I bought my 12HP Changfa years ago from Mohammed and had no issues.  It was an excellent engine.

Got to thinking about the "starting aid plug" (illus. #34) that fits atop the cylinder head.
It has a small cup design that seemed it could hold a sufficient amount of "charcloth".  I was turned onto the subject of charcloth by an outdoorsman I worked with.  He liked building things from other simplier eras.

After perusing the internet for charcloth making techniques, I ended up taking some old denim jeans and cut up 2" square patches.  Picked up some 1 pt. paint mixing cans and drilled a 1/4" hole in the center of the lid.  Fired up the ol' Coleman camp stove and put the sealed can with denim inside atop the burner.  You keep the fire on until visible smoke pretty much stops exiting the vent hole in your lid.

When done your cloth should be totally black like charcoal and will be very delicate.  This material was used as a fire starter, as a small spark can ignite it easily.  Early fabricators made a piston type wooden plunger that fit inside another tubular type round stick that was held in the hand.  The operator would place "charcloth" inside the wooden cylinder and insert piston and rap it hard, the "charcloth" will self ignite with the proper compression.

Hmm, is the compression ratio of the Changfa 195 adequate to self-ignite "charcloth" I ask myself?

So, having already made some earlier this summer and stored in tight fitting jar to keep it dry I decided to test out this theory.  First, I measured the block temperature (26 degrees F.)  Tried cranking engine a couple of times and no result.

Removed the "starting aid plug" and packed even with a small charge of "charcloth, reinstalled starting plug. Used hand crank and spun engine over a few times and released the decompression lever and off she goes!

Haven't tried this at colder temperatures yet but this is a definite improvement. My guess at much lower temps you could pack the "starting aid plug" and light it and screw it back in and the material should continue to glow until you get started.

Try this out yourselves and let me know how it worked for ya's.

Later,

Oilcan

Hi rcavictim:

"appears that there is no thermostat on the cooling loop on the engine.  Is this true?  If so you really do need to install a T-stat for better engine life and performance."

Yes, thats true.  I am waiting until finishing some temperature measurements before adding a T'stat or maybe instead an
Aquastat controller modulating a heating valve in the cooling circuit.  I'm trying  to determine if my water column height
of the cooling lines is excessive.  Since there is no provision in the adapter plate, I would have to rig up something in series
with the top radiator line that would hold a conventional T'stat.

I still have some other work to do on this, but for now I finally get to see it run.

My neighbor was surprised at how quiet it ran...Heh.  Actually, it's only noisy when the door is open, the exhaust is facing
a noisy street along the fence line.  When the door is open, it sounds like there's an industrial air compressor running.

Looks like Muhammed has several on Ebay. I got mine from him last summer and waiting
to finish the mounting platform to put inside the shed I had to build.  Guess I just don't
get things done fast enough at 58.  I did inspect the interior of crankcase and was impressed
with the machining and cleanliness.  Looked like some of the internals were painted with Glyptal
and crank journal nuts were safety-tied with aircraft wire.

Guy at work gave me a Honda Accord downflow radiator, so will be adapting that for cooling.

Here's the Ebay link for those shopping around:

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-7-5-KW-CHANGFA-DIESEL-POWERPACK-BLOWOUT-PRICES_W0QQitemZ230064003371QQihZ013QQcategoryZ106437QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Ended up getting the Changfa S195/ST7.5 generator combo.  Will be interested in also
using ListeroidUsa's or George's serpentine pulleys if available.  Engine and generator should
be on the way about mid-July.  In the meantime will be building a suitable 8x12' shed to
house the goodies, I expect to reinforce the flooring to accommodate about a 1,000# load.
Guy at work game me a dual-fan Honda Avalon downflow radiator for the cooling.

Will be tying things together with the Readypower.com Reliance #R30216B six-ciircuit
transfer switch.

And then when this is complete experimentation with waste veggy oil.

Went ahead and took the plunge on a Changfa S915M/ST-7.5 generator combo today.  Looks like
only 4 left out of 10 on Ebay (Item number: 7627444600).  The seller at Motors,Generators &Stuff
name is Mohammed has great feedback and has been clear and prompt in my communications with
him.

I will probably use the 3rd generation serpentine pulleys and coolant plate from George at Utterpower to drive this generator set.  Will also be using a six-circuit Reliance transfer switch (#R30216B) from ReadyPower.Com.

I need to decide what auto radiator to tie into this setup for cooling.  One of the mechanics at
work offered to give me a Subaru radiator, which I know is a cross-flow, but he thinks it can be
modified by sweating on a elbow at the fillneck and stand the radiator fintubes vertically.  By adding
a elbow at the fillneck and extending it vertically with a standpipe and add a coolant overflow to
capture any overpour and keep out the air.

For a free radiator it might work, otherwise I will look for a suitable downflow.

Will also be constucting a generator cart from 3x3" angle, double 2x6" wood sideframes, 2"x6"diameter
1200# caster wheels and small crank type trailer jacks to offload wheels on the generator slab inside
a wooden noise suppressed shed.  This way if the unit needs servicing it can be rolled out of shed
under an A-frame hoist if the need arises.  Will post picks when all it done.

Great info and participation on this site!

Thanks in advance for any radiator recommendations you care to make for this project as well.

G'day

OilCan

Thanks for replies europachris and ListerUsa.  Thats right, George sent me
an email and mentioned the 3rd Generation adaptors which are serpentine.
I have until June 18th to decide whether I'll be a guinea pig for the Ebay
Changfa/ST7.5KW combo. It's encouraging to see parts are available for
both the Lister and Changfas.