Author Topic: Arrow Engine?  (Read 10508 times)

quinnf

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Arrow Engine?
« on: December 22, 2005, 06:11:53 AM »
Anyone seen one of these run?:

http://www.arrowengine.com/cseries.htm

I know it's not a diesel, but it's the same philosophy.  It's gotta make a neat sound . . .

Quinn

hotater

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Re: Arrow Engine?
« Reply #1 on: December 25, 2005, 02:18:01 AM »
I've seen a bunch of something that *looks* like that in the oil fields.  They run off well-head gas or condensate and seem to run all the time.  I wonder if it's 'hit or miss'?

Everytime I think about reliability and availability of parts I think of http://www.greenandcarter.com/

"The Vulcan RAM is field proven by the units that have been installed in almost every country in the world, developed and developing, for over two centuries.
     Every pump is guaranteed forever. Most RAMs, installed prior to 1800, are still working as well as the day they were installed, and we still maintain a stock of all parts on the shelf."

Now that's old time SERVICE!!

7200 hrs on 6-1/5Kw, FuKing Listeroid,
Currently running PS-Kit 6-1/5Kw...and some MPs and Chanfas and diesel snowplows and trucks and stuff.

quinnf

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Re: Arrow Engine?
« Reply #2 on: December 25, 2005, 03:46:42 AM »
Yeah, there's nothing like a nice heavy turn of the (last) century casting.  That pump looks gorgeous.  That's why I'd really like to take a gander at an Arrow or one of the other oilfield engines.  I've seen a bunch of them out in fields in the Kansas/Oklahoma area, and a few in Wyoming, but haven't had the motivation to stop the RV on a hot afternoon and get out and walk across someone's field to get a closer look.  From the specs, it's Lister-ish, though I bet even heavier built.  No voids in those castings, I expect.

I remember the sound of those engines from when I was little in the early '60s.  Along the coast here there used to be scads of engine-driven oil pumps.  Seemed they were everywhere, along with stacks of buoys from the sub nets left over from the war (the Big one).

The wells, buoys and engines are gone and replaced by strip malls and condos. 

q.


rgroves

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Re: Arrow Engine?
« Reply #3 on: February 05, 2006, 10:43:38 PM »
i was in Great Bend, KS yesterday. It's a town that lives and dies by the oilpatch. Right now Kansas stripper wells are profitable, so it's happy days for the remaining oilmen around here.

As I drove through, I noticed a well service business with row on row of old pump engines, crankcases, flywheels, you name it.  Sitting right in front was a line of brand new Arrows.
 
I hope a little drool doesn't make them rust. My wife had to drag me back to the car.

No idea what these guys sell for, but I sure wonder how much cow poop I'd need for a methane digester to feed one.

And I wonder about those rebuilds.
Woud any of you like to know what I learn when I call this place?
A country boy can survive - Hank Williams Jr.

SHIPCHIEF

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Re: Arrow Engine?
« Reply #4 on: February 05, 2006, 11:44:50 PM »
Russell:
You bet I'd like to hear what you find out!
I never expected to have a historical American Made 'Olde tyme Diesel" that I could play with or work hard for a power plant, so I went with Listeroid.
I don't regret that, but I am still very interested in Early American Industrial Power.
Scott E
Ashwamegh 25/2 & ST12
Lister SR2 10Kw 'Long Edurance' genset on a 10 gallon sump/skid,
Onan 6.5NH in an old Jeager Compressor trailer and a few CCK's

GerryH

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Re: Arrow Engine?
« Reply #5 on: February 06, 2006, 12:01:14 AM »
I have an Arrow engine working a well about 500 ft from my house. It is gas and for years it ran off the wellhead gas. After three days running it would start to backfire and finaly quit, as the well ran out of gas. Now they run it on propane after they got tired of starting it every 4 days.
I can post some pictures if you want or just send direct to you.
http://www.arrowengine.com/

If you really want to see something neat--check out a Climax engine. Looks like a horizontal Ruston, about 6 ft long, one cylinder, one flywheel.

DirtbikePilot

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Re: Arrow Engine?
« Reply #6 on: February 07, 2006, 04:47:32 AM »
I've never seen one run, but HOLY smokes! I'd love to! I had no idea anyone was still making anything like that. I wonder how much they cost? I SO, SO want a L-2165!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 35.5 liters in ONE cylinder! 185 hp at 475 rpm and weighs over 5 tons.....  ;D It's a two stroke though. I wonder if it works like a detroit?
Currently no listeroids, sad........ very sad.....
Just some other antique engines ranging from 40 pounds to 33,000 pounds each.

DirtbikePilot

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Re: Arrow Engine?
« Reply #7 on: February 07, 2006, 05:11:46 AM »
Currently no listeroids, sad........ very sad.....
Just some other antique engines ranging from 40 pounds to 33,000 pounds each.

oldnslow

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Re: Arrow Engine?
« Reply #8 on: February 08, 2006, 04:01:35 PM »
A couple of years ago, Arrow had the diesel version. This engine was originally an "Oilwell-Witte" 750rpm 14HP indirect injection water cooled 1cyl diesel. Arrow bought them out and converted it to run on Gas. They told me the demand for the WD-14 diesel gensets was about 5/year on their 7.5KW unit costing about $15,000. They discontinued the diesel and the "PDF" file brochure. Before it was pulled, I copied the info on the diesel version from their website and dumped it into a word file if anyone wants it. As far as i can tell, that diesel would have been the closest thing to a brand new domestically produced alternative/comparison to the listeroid slow speed diesel based genset many of us have built. On average, a DIY can build a 10KW listeroid genset for about $5000? It puts the shortcomings of the Indian engines into perspective. Anyone know of another brand of slow speed engine being made today that compares? I wonder if there are any Whitte diesels out there that could be refurbished. That would be a nice one to have.
Mistakes are the cost of tuition.

GerryH

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Re: Arrow Engine?
« Reply #9 on: February 08, 2006, 04:48:06 PM »
The Wiitte engine was held in very high reguard by the roadhouse and lodge operators along the Alaska highway in the 1970's.  Listers were also used, but the people I talked to raved about the Witte. I am sure there are old diesel units lying around this country somewhere, that could be had cheap and repaired. As they are primarily an oilfield engine, the preference is gas as a well often produces enough to run one.

A Listeroid is a real bargain compared to buying a new engine, and way too easy to repair.

Gerry

dkwflight

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Re: Arrow Engine?
« Reply #10 on: April 16, 2006, 07:19:10 AM »
Hi I am interested in the Witte diesel.
Back it the 70's I met with a guy in Socorro, New Mexico. He made a business of putting together Power plants for ranches in Mexico and Sout America. He used the Witte engine and the Blackstone diesel engines. I don't know the models he used. He liked the Blackstone better than the Witte. The Witte engine would develop cracks in the heads between the valves?I'm not sure now.
He claimed the blackstone single cylinder would run 10 years and only need a top overhaul, another 10 yrs and then a complete Overhaul!! I would REALLY like to have a Blackstone, but they are hard to find.
I sent a PM to the guy who said he had a PDF file about the Witte diesel engine. I would like that file.
Dennis
28/2 powersolutions JKSon -20k gen head
Still in devlopment for 24/7 operation, 77 hours running time

europachris

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Re: Arrow Engine?
« Reply #11 on: April 18, 2006, 02:10:26 AM »
Wow, those Arrow engines are SWEET!  Nice website literature, also!

I could really see myself turning into a dairy farmer, and setting up a big methane digester system to feed one of these engines, and power the whole operation (heat, electricity, etc.) with cow poop.  There is quite a bit of that type of methane production in Europe, but it's only just starting to catch on here.

I did a science fair experiment using poop from my pet rabbit to make methane back in middle school.  Didn't work half bad!

I think this would be an even better renewable resource than biodiesel.  Now, if we could only harness the methane directly out of the cow, we could assist in reducing greenhouse gasses somewhat (although we'd be making CO2 by burning the methane...)

Chris

swedgemon

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Re: Arrow Engine?
« Reply #12 on: April 18, 2006, 12:51:29 PM »
My brother is a "farm engineer" at a large (about 3,000 acres) agribusiness dairy operation in south central Pennsylvania.  They milk about 3,000 cows three times a day.  Since they can not dump this much cow-poop into the local stream, they have been running several methane digesters for the last 25 years, feeding the methane into three gas engines (older Cat G-342 ??), turning generators for farm and grid power, pulling exhaust heat and water-jacket heat for process and space heating.  The effluent from the digesters goes thru a "squeezer", with the solids being sold to a commercial compost operation by the dump-truck load and the liquids being diluted with water and sprayed back onto the corn and hay fields thru center-pivot irrigation systems.  For reference, there is very little "cow odor" and almost no flies at this operation.  They have just gotten into robotic cow-milkers...scarey
Swedgemon
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Somewhere in Kentucky