standfordnewage generators

[artglass]

        Iam in fort meyers ,fl. found a place selling standford newage 12.5 kw with the 4 cyl  kubota engine  brand new for 5800.00 any one know if this brand is anygood? suppose to be complete with radiator,remote start. any one know about service on these ,he claims that they have recently bought our onan.Any info would be greatly appreciated. any websites for service network. etc.

Kevin

[buswarrior]

Onan is owned by Cummins for a long time now.

Kubota makes good motors.

I'm suspicious of BS from salespeople....

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[JackConrad]

If he is located near Camping World, I would be careful and make sure you get everything in writing. He seems to be a fast talker who will tell you what he thinks you want to hear.  Just a gut feeling I got when I had to call him to ask a few questions about a generator he sold to a friend.  Jack

[niles500]

 Stamford Newage/Markon model k-4 lists for $9600 - fwiw

Either way it does not appear to be a steal for that model - HTH

http://www.rockanddirt.com/dispads/0000001934.pdf

[artglass]

anyone know if this a good reliable brand , is there any service network? is suppose to be a 1800 rpm unit ,didn' t seam to have any  brochure on these

[Kristinsgrandpa]

Here is a 12.5 KW for $5644 free shipping, no sales tax.

http://www.generatorsales.com/order/inc/invoice_test.asp?Page=1250TS

This is a good outfit to deal with, I know a couple of people who have bought from them.

Ed

[Sean]

(1) It's "Stamford", not "Standford".

(2) They did not "buy out" Onan.  Stamford is a subsidiary of Cummins Power Generation, and Onan is also a subsidiary of Cummins Power Generation.  Stamford (based in the UK) is generally a an EMEA product, whereas Onan (based in the US) is generally a North American product, although, as with all such products, increasing globalization means you will see both names in either market.  Other than general oversight and stewardship by Cummins, the two companies do not share any technology and there is no commonality of products between them, AFAIK.  So don't expect, for example, interchangeable parts.

(3)  Stamford, AFAIK, does not manufacture generator sets (unlike Onan, who does).  They only make alternators, which then must be mated to a prime mover, a step done by someone else.  Whatever generator set you are looking at has apparently a Kubota prime mover mated to a Stamford head, but you will need to find out who the "integrator" is to be assured of service on the unit.  (Either the head or the engine can, of course, be serviced separately by their respective dealers -- we go to Kubota tractor dealers all the time when our Fidelity/Marathon unit needs engine work.)  An example of an integrator is Dick Wright (Wrico International).  Dick buys engines and generator heads from other suppliers and mates them together, supplying the appropriate regulator, wiring harness, and controls to make the whole assembly work.  When you have a problem with a Wrico, you just call Dick, you don't need to know which part of the system is malfunctioning.  You'll need to find out who is really behind this particular unit, and that might be tricky.

(4) Your question about "service network" is a good one, but see #3 above.  AFAIK, Stamford does not maintain a service network in the US, although any Cummins dealer ought to be able to order you parts (if you have a part number).  Marine dockyards that service the international cruising industry will probably have some familiarity with this product as they are common in yachts originating from EMEA.  As far as a service network for the integrated "generator set", again see #3 -- you will need to figure out who the integrator is.  My hunch is that you will be on your own once it leaves the selling dealer.  The Kubota, as I said, can probably be serviced anywhere, but most Kubota dealers will have no way to diagnose a power, voltage, or frequency complaint, or even a complaint about nothing happening when you flip the start switch.

FWIW, and HTH.

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com

[DrivingMissLazy]

I imported hundreds of Stamford Newage alternators from the UK in the 80's and 90's. From 5kw to at least 500 KW.They were of excellent quality and I never had any problems with them. They can be serviced by a engine gen set assembliers like dick wright in the NW or Greg Bishop in Ft. Lauderdale for instance. I believe they were bought out by some one but I do not remember who.
There are repair shops around any fairly large marina's that could service the unit. Wards Marine in Ft. Lauderdale is another good service center.

Richard

[Stan]

Double check the spelling. It may be a Chinese knock-off.

[DrivingMissLazy]

Not much needed as far as repair parts go. The revolving diodes are available at any electronic shop, the same with the end bearing at a bearing shop. The windings can be rewound at any electric motor rewind shop. I would not worry about repair parts.

Richard

[TomC]

When I bought my 10kw Powertech with 4 cylinder Kubota and Marathon brushless alternator, I also looked at Onan (has its' own electronics that are expen$ive), Kohler (just about the same as Onan).  The Powertech uses simple solenoids and relays for their operation.  While this makes for simplicity (I have 600 trouble free hours on it), without electronic controls, you can't sync with auto start inverters-which I think is a really neat feature.

Watch out about buying a commercial generator for mobile use.  Most have stiff motor mounts that will transmit alot of vibration to the bus.  This will mean you experimenting with other mounts, or if you have room just going with air bag suspension on the gen.  My Powertech's mounts are soft enough where you can easily rock the gen side to side with your hand-in my opinion a good indicator of mount resiliency.

Also-watch out for generator efficiency.  One way is to have the gen run at the sales office and have them put a full watt load on it.  Then feel the exhaust air coming out of the generator vent.  If it is really hot-look else where.  Just this last weekend I loaded up my genset with heating coil loads (3-roof tops @ 1800 watts apiece, bathroom wall heater @ 1500 watts, 2 water heaters @ 1500 watts apiece and 2 blowers @ 1200 watts for a total of 11,100 watts).  With the 11,100 watt load, I then turned on the toaster oven (another 1500 watts) and the gen just started slowing down.  I adjusted my load to as close to the 10,000 watt rating and let it run for awhile.  I then opened the gen compartment to feel the air coming off of the alternator cooling fan-it was just a bit warm-not hot at all-which indicates a good efficient design.  Compared to a marine 3600rpm gen set that was rated at 5000watts.  The builder put a 2400 watt load on it and the air coming off of the cooling fan almost burned me!  Personally-have been very happy with the Powertech.  Except for normal engine servicing, have done nothing to it for 600 hours (that's like 24,000 miles of driving [they figure 40mph]). Just remember the genset is the most expensive and most important appliance you'll buy.  Don't cheap out on it-there is nothing more satisfying than a reliable well running machine-compared to some El Cheapo piece of you know what that requires alot of fiddling with constantly.  Good Luck, TomC

[Sean]

I believe they were bought out by some one but I do not remember who.

What, you didn't believe me when I said it was Cummins? 

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com

[Sean]

When I bought my 10kw Powertech with 4 cylinder Kubota and Marathon brushless alternator, ...  The Powertech uses simple solenoids and relays for their operation.  While this makes for simplicity (I have 600 trouble free hours on it), without electronic controls, you can't sync with auto start inverters-which I think is a really neat feature.

Tom,

I'm not sure I understand this comment.

I, too, have a Kubota mated to a brushless Marathon (well, OK, actually a Fidelity, which Marathon later bought out).  Mine is transformer-regulated with fixed throttle and old-fashioned relays, not a single piece of electronics on it.  Yet my SW4024 has no problem starting and stopping it.

I know some less capable inverters do not have the ability to start three-wire generators, but there are several models of converter boxes that will convert three-wire start to two-wire start, or I can tell you how to make one with two timers and some relays.

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com

[DrivingMissLazy]

I believe they were bought out by some one but I do not remember who.

What, you didn't believe me when I said it was Cummins? 

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com

Sorry. Did not catch that on the first read.

Richard

[sivrtnge2]

SO WHAT IS A GOOD GENSET???
--
BILL