Lister 'Expansion Chamber' Silencers

[listerdiesel]

Many original Lister Start-O-Matic sets and also the larger 9/1 and upwards, were supplied for stationary use with a very heavy expansion box/silencer, most of which seem to get lost or scrapped  when the sets are sold on.

There are two in particular that are worth looking out for, see the details on:

http://www.oldengine.org/members/diesel/Technical/exhaust.htm

The "Cast Indoor Silencers" at the middle of that page are the ones we are talking about.

Most S-O-M sets would have had the smaller of the two sizes, the larger 9/1 (JP1) would have also shared the smaller size, see the pages for details.

The exhaust note is much softer with this silencer compared with the 'pepper pot' type that is seen on most engines on ebay, stuck on a piece of bent pipe on the engine.

If you come across one of these cast units, don't scrap it!

Peter

[Stan]

Peter, were these cast iron silencers simply hollow?  If so there are some very heavy fire extinguishers that could be made up into "silencers" very easily.
Stan

[listerdiesel]

Peter, were these cast iron silencers simply hollow?  If so there are some very heavy fire extinguishers that could be made up into "silencers" very easily.
Stan

Yes, the two that I have were just empty with a layer of rust flakes and soot inside.

I had mine shot blasted and zinc sprayed before getting them powder coated, so they can sit outside until needed.

Peter

[Stan]

As a matter of fact I think someone on this forum used a small propane cylinder (suitably aired out and well cleaned) as an expansion chamber.
Stan

[Geno]

Good post. I've seen that page on expansion chambers before. The large exhaust pulse needs to be damped somewhere close to the head. Especially in long exhaust systems. By accident my first of 2 mufflers acts in a similar but probably inferior way.

Thanks, Geno