Listeroid Base / Frame

[BruceM]

+1 for Ronmar's comment.  Go back and match the wheels.

Otherwise you must either do the engine on rollers like Ronmar, or just the bare engine on a temp wood base and carpet pads or scraps to allow some movement.  There was no need to adjust the flywheel balance for this method; some just don't have patience and methodical nature to do this and matching the flywheel weights would certainly remove a lot of variables.

I did not use 38AC's wheel matching method and was able to get good results anyway, but I sure see how it could make balancing go faster, especially for engines with badly mismatched flywheels.

[DirtMerchant]

 I went with the trial and error method using modeling clay. This took roughly 30 minutes to smooth out the engine

88 degrees yesterday and really high humidity, I am thinking inside the pole barn it was probably between 95 -100 degrees, as stepping outside into 88 degree sun felt cool in comparison.

A word to the wise, the modeling clay actually smarts when it flies off the flywheel and hits you in the leg.....make sure it is on very good before you run the engine.

• Round 1 I added 8oz modeling clay to the counter weight side of both flywheels and fired up the engine, balance was considerably worse.
• Round 2 I used the same 8 oz but switched to the non counterweight side on both flywheels, balance was better but still very shakey
• Round 3 I used a full pound on each flywheel on the non counterweight side balance was considerably smoother but not quite there
• Rounds 4-7 I just added 3oz in to each flywheel each time except the last one which was 1 oz  to find the smoothest running ending up at 24oz
• Took all of the clay off, cleaned the flywheels and then replaced the clay with 24oz of self adhesive lead weights

Note the fuel tank no longer hops all over the place and if you look closely the coolant hoses and not shaking either...running pretty smooth now. However the wiring box on the top of the generator is shaking pretty good, I will probably go to a smaller junction box and remotely mount the components.

The radiator setup was just temporary with the bailing wire, I figured this exercise would probably be a lesson in futility and I would be removing the flywheels again so I didn't want to spend a lot of time permanently mounting everything.
 Kind if a different convection system, top coolant port from the engine goes up to the bottom of the aluminum tank and then another hose comes down from the tank to the top of the radiator, and the bottom radiator hose returns to the to engine intake port. It was working well, top port was quite warm and bottom port was much cooler after 30 minutes of run time with no load. I will put a fan on the radiator and a temp switch for running with a load.    

The tank is custom made by Tim Howard (very nice guy)  at  http://www.aluminumgastanks.net/, there are several bungs in the bottom to accommodate the 2 one inch hose connections, temp sender, the fan switch, a drain and a site gage for the water level. I have another tank like that one for the fuel, just didn't take the time to mount and connect it today, again next weekend...its hard to get a lot accomplished just working 6hrs every Saturday but it does make it easy to keep track of the hours.

If you switch the video to HD you can see the voltage is at 200v, need to do a little governor adjusting, you will also notice the cover off the generator, this was the first time I had the generator actually connected to the engine, before spinning it up I inspected it and found a nice mouse nest filled with insulation that had to be cleaned out. Didn't have my paperwork with me so I could not rewire the generator for 110 and put a load on it, that will be next weekend.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUMEqhCWtHE&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]

[BruceM]

Looking good!  Congrats on the trial and error balancing, you did it faster than I did.

[ronmar]

Cool!
  Do you own a Kill-a-Watt meter?  IF not, it's a very good way to monitor generator output and adjust governor for proper frequency.  They also only cost about $30...  I really like it because when on generator power, I can have the Killawatt plugged in to any outlet inside the house looking at frequency and tell at a glance what my engine load is.  Mine pretty consistently droops down from 62HZ no load to 58HZ at full load...

[DirtMerchant]

Cool!
  Do you own a Kill-a-Watt meter?  IF not, it's a very good way to monitor generator output and adjust governor for proper frequency.  They also only cost about $30...  I really like it because when on generator power, I can have the Killawatt plugged in to any outlet inside the house looking at frequency and tell at a glance what my engine load is.  Mine pretty consistently droops down from 62HZ no load to 58HZ at full load...

I do need to get a killowatt meter, but for the genset I have one of these, just need to get it hooked up.

[mike90045]

I NEED one of those, with a FUN button, that's better than the EASY button.

[ronmar]

That looks like an interesting meter.  Do you have any more info on it(cost, source, ect)?  You need that HZ measurement to set the generator RPM correctly.

[DirtMerchant]

That looks like an interesting meter.  Do you have any more info on it(cost, source, ect)?  You need that HZ measurement to set the generator RPM correctly.

I got mine from Central Georgia Generator LLC but they have them on ebay as well, $129 & free shipping. I bought it primarily for the Hz meter so I could have an accurate reading to set the governor. Plus it has an hour meter built in as well.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Generator-head-1-or-3-phase-Meter-for-Amperage-Voltage-Frequency-Hours-/161032960988?pt=BI_Generators&hash=item257e4ffbdc

[DirtMerchant]

I NEED one of those, with a FUN button, that's better than the EASY button.

Ya, wish my wife had a fun button, seems like whenever I push her buttons it doesn't turn out very fun 

[dieselgman]

Must be pushing the wrong button!

 

dieselgman

[DirtMerchant]

Must be pushing the wrong button!

 

dieselgman

I gotta figure that out, burned out wife number 1 because I pushed her buttons too much 

[DirtMerchant]

 So this weekend, I put exhaust and intake mufflers on the Powerline, and connected a draw to the generator head. It is much quieter, now all I hear is the valve train and the diesel knock. Note the re-purposing of the modeling clay...seals up exhaust leaks nicely  I let it run 2hrs under load, ambiant temp was about 80 degrees and the engine temp was steady at 210 degrees  without a thermostat or radiator fan, strictly thermo-siphon. Muffler is pretty quiet neighbors cannot hear it running at all.
 Having some issues though.

• Under load the gen head has an intermittent rhythmic hum (1000watts on one 110v leg) you can hear it in the video below  
• Belt seems like its making an intermittent "crack" like a slap but the belt is tight and not slapping
• Doghouse switch seems to do nothing and doghouse meter shows 200v when running regardless of load or rpm(my load wiring maybe?)  
• Missing terminals on Gen board? I only have 4 not 6  
• Maybe I don't have it wired correctly? See romex in photo terminating to left terminal and center terminal
• Lights flickering something fierce....Momma will never put up with this....  

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vYavVsM7BI&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]

Short exterior exhaust / muffler video
[youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHXYAc1CCg4&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]

[BruceM]

"Listerflicker" is a well known problem.  The voltage variation is due to the slowing of the engine during the compression stroke, and acceleration during the power stroke.  An AVR fed off the mains will help with this, but not completely solve it, especially for 60 watt or less incandescent bulbs.  (Higher wattage bulbs have heavier elements that stay hot and can "ride through" the voltage changes better.) The flicker is worse for the larger heads (ST5 and ST7) with an AVR, since the larger inductance of the rotor field windings adds time lag to rapid changes in excitation.  SOM or heavy flywheels help reduce Listerflicker, as much as an AVR on an ST-3, and therefore even more so with the ST-5 and ST-7.

 Better quality CFL or electronic ballast fluorescent lights will regulate the voltage to the lamps so you won't see any Listerflicker.

It's best to plan on using inverter power for ALL lighting, even in your shop, and save the Listeroid/ST power for motors and shop tools.

[DirtMerchant]

"Listerflicker" is a well known problem.  The voltage variation is due to the slowing of the engine during the compression stroke, and acceleration during the power stroke.  An AVR fed off the mains will help with this, but not completely solve it, especially for 60 watt or less incandescent bulbs.  (Higher wattage bulbs have heavier elements that stay hot and can "ride through" the voltage changes better.) The flicker is worse for the larger heads (ST5 and ST7) with an AVR, since the larger inductance of the rotor field windings adds time lag to rapid changes in excitation.  SOM or heavy flywheels help reduce Listerflicker, as much as an AVR on an ST-3, and therefore even more so with the ST-5 and ST-7.

 Better quality CFL or electronic ballast fluorescent lights will regulate the voltage to the lamps so you won't see any Listerflicker.

It's best to plan on using inverter power for ALL lighting, even in your shop, and save the Listeroid/ST power for motors and shop tools.

I am starting to rethink the entire setup,  I have inverter power (3000watts pure sine wave) running from four 6v L16 batteries for 860ah @12v, I am thinking maybe I should scrub the ST plan and go to a good 12vdc alternator and just charge the batteries instead.

 The inverter is currently wired into the shop, house and well pump, and I can currently run anything I need to run from that inverter without a problem, but I had planned on using 120vac from the ST through the built in charger on the inverter to support the batteries on cloudy days or periods of high loads and have the ability to run all of the loads from the ST and shut down the inverter if needed or if there was an issue.

Going to an 12vdc alternator would resolve the flicker issue and the potential issues with any sensitive electronics, guess I could keep the ST inline and wired up so if everything else crapped out I could throw a couple switches to disconnect the inverters and run off of the ST in a pinch.
 

[BruceM]

Some 12V sure is handy, and I do have a small 12V (single AGM battery) for control and utility purposes, but after you're no longer weekend only you should think about a more efficient 24 or much better yet 48 V system.  The only thing 12V has going for it for smaller systems is that there are some very cheap inverters available.  That makes it the economy king for modest weekend cabin systems.