new guy ready to annoy everyone with stupid questions

[xfrank12]

BEFORE i annoy everyone with stupid questions, i figured i would just tell all of you what i am thinking of doing, and ask where i should start looking for answers.
then i will come back here and only ask the stupid questions i cant answer myself.

i want a lister type engine.

i want to run it on waste vegetable oil.

i think i want an original lister, have it rebuilt, or buy one rebuilt.

i dont think i want a listeroid.

i need to sort through all the copies and lister models. i need to learn the differences between models, so i know what i want and what i am buying.

is there a book available on listers and their clones ?

or,where should i look for this info.

i live in the US, state of conn.,i would like to only deal with US  companys for the engines, i will buy the parts from anywhere.i just dont want to figure out shipping on a heavy engine.

or am i starting out all wrong ?

thanks. hope i wasnt too annoying.

[dieselgman]

Edgington's book series are an excellent place to start. History and detail, detail, detail. There is also quite a wealth of information on the web that you can surf and sort.

The CS engines with indirect injection seem to be the most promising machines for WVO. Carbon build-up is one of the major issues that varies with various engine types. Others on this forum can probably provide their own first-hand info on this topic. I believe that the HA/HB/HR machines built with the heavy-duty piston can run well on alternative fuels. Some have been used in the Pacific with copra oils.

Hard to beat an original Lister for a beautiful piece of machinery, some of the clones are also OK but there is a very wide range of possible outcomes with those things.
Many original machines are available from the USA and Canada that can be rebuilt, or you can purchase a reconditioned machine ready to run. You will not find many of the older CS type machines but there are many good engines from the more modern series that are viable and cost effective.

I feel your pain regarding shipping heavy iron these days. This issue has forced me to change my business approach and embark on some fairly expensive changes in order to try and remain competitive.

feel free to email me if you want some particulars on Lister originals and parts/service in the USA. gsj@gci.net

Best Regards,

Gary
diesel-electric.us

[rmchambers]

Seconded on the Edgington book.  I picked one up from Amazon and finished it in 3 train trips between the house and the office.  Very interesting book and the pictures are a treat to behold.

I'd say a must for any afficionado of these style of engines.

Robert

[rmchambers]

Where abouts are you in CT?  So far there's one guy in Stamford who is generating his own power with a Listeroid, another guy up in Sherman who's working on something, another guy up near Bradley airport in the learning phase like you are and myself who is also in the learning phase and money saving up mode.

Not sure what you'd be willing to do or if you have a vehicle that can do it but there's a member on this site (altopro) who is in Drummondville Canada.  Basically you take I91 all the way up to Canada and hang a left.  Perhaps picking up the engine in person might be an option and he sells ST gens as well.

Welcome to the board

Robert

[hotater]

Sfrank12--

Welcome to one of the best sources of info around, but it'll take a while wading through the barn looking for pearls.   

"Get George's CD"  will be said a couple times here.   utterpower.com is where you find it and you'll need it if you deal with these engines.

What you want to do is being done every day with Listeroids and the originals, too.  There are some tricks, and there's also a lot of on-going experimentation to develop new tricks to make it easier and better.

[xfrank12]

thanks everyone, but,  i found "The Utterpower CD" at utterpower.com.  is  that "George's CD" ?

also, if i follow the "edgington" link from "utterpower.com ", i am sent to a very annoying website called "stationaryenginebooks". they insist that i buy a book called "RULE OF THUMB" and will not let me read about edgington's books untill i buy "RULE OF THUMB". they placed a popup add for the book right on top of edgington's book and i cant read about it.
if i click on"lister engines" i am sent to the "RULE OF THUMB" page.
clicking on lister engines, from the "RULE OF THUMB" page, sends me to edgington,s books.

at this link ,

http://www.stationaryenginebooks.co.uk/lister.htm

i find the "The Lister CS Story"and "The Lister D Story" and a lot of other lister books.
are these the only two lister books i should get ? or does edgington have others this site has hidden somewhere?

are any of the other books at that link any good ?

besides amazon, does anybody know where i can get these books? i  do not want to deal with "www.stationaryenginebook". they will probably send me ""RULE OF THUMB".

i live near new haven ct.
no interest in driving to canada to pick one up at this time.

again, thanks for your help.the books and CD should be a great place for me to start.

[dieselgman]

David Edgington has published a series called "Know Your Lister". Some of them may no longer be in print. You might try eBay for these books and others.

I have not dealt with the publisher's web-site so I cannot speak to their funtionality there. You can add a piece of software to your browser to stop the annoying ads and pop-ups. This has helped me deal with that mess.

Best of luck!

Gary,
diesel-electric.us

[xfrank12]

"stationaryenginebooks. com" contacted me today and has convinced me the pop up was a mistake.

i withdraw my complaint.

as for these books, its starting to look like its easier to find an original lister, then one of these books, but i will keep trying.

[Stan]

I"ve found that mozilla without the popup thingy installed has more of these.  When I try the dreaded IE the popups don't follow me around.
Stan