Hello all,
It is an honour to be part of this excellent forum, thank you to the administrator for assisting with registration.
I'm a young guy, so figure a little background on how I found out about the mighty Lister engines of old could be a good way to start. I live rural, in coastal bush. One power/phone line in. After a winter power cut which knocked us out for nearly two days, we lost our refrigerated goods. All electric house, tank water, no pumps, no heat, no distiller, no clean water, no nothing. Sitting ducks. We decided this wasn't going to happen again, come hell, high water, meteorites, EMP surges and the rest.
After investigating the usual screamers, honda is perhaps not too shabby, however not what I want to rely on, with a freezer of homekill to protect!
After much digging, I found tales of a legendary engine, one that ran forever, on nearly anything remotely flammable, oily or gaseous, with love and care. An engine builder that made Great Britain great, one which helped establish most of the commonwealth and more. So I set about finding one of these Lister engines. After much searching, nearly going Listeroid, someone attempted to contact me regarding a pair of working singles, half way down the country. It was an estate sale, there were five large sheds full of stationary engines, piles of parts, majority of which were not sorted or uncovered at the time. After much discussion with the son, he mentioned a twin that was not working, wondering if I was interested. My heart raced - was this the holy grail? A 12-2? Perfect for an all electric house. Photos landed in the inbox - love at first sight. It was to be. The Mrs approved - quieter than a screamer, more reliable and alternate fuel capable. A fair offer was accepted, so a 750kg engine and a MacEwans H0 horizontal pump was freighted up the country.
On arrival, an oversight was quickly noticed. I didn't have a single Whitworth tool to begin work. Last thing I want to do is destroy a piece of British and New Zealand history, which already showed some signs of tool abuse. Managed to borrow an amazing array of tools, from a very generous man whom I used to volunteer with at a local transport museum. All in exchange for some exotic beers. This man has a tool shed I can only dream of, including an Austin being restored.
She is complete with original starting handle, only lacking a pair of pushrods. After much careful progress and consulting with a 'Lister oracle' (a 1950-1970s Lister technician), the verdict is the following; bores need honing, new rings, valve seats need shimming, possibly new valves, some bearings need replacing and a jib key puller is being loaned to check the crank bearings. Which is really good news, I was worried it would need new cylinders or re-plating and loose its original look. Goal is to restore it, keeping patina, to perfect working order - brass and copper on diesel soot-brunswick green. Would love to pass this on to my children as it is, when I'm too old to look after it.
Plan is to get her turning over, then mount on a tonne of concrete with steel frame embedded, coupled to 7.5-10kVa ST clone gen head, no AVR, all manual, old school coil goodness, with a transfer switch. Considered DIY direct drive alternators with crazy AC through a grid inverter, that's a project for a rainy week or two in the bush! Initially run diesel, convert to WVO capability, dabble in hot water cylinder preheating or radiators for winter without over-cooling, then experiment with various blends of water over summer, when power is most reliable.
Goal is to be independent of the grid if it fails, then reduce the power bill substantially by handling peak loads and evaluate from there.
She is spec 10.2/29 12HP #25046, sold to Levin & Co., Wellington, 13/7/37, with many thanks to David Edgington for this information. From what I can tell this is one of the last models which had a drip catch can and injector feelers with Listard bores.
I am recording each step of the way and will produce a quality video detailing a newbies' first Lister experience, to highlight these amazing machines and to show how easy they are to work on and service. I look forward to sharing more with this forum and learning a whole lot more! Many thanks for the treasure trove of information already contained in this forum.
Best regards,
-Arcturus
