Trouble Shooting the Dual Fuel Powered Generator

TROUBLE SHOOTING THE DUAL FUEL POWERED GENERATOR

The dual fuel (Tri fuel actually) carburetor has become widely acceptable in Nigeria recently. And trust my fellow Nigerians, everybody wants to take their own share of profit. So everybody want to be a dealer in dual fuel carburetor.

Considering the amount of calls I receive daily from existing and prospective clients (even though some of them do not purchase the product from me, neither are they my resellers, they just choose to bother me) I deem it necessary to write this short article which I believe will be of help to some intending or existing installers of the product. This is derived from the most common questions and complaints I receive on daily basses.

Problem 1

I install the dual fuel carburetor or a generator but the generator is not starting

Solution

When the generator is not starting, there are few factors that could be responsible.

      I.          First thing to do is to check the flow of gas to the generator. Disconnect the hose from the device and open the gas from the regulator to see if the gas is actually flowing.

   II.          The Gas might be flowing but at the wrong pressure. When checking the flow of gas, ensure that it is flowing at the right pressure, this can be confirmed by listening to the flow of gas.

 III.          Check the regulator and ensure it is has the right rating. The best regulator to use for the dual fuel carburetor should be between 28 to 30mbar. The industrial regulator will not work with it because it will release too much gas to the generator. Some regulators are not regulating the pressure of gas, all they do is to release the gas; these type of regulators won’t work with the dual fuel carburetor.

 IV.          Ensure that the Petrol tap is not leaking. When the petrol tap is leaking, it means after closing it, it will still be leaking petrol into the carburetor which will cause the generator to have problem starting up. The solution to this is to ensure that the petrol is completely drained from the carburetor by starting the gen on petrol and disconnecting the hose from the petrol tap, then allow the gen to stop by itself before starting it with gas.

   V.          Lastly, ensure that the level of gas in the cylinder is not too low. When the level of gas is too low in the cylinder it might not have enough pressure to start the generator.

Problem 2

The generator is jerking after installing the dual fuel carburetor

i.                Allow the gen to run for at least 10mins and observe if the jerking did not stop

ii.              Ensure that you are using the right regulator (28 to 30mbar)

iii.  There is a spring attached to the throttle, ensure that the spring is still good. The spring is responsible for returning the throttle, if it’s bad the throttle will be shaking without control and the gen will be jerking

iv.  There is a black plastic screw near the throttle, while the gen is running continue adjusting the screw until the gen stabilizes.

Problem 3.

The Generator is shooting and jerking after installing the Dual Fuel Carburetor

i.      There is too much air in the gas cylinder. Change the Cylinder, and change the source where you purchase your gas.

ii.    There is an orange switch beside the dual fuel carburetor, ensure it has not been changed from LPG to CNG if you are using LPG. If you are using CNG ensure the switch has not been changed to LPG.

Problem 4.

The Generator is consuming too much gas

i.                Ensure that you are using the right regulator (28 to 30mbar)

ii.    When installing the device, ensure the gaskets are still good, if they are bad replace them. Gaskets are used in order to avoid leakages in the system.

iii.  There is an orange switch beside the dual fuel carburetor, ensure it has not been changed from LPG to CNG if you are using LPG. If you are using CNG ensure the switch has not been changed to LPG. CNG is a lighter gas compared to LPG hence, the gen needs a higher quantity to generate the right amount of power. The implication is that when you change the switch to CNG while using LPG a high quantity of LPG will be flowing to the generator resulting to high consumption of gas. In some cases the generator will not start at all.

Problem 5

The Generator is 4.5 or higher but it comes with a manual (plastic) choke.

i.      Change the choke mechanism by unscrewing the screw on the solenoid valve on the carburetor, do the same with the carburetor that comes with the gen and swap the choke.

ii.    Buy a new automatic choke mechanism from the generator spare part dealer and fix it on the gen. Doing this require that you do some modifications on the new choke. The issue is that there is an air flow mechanism responsible for closing the solenoid valve on the carburetor (that is with the generator that comes with the automatic choke). When the choke is pulled out, the valve is opened, when it is pushed in, it is half closed, when the generator starts running the air flow system will close the choke fully by sucking in air through the hose connected to the choke. (That is why it is called automatic choke). The problem is that the generator that comes with the manual choke does not have this airflow mechanism for fully closing the valve. What you need to do is to use your plier to adjust the new choke mechanism that you bought such that when you push the choke in, it will completely close the valve. If you cannot do it please seek help from a good generator technician and watch how he will do the modification.

For further clarification you can call Emmanuel on +2348036074999 or WhatsApp +2348127604599