Reason I ask, it tends to run around 200-215 during these summer days. I know the HP isn't maxed out, but the RPM's aren't either, at a little under 1600.

quote:

The advantage of using all phases when it is wired for three phase is smoothness. Unbalanced loads on a generator cause vibration.

Yep, the unbalanced load also creates allot of losses and heat that will eventually burn it up, if you are just lightly loading it (<15%)it shouldn't hurt it...

Sorry to high-jack your thread Eurocab but while we are on the topic of old diesel generators have any of you guys seen or heard of Ruston & Hornsby (India) air cooled diesels?
I just picked up 3 engines (only 2 intact) along with a couple beauty 6KW generator heads for a song out of the paper. They are 11.75Hp @ 1800RPM single cylinder air cooled diesels with a Mico (BOSCH) injection system. They are massive hunks of cast iron that look like they where built to run till the end of time!
I have tracked down a guy in England who can provide the owners manual and some spare parts for the English made YWA R&H engines but he has no idea weather the India made engines are the same? Both engines turn over and I have 2 rebuilt injectors for them that have never been used (according to the old coot who sold them to me but he also claimed they were made in China ) but I am coming up short on information on these engines... They look pretty strait forward but it would be nice to have the valve adjustment, fuel system, etc. specifications to help an old sparky get them set up right.
If anybody can steer me in the right direction for parts and information I would be grateful!








More pics HERE.
Jon

Paulus, you da man! Thanks!
I have seen the first link but that second one is a gem! Just what I was looking for...
Now I just need to source out a parts supplier, hopefully locally...
With those specs at least I can see how much life is left in em before I spend any money.
Jon

YVW. There's an email address, why not try that?

Yea thats how I got in touch with Ray Hooley, the guy with the information on the English built YWA's.
The parts are likely the same for the India built machines but Mr. Hooley is not so sure...
I may only need a head gasket anyways. I am pretty sure I could get them fired up without tearing them down but they have been sitting for many years and thats not how I like to operate.
I intend to hook one up on an automatic transfer switch for power outages and as a bonus our local utility has a net metering scheme that will allow me to use it to offset my electricity costs by metering the amount of power I generate and even banking the credits for up to one year. Providing it is a green energy.
Jon

Thanks for all the responses. I drove up to Norfolk, VA, Monday to look at the generator. On Tuesday after about 5 hours trying to crank it, it finally turned over and runs great. The Latinos that were trying to get it started were using fuel that had sat outside and was almost 1/2 water.
We had to clean out the fuel lines and get a larger battery to get it started.Needless to say diesels don't like to run on water.

I drove it home last night. What a load! When I woke up this morning and went outside to look at it, I was astonished at the size. It pretty much fills up the bed on my Dodge 3500. Now the fun begins. This is probably going to be a lengthy project.

Congratulations!
It sounds like you got a hell of a deal!
What are your intentions for the brute?
If it doesn't end up having a single phase configuration in the generator terminal box like akwrench mentioned, keep your eyes out while hunting around your industrial haunts for some large power resistors, they are common on cranes and other large drive motor applications with breaking capability's. They are typically in big louvred steel boxes next to the control panels. These would be great to help balance out your load. It is also possible to balance the load with all single phase loads if you pay attention...
When it comes time for your installation wiring don't be shy!
Cheers,
Jon

Those detroit 71 series motors are great, I used to have two 2-71 3 phase tow behind diesel generators.

1200RPM is where it is supposed to run. Detroit designed them this way for extreme longevity. If I remember correctly my 2-71's had a factory cylinder head recommended maintenance overhaul at 40,000 hours, thats right 40 with three 0's

I ran mine on everything from WVO to biodiesel to dino. The motors will run on about anything and the injector pump is easily rebuildable if you ever manage to mess it up. I lost one once because my crew let it run dry, that kills them quick.

Sorry if someone else already covered this, I just kind of skimmed through the posts and wanted to add in my $0.02

Akwrench

I think you might have made a typo in your earlier post about rpm to frequency. Wouldn't it be 1500 rpm for a 4 pole generator at 50 Hz, 50*60/2= 1500.

quote:

When it comes time for your installation wiring don't be shy! Wink

I will take you and others up on the help. I am by no means an electrician and have much to learn.

I bought the generator on Ebay and paid $1,000 for it. I have been trying to get a deal on one for a long time now and never thought I would get this one when I placed my bid.

I took it over to a friend's cabinet shop and unloaded it with a forklift. I have to figure out how to get it in my shop next to the house. I want to install it next to the BD processing equipment. I have a heavy duty trailer that I can load it on, but I am not sure how I will get it off the trailer. I need something that can lift about 3500lbs. When I get it on the shop floor I will be able to use an engine hoist perhaps to set it in place.

Ya moving them around is a challenge without wheels! My little tractor couldn't even lift mine off of my truck so I backed up to a pile of gravel and dragged em off
I intend to build a small well insulated heated shack with a concrete pad for mine as I have no intentions of making them portable.
Yesterday I stopped by a local injection shop to see if I could get any information on the injection system (Mico, Bosch)and the old guy who runs it spent about 1.5 hours educating me on diesel injection systems and pumps... Priceless! So it seems that all the injection parts are available through them if I need any. It looks like I will have to get any engine parts from India though as there doesn't seem to be anything local. The guy at the shop said there are a few of these old R&H's around in the Mennonite community's around here but had no contacts...

Does anybody know the best way to attach a pressure gauge to these things for a compression test? I would assume the injector hole would be the only spot but I see no way of making that feasible...
I guess if they fire up the compression is good eh!
Cheers,
Jon

If you intend to connect it to your house for backup power check out Generlink they are slicker then a hens tit and you could not get any easier for connection.
They are quite popular in this area...
Jon

Thanks for the link, Jon. They are only about 15 minutes from my house.

quote:

Originally posted by sinbad:
Akwrench

I think you might have made a typo in your earlier post about rpm to frequency. Wouldn't it be 1500 rpm for a 4 pole generator at 50 Hz, 50*60/2= 1500.

My lack of clarity, sorry. When I said "that one" I was referring to the 1200 rpm (6 pole) genset. Your are right. An 1800 RPM generator (4 pole) turns at 1500 for 50Hz.

Your inclusion of the number of poles may make it clearer to folks why the generator design dictates the rpm of the generator. Until our patent clears for the variable pole generator. LOL. Tom2

quote:

Originally posted by Jon Heron:
Ya moving them around is a challenge without wheels! My little tractor couldn't even lift mine off of my truck so I backed up to a pile of gravel and dragged em off
I intend to build a small well insulated heated shack with a concrete pad for mine as I have no intentions of making them portable.
Yesterday I stopped by a local injection shop to see if I could get any information on the injection system (Mico, Bosch)and the old guy who runs it spent about 1.5 hours educating me on diesel injection systems and pumps... Priceless! So it seems that all the injection parts are available through them if I need any. It looks like I will have to get any engine parts from India though as there doesn't seem to be anything local. The guy at the shop said there are a few of these old R&H's around in the Mennonite community's around here but had no contacts...

Does anybody know the best way to attach a pressure gauge to these things for a compression test? I would assume the injector hole would be the only spot but I see no way of making that feasible...
I guess if they fire up the compression is good eh!
Cheers,
Jon

No way to check the compression without an adaptor and pulling the injectors. Then you have to run the overhead on it when you are done which requires the correct pin gage and the correct sequence of events. Here is a quick way to check the condition without the compression test.
1. does it start easy?
2. When it starts from cold, touch the exhaust ports where each port dumps into the exhaust manifold and see if all the cylinders warm up at about the same rate. If you want to check the rack adjustment, PM me. There is a definite "feel" factor when checking it.
3. If one of them is colder than the rest, look and see if it has wet fuel around the flange where it bolts to the head. This indicates incomplete combustion caused by either low compression or faulty spray pattern, or faulty injector timing. Pull the side cover off for that hole and see if the rings still have spring to them. (shucks, see if there is still a piston in there pistoning :-))

Eurocab. Did you pull the valve cover? Do you have 2 or 4 valves per cylinder?

On and on. Hope this helps and doesn't hijack the thread. It's hard to fit forty five years of diesel mechanic experience in a paragraph so I'll shut up. Just trying to help. Tom2

quote:

The ZIG ZAG 1 phase on page 10 may be the way you want it.

Tom2,

I can't seem to make the link work for zig zag. Do you have an easier link?

I'll try an attachment. Tom2

Nope. Hold on.

Hmmm. How about from that link did it take you to a page of manuals? The SB349 Lima Mac manual is what I downloaded.

Tom2

Thanks, Tom2. I found it. The generator had 3 large lines coming out of it and there were 2 additional smaller guage lines probably for a voltage regulator or something. I haven't looked under the generator cover yet, so I am not sure how many lugs are there.

quote:

Eurocab. Did you pull the valve cover? Do you have 2 or 4 valves per cylinder?

I haven't had a chance to do anything with the generator yet, but unload it in a friends cabinet shop. Still working on the logistics of getting it moved to my shop.

Thanks akwrench!
The engine is a single cylinder and the injector is already out. It appears it has sat for many years with the injector out as I cleaned out wads of cobwebs, paint flakes and dirt from around the injector hole. Thats why I would like to pull the head before I start it up to make sure the piston and combustion chamber are nice and clean, I would hate to fire it up just to score the cylinder... I am still trying to get a reply from some India parts houses to get a head gasket.
Its a 4 stroke so I doubt I will be able to see the rings through the exhaust port.
I still havent figured out how to start and stop it yet either, it has a lever on the head that props open one of the valves, do you think that is to stop it? Or maybe a decompresser to start it? You can see the lever in the picture above, it has a black knob on it just above the exhaust port.
Also you can see in the picture of the complete assembly above that the exhaust on that engine has been reduced from 2" to 1-1/4", that does not seem right to me, what do you think?
Thanks for your help! I have allot of experience wrenching on gassers but this my first foray into diesel mechanics...
Cheers,
Jon