SR2 wvo

[br549]

 I just purchased a Lister SR2, no. 5645 SR 2Z16, with a 27 amp 6.5 kw generator.  It has 12 hp.  Has anyone run an SR2 on wvo for an extended period of time? Any advice or things to look out for would be much appreciated.  Thanks. 

[Combustor]

Hello br549,
                No personal experience with wvo in a Lister SR, but the usual rule is that precombustion (indirect injection) engines are more suited to wvo than direct inject engines. Seem to recall that an SR is an oddity which has direct inject, and a pintle type injector. Any diesel will run OK for a while on wvo if you can either preheat or blend the fuel to get viscosity down close to that of diesel. However, direct inject tends to carbon up and gum ring grooves, specially on lighter loads and/or cool running conditions.
         Most wvo setups run a 2 tank setup with fuel heating on the wvo and a change over valve to allow cold start and warm up on diesel. Take some of your wvo in a glass jar and leave it outdoors or in your fridge overnight to check that it will not gell or set solid in your tank. Lots of good info on wvo use on sites such as Burnveg, Frybrid, or
Biodiesel Infopop. Spend a few hours online and decide if you have the dedication to follow this route to "cheap" fuel. Collecting, filtering and storing wvo is time consuming and messy when it goes wrong. Good luck if you go this way,  Regards,  Combustor.

[listard-jp2]

Hello br549,
                No personal experience with wvo in a Lister SR, but the usual rule is that precombustion (indirect injection) engines are more suited to wvo than direct inject engines. Seem to recall that an SR is an oddity which has direct inject, and a pintle type injector.

You are thinking of the Lister LD and LR engines in that context. The SR engine is fitted with a long stem nozzle, as you would see on a conventional direct injection engine. Although the SR injector assy is unusual in that most of the injector stem is covered (with only the end being visible) by the part which holds the injector nozzle on to the injector body.

[br549]

Thank you Combuster and listard-jp2 for the info regarding the SR2.  I will proceed with caution.  I plan on using the SR2 gen as a back up generator only.  I've had some experience with WVO and have a large supply of WVO that I need to utilize.  We've had success (40,000 miles) in my wife's '84 Mercedes, however that does have a precombustion or is indirect injected.  I've run a Kabota diesel for the past two years that is direct injection on a cold mix and I also have been running WVO in a '94 Cummins.  Haven't experienced any problems yet.  I'm wondering if anybody has any pictures of  ring groove damage in a direct injection engine.  I think I will move over to the alternative fuels section and see if anyone has pics or knows of someone that has done some sort of destructive testing to quantify the risk of damage.
Thanks again.

[contaucreek]

If it's just a backup use what the manual says to use...diesel and live worry free 

[br549]

Hello Combuster:
That's probably good advice.  As a back-up it would be smart not to experiment with alternative fuels because you're not going to save that much.  Costs wouldn't be an issue for just short term usage. 
However, I already have installed a fattywagon injector line heater and a fuel filter wrap around heater.  I also am building a fuel tank that is going to be heated by the exhaust.  I did remove the exhaust manifold and it had a considerable amount of carbon - about 3/16 thick on the inside walls of the exhaust manifold.  The first time I fired up the motor, because it was sitting for so long, I dumped about 1/2 quart 30 weight oil in the intake.  That really brought up the compression.  When I spun it up and released the compression lever, it fired immediately with all of that oil in there and made quite a mess with all that oil and carbon.  Surprised it started so easy. 
At this point I am leaning towards caution with this motor, but I still am interested in how much extra maintainence it would take to run this motor on alternative fuels.  Just because some day, we might not have a choice.
br549

[contaucreek]

P.S. My GF owns a Fish and Chips Restaurant and I could get all the oil I wanted for free...

[Tom]

Then it might be best to convert that wvo to biodiesel and go with that. WVO can polymerize and really gum things up if left to sit.

[TimSR2]

SR series  have a precup design (IDI) I've pulled the heads, and seen for myself the big hole in the piston crown. Definitely IDI. 

 The injector is a 3 hole spray design instead of the simple pintle injector used on the earlier LR's. The spray holes are only .10 mm so they could be easily clogged by experimental fuels. Considering the somewhat fancy and expensive injectors, I'd stay away from WVO, unless you can fit injectors from an LR.   An LR would be more tolerant of WVO, or an SR with LR injectors (fit?, not certain but I highly suspect they will)   Pumps and injectors are internal, so there is no easy way to heat the fuel beyond the block temperature . Preheat on diesel or biodiesel would be mandatory.