GENERATOR MAINTENANCE

Regular inspection and the correct maintenance of generators and

their associated control gear is essential to prevent failure and
inefficient operation.
CAUTION: Always ensure that the generator prime-mover is shut
down and locked off before you begin any maintenance. Also
ensure that the generator circuit breaker is locked off, auto-start
circuits are disabled and electric heaters are switched off and
isolated.
All wiring to the generator should be inspected for damage or
frayed insulation and tightness of terminal connections.
Particularly check for signs of oil and water contamination of cable
insulation within terminal boxes.
Check that the cooling air intake and exhaust openings are not
blocked and are free of dirt and dust.
Inspect and clean the generator rotor and stator windings by
removing dust with a dry lint-free cloth. Low pressure dry
compressed air may be used to dislodge heavier dirt but be careful
not to drive the dirt deeper into the windings. An industrial type
vacuum cleaner is very effective for removing dirt from the
windings. Use a rubber or plastic coated nozzle on the vacuum
cleaner tube to prevent abrasive damage to the sensitive winding
insulation. Oil on the surface of winding insulation will reduce the
insulation resistance and shorten its life. The oily deposits can be
removed by washing the windings with special degreasant liquids.
Minor abrasions to winding insulation can be repaired, after
cleaning, by the application of a suitable air-drying varnish.
Rotor sliprings must be checked for uniform (even) wear and the
carbon brushes have free movement in their boxes. Correct brush
pressure can be checked using a pull-type spring balance and
compared with the manufacturers instructions. A pull of around
1 1.5kg is usual. If the brushes become too short (below about 2
cm), the reduced spring pressure will cause sparking at the slip
ring contact. Replace brushes with correct type and bed them to
the curvature of the slip rings. This can be done by placing a thin
strip of glass paper (not emery paper) over the slip ring with its
cutting surface under the carbon brush. Pull the glass paper
around the slip ring until the brush surface has the same contour
as the ring. The last few passes of the glass paper should be made
in the same direction as the normal rotor direction. Remove all
traces of carbon dust with a vacuum cleaner.
Generator excitation transformers, AVR components and rotating
diodes must be kept free of dirt, oil and dampness. A special

contact grease is used between the diode connections to prevent

electrolytic action occurring between dissimilar metals. Check such
contacts for tightness but do not disturb them unnecessarily.
Measure the insulation of the stator and rotor windings to earth
and between stator phases (assuming that the neutraql point is
available for disconnection at the terminal boz.
Remember to disconnect or short-circuit any electronic circuit
components which are likely to be damaged by a high voltage
insulation
test.
Consult
the
wiring
diagrams
and
the
manufacturers instructions before testing. Record the IR values
and note the prevailing temperature and humidity. Compare with
previous test results.
A minimum IR value is usually taken to be 1M but a lower value
may be acceptable to a surveyor based on 1k/ volt, e.g. 450 k
or 0.45 M for a 450 V generator. However, it is the historical
trend or the machine IR values which will give a better picture of
the insulation condition.
Generators with very low IR values (less than 0.5 M) should be
given a thorough cleaning then dried out. If the IR has recovered
to a reasonable value which has become steady during the drying
period, its windings should be covered with high-quality air-drying
insulating varnish. Should the IR value remain low during a dryout, the macxhine insulation needs to be completely reimpregnated or rewound (generally by a specialist contractor).
After maintenance, no-load running checks should precede
synchronizing and loading. On load, particularly check for excess
temperature rise and load sharing stability when running in
parallel.
Finally, if a generator is to be left idle for a long time, make sure
that its windings are suitably heated to prevent internal
condensation forming on its insulation. As with all electrical
equipment dirt, over heating and dampness are the enemy!