The rest of the story....

[K8MHZ]

I was asked by a friend to go up (like in north) to get a back up-generator running after it had been placed in it's new enclosure. This is an older 10k unit with an auto-transfer switch, propane fired.

The story I got before the 40 some mile drive from here was that the gas valve puked and had a scab repair done just to keep it running. Everything else worked fine, supposedly, and since the genny now had a new home and wouldn't be moved, it was time to put a new valve in and bring it back into service.

OK....

First, I suggested, let's see if the engine will even turn over.

No problem by hand.

Next, let's try to turn the engine with the starter.

Brand new battery connected.

Turn switch to test.

Solenoid clicks, motor doesn't spin, panel mounted relay trips.

I had no wiring diagram so I was winging it, savoring the thought of having to reverse engineer this old girl (It has a Wisconsin motor in it).

Then I am told......

Oh, the generator was under water for a while. That's why it's now a couple feet higher than it used to be......

So it's not just strangers / customers that do this. I think that we tend to assume malice when a check is involved and that may not be the case at all. In this case it was sheer absent mindedness. No foul, no harm and since it's friends it borders on the, OK it is....comical.

Just something to consider when we think we may be getting shagged.

 

[ptonsparky]

We worked on a plastic extruder that produced 4' by whatever length. Used equipment. We were to set up the forming & cooling rollers control because the new owner had modified the operation somewhat. No schematics with 2 VFDs set up as master/slave which we could not get to work properly. Drive mfg would answer no questions about their equip. Spent lots of time and finally two new drives with local support. Talking to the owner as it was finally up and running he tells me "...that was originally set up so the forming rollers ran in the opposit direction." As I stared at him with my mouth open he says something to the affect of "I guess maybe I should have told you that first."

Mine was T&M, hope yours was.

 

[K8MHZ]

We worked on a plastic extruder that produced 4' by whatever length. Used equipment. We were to set up the forming & cooling rollers control because the new owner had modified the operation somewhat. No schematics with 2 VFDs set up as master/slave which we could not get to work properly. Drive mfg would answer no questions about their equip. Spent lots of time and finally two new drives with local support. Talking to the owner as it was finally up and running he tells me "...that was originally set up so the forming rollers ran in the opposit direction." As I stared at him with my mouth open he says something to the affect of "I guess maybe I should have told you that first."

Mine was T&M, hope yours was.

This will be T&M. All my troubleshooting work is T&M. But it will be at a very reduced rate. It's a mini-farm owned by some friends. My daughter wants to be a vet and this place is like heaven to her. She got to feed a baby deer there and I swear she was on clouds for a couple days afterward.

Most of the work I do, well nearly all of it, is T&M or union scale. I am not good at bidding so I don't do it. The economy is so bad here that I am lucky to have friends with electrical problems.

I have found that when doing work for friends, I let them set the price. I always make sure they are there when I am doing the work so the see what I do and the expensive equipment and tools I use. In every case if I let the friend decide the price I get paid more than I would ask them for. If I were well off, I would probably work for pizza and beer for them, or just do it free to insure their family's safety. I guess it would be different if I didn't like being an electrician so much.