- Joined
- Nov 16, 2012
- Messages
- 5,596
Don't be too concerned about the ones from India as half of mine came from there. There are always the nay-sayers and just like with shop machines everyone pulls-out their flogging whips and with heads-down bemoan how there's sand in the castings. As for sand, so what! Flush it out as they will arrive with an empty crankcase anyhow. Take the garden hose or high pressure sprayer and flush it out. The quality of cast iron and steel used in the new ones is better than the originals and also, some will come with SAE bolts instead of Whitworth.
Anyhow... Hate to tell you this but, I sold-off my collection 6 years ago when I decided to dedicate my workspace as a machine shop.
And yes, they are beautuful machines. Aside from refueling and oil changes, there are cases too numerous to count, where these machines have been in continuous operation for 30-40 years. They're still heavily used in rural areas of developing countries. They simply don't wear out because they're 500% over built and have a service factor that's off the charts. They are very easy to work on with the exception of their extreme weight. All work can be done with a few basic wrenches (and a torque wrench). After 300 hours use, the oil is drained. I used to filter it and mix it (15%) with the fuel and it improved the fuel efficiency.
The single cylinder units all have one common issue (which is not really a flaw but an artifact of design). The combustion power stroke always shows up in the generator waveform output. You can see a rythmic cycle where amplitude is high and decreases gradually until the next combustion stroke. It shows-up as a varying intensity lightbulb flicker based on overall load. I had an 8/2 (8 HP, 2 cylinder) which mititaged the the problem. That's the only unit I regret selling.
People trick these things out by running the fuel line near the radiator for pre-warming and they add extended capacity oil cups for the top rocker arms. The smartest improvement is a ring-gear to mount an automotive starter. You can kill or seriously mangle yourself if you don't know how to crank start these properly. Scavenge heat is not that great because they're extremely fuel efficient. The cooling system is non pressurized. One of mine had about 2 gallons of cooling water run through a small automotive radiator. It would get pretty warm to the touch but impossible to burn yourself on. Still though, if you placed the radiator inside the garage, it would would help warm it. Some forks did exhaust heat scavenging but, it would decrease flue temps and soot-up the pipes and muffler.
It was a fun experience but space, extreme weight and the factor of KiloWatts/pound/floorspace is a tiny, tiny number. Other than that, they're nifty as it gets. And the sound they make is very relaxing...
Ray
Anyhow... Hate to tell you this but, I sold-off my collection 6 years ago when I decided to dedicate my workspace as a machine shop.
And yes, they are beautuful machines. Aside from refueling and oil changes, there are cases too numerous to count, where these machines have been in continuous operation for 30-40 years. They're still heavily used in rural areas of developing countries. They simply don't wear out because they're 500% over built and have a service factor that's off the charts. They are very easy to work on with the exception of their extreme weight. All work can be done with a few basic wrenches (and a torque wrench). After 300 hours use, the oil is drained. I used to filter it and mix it (15%) with the fuel and it improved the fuel efficiency.
The single cylinder units all have one common issue (which is not really a flaw but an artifact of design). The combustion power stroke always shows up in the generator waveform output. You can see a rythmic cycle where amplitude is high and decreases gradually until the next combustion stroke. It shows-up as a varying intensity lightbulb flicker based on overall load. I had an 8/2 (8 HP, 2 cylinder) which mititaged the the problem. That's the only unit I regret selling.
People trick these things out by running the fuel line near the radiator for pre-warming and they add extended capacity oil cups for the top rocker arms. The smartest improvement is a ring-gear to mount an automotive starter. You can kill or seriously mangle yourself if you don't know how to crank start these properly. Scavenge heat is not that great because they're extremely fuel efficient. The cooling system is non pressurized. One of mine had about 2 gallons of cooling water run through a small automotive radiator. It would get pretty warm to the touch but impossible to burn yourself on. Still though, if you placed the radiator inside the garage, it would would help warm it. Some forks did exhaust heat scavenging but, it would decrease flue temps and soot-up the pipes and muffler.
It was a fun experience but space, extreme weight and the factor of KiloWatts/pound/floorspace is a tiny, tiny number. Other than that, they're nifty as it gets. And the sound they make is very relaxing...
Ray
Hi Ray
I knew someone will mention the Lister engines those are the most beautiful engines ever made too bad all the new ones come form India if I had a space for one I would definitely go with that !
as You said they spin at low RPM heat can be used to heat the room and very musical and not annoying noise they create, I'm jealous Ray about your collection I have been dying to buy one of those preferably original (English made), and yest they are continuous duty engines meant to run 24/7 365 days a year if you ever come across one (original) You let me know)
Paul
