Successful first test of Lister cs 6/1 yanan genset

[Sir Petteroid]

Took a while to get around to it but finally ran the Lister up to 650 rpm and tested the alternator.
Took my time to regulate the governor then checked the rpm at the pulley. All good. Plugged in an angle grinder for the first test. Bingo. Very happy. Then I tried boiling water with the kettle to put a decent load on it. Rpm dropped a bit so put another turn on the governor. Settled at 1510 rpm and boiled 4 cups no problem. Next time I will try a bigger load to see if I can get up to 3.5 kW.  The kettle drew 2.4.

[ajaffa1]

Good output.14.5 amps if you run 240 volts, nearly 32 amps if you run 110 volts. Here in Australia the only appliance that would require that amount of juice is a large electric hot water cylinder. I will be very interested to know what she maxes out at.

Bob

[Sir Petteroid]

Hi Bob

I'm down under too. Opinions vary on how much I can push the engine but I'm hoping I can get 3.5 kw. I ran out of time to plug in another appliance. It's an oversized Chinese Stamford clone. It's rated at 9.9. Way oversize. But I figure the slight loss in efficiency will be compensated by durability.
I am looking for a DC alternator to charge my battery bank. I haven't built a slab and shed for it yet. The engine does drop RPM a bit under the larger load. Not sure if there is anything I can do about that. The engine wasn't really warmed up when I loaded her up.
I had to hold her down with the loader bucket on my tractor otherwise she would jump up and down to much. But held down she ran smoothly. At the moment it's bolted to a hardwood carriage.

[cujet]

I think it is more efficient to use an AC powered battery charger, than to use a DC (car style) alternator. Off the top of my head, alternators are generally no more than 60% efficient. While a good battery charger is 93% efficient.

The governor spring "style" can affect RPM drop. The more linear the spring's rise in tension, the more accurate the RPM control, and the more likely the engine will not damp out RPM fluctuations. I've experimented and found a spring setup that gives a good balance.

I ended up running my 6/1 at 733 RPM. It will make about 4000W with low smoke, and 4400W max. Seems to be a nice RPM for the engine.

[Sir Petteroid]

Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated. I will bear that in mind. My cs still has the original spring but I can't help wondering if it wouldn't be easier to fine tune the governors response if the lever moment was adjustable rather than rely on a spring that's now 59 years old. There is a we bit of pin play at the injection pump rack which I mean to take out with a brass insert. That would make a difference I think in reducing the Rpm drop.
Over reving to get more power ? Tempting but only if i went with an Aluminium piston. Opinions vary on that and I'm not best qualified to make a statement in that regard.
Looking forward to getting the engine bolted down to a good solid concrete plinth and working her hard. How clean is a battery chargers DC output?
Is it spikey or pretty smooth ?

[38ac]

The governors just plain were not designed to precisely control RPMs as sone would like them to. This is one area where the Listeroids work better than the real deal,, and why is that??? Because most of the India engines have 8MM elements in the fuel pumps VS 7mm which is standard for a CS 6/1. This is about a 15% increase in delivery thus with any given increase in load the 8MM element gives more fuel with less rack movement than the OEM element. A large element is no substitute for a free working no slop linkage but it does give a very noticeable improvement of the stock pump. There was one fellow who used to post here that used 10MM elements die to running waste fuels.
RPM
There were several modifications to the 5/1 6/1 engine that allowed it to be sped up to 850 RPM and 8HP. Disk flywheels on 8\1s don't add power but are a safety modification. The governor weights on an 8/1 are significantly lighter. The piston on an 8/1 is aluminum to reduce inertia loads. One has to think that Lister found these modifications necessary, or they would have simply sped the 6/1 engine up.

 

[Sir Petteroid]

Well your logic seems very sound to me. I used new pin's on my governor linkage and made sure it was not binding. The governor responds to load ok but is not spot on accurate, nor would I expect it be for every load condition. I'm not sure what latitude the AVR in the alternator head will tolerate when compensating for voltage drop but according to the supplier most generators are set up to run slightly over 1500 rpm to offset the loss under load. Apparently 1520 rpm is acceptable unloaded.
Logic would suggest adjusting the governor to hold up under maximum continuous load conditions.
Under 2.5kw load the governor is maintaining 1510 rpm so not to shabby. I may try fitting an 8mm element pump down the pike. Not a particularly hard modification to do. Thanks very much for the feedback. Much appreciated.
Tempting as it is to raise the rpm to get more power I don't really need it and I really like the sound at 650. Purposeful but not straining.

[cujet]

If not already considered, using a spring and cable assy to tension the fuel linkage can functionally eliminate all play.

[Sir Petteroid]

Yes, good idea. I had noticed one CS owner had used a spring to pull out the play. It's the pump rack hole that is a little sloppy.