ST1 build date

[Blue]

I have just been given an ST1 # 37 28 ST1A 28-15. I know the first numbers should be the year of build but have no idea as to how to convert them into English!
It had been sitting for years in a shed and the starting handle had been lost. I took the handle from my ST2 welding plant, switched the pawl for the anti clockwise
rotation, wound it round a few times to get some oil through the system and released the decompressor and off it went. Straight up to speed (1500 rpm) and
steady as a rock. Initially there was no current coming out but having cleaned all the brushes and slip rings, reconnected a wire that was adrift and restarted it
perfoms admirably producing either 240 or 120 at the flick of a switch. Don't you just love 'em? I split the generator from the engine to clean and paint it all and saw
a large arrow on the flywheel indicating rotation...... the wrong way !!!! Maybe that is why I got it 

[dieselgman]

Appears to be 1978 manufacture... Great little machines. !

dieselgman

[Blue]

Thanks for that dieselman. They are great units. Years ago we had one coupled to a welding alternator and that just ran and ran.
How does the dating system work? According to my Lister Parts Book the first two numbers are the year and the next two the
engine number. ie. 37 = 1978 and 28 is the engine number. That doesn't sound like many ST1's to me or was '78 early days for them?

All the best, Blue

[richardhula]

Thanks for that dieselman. They are great units. Years ago we had one coupled to a welding alternator and that just ran and ran.
How does the dating system work? According to my Lister Parts Book the first two numbers are the year and the next two the
engine number. ie. 37 = 1978 and 28 is the engine number. That doesn't sound like many ST1's to me or was '78 early days for them?

All the best, Blue

I think you are right Blue. It was early in the 1950's when Lister changed their engine numbering system to include a specific year code. Just add 1950 to the number, so 37 + 1950 comes out as a 1987 build which would make it a late one. The 28 would indicate the build number of that particular engine type in that year.

[dieselgman]

There are variations in how the serial numbers are presented and interpreted. It is correct that you add 1950 to the 2-digit date code to get actual year of production. Which digits are the actual date code? That seems to be represented in different ways on different data plates.

dieselgman

[Bottleveg]

I get mixed up with this. The year was at the end of the engine number plate on engines built between 1951 and 1970, so 28 would be 1978, but after 1970 the date was moved to the beginning so 37 would be 1987.

[Blue]

Bottleveg
              My engine plate looks exactly as the one you have posted and that corresponds with the information given inside the front cover of my parts book. It shows the first 2 figures as the year (37), the next 2 in the space designated engine number (28) and there are no spaces either end to allow for a longer number before the ST1.
The 'A' is for anticlockwise and then the last figures are 28-15 which is supposed to be build code of which I seem to have two !
I have an ST2 as well connected to a weding generator with the following number 78 03 ST2 30 20. Now if I have to add 78 to 1950 it hasn't been built yet ! So I guess that means it was built before 1970 but when ?
              I realised it wasn't rocket science that they were up to in those days when I found the part number on the flywheel fot the ST1A with an A in it and the TDC and Z marks on the rim in the correct sequence for anticlockwise rotation but a bloody great arrow stuck on it showing opposite rotation.

[dieselgman]

Production dates for ST1 - 1972 thru 1985... thus my interpretation. Not a 1987 model because production had ceased by then.

Your ST2 would not have been produced before 1972 (nor later than 1983) but could certainly be a 1980 model.

dieselgman

[Bottleveg]

Yes, the build dates are as Dieselman has posted.
Maybe the ID format was changed again? I don’t know.

[richardhula]

I get mixed up with this. The year was at the end of the engine number plate on engines built between 1951 and 1970, so 28 would be 1978, but after 1970 the date was moved to the beginning so 37 would be 1987.

The above system was used from 1982 onwards, but between 1952 and 1981, it was the last one or two digits in which the year was coded as below.

[Blue]

Yes, the ST2 could be a 1980 production as the spec 30 doesn't fit with the engine build (anticlockwise) but if it was 1980 it would  not follow the format shown on the posted plate? Certainly the plate resembles the posted one.
If the counting was started from Jan 1 each year that could account for the small numbers. We have loads of Listers here. I think I am going to get numbers from them when I find them to see if I can work out if there is any logic to the format used. Neither number fits correctly into the supposed formats offered so far.
It is pretty astounding that stuff like this was happening not very long ago.

[Schwen]

Hey Blue,

Here are some more clues that might be of assistance in dating your engine. I got given an ST1A too, and the engine number is shown on both engine plate and stamped in flywheel. Note the flywheel engine number does not contain the build number.





According to the ST1, 2 & 3 engine parts listing I got given, the year is determined by the two digits after the ST1A, so mine is a 1981 (adding 31 to 1950). If you apply the same rationale to yours, it does seem to be a 1978 viintage as suggested by dieselgman.



Items m, n & p (not shown) on page (iv) of the parts listing represent; m = another marine application, n = a Lister manufactured generator set, p = build number.

I hope this helps,

Schwen

[Blue]

Hi Schwen,
                My engine number is formatted in the same way as yours, with the dash before the final pair of numbers. This is a complete about face from the earlier suggested way of looking at the number; but it looks good. I spotted a HR3 over the weekend with number 3700003HR3A010 which seems to be built in '87,3rd made for that year, HR3A (anticlockwise) and build 010. It is all a bit confusing. I wonder when they changed the format?
Been rather busy over the weekend rebuilding a Mercedes Sprinter engine somebody else had stripped. It has a nasty habit of blowing around the injector seats so the whole thing is covered in a coat of carbon. I want to get back to my nice simple Lister !!!!

[Blue]

I pulled the big end bearing off the other day to check it was O.K. after finding so much diesel leaking into the sump. It looked like new (thankfully) so I assume the fuel leak only started while it had been sitting for 10 years. Anyway the real point was while taking the oil pipe out I noticed it isn't as shown in the parts book and thus must be an early pre self regulating pump set up. It has a huge pressure relief valve bolted on the side of the pump and I am assuming this would make it an early model. Anyone know when the oil pumps were changed ? If this is a '78 that would make it about in the middle of the production times. It has no pressure gauge so I have no idea if the relief is functioning. That has to be my next project, I think. It knocks a bit when starting but when load is applied it quietens down and now I have it mounted on rubber it is positively wonderful. We had a power cut a few nights ago, I was having people over for a barbie in the garden and we managed to keep on track thanks to the Lister.