Before anyone jumps on me about how I'm going to kill myself and blow up stuff, I want to say that I am a grizzled electrical engineer and I'm doing this for the fun of it.... If I blow stuff up - it's okay.

So, I was working at a facility a few weeks ago that had a very old power plant next door.  Clearly I couldn't stay away and had to go drool over the 1930's vintage Fairbanks and Nordburg 1200-1400 kw generators and the beautiful antique switchgear.  It has given me the bug to want to sync two listeroid generators together (for no particular reason other than to do it).  I have a 20/2 with a 15k ST head and a 24/2 with a 30k ST head already.  Have a good supply of NEMA 3/4/5 contactors that I can use to tie as well as probably everything else I'd need.
Has anyone ever tied multiple ST heads in sync?  Just wondering what issues have been run into by others.  Sounds like a really fun science experiment to me!   Wouldn't it be cool to have two (or more) generators in my "power house" that could be run independently or in parallel depending on load needs?
:-)
Chris

My new house build is close to complete and I thought some might be interested to hear that my trailer mounted Roid has behaved wonderfully.  Fortunately, I built it before I heard that it can't be done :-)
Since the utility company wanted an excessive amount of money to set a temporary power feed, I decided to try using my generator to supply all the contractors needs.  I go out every morning at 6:30am and crank her up.  (which has been rather hard on my back a few of the days where it was well below freezing, but did manage to get her started every time).
She's been running from 6:30 to around 5:00pm every day now for about 2 months with absolutely zero problems.  The load is pretty difficult to gauge - they've been running 6 halogen construction lights, saws, drillers, chargers, air compressors, and the obligatory boom box.  Pretty much kill a 5gal jug of diesel per day.  I've been thrilled with the reliability - especially since I haven't been able to give her much attention other than a good morning oil soaking.  Once the house is complete, I plan to move the skid off the trailer and permanantly locate it into a small building.  Already built a 200A manual transfer switch into the house and ran conduit out for the building.
I think I posted pix before, but here's what the rig looks like:
http://members.cox.net/cschuerm2/
cheers,
Chris

I received my shipment from GTC (Geko Trading Co.) today, and as promised, here is a summary of the experience.

At the beginning of the year, I sent an email request to the address shown on GTC's web site (geco@vsnl.com).  I received a prompt reply with parts pricing.  After supplying an international airport for delivery in another email, I received an easy-to-print "proforma" (looks like an invoice with wire transfer instructions).  I digitally signed it using a paint program and emailed it back, then wired transfered the money and crossed my fingers.  The following day I received a confirmation of payment received.  Approx 15 days later, I received a notification of shipment exactly as promised along with digital copies of the airbill and shippers paperwork.
Continental airlines called this morning (5 days after shipment) to let me know the box had arrived and if I was not using a professional broker/importer that I would have to contact US customs.  The guy who answered the customs line was extremely nice and helpful.  He explained that personal imports - not for profit or resale - are exempt from all but a trivial inspection fee which he graciously waved.  The only additional fee I had to pay was $25 to the airline for handling (I think for delivery and pickup from customs).  I arrived, signed the shipping bills, paid the $25 and was out the door in less than 5 minutes.  The entire transaction couldn't have gone any smoother much to my amazement.  Throughout the entire process Mr. Khalid Kahn was very courteous, professional, and stayed in regular communication (which did a lot to minimize my concerns).

I definitely give GTC a thumbs-up and would not hesitate to place further orders (except for the horrendous airfreight charges that they have no control over).

Chris

Finally got around to taking a few pictures of my trailer-mounted Listeroid generator.
Feel free to comment and/or suggest improvements.  This rig got us through the "great ice storm of 2007" here in Oklahoma and just worked beautifully for a week of 24/7 operation.  The basic setup seems to be working great although I have thought of several areas that I intend to improve upon in the future.  I'll be doing away with the Indian fuel tank shortly and will be replacing it with a much larger tank mounted on the trailer and feeding the engine with an electric pump.

http://members.cox.net/cschuerm2/

Cheers!
Chris

Fellow Roid-heads,
After finding out that DHL air shipment of a small batch of parts for my Vidhata was going to cost over $700, I'm switching to "plan B".
I'm considering placing a large parts order before long with Anand Enterprises.   Doug Waggonner is pretty certain he can buy into a partial shipping container which should substantially cut shipping costs.  My understanding is that Anand can source pretty much all parts for all makes/models of engines and Mr. Atul Patel has the best reputation around for actually providing good support.    I'm willing to accept and combine parts requests into a large order, split up the shipping fairly, and receive the container at the port of Catoosa near Tulsa, OK.  I can then ship out from my business or warehouse and allow pickups.

As everyone knows, there is always the possibility of getting parts that were not what you wanted or won't fit your engine - that's part of being a Roid-head.  I'll have no control over what is sent after the order is placed (my parts included), so you will have to be ready to deal with that.  I'm optimistic that Mr Patel will do a better job than most based upon what I've heard so far though.

If you'd like to take part in this order, here's what to do:
Send email directly to me (cschuerm@cox.net) with a plain text message including the make and model of your engine, and a line-by line list of parts you want.  Please put "LISTEROID" in the subject line so I can filter the emails.  If you are wanting pistons/sleeves/rings, you'll need to note whether it's a DI or IDI engine and it would be best to provide the bore measurement to help assure the correct part.  I'm not sure how the pricing will work out - if I'll get any quantity discount, etc.  I'll just need to get the list together first, discuss it with Anand, then figure out how to best proceed.  Please don't send a list if you're not serious about being involved in the order.  If you're just curious, I'll make a posting here after the order is combined, the deals are made, and the order placed.  My understanding is that we'll have to pre-pay with the order - FYI.  Lastly, I have no idea how long the order will take to arrive.  It could potentially be several months depending on when we can combine the shipping - be prepared for that as well.  I'll do my best to see that this happens as cleanly and easily as possible for everyone - I want parts too you know.

cheers,
Chris Schuermann

Howdy all.  Finally have the power back on here - yay!  Still lots of folks without though.  May be weeks before all is back to normal.  My 20/2 roid was a life-saver for sure over the last week and performed wonderfully.  I'm now going to take the time to address some of the many things left to complete (before the next storm hits!).  I can't track down the source of the offset idler bolts.  Should I replace the cam gear with a bronze unit also? (and where do I get one).  Also would REALLY like some spare bearings, gaskets, etc, but also havn't found a reliable vendor.  Sure would appreciate some help and some pointers to good suppliers!!!!

Cheers from Oklahoma,
Chris

Howdy y'all.  Have some interesting info to share:
I just received my 24/2 GTC from Waggonner Engine Works in Claremore OK.  It's an IDI.  My 20/2 Vidhata is a DI.  Spent much of the day doing a preliminary inspection followed by a short test run.  Now that I've become pretty intimate with these critters, I thought I share a few initital comparisons.
The GTC is cosmetically superior to the Vidhata.  I don't know that the castings are really any better since I havn't stripped and blasted the GTK yet, but it sure has purdy paint.  It also has spoked flywheels which are certainly more attractive.  One item I noted with a certain happiness is that the GTC folks crammed the biggest counterweights on the crank they could possible fit.  This confirms what I had already convinced myself of - that these engines need a LOT more CW mass than they can fit inside the case.  If you remember from prior posts when I was trying to properly balance the Vidhata, I concluded that it was pretty much impossible due to internal limits.  GTC apparently agrees since they put quite a bit of effort into maximizing the CW mass.  This engine certainly runs smoother out of the crate than the Vidhata did.  I can't wait to try to improve it further!  Also, the IDI engine is considerably quieter than the DI engine (much to my wifes pleasure).  Overall, this looks like it's going to be a fun engine.  I'm going to have to ignore it for a bit before I have the time for a complete teardown, but hopefully that will go as smoothly as the Vidhata did.

cheers,
Chris