Red Radiator Fan???

[Stan]

I would imagine you would have to have an engine with gen set and run it for an extended period producing a fixed amount of power, and measure the exact amount of fuel burned, then switch belts and run it for the exact same amount of time producing the same amount of power, again measuring the exact amount of fuel used.  I'm not going to go to all that work, I suspect there is a lot of information out there that has been speculated by someone, picked up by someone else as "fact" and passed along by many others.  Possibly the testing has been done, I'm just a simple country boy! 
Stan

[Stan]

Jens, I would imagine that the belt manufacturer's research would be based upon a smooth running, consistent high rpm power source, but I wonder how the 650 rpm pulses from an engine like a Lister would affect the effectiveness of a thin belt vs a thicker one.  I don't know the answer to that question, what I'm saying is I doubt anyone has done testing using a Lister as a power source. 

I know that here in Kimberley, the Sullivan mine which was once the largest Silver Pb Zn mine in the world sent it's ore to the concentrator a couple of miles South of us.  At the concentrator, which used foam filtration separation and depended on finely ground up ore, used huge grinders the size of large (round of course) shipping containers and driven by electric motors the size of VW Beetles.  To connect the motors to the grinding drums, they tried every conceivable belt, chain, direct clutch mechanism they could find.  They researched all of the options and settled on the best solution.  It turned out to be 1.5" manilla rope, spliced into a specific sized loop.  They used something like 12 of these loops wetted, stretched and dried the same length and placed on 12 groove pulleys.  These drive belts lasted the longest, dealt with seized up drums best, and as an added benefit produced huge amounts of smoke when a drum jammed up, instantly identifying which machine needed shutting down. (there were a dozen or so of them in a row in a huge building.

I know this because I once talked to the guy who was in charge of keeping them in stock.
Stan

[contaucreek]

Thanks for posting the pic Stan.

[Stan]

No problem Paul, I love your SOM base, would give certain selected body parts for one just like it  .  Any luck on the hunting trip, I'd invite you to my place, 2,3 & 4 point bucks wandering around all over town, we consider them vermin here, have seen as many as 9 of them bedded down in my yard at night, but you'd have to shoot them with a crossbow, town council is a mite touchy about firearm use nearby  ...

Jens...of course cost would be a big factor in Cominco's choice of belts, wouldn't it be for you and your machine too?  If you had to replace an expensive belt on a regular basis, you'd want to find a cheaper substitute, even if you had to replace it more often.  Replacing a belt on a lister generator isn't an onerous task, so what if you have to do it more often if the alternative is much more expensive.  I've priced out those serp belts at the local Lordco and "lordco!" do they ever want a bunch of dollars, canadian dollars even.

I realize there are cheaper ones at the local auto wrecker and I aim to investigate that very soon.
Stan

[contaucreek]

Yes Stan, 2 does.My first success after 7 years.We have 5 so far with a week to go but I left camp yesterday to try on my own. P.

[listerdiesel]

OK, I've gotten the crud mostly cleaned off the fan assembly and it turns out that it was painted Red?  Wassup with that?  Does that mean it is a replacement fan or were there bits and pieces of Lister equipment that came out of the factory painted red?  All of the rest of Penelope (1949 6/1 electric flywheels) was painted Lister green, black or is shiny brass.
Stan

See my old picture of the CE that we have, that fan was also originally painted red.

Picture ref is on the post re "Container Shipping From the UK"

It was done so that you could see the fan against the rest of the engine when it was running, possible a safety consideration for folks who hadn't been around engines a lot.

Peter

[Stan]

Thanks for the info Peter, I figured it might be something like that.  Interestingly enough, the fuel tank cap was also painted at one time the same red. I don't know if this was stock or not but its red now.

btw...I can't find your reference to the pic of the CE.
Stan

[listerdiesel]

Thanks for the info Peter, I figured it might be something like that.  Interestingly enough, the fuel tank cap was also painted at one time the same red. I don't know if this was stock or not but its red now.

btw...I can't find your reference to the pic of the CE.
Stan

Sorry, Stan, it was my error, it was in the Wimbledon thread, but here it is for you:

http://www.oldengine.org/members/diesel/Misc/CERed.jpg

Peter

[Stan]

Thanks Peter, I've seen it now.  I'll try and post a pic of my "refurbished" fan and radiator in the next couple of days.  My red is a little bit brighter than yours, maybe they fade with age.  My fan only had the red paint in very few places, mostly places protected by a thick layer of grease.
Stan