Homelite generator help

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'73red-duster

'73red-duster

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I just acquired an old Homelite EH 2500 generator. It's old enough, the gas tank sticker says not to use "gasohol". Looks almost new. 5 horse Briggs starts and runs fine. It didn't produce any power, so I flashed it using a drill. Drill runs fine on it. I plugged in the shop lights, no lights. Hooked up the drill, and with it running, the lights came on. Shut off the drill, lights went out. Any ideas?
 
I don't know anything about them, does it use brushes?
 
The lights don't put enough load on the regulator to start the generation process?

I think they're just a big alternator, rectified and limited, with a regulator that is load sensitive.
 
Close. Mine is a model #03644. It could be possible on the load deal, as 2 drills run and an angle grinder ran fine off of it. As long as I had one of them running, the shop lights would work.
 
Had this thing been sitting for a long time without use? I wonder, if it was, that the armature might be rusted up some and the lights don't have enough draw.

I dunno, I'm just thinking out loud.
 
I don't understand at all. Maybe there's some simple screw up in the outlet wiring, like maybe a common neutral came loose.

I would try some different loads.
 
As old as this thing is, (how long has it been since we used the term "gasohol") and as new as it looks, I'd say it has been not used for quite a while, or very much. The muffler is barely dis-colored.
 
I believe I have a manual on it at work. Use to do warranty work for homelite before they were bought out. I have to go to murphysboro tomorrow but if I get back in time I will try and pull it. Do you have a meter of any kind you could do a voltage test with?
 
It is important that the motor spins at 3600 RPM. The regulator is a coupled coil - capacitor coupled to field. The AC output comes from the stator winding. Permanent magnets initiates field, and magnetic coupling of the coil-capacitor controls field excitation to regulate voltage. The field circut has a diode, so the rotor becomes a two pole N-S magnet, with intensity controlled without brushes, by regulator. The AC output should appear sinusoidal, with a frequency of 60 Hz. Most mid priced multi meters measure frequency and voltage.

My guess is a drill motor is a universal motor, running on AC or DC supply. The florescent ballast need quality waveform. The waveform could be bad for several faults. These include bad winding... in any of the coils. Bad diode, or electrical connection, bad capacitor in regulator circuit. Or motor running too slow or fast.

It is fairly common for winding problems in older generators due to vibration.
 
KitCarlson said:
Yes that is correct. I refrained saying that when I posted, thinking no body would know that..
Click to expand...

and???, and??? I don't know 'that' do I have to have some 'secret squirrel' handshake to
release the info ????
 
I'm not familiar with their use in a generator. I can only guess that if the genset is NOT at or near 60hz, the LC resonant regulator won't work well, and it might not produce much power

Only time I've seen these is in transformers, and of course the 60HZ is pretty constant, LOL, on account of it's pretty hard to change the speed of Hoover or Grand Coolie dam, LOL

The cap can certainly go bad, and that cannot be good. "It would be nice" if someone can drum up the correct manual. I have not been able to find anything that gives out any real information

Frankly, that seems to me to be a rather dumb place for this application, seein' as how older gensets are NOT exactly frequency (RPM) stable.
 
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