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Messages - vwbeamer

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1
Listeroid Engines / Re: Newbee trying to get of grid
« on: October 28, 2007, 05:44:21 PM »
I'm sure that the 120 volts you have now is AC, your AC comment is confusing ???





First, welcome to the forum, and I do know where Lake Charles, Louisiana is (grin).  I'm in Texarkana.  In order to answer your questions I will share my experience.  I am using a GTC 12/2 purchased from Doug Waggonner in Tulsa, OK.  The engine is hooked to a 7.5 kw ST head and mounted in my barn about 130 feet from my house.  I would opt for a 10 kw head if did it over just for the heavier armature and the flywheel effect and perhaps upgrading later.  Cost depends on a lot of things, but I can recommend Doug at Waggonner Engine Works and Joel at Power Solutions.  A tranfer switch is used to disconnect from the grid and put your generator power into the house.  A 200 amp manual switch should be between $250 and $450 (EBAY has them from time to time).  Mine is a Ronk brand.  I wired my ST head for 120 volt AC output only to get maximum output at that voltage from the head.  I don't have enough power to do AC anyway, so I'm leaving the 220 volts off.  This is easy to do, by the way.  Contrary to the general discussions on this forum this is NOT rocket science.  You don't have to be obsessive about the Listeroid or the ST head.  Sure they can have problems, but they usually work just fine without overhauling them out of the box.  Buy from a reputable dealer, and lean on those of us who have done it. 

But what do I know?  I'm only a retired physics teacher in Arkansas...........rzrbax

2
Listeroid Engines / Re: An overhead cam Listeroid??
« on: October 27, 2007, 10:44:02 PM »

They are good for 80,000 miles now. But even this number is conservative.  I know a lot that have gone 120K with no change.

Audi/VW will be retiring the PD soon and transition to the comin rail setup like most other modern auto diesels. The reason cited was to comply with new emmision regs.

My only gripe with your idea is the use of a timing belt, on a TDI they are only rated for 60K miles/2000 hours/4 years service intervals, but the newer ones last a little longer. A timing chain would laster longer like the one on my Mercedes 300D 378KMi and still going.



3
Listeroid Engines / Re: EPA position on Listeroid
« on: October 24, 2007, 07:44:31 PM »
Chevy Water cooled engine parts are imported by the 1000's .

An engine is an engine.  I don't understand why i can legally build, or import a complete new non emissions controlled replacement engine for my pre emissions controlled car, lawn mower, go cart, etc and not import a completely new non emission controlled replacement engine for my old pre emissions gen set.

People here would have me believe that if I had an original lister and the block cracked, it would be illegal to import a new block?

Or if i had an original lister gen set and the engine wore out, it would be illegal to import a new replacement engine?

Why can I legally import a non emission controlled replacement engine for my car, my lawn mower, chainsaw, tractor, etc , and not my gen set?

I'm just pointing out, that if someone wanted to legally import these engines, he would/should be able to do so, because other industries do it.

The difference is the engines are marketed and sold as a replacement engines for pre emission controlled car or other IC powered machine. VS as a new industrial engine for a general purpose.

You know, My Lister gen set is all original, i just had to replace the gen head, the mount  and the motor. :P

4
Listeroid Engines / Re: EPA position on Listeroid
« on: October 24, 2007, 07:13:58 PM »
 1000s of air cooled VW engines and parts are built and imported every year. It's a million dollar industry and they absolutely meet no emissions at all. Some companies build and sell 100s of engines every year.  Non meet any kind of emissions at all. check{url]www.cbperformance.com[/url]

They need to meet no emissions because they are replacement engines for pre emission controlled cars.

I can understand not being able to import a new lister engine to make a new gen set, but I want to import a  replacement   ;) engine and parts fro my old pre emission Lister gen set.

Why would this approach not work?

I also know that summit racing, Elderbrock, and many others import, build  and sell engines, again, they meet no emissions standard. The more i think, the more examples I think of complete new engines being built, imported or sold that do not meet any EPA standard. the only stipulation is that they are for off road use or installed in pre emission controlled cars.


5
Waste Motor Oil / Re: inspection results after a long test using WMO.
« on: October 24, 2007, 06:27:12 PM »
My plan is to use 100% UMO with propane injection. The oil will be from a local lube shop, so mostly 10-30.

The motor will start on #2 until the coolant gets to 195. it will then preheat the UMO/RUG mixture thru a heat exchanger and pump it thru a 2 micron filter.

The propane will be controlled off a Hoof type governor operating an adjustable pressure regulator. I want to calibrate it where it is injecting 15% propane by volume. so i will burn 15 gallons of propane to 85 gallons of UMO.

6
Listeroid Engines / Re: Generator vibration and torque pulses
« on: October 14, 2007, 02:56:04 AM »
Ya'll make an easy subject hard.

7
Listeroid Engines / Re: WOOD BASE FOR A LISTEROID/USING 4x4 FENCE POSTS
« on: October 14, 2007, 02:54:04 AM »
Not a rocket scientist, but I race cars. A stiff frame is hard to build on a single plane. 

8
Generators / Re: Variable speed Generators. good idea?
« on: October 09, 2007, 03:21:27 AM »
Thanks for the replies.

I really don't need a generator, I just like to fiddle around. I like diesel engines, especially VW's.  But I'm getting a good deal on the Isuzu. I'm also getting a 84 Jetta with the 1.6 diesel, but the body is in good shape, so I would like to keep it as a car.

I was thinking if  ever lost power, my neighbors might want some power also, it would be nice to have enough for everyone, and the 25k gen head is not much more than a 15K.

I will have to look at the Isuzu engine, I have not gotten it yet. I'm getting the whole car for 100, and I figure the body will scrap for 100 or more, so this will be a free engine.


9
Generators / Variable speed Generators. good idea?
« on: October 08, 2007, 05:59:19 AM »
Hi,

Great forum. I have an idea to throw out and see how other feel about it.

I have a chance to get an Isuzu 1.8l diesel engine and transmission for $100 bucks. It comes from a 82 model rear wheel drive US spec Isuzu I-Mark.
I want to make a 25K gen set using a ST head. My calculation say i will need about 45-50hp.

Problem is to make enough Hp to drive a 25 k gen set, the motor must turn more then 1800 rpm. It's rated at 52 hp at 5000rpm, kind of high for a diesel.
I believe it makes about 75ft-lbs of torque at 2000 rpm. I can't really find much info on the motor. But based on what I've read, about 12-15 k gen head is the most I can use if the engine is direct coupled and ran at 1800rpm.

If i increase the engine rpm by using a belt and two pulleys, I have problems also. If the Gen set is lightly loaded, I will lose economy by running the motor at high rpm. I'm also worried that the engine will wet load when delivering low demands. plus i will not get full power unless I run the engine at rpm all the time. This of course is going to make more noise and shorten engine life.

My thought was to keep the transmission. For light loads, I could use 4th or 5th gear to reduce engine rpm.
When the full 25k is needed, I could use 2nd or 3rd gear to increase engine rpm.

The problem then of course becames the governor because most are designed to regulate engine rpm., then I found an electronic governor, that regulates the engine speed based on output frequency. It keeps the gen head turning at 60 hz, regardless of engine speed.

"The FROG is a generator governor and a 'generator output display panel' in the same module. It regulates the frequency of the generator by adjusting the engine speed. This controller will automatically maintain a steady speed regardless of the engine or generator load."

http://www.fireresearch.com/product.php?id=fra100

I was looking at model #FRA103-A00. There is a PDF file you can download with specs and instructions.

Advantages-
Will allow me to direct couple gen set, no need for belts to get the proper ratio I need
Will allow me to run engine at 1800 rpm or lower rpm for light loads, improving economy.
Will save money for custom pulleys to fit Isuzu engine and st head..

Some disadvantages-
Parasitic Power loss in Transmission
Longer, more complex package
Must manually shift gears to match load.( wonder if an automatic tranny will work better?)
Cost of the frog

Do you think this is a workable plan?


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