-
New Gen
i have a new PowerTech 20 KW with about 110 hours on it. My question is that it seems to be losing anti freeze. There is anti freeze in the over flow tank but no antifreeze showing in the site glass in the resovior. I have filled to that point but now after several hours I see none. The gen runs great with NO visible leaks. Could be it’s settling in level? Of course it has an emergency over heat shut off but always runs about 180 degrees. Not having any problems just concerned. Any thought?
-
8 Replies
-
I have zero knowledge of how Marathon sets up their generators but if it is consuming coolant it is either a leak you will see evidence of or it could be signs of an engine issue like a bad head gasket or a cracked head.
Look to see if the generator crankcase oil is clean or milky. Milky is bad.
-
Jon. It is clear and clean as a whistle. I see no leaks. It has a remote radiator and it is clean.
-
Some have had a tough time getting all the air out of the cooling system. Maybe you just haven’t got it all purged out yet.
-
Our gen has 2 petcocks on each side of the thermostat to purge air out.
-
It’s a diesel. If you don’t find some obvious external leak, then the probability of the leakage point goes to the inside. The temperature a diesel operates at will evaporate the liquid coolant, thus the engine oil will appear normal. To be certain it is internal, if you didn’t change oil in the recent past, pull an oil sample and get a test done. What will show up if there is an internal leak point is a group of minerals for which there is only one point source – yep, they are left overs from the evaporated liquid anti-freeze.
I say this with some degree of experience with an internal antifreeze leak on the really big motor. Serious $$$$ involved there. I too first thought if the oil “looked” normal and not milky then the leak was external. That conclusion was from my experiences building gasoline engines. Diesels are a different breed all together.
Good luck finding yours and that it doesn’t involve serious $$$$ to fix.
-
I would bet that it’s like Tom said, probably has air in the system some where. If so, it will not draw the fluid back and forth out of the overflow tank.
-
thanks guys. Will will look to purge. Topped off last night and it only held about 2 cups to get to the sight glass. It is running perfectly at this minute.
-
I would also check the overflow tank and verify that it is hooked up correctly,when I purchased my coach it was wrong and when the generator ran it puked all of the overflow on the ground.
Log in to reply.