Well... I'm committed! I'm not sure if I'm crazy or not but I just purchased a "package deal" I now have 2 complete 13.5KW ST3A units. One runs and one needs overhaul. With the purchase of the running unit I also got a host of extra parts, gasket sets, shims, filters and an incomplete ST3A engine. The parts motor is missing some of the external parts and most importantly, the cam shaft. I have taken this motor apart and the remaining components seem to be in good shape. I am going to shelve these parts as spares. Some of the interesting pieces I got are 3 low oil pressure shut down switches. They are mechanical and operate by having a leaver calked after the motor is running, If the oil pressure gets to low the catch holding the spring loaded leaver is tripped and a leaver comes down on the shut off leaver on the engine. At least thats the way I think they work. I also got some manuals- 2 ST range shop manuals, 5th and 6th addition, a supplementary parts list, st range parts list and an instruction book for LR and SR air cooled diesel engines. Some of the "extra" extra parts are going to be offered on fleabay in the near future. Like, I have 3 hand cranks... I only need 1 at best.

The 2 power heads are shown as being single and 3 phase. I'm including the part numbers to see if anyone knows if the single phase head can be reconfigured to 120/208 3 phase with a neutral.
Single phase part # DTW135A12T
3 Phase part # DTL135A3

From my understanding these units came out of the Point Reyes Bird Observatory here in California. All 3 systems were assemble by Oswald Machine & Equipment Co. of South San Francisco.

My long term goal is to rebuild both complete engines and run them alternating and replace the gen heads with synchronizable gen heads. In the event that I need "big" power I want to be able to run both in tandem. I'm hoping I can find a local electrical wizard to help me figure that out....

I guess I'm going to be learning a whole lot about these engines in the next months

Thanks for all the help up to now and in the future!

Peter

Its been a while!

So here is my situation-
I have a Lister ST3 that needs engine repair, metal flakes in the oil... It currently has a bolt on 15 KW single phase gen head. I also have a 6.5 KW Honda Generator that I am currently running, my backup. My shop is off grid and I have a 790 Amp Hour battery bank that I charge when I run the Generator. Eventually this charging will be supplemented by Solar Panels.

I currently have 3 machines that are wired 3 phase. The biggest motor is 10 HP and the smallest is 2 or 3, can't remember. I use this machine the most. I'm running 2 with VFD's right now and to run the 10 HP motor I will need to get another VFD. I would rather not use a rotary phase converter because I don't like the limitations that presents.

Given the cost of the new VFD (about $1000.00) and my current generator situation I've started to seriously consider upgrading my wiring to 3 phase. I imagine I will end up with more 3 phase machines over the next few years.

So, This leads me to what I am thinking:
I would like to keep the ST3 because it is a great but loud motor. Is there a bolt up 3 phase Gen head I can use? I'm also thinking that I would like to use a 2 Generators system to produce my total power requirements. I'm thinking 2 @ 10 KW each or possibly 1 @ 15 KW and the other @ 10 KW. From what I understand, when both are running, I will be able to start and run the 10 HP motor. When I'm using smaller machines and charging the batteries, I can run 1 generator. Can anyone recommend a synchronizer for the Generators? Is that a fairly straight forward installation?

I would sure appreciate anyones thoughts or ideas on how to do this and If its a good idea or not.
Thanks,
Peter

Perfect, Thanks! I'm on the hunt for an engine stand then I'm go'en in...

Its been a while sense I've been here. I bought a used ST3 Gen Set about 3 years ago and its looking like I need to do an over hall on it. I went to change the oil and there was metal suspended in the oil. It wasn't running smooth either. I'm thinking it is a valve/piston problem because one cylinder didn't seem to have good compression.

I'm thinking of taking the top end apart first. I have a manual but is there anything I should be aware of? Does anybody know a good machinist in the Sacramento or Reno areas? What kind of Money am I looking at for a good rebuild? Parts and machine work. I'm figuring I can do the tare down, cleaning and assembly.

Thanks for any help and pointers....

Peter

So, Today I went and put together a muffler for my ST3. quieted it down maybe 20%. I'll take pictures if there is any interest. I used an industrial muffler with the same inlet and outlet Ø as the original. The actual muffler is 5" x 15". One thing I noticed- when in the execration phase of startup, it blows almost white smoke instead of the original black smoke from the old muffler/megaphone. Not sure what thats about.

My cost- about $60.00 and 4 hours. I made a new flange and brackets to hold everything together and well supported.

gorllwyn-
Can you post the sketch? I'd be interested in seeing that!
Thanks-
and Thanks fabricator for posting the waterpot info- my manners left me on the previous post...

I like the concept but I realized while I was reading this that I would have to fill the "pot" everytime I used the generator... Non starter for me

Whats a good alternative?