Welding off the Lister

[dieselspanner]

Hi All

Bruce,
Thanks for that, I can see that it's not a way to go if you were trying to build a welder / generator on the cheap, I was more taken with the fact I have the Lister and several alternators to hand, in fact the only parts I'd need to buy would be the drive belt and the rheostat.

The Lister would be spinning the Stamford, to provide 220v for a 12v source for the rheostat, but if the maths don't stack up I guess that's that, and as you know doing the sums is a black art to me!

Looking at an online HP to Watts converter it seems that it would require 3 HP at 24v to be in the ball park, is it feasible to get that much from a car / truck alternator?

Mike.

We've gone well past the realms of my modest means, here's my daily driver.....


Bob,

Thanks for the offer, it would probably be easier to come and pick an old genny up from Taz than get one imported to France!

Cheers
Stef

[BruceM]

There are some articles written by more technically competent folks on converting an alternator to a welder. 

It seems that the built in diodes are often rated for only 32V, and will fry if used for the welder, which will peak over this voltage both directly and as a result of inductive kickback when the arc is broken.  Thus the need for replacing the diodes either in the existing fan cooled plate design or externally.

The usual application for an alternator type DC welder is for emergency (typically off road)  field welding as the duty cycle can be quite low and the weld quality expectations are equally low.  Clearly, you can't expect to sustain the welding power you need for regular work from an auto alternator but for emergency use it makes sense as the weight and size of adding an extra alternator to the off road vehicle is better than the other options.

You can beat this performance with your existing CS and welder set for low power, I think.  A friend ran his small gasless MIG welder on my Listeroid 6/1 without a problems; he welded  the thin wall steel tubing for my solar racks. 

[mikenash]

Hi Stef and everyone else. After the fires and more recent floods in Northern New South Wales, I fixed dozens of petrol generators that were donated by the public to aid with the recovery efforts. Most of them had done little or no work. None of them would start. Mostly this was due to them being stored full of fuel that evaporated leaving them full of red/brown sludge that clogged the carburetors and float valves. Some of them had obviously had E10 fuel in them which absorbs moisture from the environment causing corrosion.
Very simple to fix: Flush fuel tank, strip and clean carby, check air filter for spiders/ants, check/adjust tappet clearance, clean sparkplug.
A lot of these Honda/Chonda engines have a low oil level cut off switch so check oil condition/level. After that they should fire up after a couple of pulls.
I still have half a dozen such generators and water pumps that I haven`t got around to fixing yet, I would send you one but I suspect the shipping costs would be prohibitive.
Taz is looking good, My new shed has been ordered and is being delivered at the end of the month. The ground workers and concreters are starting work next week. I will post pics and info once they start.

Exciting times 
Bob

+1 on that

Couldn't tell you how many generators I have bought for a quarter of heir original purchase price "Used once or twice.  Sat in the shed.  Now won't start"  Nine times out of ten it's just old gas.  So:

If you have bought a generator as an emergency backup supply - it's going to be nothing more than an expensive, petrol-smelling tin box if it won't start when needed.  rules are simple:

Keep the tank full of good-quality clean gas

Put fuel-stabiliser "Stabil" or similar in the tank

Give it a good run once a month

Learn how to open the carb-bowl drain with a 10mm spanner in case it does sit a bit too long and the gas in the bowl gets stale

People say you should turn off the gas and let it run dry?  I dunno.  No need if you do the above imho

[ajaffa1]

I couldn`t agree more, a backup generator that won`t start is completely useless! Do as Mike says and it won`t let you down.
Some generators have a starter motor with a battery, buy yourself a trickle charger from your local hardware store and keep the battery fully charged at all times. My old Lister ST2 SOM had two very very cheap batteries with an isolator switch and a pair of 800 MA electronic trickle chargers. The batteries were still as good as new after 6 years.
I am not sure about emptying the carby, it sounds like a good idea but a monthly run is probably a better idea as it clears the old fuel in the float chamber and also distributes oil around your engine preventing corrosion and killing any vermin or insects that have decided to make your genny their home.
I hate to raise the issue of Easy Start, Start Ya Bastard in Australia. I do not recommend it`s use as engines that won`t start on regular fuel have a problem that needs fixing, they can also become addicted to it and won`t start without it. Never the less I always keep a can in the shed, it has got me out of the sh1t on a few occasions.

Bob

[mikenash]

I couldn`t agree more, a backup generator that won`t start is completely useless! Do as Mike says and it won`t let you down.
Some generators have a starter motor with a battery, buy yourself a trickle charger from your local hardware store and keep the battery fully charged at all times. My old Lister ST2 SOM had two very very cheap batteries with an isolator switch and a pair of 800 MA electronic trickle chargers. The batteries were still as good as new after 6 years.
I am not sure about emptying the carby, it sounds like a good idea but a monthly run is probably a better idea as it clears the old fuel in the float chamber and also distributes oil around your engine preventing corrosion and killing any vermin or insects that have decided to make your genny their home.
I hate to raise the issue of Easy Start, Start Ya Bastard in Australia. I do not recommend it`s use as engines that won`t start on regular fuel have a problem that needs fixing, they can also become addicted to it and won`t start without it. Never the less I always keep a can in the shed, it has got me out of the sh1t on a few occasions.

Bob

Bob I had one at work that flummoxed me - just would not start:

Cranked, but sounded odd.  Had clean gas,  Plenty of oil.  Good spark

Turned out Mason Bees had made a home deep inside the exhaust & blocked it up

There - something else to look out for lol

[ajaffa1]

Hi Mike. Yes I know that one, Australia is famous for mud wasps that will build a nest in just about any orifice that isn`t moving or covered! Very dangerous on the electric hot water cylinders we use here, they have a pressure relief valve, with a blow off pipe, in case the system overheats. Mud wasps and ants love to build nests in the pipe. I found that shortening the copper pipe and adding 300mm of polythene pipe at the end seems to deter them.
Most of my extensive collection of garden power tools are items that I acquired for nothing because they wouldn`t start or run properly.
I also have quite a collection of petrol water pumps most of which have been underwater in various flooding events. Trying to get sand and gravel out of the exhaust pipe, air filter, inlet/exhaust valves and cooling fans can be quite a challenge.
Another one to look out for on 2 stroke engines is the spark eliminator gauze on the exhaust. Some manufacturers recommend running a 25 to 1 mixture of petrol and oil, this is too rich in oil and it quickly clogs the gauze causing the engine to stall. I tend to run all 2 stroke engines on 35 to 1. More than enough lubrication without the problem of having blocked exhausts and 5 different oil/fuel mixture cans in the shed. 
Bob