Diesel Generators Blog

Optimism among major generator brands for 2006

As I look back on 2005 there were some major changes at the end of the year in the generator industry that signal optimism for 2006 by the major generator brands.

In mid October Cummins announced to the press an 18% price increase on its generators from 750 to 2000 kW.

Also in October Caterpillar announced its building a new factory in Newberry, South Carolina to manufacture 10-200 kW generators for the North American market. This new facility will also free up needed capacity in the FG Wilson Larne facility.

FG Wilson made large investments in with the inauguration of its state of the art sound test facility a nearly $2 Million USD investment.
FG Wilson has also made signifciant investments in its Piracicaba, Brazil facility to increase its capacity.

On December 21st Kohler Power Systems of Wisconsin announced their acquisition of SDMO of France. While no price was announced it is likely the largest investment in the generator business since the acquisition of FG Wilson by its parent company Caterpillar in 1998.

Almost on the back of the Kohler/SDMO deal was the announcement of the purchase of MTU/Detroit off highway engines by Swedish buyout firm EQT from Daimler-Chrysler. MTU is the engine supplier to both SDMO and Kohler in the above 500 kW range.

It is no surprise to see increases in prices, investment in capacity and buyouts of competitors as demand worldwide for generators has been at an all time high in 2005.

China and the Middle East have been big factors in the increased demand. Closer to home there is also an increased optimism for 2006 due to the heightened awareness by business and home owners of having back up power due to the images seen in the press of the 2005 hurricane season.

Ruben Byerlee
Sales & Marketing Manager
FGW Latin America & Caribbean
Tel: 954-433-2212 ext 23
Fax: 954-433-4431
Cell: 954-993-7416
[email protected]
www.FGWilsonMiami.com
Skype:rubenfgwilsonmiami

FG Wilson P800E1 and P900E1 for 60 Hz markets available in 2006

This year FG Wilson launched the P750E1 growing the range up to 600 kW in 60 Hz. Starting January FG Wilson is bringing out the P800E1 and P900E1 that further grows the power range up to 675 kW and 750 kW respectively.

The FG Wilson P800E1 and P900E1 are powered by the Perkins 4006TAG engine. This is a 6 inline 23 liter engine.

Both models come standard with Electronic governing and AREP excitation on the alternator.

FGW Latin America & Caribbean carries them in stock in the open version.

Ruben Byerlee
Sales & Marketing Manager
FGW Latin America & Caribbean
Tel: 954-433-2212 ext 23
Fax: 954-433-4431
Cell: 954-993-7416
[email protected]
www.FGWilsonMiami.com
Skype:rubenfgwilsonmiami

Download p800p1p900e14pp.pdf

Download p730p1p800e14pp2.pdf

Some reasons to choose a diesel generator over a propane generator in the Caribbean.

Diesel is a more reliable fuel source.
Sourcing propane after a major hurricane can be very difficult particularly on the islands. On the islands propane is normally distributed by one company and the generator owner is at their complete mercy.
If the local company runs out of propane there is no other source on the island. This is very likely to happen as shipping routes are often disrupted after a major storm.
The other common issue is delivery trucks will not go out after a major hurricane until all the power lines are secured as propane is potentially explosive.
Diesel generator owners on the other hand can get fuel at gas stations and local marinas should a truck not be able to come and supply them. Diesel is also a lot safer fuel to transport as it is ignited by heat.

Storage of 2 weeks of fuel supply
It is my recommendation that customers install a tank for 2 weeks of running as this will cover a major hurricane and give ample time for diesel to be delivered.
On an FG Wilson we offer an optional sub base diesel tank where the generator sits on top of it.

The issue with propane is to have a 2 week supply you require a huge propane tank (looks like a mini submarine) that is either buried in the back backyard or sits next to the house.

Diesel Generators are a lot simpler and more reliable
FG Wilson diesel generators are very simple to maintain and operate. Maintenance primarily consists of oil and filter changes and a yearly inspection of the cooling and electrical system.
The key reason diesel generators are more reliable than propane is their fuel system. Propane generators have a more complicated fuel system. A propane generator has spark plugs, spark plug wires, a carburetor and a fuel regulator. These components make it a lot more vulnerable to the salt environment in the Caribbean and therefore require a very detailed inspection and maintenance of the fuel system on a regular basis to ensure reliable performance.
It only takes one spark plug wire to go bad for the system to malfunction.
By contrast on a diesel you don’t have to touch the injectors for about 3000 hours. The key to reliable performance on a diesel generator is ensuring the fuel you use is free of water or other contaminants.

Life expectancy and repair.
FG Wilson uses an industrial diesel engine running at 1800 rpm that you can expect to last 8,000-10,000 hours. Industrial engines come with piston sleeves so that they can be completely overhauled. Propane sets are derived from automotive engines that do not have sleeves and require the engine to be completely replaced.

Ruben Byerlee
Sales & Marketing Manager
FGW Latin America & Caribbean
Tel: 954-433-2212 ext 23
Fax: 954-433-4431
Cell: 954-993-7416
[email protected]
www.FGWilsonMiami.com
Skype:rubenfgwilsonmiami

When you buy a generator it should be around for at least 15 years and so should the company that manufactured it.

Year after year there are new competitors that come in the market offering generator sets. In some cases they claim to be similar to FG Wilson. Perhaps the way their sales literature presents the generator it may look that way to many customers.

The big difference to customers comes years later as I listen to them calling our service department with simple requests for manuals and drawings for FG Wilson generators that they purchased from us a decade ago.
Listening to these situations are a daily reminder me that the customer’s needs do not end when the generator is sold and installed.
The relationship continues for years with even these simple but important requests.

Since I joined FG Wilson I have seen literally millions of dollars invested in parts facilities, support tools and training for dealers to support the continually growing population of FG Wilson generators in the market.

Listening to those calls makes me wonder about the customers that purchased generators from the competing companies. At the sale they were promised that it was similar to FG Wilson but years later when the customer has a simple request they are told by the local company that sold it that they no longer carry that line anymore or the company that manufactures it is no longer in business.

Ruben Byerlee
Sales & Marketing Manager
FGW Latin America & Caribbean
Tel: 954-433-2212 ext 23
Fax: 954-433-4431
Cell: 954-993-7416
[email protected]
www.FGWilsonMiami.com
Skype:rubenfgwilsonmiami

FG Wilson Powered by Perkins

Perkins has long been the engine of choice for FG Wilson. The relationship between Perkins and FG Wilson goes back for two decades even before they became sister companies.

Currently FG Wilson is the largest user of Perkins industrial engines. This long and established relationship has led to a great synergy between the two companies creating value for FG Wilson customers. Today FG Wilson works together with Perkins in the development, design and testing of new generator drive engines.

The benefits to FG Wilson customers are seen in more than the design and performance of FG Wilson generators. One clear example is in after sales and support where FG Wilson dealers have the EST tool to support all aspects of the generator from the Power Wizard control panels all the way to electronic engine diagnostics of the 2300 and 2800 engines.

Ruben Byerlee
Sales & Marketing Manager
FGW Latin America & Caribbean
Tel: 954-433-2212 ext 23
Fax: 954-433-4431
Cell: 954-993-7416
[email protected]
www.FGWilsonMiami.com
Skype:rubenfgwilsonmiami

FG Wilson Sound Attenuated Generators

FG Wilson has for the past decade led the market in the quality and design of its sound attenuated generators.

This year FG Wilson opened an amazing sound testing facility at its Larne, Northern Ireland factory at a cost of nearly 2 Million USD.

From a sales and marketing point of view this is money well invested as year after year the proportion of Sound Attenuated Generators has increased.

There are two main reasons for this increased demand in the Caribbean and Latin America.

Generators have become more common place in every day life. Homes and businesses that previously had not considered purchasing a generator are now seeing it as a necessity and not a luxury. Few homes or commercial locations are designed and built to house a generator and therefore have to install one outside.

As utilities become overloaded generators are no longer “Emergency” generators but can often run several times a week. This has made communities sensitive to noise levels and users willing to invest in a sound attenuated generator.


Ruben Byerlee
Sales & Marketing Manager
FGW Latin America & Caribbean
Tel: 954-433-2212 ext 23
Fax: 954-433-4431
Cell: 954-993-7416
[email protected]
www.FGWilsonMiami.com
Skype:rubenfgwilsonmiami

FG Wilson ATI Series of Automatic Transfer Switches

In 2004 FG Wilson launched its ATI series of Automatic Transfer Switches worldwide. Since its launch at FGW Latin America & Caribbean we had not been able to keep enough of them in stock as we completely under estimated the demand for them.

There are two reasons for its popularity.
The first is a growing trend where customers want to source their Generator and Transfer Switch from the same company and more importantly the same brand as support and service is much easier to come by if there is a problem. FG Wilson has been in the market for over 30 years.

The other reason for the success of the FG Wilson ATI series is the physical product itself.

The ATI has leap frogged the market. It has all the bells and whistles of the high-end manufacturers and has kept the reliable and simple to use concept. It even comes with a handle that if all else fails you can switch over.

The FG Wilson ATI is extremely versatile as it can be used in 3 phase as well as Single Phase and can easily be configured at installation.

FGW Latin America & Caribbean keeps in stock the ATI 125 (125 amps) all the way to the ATI 1600.

Download ATI_Brochure.pdf

Ruben Byerlee
Sales & Marketing Manager
FGW Latin America & Caribbean
Tel: 954-433-2212 ext 23
Fax: 954-433-4431
Cell: 954-993-7416
[email protected]
www.FGWilsonMiami.com
Skype:rubenfgwilsonmiami

New Face for FG Wilson Generators

A major change has taken place on FG Wilson generators over the past couple of months with the introduction of the Power Wizard series of control panels. The Power Wizard panels are replacing the well known 2001 and 4001 series of control panel that FG Wilson has used for the past decade.

The Power Wizard panels are the next generation of controls that have been developed by FG Wilson to be used on the complete generator line.

The new panels have given FG Wilson generators a different look for those that are familiar with the 2001 panel. The attached diagram gives a good overview of the layout of the Power Wizard panel compared to the 2001.

The biggest change is obviously the lack of gauges on the panel. The engine information can easily be seen on the digital display by pushing the button with the generator circled in green on the diagram. If you want to see AC metering you would simply press the sign wave circled in red.

The 3 position selector switch has been replaced by 3 buttons circled by the magenta line. Each button has an indicator light that tells you what position it is in. The Green button being manual, Yellow being Automatic and Red being stop.

The button circled in blue is the lamp test button.

The Power Wizard panel has many new feaures and benefits that I will be discussing in future articles.

Download powerwizard_quick_start_guide.pdf