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Messages - solarguy

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226
Lister Based Generators / Re: Start o Matic Lister generators
« on: February 19, 2006, 12:59:29 PM »
The nice folks at www.otherpower.com have also built a direct drive hand wound permanent magnet alternator with one of the nifty mini-Lister/Petter diesels.  If I recall correctly, they had both a 12V nominal output for charging a battery and a nominal 120AC output for general whatnot use.  They were pretty happy with the result and I have to admit, it was a cute little thing.

One of the often mentioned drawbacks to the PMA (Permanent Magnet Alternator) solution is the inability to adjust output by varying the field.  The magnetic field is of course not adjustable.

Finest regards,

troy

227
Lister Based Generators / Re: Flickering lights
« on: February 18, 2006, 10:31:40 PM »
The few incandescents we have flicker very noticably.  The "old fashioned" 4 ft shop fluorescent lights also flicker a lot.  The CF fluorescent bulbs flicker hardly at all.

A twin will definitely have faster flicker.  1000 rpm prime movers will also have faster flicker.  Five power strokes per second is the root cause of my problem.  I rarely notice it any more.

Back in the day, there was such a thing as 20 Hz AC as grid power.  It didn't last long and was pretty localized.  One of the reasons it went away was because of the annoying flicker.

Good luck and have fun!

troy

228
Lister Based Generators / Re: poly-v belt tension
« on: February 18, 2006, 10:22:44 PM »
I also run a six rib AC Delco serp belt.  Casting and machining the custom pulley was fun/challenging.  It took a couple tries to get a nice blank cast.  Once dialed in, I've only had to adjust the tension once in 1,500 hours of operation.  The lister is fixed/bolted to the frame, the gen head slides on a captive sled that rides on the I-beams of the gen frame.  I bought a spare but suspect it will die of dry rot before I ever wear the first one out.  I sort of prefer not have an idler/tensioner.  One less thing to fail.

Finest regards,

troy

229
Lister Based Generators / Re: Growling ST 3000 Watt generator head
« on: February 18, 2006, 06:27:08 PM »
My ST5 head growled.  I took it apart and inspected/greased the factory bearings.  I didn't see/feel any problems so reinstalled the original bearings.

Later on, after some experience with the head, I also discovered that if one leg is loaded significantly more than the other, it makes the noise.  I also find it interesting that a given load plugged into one leg definitely makes more noise than the exact same load switched to the other leg.

Good luck and have fun!

troy

230
Listeroid Engines / Re: Building an exhaust for the 6/1 (anyone using a flex pipe?)
« on: February 18, 2006, 06:05:29 PM »
Well, there's flex, and then there's flex.

I tried the cheap ass kind and it leaked exhaust fumes like a sieve and shortly thereafter made a big condensate mess.  Couldn't replace it fast enough.  That's a spiral wound fairly porous pipe available at most auto parts stores.  Might work for a strictly outside installation, but terrible if it's enclosed at all.

I have seen gas tight flex in some industrial catalogs in the sizes we need, but it was something like ten or twenty times the cost.  I ended up going with 2" water pipe, which is not so flexible.

Good luck and have fun!

troy

231
Listeroid Engines / Re: Energy in 6/1 flywheels
« on: February 18, 2006, 05:58:24 PM »
Of course, the more complex you make the gen head, especially with electronics involved, the more you sacrifice that anvil like dependability of the "crude" ST heads from George and others.

I haven't had any problems with actually operating anything with the "funny" output from the ST head, except one touch lamp in the bedroom.  Don't know if that's really a waveform issue, or the five Hz flicker from the low rpm of the prime mover.

Finest regards,

troy

232
Listeroid Engines / Re: LUBRICATION RELATED
« on: February 16, 2006, 10:20:29 PM »
I guess I didn't fully convey what a frugal guy I am (you know, so tight that I squeek).

I guess what I could do, since I can mount it where priming won't be an issue, is use the Harbor Freight clear water pump.  Lots of folks, including me, use it quite successfully for processing veggie oil and biodiesel filtration.  Full price is about $35 and it routinely goes on sale for less than $25.  With a cast iron filter head and spin on filter plus a few fittings, that would make less than fifty bucks for the whole installation.

Hmpphhhhh.  Funny I didn't think of it earlier.

Finest regards,

troy

233
Listeroid Engines / Re: LUBRICATION RELATED
« on: February 16, 2006, 07:13:22 PM »
I would really like to add an automotive oil filter that is run independently (especially since I have no factory oil pump on my FK 6-1).  Even if I just run it for 15 minutes at the end of the day, it will remove a lot of particulate junk.  Has anybody run across the perfect, small capacity, inexpensive, readily available, motor included, gear pump???  A gallon a minute would be fine, ten would be too much I would think.

If you want scary/dangerously strong magnet(s) to remove ferrous material in the crankcase, these folks are very nice:

http://www.wondermagnet.com/

They also run a sister site for home brew PM alternators that are about the best in the world for a DIY wind turbine.  They have also built a direct drive alternator onto one of the cute little 2 or 3 horse Lister-Petter diesels:

http://www.fieldlines.com/

I know home brew windpower is a little OT, but have a suspicion there are folks on this board who would enjoy that website.  I have no relationship to either site except as a long time participant.

By the way, a cheapy engraver (the ten dollar vibrating kind) makes a very efficient crankcase sand removal tool if you don't want to spring for a needle scaler.

Cosmetically, I have decided to let most of the factory paint fall off by itself before I make any major improvements.  My periodic cleaning efforts suggest that the factory paint on my particular engine has the rare quality of being both water soluble and oil soluble.

Good luck and have fun!

troy

234
Listeroid Engines / Re: Energy in 6/1 flywheels
« on: February 16, 2006, 05:28:21 PM »
My FuKing 6-1 with 5kw ST head will run pretty much anything in the house with a few exceptions:

It won't run the teeny tiny one ton central air unit, even though, on paper, it should.  Once started, the AC unit only draws 10 amps.

Just as a prank, I tried starting my SIX horse 120V air compressor with nothing else on the Lister.  They both grunted and complained a lot, but it did eventually start.  I think the "6" horsepower rating of the electric motor may be a bit over enthusiastic. I never run the compressor on the Lister.

Everything else starts and runs pretty much normally, though the 4 ft fluorescent shop light dims a bit when I turn the metal lathe on and the modest table saw takes a bit longer to make operating speed.

I was surprised when I put an oscilloscope on the output of the ST gen head, the wave form is pretty crappy compared to the nice voluptuous sine wave of the grid.  I had always assumed that any rotating generator worth it's salt would make a pretty normal sine wave.

Finest regards,

troy

235
Listeroid Engines / Re: flywheel burst speed calculated
« on: February 16, 2006, 04:56:50 PM »
It's all about quality contol (or lack thereof), and good materials.

When I originally received my FuKing 6-1, in addition to the flywheels, it came with a smaller pulley to drive a flat belt.  I thought the spokes looked a little suspicious, and it didn't "ring" right.  Before I started the engine, I decided to remove it to do further testing and it literally fell apart in my hands before I did any serious prying or pounding.

You can bet that my initial trial runs were done with me at a safe distance and not in line with the flywheels.  No problems since then with ~1,500 hours on the machine.  Oh yeah, my compression release dohickey had the pad or ear break off from a casting defect.  I didn't pester George about it, and just knocked a new one out from solid aluminum.

So yeah, if you get a defective casting, the safe operating speed is stationary.

Good luck and have fun.

troy

236
Listeroid Engines / Re: The Brand Roundup
« on: February 16, 2006, 04:47:46 PM »
Greetings,

Just discovered this site and am ecstatically happy. This site is a tremendous resource.

Two years ago I purchased a FuKing 6-1 from George, along with a 5kw st gen head.  Overall, I am as happy as the proverbial pig in a mudhole.  It was not exactly plug and play though...

I had some light vertical scoring of the cylinder walls, and sand stuck all over the place.  I did a complete tear down (except for removing the flywheels/crank) and spent many tedious hours removing sand.  A vibrating engraver makes an excellent tool for that by the way.

Once re-assembled, the rings wouldn't seat properly and/or the cylinder walls were too scored.  Oil consuption was pretty bad.  Another tear down, honed the cylinder walls, George got me a new set of Indian rings at cost, and everything turned out peachy.  Oil consumption is down to zero between 250 hour oil changes.  Presently have about 1,500 hours on the machine.

I have a cogen setup that is pretty successful, which I will likely describe in detail as time allows, and under the proper heading.  Oh yes, it's in the basement and my wife is a saint! ;D

Finest finest regards,

troy

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