# Light Tower Trailer diesel generator opinions?



## sportplumber (Nov 16, 2019)

Hello,

I am looking at an "Allman" light tower trailer with a 3 cylinder Cat engine and Perkins gen set. 1800rpm
14KW, diesel, about 6000 hours $4500. I would use it to back up my house. I has 50 and 30 amp connections.

Seems like a nice unit. My concern is the storage of the diesel fuel in the on board 35 gallon tank.
I have never had an issue with my old tractor and water truck but you hear stories.

Opinions?

Thanks


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## iowagold (Jan 22, 2020)

*click here for the light tower section on bidadoo*
*that will give you an idea of what is out there as well as pricing.
yea the light towers are ok.
but these days you are better off with an inverter genset like the honda eu7000is.

unless you need a light tower for events!
a tip switch over the lights to led and have plenty of extra power!
they are 1000 watts per light with 4 lights on most towers.
so a good led swap is 500 watt or less per head.
that would save you 2000 watts to run something else.

perfect for ball events or other outdoor events that can run in to the night.*


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## sportplumber (Nov 16, 2019)

iowagold said:


> *click here for the light tower section on bidadoo*
> *that will give you an idea of what is out there as well as pricing.
> yea the light towers are ok.
> but these days you are better off with an inverter genset like the honda eu7000is.
> ...


It is LED already but I don't really need it!

Water cooled Cat hard to beat and I need the larger KW.

Thanks for the link.

What about storing Diesel?


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## iowagold (Jan 22, 2020)

click here for the fuel additives page
and select the diesel page
there are a few things on there to add to the diesel fuel.
make sure you do not get BIO DIESEL.
that stuff does not store well... at least for long term.
use a water separator right after the tank before the fuel pump.
watch for the diesel bug. that is the slim stuff that feeds on diesel fuel.
it can trash a good working fuel system!
and yes they make a treatment for that.
use large fuel filters. and dual filter heads rock on diesel systems.

cool and dry is the best place to store the diesel.
filter the storage tank and use water separators and dual filters.
air lock the tank vent kinda like they do with making wine but use diesel fuel in the air lock.
that will keep moisture out of the tank from an direct air vent!
just bend a large side ways S pipe out of one inch ID copper works as a trap and use a snubber on the end for a dust seal.
and it needs to be tall trap bends for the volume of the tank.


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## drmerdp (Apr 10, 2018)

I’m assuming that cat engine has a fuel filter and water separator built it. Any additional filters and separators are a great addition. Your best defense is keeping a full tank, less space for air means less moisture. There are diesel additives that reduce gelling in really cold temps.


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## iowagold (Jan 22, 2020)

if you keep an eye on the clear water separators you can see the slime in them..
lol
we are just buying our diesel now off the bulk trucks..
no gas stations bad fuel!
and getting the strait diesel, no bio fuel blend.
and yes we have a water drain at the bottom of the tank with a couple of separators on them so we can see if we have an issue with the diesel bug.

some where here i have pix of the slime in one of the units we had to clean the whole system.
a real pain in the axx to deal with!
at least we caught it before it trashed the injection pump and the injectors.
most injection pumps rely on the diesel fuel to lube the pump.
same on an injector.
so if it get water in there it will rust things and make it abrasive..
it can trash a system fast when it gets to that point!

same on ethanol fuel and the water that comes with the fat ethanol.
if it was dry ethanol it would not be an issue...


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## tabora (Sep 6, 2018)

The diesel boat guys often subscribe to a fuel polishing service: Advanced Fuel Polishing Service, Inc.


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## iowagold (Jan 22, 2020)

cool link tabby!
yea that clean system would be a good think for LARGE boats and ships diesel tanks!
basic large 2 sock system with a couple of super large water separators.
make a long brass probe that can suck out the bottom of the tank junk!
they had transfer pumps with filters as well..
the cost to purchase would be the thing for small service shops..

and it is a set of filters every job!
or even more on larger tanks!
that bio diesel bug is a BIG deal!!
watch for black slime junk in the water separator..
at least on units sitting for more than a year..

and on units used most of the time, it looks like frog eggs!!
no kidding!
it is a total wierd thing the first time you see it.


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