Do NOT add coolant immediately when a Shangchai generator overheats due to insufficient water

As the weather gradually gets hotter, overheating of Shangchai diesel generator sets occurs more frequently during operation. Dingbo Power kindly reminds you: If a Shangchai diesel generator overheats due to insufficient coolant, do not add coolant immediately. First, let the generator run at low speed. After the water temperature drops, add an appropriate amount of coolant. Otherwise, it will damage the cylinder liner, cylinder block, cylinder head and other components.

Coolant is an irreplaceable part to ensure the Shangchai diesel generator sets to operate normally, it can provide enough heat transfer capability and enough anti-freezing capability to prevent all of the gold materials within the cooling system to be corrosion. Coolant should be combined with water and anti-freeze, or water and rust inhibitor. Among them, the pH value of water should be between 6 and 8. Dingbo Power advise you should use softened water. During adding coolant, beside not adding coolant immediately when the genset is overheated, you also need to pay attention to the following points.

1.       Before using hard water as coolant, it should be softened first. Hard water includes well water, spring water and tap water. In general, Dingbo Power recommends using clean, softened water such as rainwater and snow water. Since the mineral content in hard water is high, these minerals will easily deposit on the walls of the radiator, water jacket and water passages, forming scale and corrosion deposits, which will deteriorate the heat dissipation performance of the generator set. This can easily cause the engine to overheat, so the use of hard water is not recommended. If it must be used, it shall be softened by heating or adding lye before use.

2.       Coolant should be replaced every 2 years or 4,500 operating hours. Regular coolant replacement can prevent the cooling performance of the generator set from deteriorating due to deposits in the cooling system. If the coolant is not replaced for a long time, rust will reduce the effectiveness of the coolant and may cause the water temperature sensor to malfunction.

3.       Do not mix different additives such as antifreeze and rust inhibitors. When replacing the coolant, flush the cooling system thoroughly with purified water before adding new antifreeze and water.  Meanwhile, clearly mark the name of the remaining antifreeze on its container to avoid mixing it with new antifreeze. Mixing different types of coolant will produce excessive foam, which reduces cooling performance and may even cause damage to the Shangchai generator.

This is all for the introduction of adding coolant to diesel generator sets. If you have any other questions, please feel free to call Dingbo Power. We will serve you wholeheartedly. Dingbo Power has an outstanding technical team led by several experts, which can provide you with services including technical consultation, installation guidance, free commissioning, free maintenance, and unit renovation.