Fir 212 Restoration

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Kohler Decisionmaker 3500 The new Kohler generators are regulated by the Decisionmaker 3500 controller mounted to the generator. This setup supports a remote display and controller in the Wheelhouse. A motorized circuit breaker automatically brings the unit online once the engine is up to speed and electrical production has stabilized.

Implications of the New Generator - January 2021 Getting the new generator online should start a flurry of progress. Previous owners jury-rigged many basic systems so that they could run on 115VAC electricity from small home generators. Since we now have 450 Volt 3 phase generators, the original configurations can be restored and run as intended. One example is the pump for the potable water pictured below.

Sound Comparison - January 2021 In the future, we will go into more detail. For now, this video is of our initial testing. We open with Generator #1 (Detroit Diesel 671) in operation. We then take Generator #1 offline at the main panel and shut down the motor. We follow by starting the Kohler generator and connect it to the main bus. There is an obvious difference in sound. Less obvious is the reduced vibrations from the new unit. Also, the Kohler generator responds almost instantly to changes in the electrical load. Again, we will get into this in detail in upcoming reports.

CONTROLS - January 2021 Fir’s original electrical system was controlled in the Engine Room. We will eventually produce a video showing all the controls for the original generator. In short, you start the Detroit Diesel 671 without an electrical load. Once warm, the Woodward controller is engaged and the RPMs rise to around 3,600. At this point, you fine-tune the controls to produce 450 volts at 60 hertz. Manually closing the circuit breaker makes the power available to the ma...ster bus. Generator #1 (our backup system) will continue to work in this way. The new Kohler generators are regulated by the Decisionmaker 3500 controller mounted to the generator. This setup supports a remote display and controller in the Wheelhouse. A motorized circuit breaker automatically brings the unit online once the engine is up to speed and electrical production has stabilized. Our first step was to run the emergency stop buttons for the new generator. This is a very simple, two-wire system. The generator will only run if the circuit is closed so any break along the run will cause the generator to shut down. Chris wired in the original stop switch located just outside the galley. He then added a new leg to the circuit for an emergency shutdown switch in the Wheelhouse. Joe and Chris wired the remote display and control panel. We initially set-up the display in the engine room with the control wires coiled up on the generator. There are not a lot of connections but getting it right did require a call to Kent at Boatswain’s Locker. For the generator to produce 450 volts (Fir’s native voltage) we needed a few minutes from Kent and an engineer. Kent was happy to help even on a Saturday morning. The other wiring was installed temporarily. Eventually, the Kohler auto paralleling bank of generators will feed into the existing lines used by the previous Generator #2". For this initial test, the output of the single Kohler is wired as a direct replacement of the previous generator.