...at auction.  Paid $400 for it, which may be too much but I like the American-made stuff.  It currently has a hydraulic motor attached to the shaft, so I'm going to put some quick-connects on it and plug it into my Bobcat takeoffs and give it a whirl and plug some space heaters into it.  Eventually I'll be hooking it to one of my Lister CS 6/1 engines as a smaller "backup" generator to my main 16/2.  Anyway... my questions are:
 
  - what should I look at to ensure it's still in good shape?
  - what lubrication, if any, do I need to do to it assuming it's been in storage for 10+ years?
  - are there any general hints on this type of head?



JT

Roger,

If you haven't already figured it out, messing with the clones is fun and entertaining. This is one of the major reasons folks mess with the antique engines! It is a hobby - pure and simple. It has nothing to do with economics although there is at least one train of thought that also would look at these as practical failsafes for a time of severe disruption in our world. So while it may not 'pay' to do some of these crazy experiments... that judgment would also have to include the satisfaction of doing something yourself and learning all the while. I have seen some fantastic functional machines built out of the junk heap before and have to look on some of those as brilliant and inspiring! Yankee ingenuity (as well as others) is alive and well here!

That said... JT just find a 2-bearing generator head and you will be far ahead!

dieselgman

The short form is that I sold the generator head and the Lister CD, but I still have the 16/2.    I've got an ST-10, and I'll probably end up getting a 3-5kw PMG if I can find someone who makes a quality one in the next few years, but I'm in no rush.  My Lister project has suffered from lack of space, and will probably sit for the next year or so anyway, 95% complete.  I've built a Changfa-195 based generator which works for my purposes in my current home, and when I start building a new house I'll get the pole barn up first, get the genset assembled, then start making power for construction.  I've also got an SR-1 complete generator system, but I need to find brushes for the interesting 110v/12v generator head (early 70's vintage.)

JT

Digging deep in the threads on this board (sorry, no references at hand) you can find that the ST type heads will sometimes de-magnetize themselves if left under load while they're spinning down, which means you have to re-magnetize them to get the minimal coil voltage to "bootstrap" the generator.  I don't recall what this is called - again, there are threads about what you need to do, and I"m sorry I don't have any bookmarked.

As far as other equipment: running things like refrigerator compressors on less-than-normal voltage will cause them to have problems.  Some switching power supplies will overcompensate trying to bring back voltage to normal levels, and the magic smoke comes out.   

I've been in several office buildings during "brown outs" in California (unintentional ones) where voltage drops to 60 to 80 volts and we've lost photocopiers, A/C compressors, and alarm systems.  Perversely, I've also had UPS systems go south during voltage drops that aren't "on/off" events.  I can't tell you exactly what goes wrong in each case, but "Bad Things" happen when you lose voltage over a longer window of time.

I'd prefer everything does dark, immediately.  I have an RPM gauge with a relay output, and I have some timer relays as well to allow the system to get up to speed before I switch over to looking at RPM as the failsafe.  Also: the system is also self-regulating - if the RPM (or voltage) indicator(s) goes above or below the threshold, it shuts down the fuel supply and will engage the compression releases so the engine doesn't suddenly go into a "no load" overspin.  I haven't implemented the cue-ball-in-the-intake-pipe system that was discussed here some years ago in the event of a blow-by runaway, but I think the compression releases will be sufficient to overcome that potential problem.

JT

I'm in the extremely slow process of building an automated system for auto-switchover that will remove load from the generator if the engine stops.  (well, really, it's a "failsafe" to keep engine failures from killing my generator and my household appliances as the system spins down.)  To this end, I need a BIG relay or contactor.  I'm a 12vdc control plane, so the relay/contactor needs to be powered by that low voltage.  But then I need 200-300 amps of throughput on the connections for my A/C load.

So... my options are limited, right?  Or is there stuff "off-the-shelf" that will do this? 

I found a Westinghouse relay that is for aviation systems, but is operated on 12vdc for the coil.  The stats are "16-30 D.C. Coil voltage, main contactor 220 amps - 230/460 volts 400Hz, P/N 9002001-4, 6 power terminals, 7 additional double pole, double-throw sets of contacts".   Before I buy it, I'd like to ensure that it's the Right Thing.  Or maybe there are cheaper alternatives (this is close to $200 - ouch!)

Is the fact that this is 400hz a problem?  Is that a functional requirement specification, or just that it CAN handle 400hz and it can also handle 60hz?  A relay is a relay... or am I supremely ignorant of more delicate workings of switches?

JT

Famous last words  ...

Quote from: jtodd on January 08, 2010, 06:11:25 AM

but I expect that will only take a month or so.

Hey ya'll  -   watch this

Sure, it'll only take a month or so once I get started.  It's that "getting started" part that's the trick.  :-)  (Actually, this is kind of true - I have almost all the parts done, all the welding is done, everything is done.... but disassembled.  The only real fabrication work is getting the starter working, if I have to create some mechanism to do the valve releases.  Then, it's on to "tinkering", which is different than "building".)

So nobody knows how to bring something in from India, huh?

JT

I've found an engine in India that I wish to import.  It's not a diesel or other internal-combustion engine - it's a steam engine.  I want to import one of them, but I'm totally clueless about how to go about it.  They have offered to deliver it to Seattle, but of course what is offered in India is rarely what one receives as far as expectations, and I suspect their "shipping" service is somehow far short of what I'll need to actually take possession of the engine.

Has anyone imported just plain vanilla "stuff" from India, meaning having no EPA or other certification requirements?  Farm implements, wicker baskets, etc?  What's the process?

JT

Shipchief,

Would you be able to post a few pictures of your Chevy flexplate/starter setup again.  Your picture links are broken.   Thanks!

Marcus

Here's my rig, which may look similar to shipchief's.  I can't say it's successful or not  yet - I got pulled off this job about 15 months ago and haven't been home long enough to test everything.  Looks promising, though.

http://www.loligo.com/projects/lister/pictures/Page1.html

Look all the way at the bottom.  Anyway, I had to fabricate a really intricate rig so that the starter would be "inboard" on the inside of the engine due to complexity I can't go into here.  It's a starter from a Cummins diesel - we'll see if it's able to get through a compression cycle, but I kind of have my doubts.  I'll update in a few months when I get back to working in the project.

JT

Quote from: jtodd on March 10, 2009, 10:50:18 PM

Are there specs on the starter for the RPM it's supposed to turn?  I'm wondering if this is a low-RPM, high-torque motor or if there is even such a thing.  It appears from the pictures that there is some gearing in your starter - is that true, or am I just misreading the photos?
JT

It is a starter for a Chevy 350 engine, it is in fact geared providing higher torque. Speed is an issue as I indicated before. Unfortunately I have never seen an RPM spec for a starter. The engine will start but it's not like it starts as soon as it goes past TDC. Once it fires, it juuust barely keeps going and then, if I am lucky, it picks up a bit of speed and then takes off. The starter pinion does have a spraque (sp?) clutch or similar in it that would theoretically allow the engine to pick up speed even with the starter engaged. In reality, the engine doesn't have enough power at this low speed to over-turn the pinion so the engine doesn't pick up speed until you release the starter.

Jens

Here's a crazy idea that might work if this is borderline for getting the engine started:  put a second starter on the flexplate.  You probably have room if you built a bracket on the side or top of the flexplate.  That might assist in getting the speed going better, since it would be twice the torque, meaning that it would be able to reach a higher RPM more easily.  Chevy starters are cheap (relatively) and batteries are also not that expensive if you get 'em used.

JT