DIY GARDEN: installation

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Predator 4000 Generator Update 2 Hour Meter Installation and 12 Volt Test

If you make changes to a piece of equipment that is still under warranty, you risk voiding the warranty even though the changes you made werent the cause. Unfortunately, all the “bells and whistles” aren’t included on most equipment and there are times when the simple addition to a piece of equipment will insure it functions properly.

Many generators don’t come with an hour meter. Hour meters are great for keeping track of run times on equipment and to help you keep track of service intervals for your equipment. This will help you get the maximum life out of your equipment. Adding an hour meter in the wrong way by altering the equipment (like drilling holes for a gauge) can effectively negate your warranty. Companies don’t like you altering their equipment, even if it serves a worthwhile cause.

Most generators include a 12 volt outlet on their control panel. Using a 12 volt plug-in adapter and a fairly strong magnet, you can easily hook-up an hour meter to your generator without making any modifications to your generator. This works on other types of equipment also. You can also use double sided self-adhesive tape or plastic zip ties. Use whatever is handy and avoid making any permanent modifications to your generator to avoid loss of your warranty.

To accomplish this you will need a DC hour meter, a 12 volt male plug-in adapter, a short piece of wire( two strands), a single gauge mounting panel ( 2 inch in this case) and a flat magnet (an old key holder works great!). You will also need a pair of pliers (needle nose pliers work best), a knife to strip the insulation from the wires and some electrical tape. I also used a small drill to make two holes to mount the gauge holder to the magnet case. Hook the connectors (included with the hour meter) to one end of your two strand wire and the 12 volt male plug-in adapter to the other end of your wire. I used a male plug from an old 12 volt air compressor that had died and was sitting in the garage for a couple of years. Knew it would come in handy for something.

If possible, try to find a double wire that has a black with white stripe and a plain black wire. The wire with the white stripe should be used for the positive connections (+). This keeps the polarity correct and in accordance with current 12 volt wiring standards.

You might want to use a double outlet plug-in that will allow you to use your 12 volt connection to power items other than your hour meter. In this case I used the additional outlet to power a two speed 12 volt fan that can be used to provide additional cooling to the engine on hot days or if it is in an enclosed space (generator box).

Prior to installing on my generator, I plugged the finished assembly into the power outlet on my truck until 2.4 hours had been registered to update the meter reading to include the hours run on the generator at this time. After final testing, the meter read 2.6 hours which indicated a total test time of about 15 minutes. Total cost for this non-invasive hour meter installation is about $35 and can be done for less if you scrounge a few old parts.

This completed my final test on the generator and everything worked as expected. The only item left is an oil change since the initial engine break-in period has been completed.

Got hour meter?

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

Predator 4000 Generator Update 2 Hour Meter Installation and 12 Volt Test

RV Boondocking Project DIY Installation for a Reverse Light

One of the most difficult tasks when boondocking is backing your RV into a suitable area. This can be made even more challenging if you dont have reverse lights on your RV and its starting to get dark. In many cases, In our case, we usually dont reach our destination until its gotten pretty late in the day. Without decent back-up lights, you could risk serious damage to your RV.

RW, Jr.s RV didnt have any reverse lights and it really made it difficult to back-up when there wasnt much daylight left. To remedy this problem, I installed an LED spotlight on the spare tire carrier on RW, Jr.s RV. If we wind up getting set up late in the evening, we dont have a problem because of a lack of daylight.

.The main obstacle was making a mounting bracket for the light. Replacing the existing taillights with ones that incorporated reverse lights was a pretty expensive proposition and they wouldnt have provided very much additional light. Standard reverse lights arent very bright and wouldnt be a lot of real help when it gets dark.

I used an old aluminum bracket and a piece of 1/2" electrical conduit that was in my junk pile to fabricate a mounting bracket. It only required a couple of holes to be drilled in the spare tire mounting bracket to attach the light. I mounted it in a centered position that enabled the light to be used to its maximum advantage. This gave the maximum amount of light coverage.

The light was wired directly into the trailer wiring harness to the reverse light wire which hadnt been hooked up. Now RW, Jr has a spotlight that works any time he is backing up his RV. He can also see me when Im guiding him into place if its dark. I used a 10 watt 12 volt DC LED Floodlight for the reverse light. Its water-proof and puts out a lot of light.

Got boondocking light?

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

RV Boondocking Project DIY Installation for a Reverse Light

Predator 4000 Generator Update Wheel Kit Installation and Heavy Load Test

In my prior review of the Harbor Freight Predator 4000 Generator, there was only a light load test conducted during the initial break-in period. I’ve since installed a wheel kit and conducted a heavy load test.

The wheel kit from Harbor Freight is amazingly easy to install and only a quick reference to the included instructions were necessary during the installation of the wheel kit. Note: You will need a set of metric wrenches for the installation.

Blocking It Up

To facilitate the wheel kit installation, I simply blocked the generator up with a short length of a 4X4 wood block. This provided adequate clearance to install the axles and the wheels. Once the wheels were installed, the other end of the generator was raised in a similar fashion. This allowed the front levelers to be attached easily and quickly.

The handle was easily attached with four bolts. You don’t need nuts on the bolts as stated in the instructions. Just make sure to orient the handle bracket properly to allow adjustment of the handle. It includes a pin with a lanyard to lock in the adjustment desired on the handle position.

Total wheel kit installation time was less than 15 minutes and in no time it was ready to go. A wheel kit will make moving your generator a very simple and easy process.

I also conducted a heavy load test on the generator afterwards. I used a couple of halogen lamps that draw a steady 10 amps when plugged in. The generator gave a slight burp when the lamps were hooked up but smoothed out quickly. It was run for an hour with this load without any problems. All that’s left to do is a break-in oil change of the unit.

Got wheels?

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

Predator 4000 Generator Update Wheel Kit Installation and Heavy Load Test