Intro to the group!! ahem... and help with engine ID

[macguyverkevin]

Hello all you diesel smoke addicts! I hear this is a support group for such things! 
New to the group and considering adding to my "Old smokey" collection. Currently running a Clarke BL17 Backhoe with a Jimmy 3-53, and now considering purchasing a Kohler Genny with what I believe to be a Lister 3-cyl engine in it. Here are some pics.
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Wondering how loud these engines are, it is in an enclosure, but I know how loud some air-cooled engines can be.


Thanks and hello!

[dkmc]

Looks quite interesting, keep us posted with more details.

[AdeV]

...with what I believe to be a Lister 3-cyl engine in it. Here are some pics.

Welcome aboard!

In the bottom corner of the 1st picture, there's a plate with the engine no on it... can you get a closeup of that? That will definitively ID the engine if it's a Lister - or definitively tell us it's NOT a lister!!

Cheers,
Ade.

[ajaffa1]

Looks like a Lister ST3. It has the fuel control solenoid and decompression solenoid so it might be Start-o-Matic. Could you post  photos of the control panel and  generator head.

Bob

[macguyverkevin]

Start-o-Matic, eh?  Is that anything like the Nashville Tune-o-Matic bridge found on some Gibson Electric Guitars?   
The interesting thing about your input here is that I don't see a starter on this engine as I would expect to find. I see the battery cables go into the junction/control box on top of the gen head. Does this use the gen as a motor to start the engine?

[macguyverkevin]

...with what I believe to be a Lister 3-cyl engine in it. Here are some pics.

Welcome aboard!

In the bottom corner of the 1st picture, there's a plate with the engine no on it... can you get a closeup of that? That will definitively ID the engine if it's a Lister - or definitively tell us it's NOT a lister!!

Cheers,



Ade.

Yes, I see that, and I can zoom in some, but the image quality is not the best. I tried searching what I thought I saw, with no joy... maybe y'all can discern more useful data from it!

The Gen is 75 miles away from me, so I cant go snap a better pic. 

i won't try to jade your educated opinions of what is written there with my myopic viewpoints.

[Diesel Engineering]

It certainly looks like a Lister ST engine. The reason for not having a starter motor is probably because the generator has start windings. fitted

[dkmc]

It's cool. I'd buy it pronto before the other guy gets it.

[macguyverkevin]

So it appears I have found the right group for solid information. I have not yet committed to buying this, but I do want to get a reliable genny for my home - being that I live in California, where utility power is provided at the whim of those who may have graduated with a C-.
The seller is asking north of $3K (USD) for this, and I think it is still a solid piece of equipment for that price, though it may raise some eyebrows of those who don't like certain kinds of smoke...

SOOOOOO, what say you about the price-point for this? Too much? Low enough to cause suspicion?

Also, this baby has a... well... baby muffler on it. That won't go over well with the WAF equation! Any suggestions for a good quiet muffler that wont destroy this en-"gem"?

Thanks again, love interacting with a good forum, y'all are awesome!!

KM

[dkmc]

I think that price is a give away. I've also never had the slightest problem spending other peoples money.
How can you go wrong? I'd so much less boring that the box store rattle traps with their buzzing die cast throw away engines.

[ajaffa1]

Having looked at that control panel, I can`t see a start button, so I suspect this is an auto start unit designed as a back up unit for critical infrastructure: hospital, communications etc.
It is definitely a Lister ST3 and has no starter motor fitted on the back of the flywheel housing, so it must have a combined starter motor/dynamo and generator.
In the event of a blackout this would certainly power your home, it would power three or four homes comfortably.
The hours meter appears to show a little over 1200 hours, this generator should be good for 10,000 hours or more if properly maintained.
$3,000 US sounds like a reasonable price, if I were in the US and looking for a diesel generator, I`d be buying it. You might ask to see/hear it running and check out the output voltages and etc.
Muffling exhaust noise is very dependent on where you are going to put it. If it is to be a permanent installation you might consider burying an exhaust system in the ground. This works very well if you have the space in the back yard. It won`t do anything for the mechanical noise, which will be difficult to suppress with an air cooled unit requiring plenty of ventilation. 

Good luck,
Bob

[32 coupe]

Start-o-Matic, eh?  Is that anything like the Nashville Tune-o-Matic bridge found on some Gibson Electric Guitars?   
The interesting thing about your input here is that I don't see a starter on this engine as I would expect to find. I see the battery cables go into the junction/control box on top of the gen head. Does this use the gen as a motor to start the engine?

The Nashville bridge was later.....more like the original ABR 1 !

[macguyverkevin]

 
Yes, the ABR-1 is more apropos. I just sold an Epiphone Al Caiola Standard with the ABR-1 on it - such a pretty guitar, hope it finds a very good home!

[macguyverkevin]

Well, thanks in part to all the input I received here, and my penchant of old smokey things, on Wednesday, this thing followed me home!

I was impressed by how smooth and quiet it runs, and there is hardly ANY smoke from the pipe!! Compared to my Clarke backhoe with the Jimmy 3-53, this thing is putting out fresh air!! 

Now I need to get my hands on any manuals, or other useful data on the engine and gen head - it's an interesting little unit, with some mods installed right from the start. Some of those are: a "built-in" load bank, which is a Q-Mark industrial electric heater, rated at 10000 watts, an electric priming pump inline before the mechanical one with a momentary switch installed, , and a Square-D 40A disconnect breaker just for safety! 
Here are better pics of the ID plates:


And here is the Gen plate


And here is my favorite! This breaker makes me feel SO safe!! 
Yes, those are copper lugs, crimped down to fit into the plug-on leaves of the breaker - WOW!!


A little work ahead for me, but all-in all I think it's a good find!!

[macguyverkevin]

So, apparently I am not getting how to get images to display inline with my text. Tried using the "Image" button and putting the filename in between the brackets, but that doesn't seem to work.
No biggie, I'm sure y'all can correctly associate the correct images with my text.

Good day all, and have a great weekend!!