Author Topic: Diesel Conversion Project.  (Read 10019 times)

guest22972

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Diesel Conversion Project.
« on: July 22, 2018, 04:00:08 PM »

In a rare burst of Motivation, I picked up a new toy last week for a project I have become quite keen on. Everything I have in garden equipment is all petrol and nearly all Verticle shaft engines for which there is no Diesel Replacement.

I got myself a Honda F700 2 Wheel Tractor/ Tiller which will be perfect for setting up with one of the several China Diesels I have required and are sitting round the shed.



I wanted another tiller for the garden but after looking at YT vids of what this thing can actually do, I'm very keen on the thing as it will do far more than I thought around the place. As It does not have the rotavator attachment  and the hoes are just fitted to the Drive Axle, the other tiller I have will probably be better for that.  This one with a Ripper will be better for doing hard ground and tearing out tree roots which are everywhere here.

The one I picked up has an old Honda Sidevalve engine rated at 6.8 HP.  The Engine looks in pretty poor nick and does not have spark. After a bit of a washdown and removal of the original engine,  the rest of the thing which is built like a tank looks pretty good.

I was hoping I could do a straight swap with the China Diesel I bought the other day but of course that is wishful thinking. That said, it's not too bad either.  The Diesel is a little longer and wider than the Honda engine so I'll have to make up a new engine mounting plate to move the thing over a little to line up the drive belts and give it something to hang onto on the far end mounting holes.
Just last week I did some Dumpster Diving in a local engineering shops scrap bin and came up with the perfect Size Piece. All I have to do is drill the holes for the diesel and to mount it to the original Mounting holes on the Tractor.

The Diesel I got the other day surprisingly wouldn't take any of the pulleys I have.  Bit of research shows it's a 20mm Pulley Not the standard 3/4 - 19mm.  I'll either have to get a Pulley bored for it ( original 3" is a 22mm Bore) or I'll have to get one of the other Diesels I have out which do have 19mm shafts on the same engine and fit one of those.  I also have a 13 Hp Ruggerini which is a big engine I could fit but I think that's going to take a fair bit more engineering to fit that.  For the smaller engines, not sure if it's worth getting a Taper lock pulley or just a plain ally one will be fine.

After the Mounting plate and Pulley, all I should need is a longer belt and I'll be in business.

There are vids on YT showing these things Pulling single Moldboard  Ploughs as well as single tine Ripper type's.  They have also been fitted with Blades which I would also like to do as there is a LOT of garden I want to strip out and re plant.  I'm thinking to make a Narrow, 30 Cm  Dozer blade  for the thing and a wider one for pushing loose material around.  I have  piece of 1/4" plate  that is nicely sized that I will have to try and bend a curve in it.
I don't have any tools for this so I'm thinking strap the thing to the tree which has the right sort of diameter with a whole bunch of ractchet straps and try  tightening them down in succession till I get the curve I want and a bit more to allow for Flex.

Other thing may be to bend some of the thick flat stock I have and then tack or screw the sheet to that to curve it round.
The machine has a single 30mm receptacle  to take a bar for weights and implements. At the back is a Hitch type fitting where the Ripper Plough attaches.  I'll make a few things to go there, a straight plough Blade, A bigger ripper/ Knife and an offset Cutter for doing the garden edges.

The Diesels I have are 6Hp and have a little more torque than the original petrol engine. There are a few Vids on YT of these machines with Diesel Conversions as well as China petrol engines.  Thinking I might just order a 7 Hp petrol engine in case the diesel isn't a success for any reason as I'm keen to get to work with this thing. Come to think of it, I have a brand new 13 Hp petrol as well as a diesel up the back shed.


I'll post up some Pics tomorrow of the thing and progress so far. I left the camera in the garage and as we are advancing well toward the -4 C night predicted, I'm not going up there now for them!  :0)

veggie

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Re: Diesel Conversion Project.
« Reply #1 on: July 22, 2018, 10:51:39 PM »
Go with the diesel !
It's worth the time to do a conversion. You can always switch back in a pinch.
As the world creators ... and fuel becomes scarce, you will be the only micro farm who has fuel (WVO).  ;D

... and we all know how diesel roto-tillers attract women !  :o

Veggie
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ajaffa1

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Re: Diesel Conversion Project.
« Reply #2 on: July 23, 2018, 12:08:19 AM »
Nice tool Glort. Don`t go too big on the engine, diesels have a lot more grunt than petrol engines and you may end up getting through a lot of drive belts.
When I was a kid a neighbor had a similar tool made by Merry Tiller, it had an enormous range of attachments including a trailer with a bench seat. can`t wait to see what you come up with :laugh:

Bob

ajaffa1

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Re: Diesel Conversion Project.
« Reply #3 on: July 23, 2018, 10:38:01 AM »
Hey Buddy, definitely looks like you have your Mojo back and working well. Surprised by the small difference between the Honda and the diesel, but Honda engines never fail to surprise me.

Remarkable what one person can move given a stable anchor point and a winch vertically or horizontally. I`ve moved 2 ton band saw wheels using nothing more than a hand winch and a pry bar.

I have a neighbor who has a diesel lawn mower.  I`ll ask him what make it is and let you know so you can look out for one.

Bob

ajaffa1

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Re: Diesel Conversion Project.
« Reply #4 on: July 23, 2018, 12:16:21 PM »
Hey Glort, very glad to hear your wife went through surgery OK. :) As for shipping, I think she might be slightly miffed if you send a courier to collect her from hospital! That said, if she is in pain , an ambulance delivery service might be better than  a ride in the back of the ute. I`ve been in the back of enough ambulances recently to be able to speak for the comfort and service they provide. Thank God for the selfless individuals that give their time to our emergency services.
You could ship her to a quality hotel or spar and meet her there but I know from experience that when you are crook you just want to be at home with your loved ones and that includes you! :) Stop buggering about with engines and etc for a while, look after her, she is irreplaceable and needs you now more than you can imagine.

The Steel plate can probably be bent by cutting a couple of steel formers to the shape required and then tacking the plate to one edge. Use your oil burner to warm it up till it glows and then beat it around the former with a big hammer. Tack it as you go and you should end up with a blade to be proud of.

Bob



ajaffa1

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Re: Diesel Conversion Project.
« Reply #5 on: July 23, 2018, 12:50:18 PM »
Hey Buddy, my advice on a shredder is don`t buy one or build one unless you have the time to feed sh1t into it. When I bought my property most of was covered in lantana, so I spent the first six months felling it and feeding it into a shredder. Now I pile it up and let it rot, turns out to be great compost for the veggie garden.

Another suggestion is to have a chat with the council guys that keep the kerb sides clear, they have industrial shredders and an insatiable appetite for Bunderberg rum. One bottle should get all your waste mulched and in a nice pile awaiting use. Never underestimate the willingness of council employees to provide you with any service you require for a small donation to their alcohol dependency fund. :laugh:

Bob

mike90045

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Re: Diesel Conversion Project.
« Reply #6 on: July 23, 2018, 05:06:17 PM »
Can you get (buy or rent) "walk behind brush mowers" there ?
https://www.drpower.com/power-equipment/field-brush-mowers/walk-behind/
They can chew up a 2 or 3 inch sapling, big tough hammer cutter on the end of a rotary blade
Like a chipper shredder on wheels

ajaffa1

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Re: Diesel Conversion Project.
« Reply #7 on: July 23, 2018, 11:33:46 PM »
Nurse Glort? God help your poor wife. Maybe you are right and you should stay in the shed. Please don`t wear the nurses uniform when doing the shopping, you`ll probably get arrested. :laugh:

Love the mobile shredder Mike, I`ve got to get me one of those.

Bob

ajaffa1

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Re: Diesel Conversion Project.
« Reply #8 on: July 24, 2018, 09:48:56 AM »
Well Glort, here I was thinking that your primary proclivity was for diesel engines running on waste vegetable oil. Turns out you`ve taken to hanging out in seedy places dressed in womens clothing, while your Wife is in hospital.( I`m a lumberjack and I`m OK) Why am I not surprised? While the cat`s away the mice will play. Shame on you, you`ve been a bar-bar sheep and you mutton do it again! (oops that`ll be the Welsh in me coming out)

Don`t understand how someone with such a fine sense of humor can have such problems with depression but then again I never expected it to happen to me either.

Very glad to hear your Wife has come through her hospital experience OK. I remember going to visit my 70 year old mother in law after she had cataract surgery, her husband asked her how she was feeling and she told him to F*ck off. The look on his face was priceless. Apparently it`s very common for people who have had anesthetic to behave in unusual ways. I`m sure she will be back to doing the washing before you know it, if not you should offer to do it once you have converted the washing machine to run on diesel. :laugh:

Looking forward to the progress reports on your new yard tamer.

Bob

ajaffa1

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Re: Diesel Conversion Project.
« Reply #9 on: July 25, 2018, 09:40:44 AM »
More dog pics please, what a cute hound. Got offered a puppy today, it`s a cross between a white Alsatian and a Dalmatian and only six weeks old. If you can imagine a white Alsatian with Dalmatian spots you`ll get the general idea of how cute it is. I can have it for nothing but will have to register it, vaccinate it and have it micro chipped, about a thousand bucks. Not sure I can afford that right now but the missus will probably talk me round.

With regards to your steel bending experiment, what you need is heat or a much bigger hammer. ;D
Don`t recommend heating it while attached to the propane cylinder!

Bob

guest23837

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Re: Diesel Conversion Project.
« Reply #10 on: July 25, 2018, 10:28:13 AM »
Very nice dog Glort I love collies

This is Sally my mad stupid loyal fun gentle kind old Collie

ajaffa1

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Re: Diesel Conversion Project.
« Reply #11 on: July 25, 2018, 11:56:24 AM »
I love dogs, I prefer them to people, they are non judgmental and if you look after them they will stand by you through thick and thin.
In London we had George, who had his own web site, He was the pub dog at the Angel in Highgate and then at the Hen & Chickens on Highbury corner, Islington. We had a theater bar there and had live music most nights of the week. I have several live rhythm and blues recordings where you can hear him singing backing vocals. Had to have him euthanasia at 17 years old due to prostate cancer, broke our hearts. That said he had a great life and even got to roger Stella Rimington`s dog ( Stella was the head of the UK secret service at the time)

After that I used to do dog sitting for a while and we had a lot of dogs, up to ten a day. Used to put them all in the back of a VW Golf and take them to the park twice a day. Had some interesting conversations with local law enforcement about how to secure dogs in the back of a car, needless to say when they realized they were outnumbered 10 to 1 they all f*cked off.

We now have Jed who we saved from a local farmer. Poor little bugger was thin as after being chained up for two years before we found him. He now sleeps on our bed and guards our chickens during the day. A more spoiled and dysfunctional friend would be hard to find.

Bob

mike90045

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Re: Diesel Conversion Project.
« Reply #12 on: July 25, 2018, 05:42:18 PM »
I think you need a smaller mandrel to form that steel around, it's going to spring back when straps come off.  Not sure about a good way to curl the ends.  Maybe a slot carved in an axle, and stick the edge in there, and start to wrap (like a key on a sardine can)

guest23837

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Re: Diesel Conversion Project.
« Reply #13 on: July 25, 2018, 09:16:44 PM »
Sardine cans here have a ring pull opening depriving me of an instant gasket tube roller


dieselspanner

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Re: Diesel Conversion Project.
« Reply #14 on: July 26, 2018, 07:34:14 AM »
We get them fresh from Spain, no health and safety issues with the sharp edges...........

Cheers Stef 
Tighten 'til it strips, weld nut to chassis, peen stud, adjust with angle grinder.