Category: News

Northern Lights and Parts & Power visit 58th annual ACYS

Posted on by Adriene Riordan

On 6, 7 & 8 December, participants from Northern Lights and Parts & Power participated in the 58th Annual Antigua Charter Yacht Show.  Northern Lights VP and General Manager, Kit Purdy, Don Schutte from the NL Florida Branch and Tom Gerker & Rob Hales from Parts & Power visited yachts at the Show to see how many participants had Northern Lights products on them.  Over 30% of the yachts had a Northern Lights, Lugger or Technicold Product on board.  The ACYS presents a unique opportunity to see a large number of Northern Lights customers in one location.  The purpose of the visit was to discover the level of customer satisfaction with the Products.

Most of the yachts with Northern Lights Equipment were happy with the Product and had nothing but positive feedback to give.  This year, the crew from NL and P&P ran into several boats that were having issues though.  One vessel had recently had their generator rewound and had a catastrophic failure on the new winding while docking in Antigua. Thanks to some fast action on the part of Kit, NL were able to get a new 90kW generator end air freighted to Antigua, where the local NL Dealer Marine Power Service installed it in time for the yacht to make their charter.

The team from NL and P&P were able to answer questions from Engineers and Captains about Operation, Maintenance, Service and where to get support wherever they are in the world.  Customers were able to give feedback on the Products and, in some cases, make recommendations on how to improve them in some way.  Such feedback is invaluable to Northern Lights and their Distribution Network for making Improvements in Products and Service.

Participants from NL and P&P have been attending the ACYS for more than 20 years.  Many questions have been answered, problems solved and ideas for Product Improvement have been taken back to the Seattle Headquarters for implementation over the years. It has been an outstanding venue for listening to the Voice of the Customer.

NEW NORTHERN LIGHTS DEALER IN VIRGIN GORDA, BVI

Posted on by Guy Phoenix

NEW NORTHERN LIGHTS DEALER IN VIRGIN GORDA, BVI


On Feb 6th 2019, Parts & Power salesman, Tony Tuckett, met with the Caribbean’s most recent Northern Lights Dealer, CRC Engines and Fabrication of the Valley, Virgin Gorda.  Pictured are Tony and Geoff Cooke.  Behind the sign is company founder, Chris Cooke.  CRC was founded in 1993 on Virgin Gorda.  The company provides Marine and Industrial Engine & Generator service, as well as fabrication.  They are a major sub-contractor for the Boat Yard at Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour.

CRC are dealers for Yanmar, Yamaha, Algae X Fuel Conditioner.  With their expansion to Northern Lights, they now represent the preferred choice of most charter crews, and many bareboat fleets in the Caribbean.

For more information, please contact Chris Cooke at 284-495-5262, 284-547-8333 or Chris Cooke (chris@crcenginesbvi.com).

US EPA Tier III Compliance for Marine Generators

Posted on by Guy Phoenix

Questions about US EPA Tier III Compliance for Marine Generators?
Northern Lights Has Answers.

Understanding EPA Tier requirements can be a challenge for even the most experienced boaters. To clarify the issues around Tier III generator requirements, the experts at Northern Lights have prepared the following FAQ’s. Download the PDF from this link: Sales Bulletin – Questions about US EPA Tier III Compliance for Marine Generators?

Dan Durbin Retires from Parts & Power after 23 years of service

Posted on by Guy Phoenix

Dan Durbin retires from Parts & Power on 1 July 2017 after 23 years of service to Parts & Power customers in the Caribbean, and around the world.  Dan joined Parts & Power in 1994 as Service Manager.  He became Director of Technical Services, then spent the last few years working as lead Sales Engineer.

Dan’s career started as a Generator Instructor at the Army Engineer School and served as a Generator Technician in Vietnam and Germany.  After being honorably discharged from the Army, Dan held many technical posts including that of Technical Service Manager at Cummins NW and International Service Manager for Alaska Diesel Electric, manufacturers of Northern Lights generators. Dan was instrumental in the development of the Northern Lights generator design and focused the product on Reliability, Simplicity and Durability.  It was the philosophy that has made the Northern Lights Product so successful, especially in mega yachts, and charter vessels, where down time for a generator is an unacceptable situation.

Dan was also instrumental in developing Parts & Power as the premier engine & generator distributor in the Caribbean. His wide range of experience and technical experience helped Parts & Power expand from Marine Engines and Generators to Land based Generators, Automatic Transfer Switches, Electrical Distribution Products, Power Quality products, JCB excavation equipment and Marine Air Conditioning and Refrigeration.

Dan’s skills as a Technical Instructor are well known and appreciated by many in the Technical Fields.  Dan taught classes on Diesel Engines, Power Generation, ATS, Electrical Distribution, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration, and JCB machine Operation and Maintenance.  He taught for many organizations including H Lavity Stoutt Community College, Northern Lights in Seattle, South Florida, Europe and the Caribbean, and JCB, in addition to regular training for Parts & Power.

Dan was active in several local community service organizations, and never denied any customer, or competitor, technical advice whenever asked.

Dan will be sorely missed by the many lives he touched in the Caribbean and South Florida, but none so much as his family at Parts & Power.

Although Dan will be relocating to South Florida to be near his family, he will remain on retainer with Parts & Power for future projects and training.

Ensure the Reliable Operation of your Generator Set with Proper Coolant and Cooling System Maintenance

Posted on by jdowling

Certain types of coolant may adversely affect the functionality of Northern Lights generator sets. The Northern Lights Service Department offers the following troubleshooting tips:

  • Straight water with additive is not recommended on Northern Lights generator sets as they may cause damage to the engine.
  • Some brands of Hybrid or OAT type coolants have been reported to cause the OEM thermostat to stick, leading to overheating. In addition, some extended life coolants have been found to cause leaks in the generator set’s pump seal. In such conditions, flush the coolant system thoroughly and refill with an approved Northern Lights coolant.
  • All engines with wet liners require a supplemental coolant additive (SCA) to prevent liner erosion and pitting in the circulating water pump impeller. Northern Lights recommends heavy duty diesel rated coolants, which include an SCA. If a heavy duty diesel rated coolant is not available, add an SCA to prevent the symptoms noted above.
  • It is the responsibility of the customer to understand that the use of incompatible coolant may cause damage, so please help educate them.

For use in Northern Lights generator sets, the following coolant types are approved:

  • Conventional Propylene Glycol based coolants.
  • Conventional Ethylene Glycol based coolants.

Please refer to your operators’ manual for your specific unit’s coolant requirements and specifications.
Should you encounter of the above conditions, or have additional questions about Northern Lights coolant recommendations, contact your Factory Service Representative.

Download this information in PDF form

Proper Loading of Marine Diesel Generator Sets

Posted on by jdowling

Among the most common issues people report with their marine generator sets are dirty exhaust or “wet stacking”. Most frequently, this condition is caused by cylinder glazing and carbon build-up. The root cause is simple: underloading the genset.

 

Diesel engines in marine gensets should typically run at least 60-75% of their maximum rated load. Short periods of low load running are permissible providing the set is brought up to full load, or close to full load on a regular basis.

 

Running a diesel engine under low load conditions causes low cylinder pressures, and consequent poor piston ring sealing. The ring-to-liner seal relies on combustion gas pressure to force the piston rings against the oil film on the cylinder bore. Low cylinder pressures result in low temperatures and poor combustion, leading to soot formation and unburned fuel residues and ultimately clogging of the ring grooves. Advanced cases of this condition can even cause the rings to stick in the grooves, further damaging the cylinder bore.

 

Cylinder glazing occurs when hot combustion gases blow past the now poorly sealing piston rings, causing the lubricating oil on the cylinder walls to flash burn, creating an enamel-like glaze. This smooths the bore and minimizes the effect of the honing marks machined into the bore surface.

 

Hard carbon is highly abrasive, and is also formed from poor combustion. It wears the honing marks on the bores, leading to increased oil consumption, evidenced by blue smoke. Poor combustion also clogs injector tips, resulting in black exhaust smoke.

 

The problem is further exacerbated by the formation of acids in the engine oil from condensed water and combustion by-products which would normally boil off at higher temperatures. Acidic buildup in the lubricating oil causes damaging wear to bearing surfaces.

 

Running your generator set lightly loaded will inevitably shorten the service life of the engine, and results in pollution that is unacceptable to you, to port authorities and to neighboring vessels. Prevent costly repairs and downtime by maintaining adequate engine load on your genset.

 

If you encounter any of the above problems, or just want more information, contact your nearest Caribbean dealer, visit wwwCaribbeanNorthernLights.com or call Parts and Power at 284-494-2830

Northern Lights Introduces Improved DC Logic

Posted on by jdowling

Starting in June, Northern Lights is changing their DC Logic for the first time in over 40 years.  The affected generators include marine units from M673LD3 through M944T sizes – including commercial marine sets through the M40C3.  The first difference you will see is that the generators will be coming with a different plug.

The connector will change from the black, round connector (known as the “Merc plug”) to a gray, rectangular Deutsch DT plug.

merc2
Merc
deutsch
Deutsch

Deutsch DT series connectors are rugged and weatherproof and are common to many transportation wiring systems.  Northern Lights DC Logic remains simple and easy to diagnose. The new relay logic will provide easier installation of advanced control panels being offered by the factory.  Below are links to the old wiring schematic versus the new wiring schematic.  A limited number of generators with the old DC wiring are still available. Contact Parts & Power in Tortola, or your nearest Caribbean dealer, for more information.

Northern Lights Visits Customers at Antigua Charter Yacht Meeting December 2015

Posted on by Guy Phoenix

From 5-9 December members from the Northern Lights family visited customers at the 54th Annual Antigua Charter Yacht Meeting (ACYM).

The Charter Yacht Show was very successful with 105 yachts ranging in size from 62 ft to 296 ft. In addition there were another 40-50 yachts in Falmouth Harbour which were not in the Show.

Mike Prado and Nils Nelson, from Deerfield Beach, Vice President/General Manager, Brian Vesely, from Seattle, and Tom Gerker from NL Distributor Parts & Power visited vessels on Falmouth Harbour Marina, the Yacht Club Marina, the Dockyard Marina and the Catamaran Marina.

They found many of the yachts had Northern Lights products on them, both generators and Lugger propulsion engines. In most cases they received nothing but favorable reports from Engineers and Captains. A few vessels had questions or problems on their equipment that the team was able to address. In many cases the NL representatives found a recurring theme that they had discovered at previous shows. Many of the NL customers simply needed advice on how to maintain their Northern Lights equipment, and where to go to get information. In some cases, issues that Engineers and Customers were having in the field were recorded by Brian so he could make changes in Production at the Factory to make Northern Lights products even better.

They found that, in some cases, customers were overhauling their generators prematurely. Because they had owned competitor’s products in the past who recommended overhauls at 10, 15 or 20,000 hours, they felt that they had to do the same on their NL product. Several customers had done overhauls or repairs at 10 or 15,000 hours to find so little wear that they questioned the value in having done the work. Brian and Tom recommended using oil analysis and valve adjustment measurements to monitor wear, as many Northern Lights generators run well past 30,000 hours with nothing but routine maintenance.

Northern Lights were, once again this year, the only engine or generator manufacturer who attended the show. They have been attending the Show for over 15 years, to meet their customers and get feedback on the performance of their equipment. Customers who attend the ACYM typically own generators that run for extensive periods of time, and are more often than not in distant locations far away from a repair facility. So their generators must run reliably.

Having the new General Manager at the show allowed Brian to hear the Voice of the Customer in order to make changes and improvements to the current product, and get an idea of what customers were looking for in future products.

NL M1066A1 generator on board MY Odessa
NL M1066A1 generator on board MY Odessa
Vice President/General Manager, Brian Vesley, with Chief Engineer Dan O’Rourke
Vice President/General Manager, Brian Vesley, with Chief Engineer Dan O’Rourke
SY Marine with 2 x NL M1064A generators on board
SY Marine with 2 x NL M1064A generators on board
Various yachts at the show
Various yachts at the show
Various yachts at the show
Various yachts at the show