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Topics - veggie

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Original Lister Cs Engines / Unpainted Flywheels

« on: April 05, 2020, 05:03:26 AM »

Curious,
I see many Lister CS engines with the outer face of the flywheel unpainted.
In fact some look like they were sanded, polished, and oiled.
Is there a reason for this? or is it maybe tradition. For an antique look ?

Straight Vegetable Oil / How long does WVO last ?

« on: March 27, 2020, 10:46:45 PM »

I have some WVO stored in a tote for 4 years now.
I does not smell bad or "painty".
It's de-watered and filtered before being stored.
Stored outdoors in the shade and it freezes every winter.
But I fear that this stuff must have a shelf life?

What's your experience with the life of WVO ?

Changfa Engines / AIr Cooled Chinese L186 Diesel Injector Pump R&R

« on: March 11, 2020, 08:04:21 PM »

Far anyone who is planning to replace an injector pump or modify the injection timing by adjusting the shim pack thickness you may find this helpful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1ZrAAYGt40

Everything else / Inverter question - Resistive loads

« on: January 15, 2020, 04:59:45 PM »

Can I run an emersion heater from an inverter? or is this bad for the FET's ?
I have a DC system with a small diesel to keep it charged and it can run when loads are applied also.
The DC alternator is rated 140 amps and should be able to keep up to a 1.5kw drain.
How do mod-sine wave and pure sine wave inverters react to resistive loads.?
In this case, a 4KW, 120 volt inverter and a 1.5 kw, 120 volt heating element.

Other Slow Speed Diesels / First smoke for the Z482

« on: December 29, 2019, 12:17:31 AM »

Hi All,

Here's a quick look at the kubota Z482 build that I just finished.
I bought the engine used and it came from a freight truck Auxiliary Power Unit.
Internally it is in excellent shape.
It's coupled via belt drive to a 4kw generator head.
I have been pecking away at this project for 3 years. Nice to finally have it completed.

First smoke...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDcWbOcVmGQ

It was not this pretty when I first got it. Picture below.

Veggie

Everything else / Space Heating from Engine Heat

« on: October 31, 2019, 11:30:34 PM »

I have calculated that my 50 gallon solar storage tank can supply my garage with 12 hrs of heat between 160 Degf and 50 Degf if I heat it to the upper value and then draw 3500 btu/hr in the form of a fan/radiator until the lower value is reached. To help heat my garage space.

I can charge the tank to 160f by running the Listeroid for 4 hrs and transfering the coolant heat and electrical heat (via an electric heating element) to the tank fluid.

I have a fan/coil capable of 18500 btu's output which can be piped to the tank and be energized to blow heat into the space when the tank liquid reaches 160f.

Problem:
When the fan/coil is energized it will exchange far more heat (Btu's) when the water temperature is at 160f than it will when the water temp falls to, say 65f.
So I will get most of my heat transfer taking place in the first few hours of the cycle and little transfer later in the cycle becasue of the lower differential temps across the radiator as the water loses heat.
If I can pull a constant 3500 btu's from the tank, it should last 11 - 12 hours through the night.

What do you guys think of this solution....

Cycle the Fan/Coil based on tank temperature so excess heat is not expelled at the start of the cycle.
Basically cycling the fan (and circ pump) to control the release of heat over time.

As and example...
(Just for illustration, I have not calculated these values yet.)

======= FAN/COIL CYCLING==========
Tank Temp Cycle time (ON-OFF) Minutes
==================================
160 5 - 10 Short heating cycle
150 6 - 10
140 7 - 10
130 8 - 10
120 9 - 10
110 10 - 9
100 11 - 8
90 12 - 7
80 13 - 6
70 14 - 5
60 15 - 3
50 16 - 0 Long heating cycle

Does this approach make sense?
A simple Arduino program with a motor relay could run the heater fan and circ pump.

Some of you guys that are more familiar with heating and cooling systems may have an opinion as to whether I'm on the right track.?
I would use this as an initial system to prove the garage CHP model.
Later I could make the controls more intelligent by having the microcontroller measure the change in tank temperature over time (BTU's used and BTU's remaining) and dynamically adjust the fan cycle time to budget the heat over a 12 hour period.

And is an tank target temperature of 160f realistic? or should I take it higher and store more heat?

cheers,
veggie

Listeroid Engines / Listeroid Oil Change Interval

« on: October 24, 2019, 12:26:55 AM »

The original oil change intervals set for Lister CS engines were determined back in the 1940's era.
Oils of that vintage may not have been of the same quality and molecular blend as today's oils.
So I'm wondering if we can extend the recommended interval from 250 hrs to something longer?

Reasoning:
1] Most of the newer listeroid variants have roller bearings instead of sleeve bearings on the crank.
This reduces frictional shear at the bearings and makes for a cooler running bearing. Less demand on the oil.

2] Low temperature requirements. The sump is far from the cylinder head & cylinder and the oil is not circulated up to the head where it can gain heat so the whole oil system runs at a fairly low temperature of something like 130f.
Heat breakdown is probably not existent.

3] Today's good quality oils have superior molecular chains and bonds with great fluid film strength properties and oxidation resistance.

I realize that many users simply buy the cheapest basic oil they can find and then change every 250 hrs or less.
That's fine too. But what are your thoughts on longer duration intervals?
I am in the process of adding a small 12 volt gear pump and an inline automotive filter to my Roid again.
The pump will be on a timer relay which runs the filter system on a 50% duty cycle of 10 minutes on...10 minutes off when ever the engine is running.
So the oil should be kept fairly clean.
I was thinking of extending the oil change interval to 500 hrs.

Anyone experimented with longer oil change intervals ?

Listeroid Engines / QUIET Exhaust - Listeroid - HOW?

« on: October 17, 2019, 05:46:18 PM »

I'm looking for ideas to make a listeroid exhaust super quiet for residential use without having to dig a hole in the ground and bury everything.
Other houses are within 150 ft of the engine location.
I want to run the unit for 4 hrs per day without upsetting the neighbors.
Has anyone built a silent exhaust system for their Lister/roid?

Waste Vegetable Oil / WVO / Methanol

« on: October 04, 2019, 10:34:19 PM »

Anyone ever blend WVO with Methanol instead of gasoline?
Say... 75% WVO and 25% Methanol.

How did it work ?

Everything else / What is a "Switching Power Supply"

« on: August 22, 2019, 09:02:02 PM »

Excuse my ignorance but...

What is a "Switching" power supply vs other power supplies?
And when does one need a switching power supply.?

Everything else / Solar - 24vdc Panel with 12vdc Charge Controller

« on: August 17, 2019, 01:54:57 AM »

Hi All,

I came across this video where a fellow uses a small buck converter to match a 24 volt (28 -34 vdc) solar panel
to a 12 volt charge controller to charge a small gel cell battery.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD7g5BNy5fM

This interested me because I have a few 50 watt (24 volt) panels and I would like to use them on some protects involving 12 volt gel cell batteries and a microprocessor. I also have a few cheap Ebay buck converters kicking around.
Now granted, this may not be the best accepted practice, but if one has the components sitting around collecting dust, maybe it's ok.
So my question is...
Does anyone see a problem with this setup when used for small batteries and low amperage?
I'm not really concerned with efficiency. I just want to use a surplus 24 volt panel to charge a small 12 volt battery using a 12 volt charge controller.
The microcontroller would run 24/7 so it will draw from the battery constantly.
Battery charges in the day and draws down at night.
I am aware of the necessary depth of discharge limitation that I must consider with the microcontroller draw.
I have multiple 50 watt, 24 volt panels if needed.

Listeroid Engines / Joyfull Sound

« on: August 11, 2019, 04:23:12 PM »

This gentle mechanical music brings joy to heart

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jTxVD5Vaas

Enjoy !!

Listeroid Engines / The GM90 Listeroid Variant

« on: July 31, 2019, 12:59:21 AM »

For those who have heard of the GM90 Listeroid but don't know what it is, here is some information.
It's basically a smaller version of the CS Lister.
It puts out the same HP but at higher speeds which are achieved by using an aluminum piston and direct injection.
Many of the GM90's came with the spoke-less "stover" type flywheels which were very well balanced for higher speeds.
They develop their advertised HP at 900 rpm.
Here is one running at that speed...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbpiYeCJbNs

I run my own GM90 at much lower speeds (like 550).

Sensitive Ind. (Satyajeet) GM90 page:
Here you can read the specifications and sizes available.
This site is obsolete but it does show the original advert.
http://web.archive.org/web/20080610093029/http://www.satyajeet.com/de2.htm

Topland Engines GM90 (Or "little giant") page:
Also known as the Mini Lister.
http://www.topland-india.com/products/engine/htm/engine_3.htm

Pictures: (Click on the picture to enlarge)
A cutaway of the GM90 engine.
A size comparison between a full sized Lister and the smaller GM90. (30% smaller)

Generators / ST Head Factory

« on: July 30, 2019, 02:49:49 PM »

Daddy....where do ST generator heads come from ?

Here son...have a look at this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zlivc1jwgsM

Everything else / Solar Inverter - Load sensing

« on: July 18, 2019, 02:44:22 PM »

I would like to be able to feed power from ten X 220w panels into my cabin electrical system to help offset demand from the grid powered electric baseboard heaters in winter. I am not interested in "net metering" or selling power back to the utility company. When all heaters are on at the same time the total load is 4kw.
That creates a mess of paperwork and meter changes which in the end will not be worth my effort.
I am wondering if anyone is aware of a grid tie inverter that modulates it's contribution to the home circuit according to the current entering the house main breaker panel from the utility.
The idea being that my solar panels would contribute to the loads when the heaters ( or other loads) are on, and scale back (or divert the AC to a dump load like a water heater) instead of back-feeding to the grid when there is low demand.
These type of inverters are readily available from non-approved (and probably poor quality) suppliers on Ebay.
They have a donut current sensor which clamps to the incoming grid wire at the breaker box which is wired back to the inverter for monitoring the incoming grid amperage. The unit throttles accordingly.
They also claim to have "island protection" which will shut down the inverter if grid power goes out. Thus preventing back feed during outages.

I am wondering if any North American brands are capable of output modulation or load diversion based on mains current draw.
Anyone else using solar to help reduce electrical loads without backfeeding the grid?.

Summary:
I want to offset the power used by my baseboard heaters without back feeding the grid