Electric Heating Function and Maintenance Methods of Diesel Generator Sets

Electric Heating Function of Diesel Generator Sets

Diesel generator sets are widely used as emergency backup power supplies in telecommunications, hospitals, campuses, financial institutions, commercial sectors, industrial and mining enterprises, and residential buildings. They also serve as independent power sources for special applications such as military and field operations, vehicles, and ships. To ensure that diesel generator sets can be put into operation quickly and avoid failures caused by diesel blockage, it is crucial to activate the electric heating function at the appropriate time.

Diesel contains a certain amount of wax. In low-temperature environments in winter, this wax will gradually precipitate, and in severe cases, it can cause diesel to solidify and stop flowing. The temperature at which the precipitated wax begins to clog the filter and affect the normal fuel supply of the oil circuit is called the cold filter plugging point of diesel. Taking 0# diesel as an example, its freezing point is 0°C, and its cold filter plugging point is 4°C. Generally, when the outdoor temperature is below 5°C, the electric heating function should be activated to keep the diesel in an ideal state, ensuring that the generator set can be put into operation at any time.

It should be noted that the electric heating function consumes a certain amount of electric energy, so it is necessary to activate this function at the appropriate temperature. For example, when the temperature is much higher than the cold filter plugging point of the used diesel, the electric heating function should not be activated. In general, activating the electric heating function at the appropriate temperature can enable the diesel generator set to be put into operation efficiently at any time.

Maintenance Methods of Diesel Generator Sets

At present, the maintenance methods for Dingbo Power diesel generator sets are limited to the following aspects:

1.Inspection of four leakage phenomena, meters, starting batteries, engine oil, and fuel of diesel generator sets;

2.Cleaning and improving the engine room environment, and regularly replacing the three filters;

3.Monthly no-load test runs and semi-annual load test runs;

4.Real-time monitoring of power quality parameters using a power monitoring system.

Limitations of Existing Maintenance Methods

The load test in existing maintenance is only a load test for the existing electrical equipment at the back end, which has certain risks and low power;

There is no scientific basis for replacing the three filters or carrying out major overhauls;

After replacing the three filters or carrying out major overhauls, there is no special load for load test runs, so it is impossible to know whether the expected goals have been achieved;

A large amount of carbon deposits will be generated during no-load test runs and low-power load operation.

When a diesel generator set operates under a small load, as the operation time increases, the following faults will occur:

For supercharged diesel generator sets, due to low load and no-load operation, the supercharging pressure is low, which easily leads to a decrease in the sealing effect of the supercharger oil seal (non-contact type);

When the engine oil accumulates to a certain extent in the supercharging chamber of the supercharger, it will leak from the joint surface of the supercharger;

A part of the engine oil that flows upward into the cylinder participates in combustion, and another part cannot be completely burned, forming carbon deposits on the valves, intake manifold, piston top, piston rings, and other parts. The remaining part is discharged with the exhaust gas. In this way, engine oil will gradually accumulate in the cylinder liner and exhaust manifold, and carbon deposits will also form;

Long-term operation under small load will also lead to more severe consequences such as increased wear of moving parts and deterioration of the engine combustion environment, resulting in an earlier major overhaul period.

Therefore, regardless of whether it is a naturally aspirated or supercharged diesel generator set, manufacturers emphasize that the operation time under low load/no load should be minimized, and specify that the minimum load should not be less than 25% - 30% of the rated power of the unit. Long-term full-load operation of diesel generator sets can not only improve their own performance and identify potential safety hazards but also avoid major accidents.

At present, the maintenance of diesel generator sets in the market refers to two aspects: fault repair and daily maintenance. Repair refers to replacing various parts to fix faults after the diesel generator set breaks down, or carrying out major overhauls to remove carbon deposits in the unit. Daily maintenance mainly focuses on regularly replacing the three filters to ensure that various performance indicators of the unit are in good condition.

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