5 Harmful Habits in Diesel Generator Maintenance

Maintaining diesel generators ensures their proper and efficient operation. Some users, to save costs after the warranty period, choose unqualified repair services instead of professional manufacturers. This increases the risk of damaging the unit or causing more frequent failures, leading to greater economic losses due to unprofessional practices and bad habits.

Manufacturers highlight five harmful habits that reduce generator performance. Correct them to improve maintenance skills:

1.Not cleaning residual cylinder gasket when replacing

Some cylinder gaskets are graphite products with strong adhesion and good sealing, designed for one-time use. When removing a used graphite gasket, residual material on the engine block and cylinder head surfaces must be completely cleaned. Any remaining debris causes uneven contact, preventing proper sealing under high temperature and pressure, leading to repeated gasket failure.

2.Installing piston pins without heating the piston

Aluminum pistons expand significantly when heated. At room temperature, piston pins should fit tightly in the pin holes. Heat the piston to around 90°C in oil or water, then insert the pin by hand immediately (note assembly direction).

3.Not lapping valves after replacement

To ensure valve sealing, after replacing valves and seats, first cut the seat with a properly angled cutter. Apply grinding paste between the valve and seat, then lap with a machine or by hand until a continuous 1–1.5mm wide gray ring forms. Test by pouring gasoline into the intake and exhaust ports; no leakage after 1–2 minutes indicates good sealing.

4.Padding metal or paper behind bearing shells

Excessive wear between crankshaft journals and bearings increases clearance, causing oil leakage, low pressure, poor lubrication, abnormal noise and intensify wear and tear. The correct repair is to grind the crankshaft and install oversized bearings. Padding metal or paper does not reduce clearance; it deforms the bearing under pressure and impairs heat transfer especially with paper.

5.Replacing oil indicators with wooden plugs

When the generator starts a rising oil indicator confirms proper lubrication and unblocks an oil jet that lubricates the rocker mechanism. Some beginners replace broken indicators with wooden plugs blocking the jet and causing insufficient lubrication accelerating rocker wear.

Diesel generators are widely used as backups but improper maintenance by inexperienced technicians with bad habits often causes damage. Frequent repairs may result from these practices always choose professional manufacturers for service.

Guangxi Dingbo Power Equipment Manufacturing Co.,Ltd was founded in 1974 and is one of the earliest manufacturers of generators and diesel generator sets in China. The company has a registered capital of 218.88 million yuan. The company covers an area of 86,000 square meters and a building area of 55,000 square meters. There are more than 660 employees, including 456 professional technicians and 106 senior technicians. It has 46 sales and service outlets nationwide. The main products are diesel engines, generator sets, and diesel generators, providing users with a one-stop service of design, supply, debugging and maintenance at any time. Dingbo has always insisted on using first-class talents, building first-class enterprises, manufacturing first-class products, creating first-class services, and making every effort to build a first-class domestic enterprise. If any question please feel free to visit our website https://www.dieselgeneratortech.com/ or send email to [email protected].