Help finding Lister CS or Lister D

[davlun]

Hello,

Been lurking here for a while, reading up listers, watching folks with their wonderful restorations and am looking to get my first lister.  Ideally would prefer an original in good condition with the parts that require the most skill already addressed but realise this may be hard to come by.  While I am good with my hands in general, do not have much experience with engines so will be learning as I go.  

Anyone have any insight on tracking down one?  Would eventually be using for power generation as we are planning on leaving Los Angeles but in the short term would become the highlight of my limited collection of old power tools (but this would be the oldest for sure).

Thanks,

David

[dieselgman]

If you have the budget for original Dursley Lister, we should have some 3 1/2 - 1, 6/1, and 8/1 CS models later in the year. The final pricing and condition remains to be determined but we are doing our best to keep the cost in check. Of course you can also buy parts and build your own. For many this has proven a good route and can yeild very good results within a small budget.

dieselgman

[38ac]

Besides the engines Dieselman is bringing in they do come up for sale now and then in this country and Canada. However as Gary eluded to they do command a price.
Expecting one to just appear out of nowhere, be in easy driving distance and cheap is unrealistic but so is expecting to hit the lottery and some do that

1, PM or email Gary and make a commitment before they are all spoken for
2. Do a search of Ebay at least twice a week ( two been for sale in last year)
3. Same with Craig's list using a search engine like Craig's helper or zoom
4. Auction zip .com is another place to watch but searching it is a bit aggrivating to search (where I found mine)
5. Smok Stak .com  web site ads (been maybe 4-5 for sale in last year there)
6. Buy one in England where they lay about like yesterday's trash and import it yourself

[davlun]

Thanks for the info guys.  I have actually emailed Gary already about a listeroid but am concerned I wont be able to make it work right if I need to assemble and end up damaging something because I havent learned the gotchas yet.  It also seems that most people say you get about 2500 hours on a clone and then you are rebuilding.  Seems that the original listers if rebuilt to spec get years...  I am sure Gary's are as good as you can get from what he is saying, but that is not to say it is the same as an original.

I will start searches the way people have suggested, I didnt really expect to find one instantly thats for sure, so will have to keep looking.  I was hoping though that some things dont ever make it to ebay or craigslist and are instead sold through this type of forum directly. 

If anyone else has a line on these, drop me a note.

David

[listerdiesel]

Lister diesels of the CS type are much rarer since they started going to the USA by the container load, but there are still a few around.

Buying here and shipping over is a leap into the unknown and I wouldn't recommend doing that.

Contacting someone who has already got consigments arranged is a better bet.

Listers have come up at Portland at the August show, both CS diesels and Lister D's.

Peter

[cowboy]

Is that how many hours most people are getting before rebuild?   It seems that 2500 hours would be a bit low,   but then again, at my current generator usage that would be about 10-15 years.     I guess that would make me have to rebuild once before I die, unless the SHTF in a big way and I have to run the engine a lot more in the future.     Seems acceptable.

Cowboy

[dieselgman]

I very much doubt the 2500 hour figure would be the norm... but then he may be referring to routine maintenance such as decarb and so on. Even original Listers require attention of this sort depending on running conditions and fuels used etc... I think 600 hours is the figure stated in original Lister documentation.

dieselgman

[LowGear]

40 hours a week for a year is 2,000 hours.  I've heard of people actually working that few hours in a year.

Casey

[cowboy]

In the worst hurricane event we've had in the last 10 years I've never had to run a generator 250 hours total in a year, yet.    If the years continue like this, I can go 10-15 years, maybe more.    I guess I could buy 1 rebuild kit complete,  an extra set of gaskets or 2, and put it in the barn for the future rebuild.

Cowboy

[davlun]

Thanks for the continued information everyone.  Some of my concern is that we are looking at an off-grid arrangement, this is why the hours thing is important, it will be used a lot and downtime would make things difficult.  Downtime while I learn how to fix will be even worse.

That being said, we are on a budget.  I recently found some information on diesel air compressors from India, something we could use while building and then be a spare later when we are done for quite a few parts.  Anyone know anyone that has purchased a compressor recently and if so, how did the transaction work?

David

[dieselgman]

David,

I support quite a few off-grid power systems in Alaska. These are arranged for 24-7 operation in some cases and significant long run times in others. In most cases the owners have 2 machines setup to handle routine maintenance and provide a failsafe when one machine breaks. With later air-cooled Lister equipment we have been seeing 20,000 to 40,000 hour lifespan between major overhauls ( 2 1/2 to 5 years of continuous operation). There is always maintenance downtime and tune-ups in between including decarb operations that include replacement of rings and valves, replacement of the fuel injection components, general cleaning and re-sealing as needed. With two machines, there is almost never a situation where power cannot be provided (assuming good management practices are employed).

I would think that 10,000 to 20,000 would be a reasonable life expectancy for the clone engines once setup and operated properly. We assume you will be using standard fuels and will be doing routine maintenance by-the-book. This is a conservative number based on the much higher numbers reported for many Dursley CS types and our observations and experience of the Indian parts employed in the clones.

dieselgman