You can download the latest Northern Lights Training Schedule here.
Northern Lights Parts Blowout
| Parts blowout special | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part# | Description | List USD | Sale USD | Comments |
| 24-50002 | Primary fuel filter | $156.95 | $99.00 | This is the same as the Racor 220 which is NLA |
| 38-08001 | Spare parts kit M673 | $355.00 | $175.00 | Common parts for the Northern Lights 6 kw generator |
| 38-08201 | Spare parts kit M753 | $319.00 | $150.00 | Common parts for the popular Northern Lights 8 kw |
| 38-08400 | Spare parts kit M844L | $291.00 | $190.00 | Common parts for the Northern Lights 20 kw generator |
Limited availability subject to prior sale.
UNBELIEVABLE DEALS ON NORTHERN LIGHTS SOUND ENCLOSURES
- Northern Lights M843NW2 or M843NW3 Sound Enclosure, part number 05-73100.
LIST PRICE: $2,595.00 SPECIAL PRICE: $1,406.00 - Northern Lights M844K/M844LK Sound Enclosure, part number Northern Lights 05-70000.
LIST PRICE: $7,950.00 SPECIAL PRICE: $1,977.00 - Northern Lights M7536K/M773LK Sound Enclosure, part number Northern Lights 05-78600.
LIST PRICE: $4,350.00 SPECIAL PRICE: $1,350.00
Contact Parts & Power for more information.
Prices are subject to change without notice.
NORTHERN LIGHTS CARIBBEAN DEALER SERVICE TRAINING HERALDED AS GREAT SUCCESS
Dealer participants attending the Caribbean Service Training, hosted by Parts & Power and Northern Lights Inc from 14-16 July 2015 in Tortola BVI, were all positive in their reviews and comments. There were 6 ratings of “Excellent” (5 out of 5) and 6 “Good” (4 out of 5). There were the inevitable complaints about Service Trainer and Technical Director, Dan Durbin’s notoriously bad drawings. But he always managed to get his point across. The participants were unanimous in the fact that the quality of the instruction was very good to excellent.
In addition to his decades of field service experience, Dan has been doing Service Training since the 1960’s for such organizations as the Army Engineer School, several Colleges and a variety of Diesel Engine/Generator manufacturers. He still does training for Northern Lights at customer training events in FL. Northern Lights SE Regional Service Manager, James Newball who has been with the company of over 6 years, said he even learned a few new things at the Training. James attended the training to support Dan’s efforts, and to explain Service issues that the factory is seeing around the world. It was also James first visit to the Caribbean to meet the Dealer network and hear, first-hand, the challenges faced by NL Dealers and Customers in the Caribbean.
All the participants learned about changes to the CaribbeanNorthernLights.com website. It recently received a major face lift thanks to the efforts of Jennifer Dowling and Scott Putnicki at NL factory headquarters in Seattle, WA. Information for customers and dealers is available on the website, as well as links to NL Parts & Operators Manuals, the Dealer Secured website, “Ask a Tech” inquiry link and Service Tips. A Parts Special was revealed that is only available to customers who visit the CNL.com website.
Northern Lights Dealer Service Training is challenging because of the various backgrounds of the dealers participating. Some are Mechanics looking for more information on DC and AC electric. Others are Electricians looking for more information on Diesel Engines. Dan is very good at getting the theory and hands on training across though.
Diesel engines are a continually changing product these days due to the changes required to maintain emissions compliance by the EPA, IMO and various other regulatory organizations. Although AC and DC electricity is constrained by the laws of physics, there are new products being introduced every year to meet customers increasingly sophisticated power demands, which make generators more complicated. “One of the best features of Northern Lights Generators,” commented Parts & Power MD Tom Gerker, “is that their DC logic has remained largely unchanged for over 40 years.” It worked well in the 1970’s and works well today. Despite that, NL is always striving to improve their systems, so the product continues to evolve.
That is the reason that Northern Lights and Parts & Power puts on regular Regional Training for their Caribbean Dealers.
Northern Lights Inc and Parts & Power want to extend their gratitude to the 12 participants who made the sacrifice in time and expense to attend the training, and become more knowledgeable about the product. Their Dealerships will receive a “golden wrench” next to their Dealer name on the NL Dealer Directory and on the CaribbeanNorthernLights.com website. We also want to extend thanks to the hard working staff at Parts & Power for making the event such a great success.
Northern Lights Training completed!
Great picture of the Dealer team who completed Northern Lights product training in Tortola w/c 13 July 2015.
Northern Lights Service Training 14-16 July 2015
Northern Lights and Caribbean Distributor, Parts & Power Ltd of Tortola, will be hosting Service Training for Caribbean Dealers from 14-16 July in Road Town. 12 Caribbean dealers from 10 countries will participate in the training.
The training will be put on by Parts & Power Director of Technical Services, Dan Durbin, and Northern Lights SE Regional Service Manager, James Newball. Dan has over 40 years’ experience in Diesel Electric Service training, having taught for such companies and Cummins Engine Co, Ford Lehman and Northern Lights. Dan served as Northern Lights International Service Manager and Service trainer prior to joining Parts & Power in 1993. He continues to put on factory sponsored Service and Product training in Florida 3-4 times per year.
The focus of the training will be on current Northern Lights generator production, identification and serial number understanding; Northern Lights and CaribbeanNorthernLights.com website navigation; Engine troubleshooting & repair; DC theory, troubleshooting & repair; AC theory, troubleshooting & repair; Stand maintenance practices; Warranty training and processing; Marine exhaust systems; and a discussion of common and recent Service Issues.
The purpose of the training is to make sure that all Caribbean Northern Lights dealer technicians have the most up to date training so they can better service Northern Light customers in the Caribbean. To that end, all dealers participating in the training will receive the prestigious “Golden Wrench” next to their name in the Northern Lights Dealer Directory. This indicates that dealer has undergone the most recent training procedures offered by Northern Lights.
Parts Specials 7-1-15
Parts Specials
Click the image to download a PDF of this limited time offer – expires on 31st JULY 2015!
SUMMER TIME IS ANNUAL MAINTENANCE TIME FOR YOUR NORTHERN LIGHTS GENERATOR
Summer time is the off season for many in the Caribbean, whether you are a cruiser sitting out Hurricane Season or a Charter vessel taking a well-deserved break. Before you put the boat up on the hard, or leave it at the dock for the summer, do your diesel engines a favor. Before you leave your hard working Northern Lights generator for the summer, be sure to change the oil. The oil is the life blood of your engine. It holds all the dirt, acids, soot and by products of combustion in suspension. That contaminated oil sits on all the surfaces serviced by your oil and expedite corrosion if left for prolonged periods. In addition, oil oxides when left exposed to the air, reducing its effectiveness at lubricating your engine and holding contaminants.
So do your engine a favor and change the oil before you put it in storage. While you’re at it, why not do your Annual Maintenance?
Annual Maintenance? What is Annual Maintenance?
If you look at your Operator’s Manual, you will notice a section that says “Every 12 Months”. Everything in there is due every year. Generally this includes: Oil Change, Valve Adjustment, Air Filter replacement, Fuel filter replacement and Injector Testing. Check your manual to see if there is anything else included, but the above are fairly common with most diesel engines and Northern Lights generators.
We discussed the oil change. Even if you don’t have the 200 or 250 hours dictated by the oil change interval, remember that oil oxidizes even if not being used. So changing oil makes sense, but why check the valves? Besides making sure that your engine is “breathing” properly in terms or air in and exhaust gases out, it also can pick up signs or engine wear. If the valve clearances are narrow, that can mean that the valve in question is wearing the valve seat. This may be a sign that your engine is getting ready for a top end overhaul. If caught early, this is fairly routine. If caught too late, the repair could be far more costly. You could be looking at a new cylinder head, or a “dropped valve” which can be catastrophic.
You might think that, because your engine is clean, you don’t need to change your air filter. Many Northern Lights generators have foam air filters which, not only filter the air, but aid in noise dampening. These filters deteriorate with heat and over time. If not changed, they will start to turn into powder and fall apart. The foam will not hurt the engine but we have seen cases where large pieces of the air filter were sucked into the intake valves. In such a case, the engine loses compression (because the intake valve will not close completely) and will not start or run. This is not only difficult to troubleshoot, but requires the removal of the cylinder head. So the $20 spent on a new air filter is a very good and wise investment.
Not everyone checks injectors every year. If you are not putting a lot of hours on the generator, it starts quickly and is running clean, you might be able to skip this. But the service interval on injectors can be as low as every 700 hours (or once per year). In addition, an injector nozzle that is “squirting” rather than “spraying” can melt a piston in a very short period of time. So if you have a shop that can test the injectors, the process can offer great peace of mind.
Take the time to review your Operator’s Manual or discuss its maintenance with your local dealer. Your generator was an expensive investment. If given reasonable maintenance and operated properly, your Northern Lights generator should give 20,000 hours of operation or more. But we’ve seen improperly maintained units struggle to provide half that life. Doing your Annual Maintenance is a good way of assuring that your generator will give you the reliable life expectancy Northern Lights customers have come to expect from their product.
Noise reduction for Generators
When I set out to write this blog piece I thought it would be a simple matter of writing about sound enclosures, construction materials and noise reduction. However, when I started researching these areas I quickly realized there is too much material for a single blog to be meaningful. This is therefore the first in a series of blogs on the topic of noise reduction for generators.
Part 1 – Noise
With the continued and expanding use of diesel generator sets there has come an increased focus on controlling the noise these generators create. Whether generator sets are located in enclosures outside a facility or home, inside, on the roof or even on a yacht, designers are making more efforts to control generator set noise and vibration in order to reduce the effects on neighbours and building occupants alike. Whether generator sets run continuously in prime-power applications, intermittently in demand response applications, or occasionally in emergency standby situations or testing, their operating sound levels nearly always require remediation due to market requirements.
In order to understand the solutions to reducing noise from generators, it is first necessary to understand noise. Therefore this blog provides a simple summary of noise and its characteristics, and the sources of noise created by generators.
What is Noise?
Vibrating objects induce pressure waves that travel through the air, reaching our ears as sound. Noise, by definition, is simply undesirable sound. When the amplitude of the pressure waves becomes too high, the amount of sound becomes uncomfortable. In addition to being annoying, excessive sound can cause permanent hearing damage. The following diagram explains the physiology of what happens when sound reaches the human ear.
The human ear has such a wide dynamic range that the logarithmic decibel scale (dB) was devised to express sound levels in a convenient way. The ratio between the softest sound the ear can hear and the loudest sound it can experience without damage is approximately a million to one. By using a base-10 logarithmic scale, the whole range of human hearing can be described by a more convenient number that ranges from 0 dB (threshold of normal hearing) to 140 dB (the threshold of pain).
There are two dB scales used to describe sound: A and L.
- The dB(L) scale is linear and treats all audible frequencies as having equal value. However, the human ear does not experience all frequencies the same way. Our ears are particularly sensitive to frequencies in the range of 1,000 to 4,000 Hz, and they are less sensitive to sounds in lower or higher frequencies. (This is why dogs often start barking for reasons humans don’t understand – dogs have the ability to hear sounds of a much higher frequency than humans)
- To adjust the sound pressure levels to more accurately reflect what the human ear perceives, the frequency-weighted dB(A) scale has been adopted as the official regulated sound level unit.
It is also worth noting that the db(A) scale represents an “absolute” value. For example, stating that a generator produces 98 db(A) of noise isn’t particularly meaningful – remember by definition it can only be noise if it is undesirable to the recipient. Standing alongside a generator generating 98 db(A) of noise is completely different to standing 500 meters away (where it probably couldn’t be heard).
More useful therefore is to state at what distance from the generator the noise level is experienced. As a result most generator manufacturers state sound levels in terms of db(A) @ x meters, for example 85 db(A) at 1 meter. This in turn presents challenges in terms of measurement, but that is a topic for a later blog.
Sound produced by generator sets
The principal sources of noise from generators are described below.
1 Engine mechanical noise
With the advent of high-pressure common rail fuel injection, advanced turbocharging and better combustion control, manufacturers have significantly reduced overall mechanical noise from diesel engines. The amount of sound varies with the size of the engine and its load, and can be as high as 110 dB(A) measured at one meter. Engines with more cylinders have more power strokes per revolution and therefore deliver a smoother flow of power with less vibration. Smaller engines tend to be harsher in operation and produce more noise and vibration for their size.
2 Exhaust noise
Engine exhaust is a major contributor to overall sound levels. When measured without an exhaust silencer noise can be 120 dB(A) or more depending on the size of the engine. The sound level can be reduced by up to 40 dB(A) depending on the silencer employed.
3 Cooling fan noise
Sound emanates from turbulent air as the cooling fan moves air across the engine and through the radiator. The amount of sound varies with the speed and volume of air being moved as well as with the design and distortion of the fan blades. The amount of sound can be as high as 95 dB(A) at one meter.
4 Alternator noise
The alternator has an internal cooling fan, and the combination of cooling air movement and brush friction produces noise. However, the sound level is always small compared to the driving engine.
5 Induction noise
Current fluctuations in the alternator windings create mechanical noises that add to total noise when load demand changes.
6 Structural/mechanical noise
This is caused by mechanical vibration of various structural parts and components that is radiated as sound. Isolators between the engine, alternator, controls and other components help to reduce the amount of vibration that gets converted to noise. Anti-vibration mounts can also be employed to reduce noise propagation through the ground or hull where the generator is located.
Summary
In this first blog we have introduced the definition of noise, described its impact on human beings and highlighted the sources of noise from generators. In the next blog we will discuss methods for attenuating these noise levels.
Images courtesy of http://conocimientosamplifiersfr.blogspot.com.
NORTHERN LIGHTS 5-20 KW HEAT EXCHANGERS
I was helping a customer the other day who requested a heat exchanger tube stack for an M753K. This is a 10 year old generator, but I was still shocked that he needed a heat exchanger. In our experience, the only thing that can cause a heat exchanger tube stack failure on a 5-20 kw generator is very poor maintenance. When I looked up the part number for the tube stack I noticed that we had sold 3 in the last 12 months.
There are, conservatively 300-400 of these generators in operation in the Caribbean, so that works out to less than a 0.75% failure rate. Most of our competitors would be envious of such a low failure rate, but we still feel that is too high. The only reason that these tube stacks are failing is because of poor maintenance practices, or using the wrong coolant.
We need to educate our customers that the only proper coolant is Distilled Water, or a 50/50 premix ethylene glycol mix. If our customers want to use 100% ethylene glycol, they need to dilute it with 50% Distilled Water. Most of the water we get in the Caribbean comes from Reverse Osmosis, and that often leaves too high a mineral (including salt) content. Even with proper coolant, sludge, scale and corrosion build up over a period of time. So we recommend that our customers drain, flush and refill their cooling system every year as part of their annual maintenance.
If the customer wants to extend the coolant change interval, they should purchase a pack of coolant test strips (part number 20-00005) and test their coolant every 6 months past the 1 year anniversary of the last coolant change. The coolant strips cost $15. A tube stack costs nearly $500.
In addition to the tube stack failing, poor coolant quality can cause water pump failure, and the core plugs (water jackets) to corrode from the inside out. Made of a thinner, less corrosion resistant material, the core plugs can often be the “canary in the coal mine”. If they start to leak, the customer knows he has a problem. A bigger problem is that some of these core plugs can be very hard to get to in order to change them.
So we need to emphasize to our customers that it is a very good investment to change their coolant every year, even if they need to hire their local dealer to do so. It can save them a lot of money down the road.