Click for Abeking Click for MotorCheck Click for Burger Click for Walker Click for Nordhavn

Generator Rebuild Under Pressure

Discussion in 'Generators' started by Ken Bracewell, Mar 3, 2011.

You need to be registered and signed in to view this content.
  1. Ken Bracewell

    Ken Bracewell Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 9, 2006
    Messages:
    1,721
    Location:
    Somewhere Sunny
    I want to give a round of applause for Tony Jr. and Mike from SC Duggan Marine, who were able to do a complete rebuild on one of our generators in three days! We broke a crank shaft on our Northern Lights unit right in the middle of this very busy season. We dropped a charter off on Sunday and have the boss coming today, so their hard work and dedication will result in us losing no time to breakdowns.
    On top of that, they were just really pleasant guys to have around.
  2. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 11, 2005
    Messages:
    14,432
    Location:
    Fort Lauderdale
    Thats pretty impressive, it's a good thing somebody had all of the parts in stock. A broken crankshaft is somewhat rare........What size generator?
  3. Ken Bracewell

    Ken Bracewell Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 9, 2006
    Messages:
    1,721
    Location:
    Somewhere Sunny
    90KW
    It had 26,000 hours.
  4. K1W1

    K1W1 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2005
    Messages:
    7,388
    Location:
    My Office
    Hi,

    Sounds like you did very well to get it bowled over in such a short time.

    Was this Genset ever rebuilt prior to this breakdown?
  5. SeaEric

    SeaEric YF Historian

    Joined:
    Jan 28, 2007
    Messages:
    1,360
    Location:
    out on the dock
    I just love doing business in South Florida. You call, they come, they get the job done. On the Chesapeake, not quite the same. 3 weeks maybe.

    Typically, bad news travels faster than good news. Kudos to SC Duggan Marine! Thanks Ken for sharing this good experience.
  6. Ken Bracewell

    Ken Bracewell Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 9, 2006
    Messages:
    1,721
    Location:
    Somewhere Sunny
    Those were hours since a major. We've done the top end a couple of times since then.

    I guess I neglected to mention that we were in St. Maarten when the breakdown occurred and the boys flew to St. Thomas to make the repairs.
  7. K1W1

    K1W1 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2005
    Messages:
    7,388
    Location:
    My Office
    Hi,

    So if you have two of those Gensets and the other one has done a similar number of hours do you plan on doing a major on it as a precaution?
  8. Marmot

    Marmot Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 20, 2007
    Messages:
    3,311
    Location:
    9114 S. Central Ave
    Mirroring K1W1's thoughts, was it possible to determine if the crank had been cracked for some period before it failed or were the mains showing any particular wear pattern? Had anyone ever taken deflection readings during that 26K?

    That is pretty good service for a chunk of hammered and ground iron, 3 years of non stop spinning around and flexing at full rpm ... not too shabby.
  9. K1W1

    K1W1 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2005
    Messages:
    7,388
    Location:
    My Office
    Hi,

    I forgot to add earlier what was done at the last major overhaul?

    Was the crank either untouched, polished, ground, replaced at the last major overhaul?

    I am only asking this as I am curious if 26,000 was the end of the road or if it had done a similar amount previously and been re furbished to spin again another day.
  10. Ken Bracewell

    Ken Bracewell Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 9, 2006
    Messages:
    1,721
    Location:
    Somewhere Sunny
    The other generator (port) was done about 2 years ago. The main problem was with the way the bow thruster PTO was coupled with the end of the crank. There is an improved keyway-system, which we installed on the port unit when we replaced that crank, and since then we have primarily used that one for the thruster in hope of preventing another cracked crank shaft. Regular oil samples have been taken on the starboard. Now they both have the improved crankshaft/PTO coupling.
  11. Ken Bracewell

    Ken Bracewell Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 9, 2006
    Messages:
    1,721
    Location:
    Somewhere Sunny
    This happened before my time and the records are vague.
  12. K1W1

    K1W1 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2005
    Messages:
    7,388
    Location:
    My Office
    Hi,

    Thanks for answering the questions.

    Even if it were a new crank 26,000 on an engine like that is not a bad run in any9nes book as Marmot says.

    I have had the crank snap in a CAT 3304 that drove a Swash Plate Pump off the front for the Bow Thruster, it was an 1800 RPM Machine and I think it was rated at just over 100 kW . It had flogged out the drive spline a couple of times before the flywheel end of the crank became disconnected from the front end. The Generator was on Electric Duty when the crank snapped about 1/2 way between FLL and the Azores.

    It sounds like these were pretty similar sized machines with a pretty similar setup leading to serious crank problems.
  13. Globetrotter76

    Globetrotter76 New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 20, 2004
    Messages:
    47
    Location:
    Cape Town - South Africa
    Nice to hear Ken, I have joined a new boat in Florida during a yard period and we had Duggan and the boys working on the generators. Good guys and good at what they do and also very helpful. Great to hear you happy with them.

    The vessel I currently work on has been using them for many years during yard periods and emergency situation.

    So support these guys when you in Florida

    Cheers

    Globe