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Messages - mikenash

Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 62
1
Listeroid Engines / Re: 800 hours on 16/2...Toilet Paper Filter
« on: February 20, 2023, 06:25:47 PM »
The links do not work for me..

Love those old toilet-paper filters for low-tech engines

Looks like a good machine there.  well done

2
Lister Market Place (things for Sale) / Re: Metro 6/1 setup and ready to go
« on: February 07, 2023, 05:44:02 PM »
No, the same young man bought both.
I hated to see them go but I did OK.
I had a lot of fun with the Listeroids and learned a lot.
My health is not looking good so I'm trying unload everything I can so the wife doesn't have to deal with it
in case things go south.
The funny thing is that I was planning on selling everything about this time so I could retire to my place
in Kentucky by the middle to end of the year. Life is funny ain't it.

I still have generators here so if I do need one I have several.
I may try to run some of them here. I do have a Changfa with a 15kw head. Someone should want
that.
Thanks for asking and stay safe !

Hey Gary - tough times.  I hope you guys come through it OK

I did the same thing last year - realising I'm too old to play with the Listers and they wouls just end up being a heavy cast-iron hassle for my kids one day.  The went to a chap who's keen to play with them - best I could do

Life just brings what it brings.  Good luck

3
Everything else / Re: Greetings from Tasmania
« on: February 02, 2023, 05:40:30 PM »
Good deal, Bob.  great find

There was a gent her selling a similar unit a while back - single & three-phase, 3-cyl air-cooled Lister (SR3?)

He as a retired diesel mechanic and had put heaps of $$ and hours into it

Unfortunately just too loud for me as my shed is close to my accommodation etc

That's why i spent so much time chasing around until I found a 1500RPM, liquid-cooled unit

But what you have there should be tough-as-hell and just the right level of tech that you can maintain everything yourself.

Well done

4
Everything else / Re: Greetings from Tasmania
« on: January 31, 2023, 05:40:38 PM »
You got a great deal there, Bob.  Mine is 500Ks away - but that's OK, i don't mind the drive

This weekend's job is to finish building a base for it with some rubber vibe-reducing inserts between layers; and I'll collect it when I'm up that way again in a few weeks

cheers

5
Listeroid Engines / Re: 3k Chinese alternator just stopped mid run
« on: January 31, 2023, 05:38:02 PM »
See from Bob, previously:

"Well done on ordering new rectifiers. The ones that ship with these ST heads are garbage. A few years back I did a tear down and rebuild of a brand new ST head, I posted a lot of info and pictures showing how to do it. I replaced the rubbish bearings, skimmed the slip rings which were not concentric with the shaft, replaced the cheap carbon brushes, rewired the top box and fitted a new rectifier with an aluminum heatsink. Later I fitted an automatic voltage regulator.
Aluminum heat sinks can be found on ebay and other sites, old computers all have nice heatsinks on the processor chip. Drill a hole in the back of the top box, bolt the rectifier to the inside of the top box with the heatsink on the outside where it will get good airflow

The wiring is pretty simple there are two wires that can be traced back to the slip rings, these are the AC feeds to the rectifier, it does not matter which way you wire them as long as they both go to a rectifier lug labeled AC. The other two wires go to the field windings and are positive and negative, on mine the positive was the red wire. I do not know if your wiring has spade connectors or screw lugs, fortunately the rectifiers you ordered are compatible with both."


Further to this -  I had one of these with the same experience

I simply extended all the wires with heat-shrink joiners and took all the gubbins away from that top dog-box to mount elsewhere - new rectifier etc

The bearings were crap, too, as everyone says - they rumbled and whined from new

When I took them off to replace, one end of the shaft didn't even have enough machined surface to fully support the bearing - it was so badly made.  I just fitted new, sealed, SKF/Timken bearings

Brushes were crumbly crap and one just snapped in half.  I had some local ones made

Brush-holders are lightweight, poorly-built, fiddly crap - you may have to loosen their screws and bend them around to get everything in line?

I was really reluctant to delve into the innards of it - but if you're going to own/run one of these, you'll have to get to be OK about doing that, imho

Good luck

6
Everything else / Re: Greetings from Tasmania
« on: January 30, 2023, 05:35:41 PM »
Hi Mike, looks like you have been a busy boy. That generator looks like it should do the job.
I have been searching for a suitable genny every day for months. Last night I found a Perkins 3 phase genny mounted on a trailer. It`s only got 130 hours on it, I offered him $2000 and finally agreed to pay $2100 for it, hope to pick it up next week.
I`ll demount it from the trailer and install it in my new generator shed. Now all I need to do is design and build the generator shed!  :laugh:
I`ll post some photos once I get it home.

Bob

Well done.  That's a great deal, too.  I will watch with interest.  Cheers

7
Everything else / Re: Greetings from Tasmania
« on: January 26, 2023, 06:04:57 AM »
See Bob?

Gen 1 wiring

3 panels currently in series around 150 VDC into a simple cheap Chinese "MakeSkyBkue" charge controller that - I'm told - loves to put 170-odd volts into a 48V bank (our old friend Starfire, whose advice I trust, suggested them,  They're $200 off the shelf in stock in NZ and I can do some "learning" on it with little cost.  Big fancy LFP battery has its own BMS and should be OK

Eventually I might end up with two in parallel seriesed with one on its own for about 100V and a fancier controller?  Or maybe not.  We'll see

Battery $3090.  Controller $200, panels about $1250, wiring maybe $150 - guess it all mounts up.  No avoiding it

Cheers

8
Everything else / Re: Greetings from Tasmania
« on: January 26, 2023, 05:54:33 AM »
Hey Bob, it's maybe a question of finding the right supplier?

See pic?  The bloke that builds these chases low-hours diesels in several sizes - one of which is 1500RPM Kubota/Perkins ex things like lighting towers

The donor machines (gensets, light towers etc) are smaller, lower-value units and - when the alternators fail - are basically scrap.  He keeps an eye out for engines and, as I said, imports gen heads to his spec

I asked him for a simple unit with a mechanically-governed engine and a simple, $500 controller that just looks at RPMs, engine oil pressure & temp, over & under RPMs and a couple other things; and which offers 2-wire start options if you want it

I'm taking delivery in a few weeks.  This weekend I'm building a base with rubber inserts for it in the (work in progress) soundproof shed

All that said, I did look at many, many gensets before I admitted to myself my budget was too lean and spent what I needed to spend to get what I wanted

"Patience" might be a big part of it lol

Good luck

I'm pottering away with solar in the same shed - got three panels, wiring, initial charge controller, 100A/H 48V battery etc sort of in place . . .

A work in progress.  Like life lol

Cheers

9
Everything else / Re: Greetings from Tasmania
« on: January 24, 2023, 05:30:10 AM »
Hi Bob. I don’t know if my experience is of value in your situation - but here goes

I have been shopping for a good quality 1500 RPM diesel genset for over a year. Been watching TradeMe (our ebay) closely and struggled to find what I wanted at a price I was happy with. I didn’t want to pay more than 5K for a solid unit; and looked at many. But at that price they were either versions on a theme of the Chinese Yanmar at a noisy, air-cooled 3000’RPMs or worn oit junk

Eventually I paid $6900 with a guy here who’d specialises in solar-support-sized gensets of varying spec & who imports gen-heads to his own spec from China and fits, typically, low-hours Kubota or Perkins 3 or 4-cyl diesels & new controllers etc

In spending a chunk of time “shopping” it seemed to me there was less demand for smaller 3-phase gensets? 

I’m a fan of “simple is good”. Perhaps if you were willingly to spend a bit - a good-quality 3-phase diesel genset would be an option?

I will watch with interest. Cheers

10
General Discussion / Re: Tesla
« on: December 07, 2022, 08:58:18 PM »
If the green movement weren't so dirty on Nukes - we could al have more, better, cheaper, more consistent power imho

I can't help thinking they're a good, medium-term, green-ish strategy - despite the disposal issues

Cheers

11
Everything else / Re: small heater
« on: December 07, 2022, 08:54:00 PM »
Good call, thanks Bob

I'll keep looking for a medium-sized, water-cooled, 1500 RPM unit - but they tend to be bigger & expensive.

Might get lucky.  Cheers

12
General Discussion / Re: Tesla
« on: December 06, 2022, 05:39:29 PM »
Isn't it interesting.  there are so many opinions

And, of course, some folks feel strongly about them - especially when Govt has its big feet under the table

Yes, of course nothing is free.  In this particular case I suspect he bought a big muscle car cos he always wanted one when he was a kid and because he had done well in business as a franchisee.  Eventually realising the muscle car was a two-door liability, and trading it for a tesla and some "free" charging probably felt like a pretty good outcome

And, yes, anyone who runs the number can see immediately that you'd need a BIG solar to charge an EV

In my own circumstances - 65, a year or two away from retirement, moving towards an "off-grid" future, and probably living fairly quietly - I could exoand the solar, spend, say, $20K on a medium size & age Nissan leaf and never buy another litre of petrol except for my toys.  But the simple reality is I won't burn $30K of petrol if I live to be 90 - which I won't

Everyon'e situation is different, of course, too.  In our small country down here we have hydro, wind & geothermal producking 85-90% of our electricity; and it's only Govt stupidity that stops us expanding the hydro - which is the most reliable.

We could easily meet the engergy requirement of electrifying our fleet if we expanded our generation at the rate as our electric fleet

Of course many countries are in a very different situation

Cheers

13
Everything else / Re: small heater
« on: December 06, 2022, 05:29:14 PM »
Hi Mike diesel generators are available, not sure what rpm but something like this might suit you. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/444494227661631/?hoisted=false&ref=browse_tab&referral_code=marketplace_top_picks&referral_story_type=top_picks

Hi Bob.

Yes, thanks

Those little fellows are sort of the noisy diesel cousin of the ubiquitous Chinese Honda-clone

The little DEK or similar engine in them is, I believe, a Chinese-built Yanmar copy.  We have had one here at work in a welder/generator until it blew up.  Reviews might be best-described as "mixed", although importers say that with each generation the build quality and reliability is improving

Lots of genset manufcaturers offer a "consumer" diesel genset with this unit in it - Lister, Hyundai, Trade-Tested . . .

At any one time there will be five or ten or fifteen on our TradeMe

See this one?

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/marketplace/business-farming-industry/industrial/generators/diesel/listing/3889841379?bof=R2RiJljA

I suspect I'll end up with one of these if I can't find a good, small, liquid-cooled, 1500RPM unit.  They're a Genmac machine with a Yanmar engine.  Equally noisy but with a reputation for being tough & reliable.  The company selling them have been in the game for a long time & are pretty straight-up

I suspect I'll end up with a sound-insulated box inside a sound-insulated shed and a couple of electric fans . . .

Cheers


14
General Discussion / Re: Tesla
« on: December 05, 2022, 05:44:22 PM »
There is no doubt on their performance but distances here in Oz totally rule out an EV for me. Hybrid is a better option if an EV is your prefference. I still cant get a straight answer out of these vehicles like

How much do they cost to charge from home at normal electricity prices not subsided by solar ?
How much to charge at the charging stations dotted here and there ?
How long is the life expectancy of the battery?
Cost of replacing said battery and what happens to the old one?

The old hear say thing rings in the back of my head the cost involved in mining the  raw materials to make the batteries as well.

Hearsay's a bugger.  Who do you believe?  How do you decide if they know what they're talking about?  . . .

https://www.google.com/search?q=car+care+nut+should+you+buy+a+hybrid&oq=car+care+nut+should+you+buy+a+hybrid&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i64.19331j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:085e76c3,vid:3m5j8nJrMc8

See above?

I rate this guy for automotive stuff (perhaps because I'm a Toyota person) . . . He has several vids on hybrids good & bad

Got a neighbour here sold his muscle car & bought a Tesla model S. he put the extra $20K he realised on the deal into solar + batteries and he charges the car "for free" while he's at work with his company car :)


Cheers

15
Everything else / Re: small heater
« on: December 05, 2022, 06:04:10 AM »
I have a similar system in my barn and use a greenhouse mat heaters under the batteries to keep them mildly warm. I believe they also make a mat just for batteries assuming you want to just keep those warm. If the inverter is a concern we use a heater strip at work in small control panels that only run 25-50 watts we install in small outdoor control panels for frost issues. Mount one below the inverter but I would concerned with making condensation there as well. The same can be done with a reptile heater ( I call them lizard heaters) found on flea bay and Amazon for cheap. They alast way longer than a light bulb and less likely to break since they're ceramic.
Are you installing a lister in the shed? Curious what base you would use for that beast.

Hi there.  Good thoughts - the lizard heater

No.  No lister.  The shed is on piles concreted into the dirt.  Floor is a double sandwich with insulation - and I'll do the same with the walls & roof

I have just bought three X 470W panels to make about 105VDC in series; and have ordered a 110 A/h 48V LiFePo4 battery which should be here any day.  On the advice of our old friend Starfire, I have bought some cheap Chinese charge controllers which like about 100V for a 48V system.  I'm still shopping for an inverter/charger but am leaning towards a $1700 unit with a 6000W inverter.

I sold the Listers.  The tech is too clumsy as I get old.  I have recently bought new, two Chinese Honda-clone gensets - one around 7kVA, one around 3.6kVA and several others. What I'd REALLY like to find is a 1500RPM diesel genset in the 6-10 kVA range.  I'll keep looking.  But I suspect I'll end up with some sort of 3000 RPM unit and a separate sound-deadening box inside the main box

I guess we'll see

My thanks to all you knowledgeable guys for your advice and encouragement which i continue to appreciate & enjoy

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