Planta Questions for the Planta Savvy

CFA123 said:

A few generator questions from someone(me) who knows little/nothing about them.

How does one go about determining the 'right price' for a used planta?
Specifically, in this case, a friend is looking at a 2009 Caterpillar 45kw diesel planta.
Asking price is US$11,500.

Also, any idea how many gallons an hour it's likely to use at say a 75% load. We searched some random specs for similar size generators online and it would appear close to 4 gallons an hour.

And finally, if you yourself were in the market - who would you go to? North coast/Puerto Plata area, preferably. But Santiago or further away if there's logic behind going that far.

Click to expand...

~4 gallons of fuel per hour is closer to the 100% load rating. ~3 gallon is closer to 75% load rating for a 45kw caterpillar generator.

US$11,500 (RD$437,000) is on the higher price range for this generator. For comparison I looked up a caterpillar gen in this price range and I came up with a 225 kw caterpillar gen. Have a look at it:
..:: Emarket.com.do ::..

NotLurking

CFA123 said:

A few generator questions from someone(me) who knows little/nothing about them.

How does one go about determining the 'right price' for a used planta?
Specifically, in this case, a friend is looking at a 2009 Caterpillar 45kw diesel planta.
Asking price is US$11,500.

Also, any idea how many gallons an hour it's likely to use at say a 75% load. We searched some random specs for similar size generators online and it would appear close to 4 gallons an hour.

And finally, if you yourself were in the market - who would you go to? North coast/Puerto Plata area, preferably. But Santiago or further away if there's logic behind going that far.

Click to expand...

For several years we have used and trusted Bernardo Garcia owner/mechanic of Gomi-cento located on the main road just east of the Texaco station, north side, in Sosua 809-697-0038 or829-604-6811. His son “ Jr.” speaks English. I have the complete manual for my Jeep and they have asked to borrow it at times. I like it when experts “don’t know it all” but will look for answers and learn.

He has serviced our 50 kw diesel generator and our 2000 Jeep for several years. At one point the Jeep needed some minor/major work and he recommended that the Jeep dealer in Santiago do it. He oversaw the whole 4 week process, having to wait for parts from the U.S., and he took care of everything. Keep in mind that I do know about cars and had an idea of what was going on. The final bill was staggeringly low.

I strongly recommend that you have a professional OR TWO go over the unit and run it under full load or close for an hour or more. 3.5 gallons an hour should be about right at 75% load.

Please keep in mind that maintenance is not a high priority in the D.R.

Good luck.

CFA123 said:

A few generator questions from someone(me) who knows little/nothing about them.

How does one go about determining the 'right price' for a used planta?
Specifically, in this case, a friend is looking at a 2009 Caterpillar 45kw diesel planta.
Asking price is US$11,500.

Also, any idea how many gallons an hour it's likely to use at say a 75% load. We searched some random specs for similar size generators online and it would appear close to 4 gallons an hour.

And finally, if you yourself were in the market - who would you go to? North coast/Puerto Plata area, preferably. But Santiago or further away if there's logic behind going that far.

Click to expand...

Ok first, is it single phase or triple phase? If it is three phase and you want to use it for single phase, it can be very hard or impossible to balance the phases for your use and this will shorten the life (considerably) of the generator aspect of the genset.
Second, how many hours is on the genset? Even though it is year 2009, it may be very used.
Third, what was it used for? If it was used at max capacity, etc., it could be worn out or close to it.
Fourth, check the maintenance schedules. If they don't have one, at least an informal one, I would be nervous as required oil and filter changes determine the life of the genset in a very large way.

In general, be very careful of buying used especially when you are paying top dollar (or peso) as most (dare I generalise) owners in this country "save" money by reducing the maintenance thus leading to a very shortened life of the genset.

used in dr. used alot

45 kv can prob. run 7 to 10 houses.

My 20 KVA runs 3 small a/c units and a big restaurant unit, plus, 4 house fridges, and 4 restaurants freezeers and fridges, 7 TVs and the odd microwave, toaster-oven and hair dryer////....45 is a monster size for an apartment building with major water pumps and 6 tenants...

HB

add up all your going to use to find correct wattage. if you need that big i would surprised. big gens are $$ to run.