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Messages - listerboy

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76
Engines / Re: Question about Blow-by
« on: October 23, 2008, 11:30:15 PM »
Thanks for the link Steve.

For RAB: the engine is connected to an 8kw gen head and has never been loaded less than 6kw except for the few seconds it takes to for the oil pressure to rise, and the two or three minutes it takes for water temp to get to around 160f as the load is gradually raised to full. I run it at around 185-190f, thermostaticaly controled by a 12v automotive fan monted on the radiator. It had .2 (2/10ths) hours on it when I got it. Most running has been just below the level at where the 60A main breaker trips. Got tired of resetting it so I dropped the load down to an estimated 6850-7250 watts. That estimate is from the data plates on the heaters and hair dryers I've been using for testing and break-in. But, if what Steve says about modern oils is true, there still could be some glazing on the walls anyway.
The engine manual and the data plate on the engine say it is rated for 18hp @ 2200rpm. Would that make a difference as to how much load should be put on it at 1800rpm? Do you think that a 6-8kw load would be sufficient to prevent glazing and provide and adequate load for break-in?

77
Engines / Re: Question about Blow-by
« on: October 23, 2008, 09:46:58 PM »
Sorry, should have stated that in the first post. It's Rotella T 15/40. The engine has a block and oil pan heater. Think a straight 30 or 40w would be better?

78
Engines / Re: Question about Blow-by
« on: October 23, 2008, 08:38:08 PM »
If I remember correctly, the compression test I did at about 40 hours was around 435psi on one cyl and 450 on the other. The blow-by is a little more than half of what it used to be. If I can find the time I'll do another compression check just to see if anything has improved. While doing the check I remember hearing air escaping from somewhere but didn't pull the intake and exhaust manifolds or valve cover to see if I could find out where. The engine seems to run OK and the temperature spread between the cylinders is less than 10 degrees if that means anything.
Thanks for the reply.

79
Engines / Question about Blow-by
« on: October 23, 2008, 05:50:46 PM »
How much blow-by is acceptable and what are the contributing factors to excessive blow-by?
The engine in question is a 2cyl liquid cooled 15hp @ 1800 rpm. It has about 90 hours on it and the blow-by has improved somewhat from what it was when new. Under full load the amount of blow-by would fill the 10x12 shed in 10 minutes. It came out of the breather cap which is actually the oil filler cap and breather cap combined. The top of the cap is drilled through horizontally to form four holes that allow the engine the breath. Theres just a piece of course steel wool packed into the cap as a crude filter.
Problem is, the cap is in the top of the valve cover and the combination of blow-by from the crankcase and oil splash from the rockers lets out not only fumes but drops of oil as well, creating quite a mess. I ended up running a 5/16" hose from the valve cover to a tap on the air filter which created enough of a vacuum in the engine to solve the problem. When I crimp off this vacuum line to check the blow-by it seems to have improved but I'm just wondering if there is something else I can do or check. Or do you think it will continue to improve with more hours on the engine?
 

80
General Discussion / Re: The Return
« on: October 02, 2008, 01:34:06 PM »
Thanks for the link SteveU,

The Imperial engine has one piston up and one down with each revolution and just the normal counterweights you see on most engines. But interestingly it replaced an 1800rpm 2cyl gasoline Onan that had the other arrangement you described. Both pistons travel up and down at the same time and the crank has massive counterweights cast right into it. It vibrated about the same as the Imperial but that's not the reason I replaced it. The electrical control was way too complicated with printed circuit boards, voltage regulators, a huge capacitor to filter the AC, relays and switches all over the place. I replaced the control board once to the tune of $200 so I figured it was time to get something less complicated. And besides, I like the smell of diesel much better than gasoline. Safer too now that I'm storing 55 gal of oil instead of gas.

Dave

81
General Discussion / Re: The Return
« on: October 02, 2008, 01:15:16 AM »
OK SteveU,

It's an 8kw from Imperial Diesel.  http://www.imperialdiesel.com/generators.html#eight 
The lc-285 engine is made in three different configurations, 2, 3 & 4cyl and apparently larger sizes but probably not with the same basic German (Chinese manufactured) engine design.  It's rated at 18hp @ 2200rpm on the data plate but is de-rated to 15 @ 1800 for the 4 pole Mecc-Alte. The casting and finish work on the outside of the engine are rather crude looking  but so far it's been reliable, but that's not saying much because it has less than 100 hours on it. The Murphy safety system saved it once when the after-market electric fan quit. That was my fault; I didn't put the retainer clip back on the blade shaft after reversing the air flow.
A few after-market goodies help it keep going; a Goldenrod fuel filter/water separator, 14" 12v electric fan mounted on the radiator with too much $ in Evans NPG+ coolant in it (radiator remote mounted to eliminate vibration damage, yes, it vibrates), adjustable thermostat for the fan, Amzoil bypass filter, filter mounted oil cooler (a finned aluminum sleeve that wraps around the oil filter), block and oil pan heaters for the winter time and a Donaldson air cleaner. I used the tap on the side of the air cleaner to run a hose to the valve cover for PCV. That helps keep the oil leaks at a minimum and the crankcase fumes out of the shed.

 Shipping weight was around 700 lbs and I guess without the crate it's 625-650 so it dosen't move around. It's mounted (oh no...here we go again) on two 14x14x26" wooden blocks that sit on 1/2" thick rubber iso-sheets. I've loaded it up with 10,000 watts for 20 minutes just to see what would happen and it didn't seem to mind with just a bit of black smoke but some lost rpm. The Kill-a watt measured 55 Hz and the voltage went down to 105 before the 60amp breaker tripped. I doubt that it was really producing 10,000, that's just the total watts from the data plates on the space heaters and hair dryers I used for testing.

That's about it. Any questions I can answer, just let me know.
Dave C. aka Listerboy (had to choose a name for log-in and that sounded appropriate)

82
General Discussion / The Return
« on: October 01, 2008, 04:09:42 AM »
On second thought, it's not my place to judge. Original message deleted and my apologies to anyone I offended.

83
General Discussion / Sand in the sump of your Jag?
« on: March 26, 2008, 11:06:38 PM »
Is there a Jag or Land Rover in your future? An Indian firm named Tata has just purchased the two names from Ford. Should we ask the dealers to check for sand or should we attempt the tear-down ourselves?? :)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/mar/26/automotive.mergersandacquisitions

84
General Discussion / $10 Diesel in UK?
« on: March 24, 2008, 07:32:59 PM »
For our friends in the UK...is this article accurate?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=540445&in_page_id=1770

If so, anyone want to go in on a barge-full from the US to the UK? We could park it 3 miles off-shore and make a bundle at $8 and all would be happy (except for the feds).


85
Bio-diesel Fuel / Re: Tyson- Conoco/Phillips Biodiesel politics
« on: January 02, 2008, 07:32:45 PM »
Interesting article about bio-fuels causing the price of food to go up.

 http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1231/p13s01-wogi.html

86
Listeroid Engines / Re: Air Intake noise?
« on: August 14, 2007, 05:26:28 PM »
I have a 2cyl 1800 rpm chinese diesel genset that does the same pulsating thing. When I first got it the pulsations were bad enough to move your fingers when held two inches from the intake. It has 70 hours on it now and the pulsations have settled down to about 50% of what they were. I think I have the same overlap condition you have but can't explain why the pulsations have been reduced. (see end of paragraph 3)

As for noise, I was experimenting with remote intakes and noticed that when I connected an 8' section of 2" vacuum hose to the intake the noise was reduced by about 30%. I had to scratch that project when the pulsations caused a hole to be worn in the side of the hose where it rubbed a work bench. I'll have to wait till the pulsations settle more before I finish that project.

I also have a problem with excess blow-by. The crankcase is vented through the oil fill cap on top of the valve cover. Under no-load conditions just a wiff of smoke comes through the four holes drilled in the perimeter of the cap. Under load the smoke would fill the shed with a fine smokey/oily mist. I fixed that by installing a 3/8" hose barb in the top of the valve cover and piping it to the air cleaner. Now my dry-type filter has the benifits of an oil bath! Could the fact that there is now a negative pressure in the crankcase have helped with the pulsation problem?

87
Lister Based Generators / Re: Mr Lister finally got his test
« on: March 27, 2007, 05:23:58 PM »
OK Folks, I've waited long enough.........no comments about what looks to be original spring mounts on the front and solid mounts on the rear??? I have the opposite setup on my similar, but non-lister direct coupled diesel set and have wondered if it was kosher. Mine is solid-mounted to the welded steel frame at the front of the engine and the alternator has rubber shock mounts at the back. It's an inline 2-cyl water cooled 8kw chinese clone of some German design, (according to the distributor), and vibrates quite a bit.

88
General Discussion / Re: Imperial Diesel
« on: December 12, 2006, 01:42:01 PM »
 lgsracer,

Check your private messages.

89
General Discussion / Re: Words of wisdom.
« on: November 09, 2006, 01:05:27 AM »
When greeted by someone with "Good to see you", my old friend Bob says:
"Better to be seen than viewed" ;D

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