Unicor NF2D Light Tower/Genset

[Tinstar]

Yea
That was fairly common damage to these.

You will never find new parts.

Best bet is post the pictures in the parts wanted forum.
It’s simply the tow bar and swivel plate.
I’ve seen a lot worse.

Either fix what you have or hope you find another unit someone is parting out.
Watch GP for similar design on a trailer or cart.

If it were mine I would fix what I had.
A pain I know, but it will be a LOT faster to get going.

 

[Tinstar]

Looks like you can anchor down that one side and pull the bar back over while it’s in the up position.

 

[dreadstar42]

Yea
That was fairly common damage to these.

You will never find new parts.

Best bet is post the pictures in the parts wanted forum.
It’s simply the tow bar and swivel plate.
I’ve seen a lot worse.

Either fix what you have or hope you find another unit someone is parting out.
Watch GP for similar design on a trailer or cart.

If it were mine I would fix what I had.
A pain I know, but it will be a LOT faster to get going.

Thanks again for the advice.

Do you have any recommendations on how to repair? The seller had the plan of applying heat with torch and bending it back. Seems like i would want to remove it to minimize risk of damage to the other connected parts and then put the piece in some sort of vice that could resist the force required to bend 1/4" steel. Is there a better way? Once I get it off, is there any particular type of person to ideally fix it? Collision repair? Welders? Metalwork shop?

 

[dreadstar42]

Looks like you can anchor down that one side and pull the bar back over while it’s in the up position.

I was worried about that damaging or cracking the hinge pieces or risk damage to that main pivot. This was bent trying to pull it out from being stuck in dirt with a felled tree in front of it with a pickup truck yanking pedal to the metal repeatedly. I doubt i could generate an equivalent amount of torque manually nor do i think i have anything stout enough to which i could anchor it.

 

[Tinstar]

I would remove the damaged parts and use a hydraulic press to bend things back.
An anvil or good vise and bench to beat on wouldn’t hurt either.
The “no frills” presses aren’t that expensive and should work fine.
Use heat if you need to.

It will take some coaxing, but it is definitely repairable.
A good welding/metal shop could fix it or even fabricate new parts. Could get expensive.


Start your own thread for the disassembly and repair, etc.
I would be interested to see exactly what the exact damage is and the repair process.

 

[dreadstar42]

I would remove the damaged parts and use a hydraulic press to bend things back.
An anvil or good vise and bench to beat on wouldn’t hurt either.
The “no frills” presses aren’t that expensive and should work fine.
Use heat if you need to.

It will take some coaxing, but it is definitely repairable.
A good welding/metal shop could fix it or even fabricate new parts. Could get expensive.


Start your own thread for the disassembly and repair, etc.
I would be interested to see exactly what the exact damage is and the repair process.

Thanks! I will definitely put up a thread documenting my repair

 

[dreadstar42]

.. my bad on that.

 

[csulaguy]

Long time lurker, but haven't been on in a while. This is currently my only military surplus genset. I switched out the ballast and bulbs to MH not long after I bought it, and replaced old fuel lines. That said, it runs a bit too cool for my tastes. Does anyone know if I can get a hotter t-stat, and if so, the part number? It seems to hover around 160 with both lights on, maybe 170 if it's hot outside, but 195 would be fantastic.

I also seem to have messed up my scissor lift, so cranking does nothing to raise it up. Not sure if any others have had this issue?

Last question for now - what tires would work? I have one that keeps going flat, probably from a valve stem that needs to be changed, but they all have a lot of dry rot. I probably won't replace all four, but replacing at least one would be ideal if it's coming off anyways.

 

[Tinstar]

Long time lurker, but haven't been on in a while. This is currently my only military surplus genset. I switched out the ballast and bulbs to MH not long after I bought it, and replaced old fuel lines. That said, it runs a bit too cool for my tastes. Does anyone know if I can get a hotter t-stat, and if so, the part number? It seems to hover around 160 with both lights on, maybe 170 if it's hot outside, but 195 would be fantastic.

I also seem to have messed up my scissor lift, so cranking does nothing to raise it up. Not sure if any others have had this issue?

Last question for now - what tires would work? I have one that keeps going flat, probably from a valve stem that needs to be changed, but they all have a lot of dry rot. I probably won't replace all four, but replacing at least one would be ideal if it's coming off anyways.

Mine runs about the same temperature as yours.
Hasn’t been an issue in the 6 years I’ve owned it.
I had two Kubota engines. one in a Kubota L345 tractor (traded it in on a new Yanmar YT359C tractor) and my current one in the light tower.
Both used the same temperature thermostat.
Have heard these smaller Kubota engines don’t like to get hot and suffer when they do.
No experience, just word of mouth from others.

A visit to the local Kubota tractor dealership will answer your question.
You’ll need the information off the engine block label .
Don’t skimp on the part. OEM thermostat is more expensive but I know from others the Chinese clones fail often.


My scissor lift has always preformed great.
Don’t use it often, but I always keep it lubed.

As far as tires go, I bought a set of new forklift tires and new tubes.
No issues with weathering or cracking.
They have been flawless.
The tire info should be in this thread.

 

[csulaguy]

Mine runs about the same temperature as yours.
Hasn’t been an issue in the 6 years I’ve owned it.
I had two Kubota engines. one in a Kubota L345 tractor (traded it in on a new Yanmar YT359C tractor) and my current one in the light tower.
Both used the same temperature thermostat.
Have heard these smaller Kubota engines don’t like to get hot and suffer when they do.
No experience, just word of mouth from others.

A stop by the local Kubota tractor dealership will answer your question.
You’ll need the information off the engine block label .
Don’t skimp on the part. OEM thermostat is more expensive but I know from others the Chinese clones fail often.


My scissor lift has always preformed great.
Don’t use it often, but I always keep it lubed.

As far as tires go, I bought a set of new forklift tires and new tubes.
No issues with weathering or cracking.
They have been flawless.
The tire info should be in this thread.

I tried searching for tire information, but probably need to skim through all six pages.
After doing more research, after my post, I discovered the same thing about the t-stat. I wouldn't use a Chinese knockoff, ever.
One thing I do need to do is a coolant flush. I've been trying to transition all my diesels to VW's G13 coolant, which is a really superior coolant.

As for filters, everything on it is either Wix or Baldwin.

 

[Tinstar]

This tire will work.
Same tread and size I used, but different brand.

 

[csulaguy]

View attachment 902140

This tire will work.
Same tread and size I used, but different brand.

Sweet and thanks.

Segue question - has anyone had to deal with bad breakers? Felt like powering it up to do some troubleshooting, and the 15A 120V breaker seems to be dead. Other breakers obviously show under 1 ohm, but this one was in the M ohm range (and open circuit when off).
I just ordered this, as I don't really want a used 30 year old breaker.
https://breakeroutlet.com/circuit-breakers/thqc1115wl-feed-thru-cable-in-cable-out/

 

[csulaguy]

View attachment 902140

This tire will work.
Same tread and size I used, but different brand.

Oh - are tubes required, or could I get away with the old tube? It seems to still be holding air, but I still question the integrity of the valve stem.

 

[FarmingSmallKubota]

I own 8 pieces of equipment with Kubota engines. Aluminum heads do not like to get hot keep it running at 165 is best bet any debris on the radiator and it will creep up fast

 

[Tinstar]

Oh - are tubes required, or could I get away with the old tube? It seems to still be holding air, but I still question the integrity of the valve stem.

If you replace the tire, replace the tube.
Their inexpensive and your already in there.

Recommend you use silicone grease on the beads.
Makes removing the tires at a later date MUCH easier.

 

[csulaguy]

If you replace the tire, replace the tube.
Their inexpensive and your already in there.

Recommend you use silicone grease on the beads.
Makes removing the tires at a later date MUCH easier.

Any specific size on the tube? I actually thought about that. Or is the tube the same size as the tire? I don't own anything with tires this small, and the only tubed tires I have are on my diesel tractors.

I own 8 pieces of equipment with Kubota engines. Aluminum heads do not like to get hot keep it running at 165 is best bet any debris on the radiator and it will creep up fast

Maybe because it's a small displacement head? My TDIs have aluminum heads and run at 190-203 all day long. But this otherwise answered my question, so the thermostat stays for now, unless I find it's getting too hot. I seldom ever have a crazy load on it, anyways.

 

[csulaguy]

Sweet and thanks.

Segue question - has anyone had to deal with bad breakers? Felt like powering it up to do some troubleshooting, and the 15A 120V breaker seems to be dead. Other breakers obviously show under 1 ohm, but this one was in the M ohm range (and open circuit when off).
I just ordered this, as I don't really want a used 30 year old breaker.
https://breakeroutlet.com/circuit-breakers/thqc1115wl-feed-thru-cable-in-cable-out/

Replying to my own thread - replaced the breaker, and I now have power on the 15A receptacle again, though I'm almost wishing I would've bumped it up to 20A. If I ever used it for an actual home backup, I'd want the extra amperage to account for startup amps on refrigerators (mine pull about 15A for about 500-750ms before going back down to 105-160W for the 10 minutes the compressor runs).

Another question in the same reply - I think I figured out the problem with my scissor lift. Has anyone taken theirs apart? There's a U shaped bolt if you will that catches on the long screw. Well, it appears both the shank on the top is pressed out a bit, but the bolt is also worn and not catching. I might have a friend (who's a machinist) fabricate a new one, though I don't know what the original length was, other than trial and error and shaving off some if I need to. It'd be great to use this as an actual light tower again.

 

[Coug]

Replying to my own thread - replaced the breaker, and I now have power on the 15A receptacle again, though I'm almost wishing I would've bumped it up to 20A. If I ever used it for an actual home backup, I'd want the extra amperage to account for startup amps on refrigerators (mine pull about 15A for about 500-750ms before going back down to 105-160W for the 10 minutes the compressor runs).

Another question in the same reply - I think I figured out the problem with my scissor lift. Has anyone taken theirs apart? There's a U shaped bolt if you will that catches on the long screw. Well, it appears both the shank on the top is pressed out a bit, but the bolt is also worn and not catching. I might have a friend (who's a machinist) fabricate a new one, though I don't know what the original length was, other than trial and error and shaving off some if I need to. It'd be great to use this as an actual light tower again.

If it wasn't a 20 amp breaker to begin with, you don't want to change it to that. The internal wires are typically sized to the breaker, so if you oversize the breaker you may burn up the wires through overloading the circuit.

Depending on the type of breaker, most of them can handle startup surge without issues. Thermal type breakers typically require either a huge instantaneous draw (like a dead short) or being overloaded for an extended period of time for the bimetalic strip inside the breaker to heat up and cause it to trip.
The breaker you linked above is a thermal type so you should have zero issues with it and the startup surge.

 

[Tinstar]

Any specific size on the tube? I actually thought about that. Or is the tube the same size as the tire? I don't own anything with tires this small, and the only tubed tires I have are on my diesel tractors.

I used these on both the NF-2D and also a warehouse cart.
Fit great and zero issues.



You should start your own thread for additional questions and to document the work on your unit.