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Generator Hobbs Meter

  • Thread starter Thread starter Sadey
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Sadey

Sadey

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60' MOTOR YACHT (1987 - 1989)
The Hobbs meter for my 8KW MDKD Onan generator stopped working. Not sure how to test the clock but I did put a voltmeter on the contacts at the back of the Hobbs meter. It’s reading 14V. This generator uses a 12V battery for starting. Should I assume that since there are volts and also assuming they’re correct volts that the Hobbs meter is in operative? By the way, I started the generator hacked a clock and ran it for an hour to verify that the Hobbs meter was not running.

Thank you in advance for the help.
 
Gee, that never happens, a Hobbs hour meter failing,, HA
Watch for the correct shape and hole size and order another 12v hour meter.
 
Right!? So if it’s getting voltage it’s the meter. Just clarification.
 
Sadey said:
Right!? So if it’s getting voltage it’s the meter. Just clarification.
Click to expand...
IMO,, Yes..

Your new meter should show + & - label, decal or instructions.
Pending the vendor, it changes.
Ensure this is correct when installing the new meter.
 
Then wire the new one direct to a battery and set an alarm for however many hours from now to get the clock to read that same as the old meter before install.
 
Thank you Ralph for the clarification and information. I’ll be sure to install it according to the directions.

I have the parts manual which gives me the part number. A quick search shows some available for around $100-150. The big question is, is it worth the money to put a new meter in on a 34 year old obsolete but working perfectly generator? I log every time I run any motor in the ships log, I could just record the time on my watch. I keep track of the hours for maintenance intervals so it’s very important to me to track the time. The bigger question is how valuable would a working hour meter be to a potential buyer? Obviously I would keep the old Hobbs meter as, well as best as I can prove the total hours on the unit That’s assuming the generator is still functioning as well as it does now.

Thoughts?
 
Its ot the end of the world if the meter doesn't work on an old worn out generator but if it's running well why not spend the $200 to fix it right. Generator hours are pretty open to interpretation. 5000 to 10000 could be it's life expectancy. That's a big range.
 
Great idea Sky thanks, I will because I ordered the new meter. My CDO kicked in. No true obsessive compulsive would allow those letters out of alphabetical order.
 
My eyes are just spinning like a one-armed-bandit,,, Those were $30 meters.

You could just time stamp your logs
OR show you really do care about your equipment and install a new hour meter.

Update your log of the new meter install, date and the reading from the failed meter.
Future log updates, write in what the new meter reads with a + in front.
Don't worry to ad the numbers together, that turns log updates into work.

What we did in the past for our customers;
Usually a pet tag engraving machine will be found in the better pet stores.
Make a tag (maybe 2) with meter replacement date, the original hours and a note to ad this to the new meters current reading.
Rivet this next to the hour meter.
 
I like the tag ID on the 8KW Ralph. I’m also going to keep the old Hobbs. Hopefully someone here will appreciate this some day
 
Problem solved. It was a bad hour meter. On a sidenote, even when the post office sends you a confirmation of delivery and a location of the package, never mind that there’s no front porch and no screen door at the marina for it to have been left at, it’s not necessarily true. Five of us scoured multiple buildings and locations throughout the yard/marina to find the package. Finally decided to walk over to the post office and lo and behold, it was still there, undelivered. Explanation for the confirmation of delivery, but the package not being delivered? I’m still waiting as well.
 
USPS tracking is useless. I've had packages shown as delivered that had been returned to sender, and hadn't been delivered back to the sender either. If you want accurate tracking you have to use UPS or FedEx or similar.
 
Agreed.
 
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