suitable for long-term self-power generation, construction power supply, backup units and mining areas with long unattended time.

The first step in daily maintenance of generators is not to replace parts, but to let the on-site personnel know every day "whether this unit can safely carry the load today." In remote mining areas, construction sites and long-term spontaneous power generation sites, many faults will first manifest themselves as liquid level drops, odors, abnormal sounds, oil and water leaks, controller alarms or battery start-up failure.

The pre-startup inspection should be short, fixed, and executable. Don't make it a long form that no one wants to fill out, but form inspection actions that can be completed in every shift around oil, fuel, battery, belts, cooling, controllers and the on-site environment.

Unit appearance and surrounding environment

  • Check whether there is water, mud, debris, blockage or temporarily stacked materials around the unit.
  • Check whether there are traces of oil leakage, water leakage or seepage around the bottom of the unit, oil pipes, filters, coolant pipes and water tanks.
  • Confirm that the air inlet, exhaust and smoke exhaust channels are not blocked by canvas, wooden boards, mineral powder or construction materials.

Fluids and fuel

  • Check whether the oil level is within the normal range and whether the oil color and smell are abnormal.
  • Check the coolant level, expansion tank, hoses and clamps to confirm there is no obvious lack of fluid or leakage.
  • Confirm that the fuel in the daily fuel tank is sufficient to cover the operation of this shift, and observe whether there is any risk of water or sedimentation at the bottom of the fuel tank.

Start and control the system

  • Check whether the controller has unprocessed alarms, shutdown records or low voltage prompts.
  • Check whether the battery terminals are loose or corroded, and whether the voltage is obviously low before starting.
  • Confirm that emergency stop buttons, circuit breaker positions, ATS status, and manual/automatic modes comply with the day's operating plan.

Execution steps

On-site personnel follow fixed steps so that engineers can make judgments based on the same set of facts.

Maintenance actions must be performed repeatedly and evidence must be left. The following steps are suitable as the basic process before team handover and repair report.

01

Watch first before taking action, do not start directly

First go around the unit and look at the ground, oil pipes, air ducts, smoke exhaust and control cabinets. The more remote the site, the more obvious risks must be eliminated before starting.

02

After starting, observe without load

After starting, observe the oil pressure, water temperature, voltage, frequency, speed, sound and smoke exhaust. Do not put the maximum load on immediately after starting.

03

Review key data after loading

Record the load, voltage, frequency, water temperature, oil pressure and alarm status after loading. It is especially important to keep data on new loads, rainy seasons, high dust or high altitude sites.

Exception signal

In these cases, do not just reset and continue running.

  • The starting speed is obviously slowed down, or the first startup fails and then it is barely started.
  • It is normal without load, but the voltage, frequency, water temperature or oil pressure fluctuate significantly after loading.
  • The color of exhaust smoke changes suddenly, accompanied by peculiar smell, abnormal vibration or metal friction sound.
  • The controller has historical alarms, but they are only reset on site, leaving no reason and handling records.

Record list

It is recommended to keep these data for each inspection and repair report

  • Date, shift, operating hours and inspection personnel.
  • Oil, coolant, fuel and battery status before starting up.
  • Oil pressure, water temperature, voltage, frequency, load rate and alarm information after startup.
  • Leakage, abnormal noise, cleaning, tightening or temporary processing actions found.

How engineers can assist

The more complete the information, the faster the remote judgment, and the more efficient the door-to-door judgment.

If alarms, trips, starting difficulties, abnormal voltage, abnormal fuel consumption, or unstable loads have occurred on site, please give priority to retaining controller photos, fault videos, operating hours, recent maintenance records, oil status, load lists, and ATS/power distribution photos.

  • If starting difficulties occur twice in a row, battery voltage, starting video, controller photos and recent maintenance records should be provided.
  • If the water temperature rises rapidly after loading, photos of the radiator, air intake and exhaust environment, load rate and ambient temperature of the day should be provided.
  • If there is an alarm for low oil pressure, overspeed, high temperature or abnormal power generation, it is not recommended to just reset and continue running. The alarm code and on-site video should be retained first.
Scan the WhatsApp code to contact the engineer

Engineers will contact you soon to understand your questions and needs.

Scan the WhatsApp code to contact the engineer
or leave your contact information

Engineers will contact you soon to understand your questions and needs.

Contact engineer service