Re: At what level of fuel does your PowerTech generator stop running?
Reply #27 –
I think it would be safe to say that the fuel gage indication on many FT's could be different as there is an adjustment on the sensing unit in the tank. I suppose the factory would try to set each identical model the same, but maybe it didn't turn out that way. Also a previous owner may have changed the adjustment or vibrations could have altered the adjustment. In addition the sensing unit on my tank is located on the right side, if the vehicle is not perfectly level left to right, that alone should produce an incorrect indication. The one thing that should be fairly constant though is the size of the tank and the location of the pickups. I found that the pickups on my tank are located close to the center of the tank both fore and aft and laterally. FT states that the generator pickup is higher than the engine pickup, so that the generator can not use up all the fuel and leave you stranded. I doubt, but am not sure, that the engine pickup goes all the way to the bottom of the tank. This should help to prevent picking up any water that might be in the bottom of the tank. This should only be a problem after a stop of a day or more, and then only if someone got some bad fuel. It would probably never happen under normal circumstances. Water in gas separates readily, but water in diesel is slow to separate and mixes rather well when agitated as in driving, and can pass through the engine.
In the past I have thought that FT did not do such a good job on the design of the fuel tank, as there is about 20 gallons of the 148 gallon tank that is unusable. Now, I am not so sure about that. Fuel is used to cool the injector pump on the engine or generator. Hot unused fuel is returned to the tank, so the unusable fuel may be needed for that reason. I believe it was Brett Wolfe that pointed out that our tank in an insulated compartment does not dissipate heat as well as the tanks on a truck. Some folks have installed coolers in the return line.
On my first trip, I filled up in Knoxville, TN and just before Dallas the low fuel light came on and the fuel gage showed slightly less than 1/4 full. It took 94 gal to fill the tank in Dallas. I keep my tank mostly full when in storage. I buy fuel when I spot a good price, but I try to stay away from stations that do not have many diesel customers. So far I have not had any fuel problems. My generator has never quit for low fuel, but I have not tried to see how long it would run with low fuel.
Topic: Fuel use in Kubota 10,000 watt generator