When the Cat's Away........

[farmersammm]

Decided it was time to get the engine drive going again. I can't remember the last time I used it. It's been literally YEARS. I did fire it up last Summer, but the shutoff solenoid doesn't work right. SO I KNOW THIS WASN'T THE SITUATION LAST SUMMER.











The entire damn machine is packed with rat sht, and twigs/leaves. All of the windings are completely full of rat sht. All of the transformers are packed with rat sht.

I'm at a loss as to where to begin.

None of the wiring seems to have been eaten, so far........................ I don't believe an air gun is the answer. It would probably drive the sht into areas I'll never be able to access. My first thought is to shop vac the entire thing.

I'm worried I'm gonna have to entirely disassemble the ENTIRE F'N MACHINE to get to all the crap. I have the sides completely off, and the only thing left is the base......which I'm afraid means removing the motor, and bigazz alternator (or whatever it is)........the generator I guess.

I have absolutely no idea what's safe to touch. I've no idea whether this thing has capacitors in it.

This all got started because we have a pretty severe ice storm forecast for Wed. I figured I oughta get the thing going for backup power. And, I'm also gonna use it for the crane build (I can't sit around and worry about the health sht all the time, it's time to get up and do something).

Man, I tell ya................I hadn't figured on this crap

[farmersammm]

Anyways..................this is where it's at for the moment......... I've got it striped down as far as I want to for now. Some of the crap was removable by hand, but the rest has to be Hoovered I'm thinkin'.

[farmersammm]

I'm worried about that crap shorting something if I don't find it all, and get it out. And I'm worried about the damn thing catching on fire if the hidden crap dries out when the welder gets hot. This is a real f'n disaster.

[Brand X]

Reminds me of a certain Clausing lathe..

[Brand X]

I am sure Roy would send a lighting bolt to start the fire, just to show you he still cares..

[VaughnT]

Just thinking out loud, so to speak, but those things are designed to sit in the back of the truck while you're doing speed down the highway through a downpour. They don't get transported around in enclosed trailers, after all.

Thus.... I would think everything in there is safe to touch or it would have been shorted out the very first time it got rained on. Water gets everywhere given enough time, and if there was any way something could short or whatnot... it would have happened already.

Personally, I'd put it up on blocks and hose the snot out of it with as much pressure as you can get. Then when it dries, have a good look-see everywhere, with a flashlight, and then hit it again with the hose.

Three or four good washings, each one getting a little more of the junk out of all the nooks and crannies, should do you right.

But what do I know? I could be entirely wrong about their water resistance.

[Sberry]

I wouldnt water it, would vac and air blow.

[tapwelder]

Check under flywheel if you have a stator and magnets before starting. Had a mower that shattered magnets because of debris. They like my muffler too.

[12V71]

This is why I have a nicely rocked, sterilized yard with no vegetation within 200 yards. I could just imagine the uproar of something like that happening to customer equipment. Having 3-4 stray cats eating rodents helps too.

Oh yeah, back to the problem, I would repeatedly soak it with a garden hose to loosen the dried stuff then use a hose nozzle to wash it out. A bit of detergent will help loosen the stuff. No high pressure washing. Blow with air and allow it to air dry. Done quite a few Big gensets that way.

[John T]

What a shame to neglect a good piece of equipment like that.

Ya know, half the problems you seem to encounter in life could probably be avoided if you learned how to take care of things properly (lawn mowers/weed wackers/chainsaws etc etc)...... Geeze Louise

No excuse for that IMO

[farmersammm]

What a shame to neglect a good piece of equipment like that.

Ya know, half the problems you seem to encounter in life could probably be avoided if you learned how to take care of things properly (lawn mowers/weed wackers/chainsaws etc etc)...... Geeze Louise

No excuse for that IMO

Without my problems, you'd have nothing to talk about. You do nothing,, contribute nothing....................a carbuncle on the butt of society.

It's a shame to be you.

[12V71]

What a shame to neglect a good piece of equipment like that.

Ya know, half the problems you seem to encounter in life could probably be avoided if you learned how to take care of things properly (lawn mowers/weed wackers/chainsaws etc etc)...... Geeze Louise

No excuse for that IMO

Yup, I keep my stuff full of "Tomcat" bait chunks and the smaller stuff inside where the shop cats control the mice. Learned my lesson years back when the rodents ate a $3600 transmission control harness on the D6M dozer I had. Only took a 4 day weekend for that damage. (cottontail rabbits). Killed 2 of them with a ball pein hammer when I opened the battery box door, kind of a "deer in the headlights" thing when the sunlight hit them in the face.

[farmersammm]

The usual crowd piles in...............Geez doooooods get a life. Go have sex with yer wimmmen.

[John T]

Seems I hit a nerve...

Thats OK, I still love you Sammm

[farmersammm]

Warfarin doesn't kill dogs, the new stuff will. I like my pup. So..........................what kin I tell ya? We live with the problem. Sux, but we do. K'kins would go into depression if Peanut was poisoned. I would too. We're good people, and we try to live a good life.

[farmersammm]

Seems I hit a nerve...

Thats OK, I still love you Sammm

Don't like ya, never did(shrug)

[12V71]

The usual crowd piles in...............Geez doooooods get a life. Go have sex with yer wimmmen.

And you turn Crybaby every time you ask for advice...

[_Weldman_]

Everything fell into the cracks and crevices by gravity cause the mice don't move the **** in there they just drop it, so flip it upside down and suck or blow it out and it will be cleaned by gravity too.

[John T]

Don't like ya, never did(shrug)

You think I don't know that??

I can read you like a book... Unfortunately you are trapped in my lair of wit and semi humorous sarcasm.

.

[SlowBlues]

I would drain it of fluids (You're probably going to want to change them anyway)

rotate it sideways or even upside down if I could, use air and a stiff brush

and then a hose with a decent nozzle if there was anything left.

Driving it around and getting it bumped around a bit (back of a truck or towed) before diving in also would help loosen some stuff, and get all the bigger live residents evicted

[_Weldman_]

Forgot to mention, rat/mice feces can cause pink eye and lung infections, so wear some goggles and a respirator.

[farmersammm]

And you turn Crybaby every time you ask for advice...

Geez guy, you ever get tired of the same wheez??????????????? Advice is what it's worth, and I generally do well not heeding yours(shrug).

I do a post, and it's a story. It's a journey. You're watching the solution as it happens. I really don't want your input. Ya haven't gotten it by now? I do sht on my own, always have, and it always works out. You're not in the loop man...........

[farmersammm]

Forgot to mention, rat/mice feces can cause pink eye and lung infections, so wear some goggles and a respirator.

Was the first thing I thought about. Digging around in the nest,, and moving the sht................... There's some nasty stuff in that rat stuff. I hear ya, and I think you're on point.

Washed hands immediately after handling all that crap.

[mla2ofus]

Old gennie repairman showed me a trick yrs for a gennie that got damp. Take all the brushes out of their holders, start it and run for a few hours and let the cooling fan dry everything.

[farmshop]

My initial thoughts are too tip it upside down. Drain all the fluids shake all the loose crap out of it. Hopefully they didn’t get in anything important. Mouse and rat urine is so corrosive.