Making an engine drive last longer

[FusionKing]

Just rebuilding the Onan P218 opposed-twin flathead out of my old Ranger 9. Upgraded to the 20hp cam and other parts. The rotating parts have all been balanced. Piston tops mirror-polished to slow heat absorption (yes, it still works under a layer of carbon), and the skirts got a heat-cured molycoat like we did on 2-stroke bikes thirty years ago. Cooling fins and oil sump also got a coating which is supposed to dissipate heat a little better than the bare metal. All ports and manifolds are matched, and restricting lumps removed. I'll use nothing but 15W-40 Chevron Delo 400 oil, and Chevron gas. And so on. It won't improve my welding, probably a waste of time, but my hopped-up old Ranger is gonna pull third-gear wheelies!!

I love it

[seattle smitty]

Just rebuilding the Onan P218 opposed-twin flathead out of my old Ranger 9. Upgraded to the 20hp cam and other parts. The rotating parts have all been balanced. Piston tops mirror-polished to slow heat absorption (yes, it still works under a layer of carbon), and the skirts got a heat-cured molycoat like we did on 2-stroke bikes thirty years ago. Cooling fins and oil sump also got a coating which is supposed to dissipate heat a little better than the bare metal. All ports and manifolds are matched, and restricting lumps removed. I'll use nothing but 15W-40 Chevron Delo 400 oil, and Chevron gas. And so on. It won't improve my welding, probably a waste of time, but my hopped-up old Ranger is gonna pull third-gear wheelies!!

[JTMcC]

You know as well as I do that PL welders are really a bunch of , I'll use the term "jerks", because it will make it past the auto censor. Just about all of them are, except me, and I'm wondering about that I like them anyway, at least I like 88% of them, the other 12%, their own Mothers hate them

The mines are booming right now. In '07 I came across southern AZ on the KM PL from El Paso and there were construction hands (doing expansion work in the mines) driving 120 miles one way to get a motel room.

I'm a 798 hand and i know quite a few of the welders on that spread, they are winding down right now. I'm just trying to keep it accurate, not trying to rock anybody's boat.


JTMcC.

[JTMcC]

[QUOTE=davedarragh;164417]Yeah, a lot of those pipline rigs are lease units too,QUOTE]


Your words, not mine. now you're talking about mining and shipbuilding.

I'm commenting on the one sentence quoted above. It's not accurate.

JTMcC.

[DDA52]

Leasing makes more business sense for the most part. It is not a bad idea at all.


My 302 setup is leased. By the time it is all said and done, it won't have cost me 400 bucks with all the tax credits leasing allows.

[J hall]

TB302 And a generator? Why?

I have never known anyone who had a leased machine on his truck.

[JTMcC]

Yeah, a lot of those pipline rigs are lease units too, they know they get the livin' #$*& run out of them, and turn the machines in for rebuild. !

PL welders own their truck and machine.
In my 23+ years I've never seen nor heard of a PL welder leasing a machine and turning it in.
Where are you getting that?

JTMcC.

I'll add the demands on a welding machine in mainline construction aren't anything extraordinary. Worse case with stick rod will be running the machine all day at 220 amps or so.
The machines see heavy use but don't see abuse.

[DDA52]

Don,
Is it better to have it in the bed of the truck vs a trailer? I thought that the machine was designed to be placed on a trailer.
Thanks,
Nick

Either will work. The key is to MOUNT it. Bouncing around loose shakes the living daylights out of everything and will eventually kill it. Also, with a trailer, it needs to be mounted in the right spot. Do it wrong, like I did once, and it will bounce like there is no tomorrow. That was how my one Blue Star 2E met its demise.

Cruizer, that machine was on a misc. metals rig running high rise stairwells...structure to pans. It ran at least 40 hrs a week every week for a long time running nothing but 1/8 and 5/32 7018 and 8018 and powering all their equipment. It was not on the pipeline or anything else. Say what you will...I was there, you were not. Those guys averaged two to three years on machines and then they were replaced in the 4000 to 5000 hour mark or when they became a problem. That machine was a special case...but it did happen.

[burninbriar]

The only thing I can add is a rule of thumb that I use when purchasing any tool, motorized or not. That is to size it so it will not be maxed out all the time when you are using it. For example, if I know I will be running 250 amps regularly, I would not go with a 250 amp machine. I would move up to something in a 300 amp. I think running a machine at max output all the time is probably much harder on it than running at 2/3 of the max output than possibly anything else you can through at it.
Now I don't have any facts and figures to back up this statement, its merely my opinion.

[cruizer]

Too many variables, an operator running a rig set up pushes his/her welder to the extremes, an naturally wears them out faster than a fella running lights chicken coup, or once in a while welders.

Again I just service the actual rig set ups, and thats where I aquire the hours from for warranty and for invoicing.

Sure your onan or whatever might last thousands on hours more running as a light duty machine/generator, but on a rig not likely.

[JTMcC]

You make them last by storing inside, and running it for 30 minutes every week.

Our goal around here is to wear them out. A worn out welding machine represents a large pile of gold dubloons to me.

Like humanoids, good hard honest work is what wears out welding machines.


JTMcC.

[kiwi]

The Bobcat/Onan I saw that hit 6000 hours was always run on dino oil. Oil changes were close to 100 hrs. Best thing I can say is do the PM and just don't abuse it. Guys wail on the things day in and day out and then gripe when they quit working. It isn't a saw horse..it is not a scaffold..catchall, etc. If the machine is taken care of, it will last a long time. Stuff does happen, but if you take the idiot factor out of the equation, things will be less likely to happen.


One thing I see lots of guys do is just setting the machine on a trailer of truck. All the bouncing around is extremely detrimental to the life of the unit.

Don,
Is it better to have it in the bed of the truck vs a trailer? I thought that the machine was designed to be placed on a trailer.
Thanks,
Nick

[DDA52]

The Bobcat/Onan I saw that hit 6000 hours was always run on dino oil. Oil changes were close to 100 hrs. Best thing I can say is do the PM and just don't abuse it. Guys wail on the things day in and day out and then gripe when they quit working. It isn't a saw horse..it is not a scaffold..catchall, etc. If the machine is taken care of, it will last a long time. Stuff does happen, but if you take the idiot factor out of the equation, things will be less likely to happen.


One thing I see lots of guys do is just setting the machine on a trailer of truck. All the bouncing around is extremely detrimental to the life of the unit.

[Sberry]

I believe they run synths in those and for me a schedule would depend on how hard I was running it. Timing/convenience would be as much an issue as real numbers, for the most part with light use you will worry it out faster than wear it out, this is no place to lose sleep.

[MMW]

With the other thread going on about life expectency of a Trailblazer I thought I would start this one to get everyones ideas on what they do to try to make their engine drives last longer. Regular oil vs. synthetic, air & oil filter change intervals etc. Whatever you do list it here.------------------