Re: making a power plant..

Posted by Bob Huntress on November 23, 2012 at 22:59:10 from (184.41.2.145):

In Reply to: making a power plant.. posted by Dan-IA on November 23, 2012 at 19:42:58:

Dan, automotive engines are electronically governed to a variable speed variable load, while generators are governed to a constant speed. I"m told that the ecm from your car can be reprogramed for constant speed, but I have more than a little reservations about whether that is true. If I may be blunt, while I have not used and automotive engine to power a generator, I have used automotive engines to repower marine inboards. It is my experience that rebuilding a pre 1970 engine works far better than trying to use a post 1980 engine. The straight 6 GM 250 works well as well as that V6 Buick engine that was used in Jeeps in the early 1960"s. I think it was a 3.6 or 3.8, but it"s been a long time. What makes that V6 work good is that you can buy commercially sold accesories, such as marine exhaust manifolds. I imagine that you could buy a commercially available electronic governor for an older engine. The issue is speed droop. Even if you set the throttle at the correct speed, lets say 900 rpm (the speed for the last diesel generator I worked on in the Navy), everytime a load changed, such as the refrigerator started, it would cause the engine speed to drop. You would need to be able to add fuel and cut back on fuel as needed to maintain that speed across a varying load range. To be honest, even with a perfect governing system, carborators are only so sensitive to control, anyway. Your next issue is coupling the generator to the engine. Unless you can run a dial indicator well, I recommend using belts and pulleys. They are far more forgiven regarding alignment. Remember that your pulley diameters will affect your generator speed, hence your frequency. If you can mount your fuel tank above the engine with the line coming from the bottom of the tank, like on a tractor, you will have enough pressure to power a GM 250 straight 6 with a carburator. I used one to power a buzz saw years gone by. I used the fuel tank from an Allis Chalmers WD, but if you can get one of those old Farmall fuel tanks that is a straight egg shape the length of the hood, I would think that would work even better. I would install a filter and a coalescer with removeable elements etc. I think we both know that depending on the load you put on your generator, or whatever you do with your engine, your heat load is likely going to change, and possibly a lot. I was asked by a few members of the Aux to repower a couple boats. It was not that difficult to simply use the raw water to cool the jacket water, especially since the pump and expansion tanks were already on board. If you are using the engine in a generator set, I would expect to use a much larger radiator. The electric fan motor may also be a problem (another reason why older engines work better). Another thing that I often would do when taking an automotive engine and using it as either a stationary power plant or marine application is the oil pan. I often cut the bottom of the oil pan just above the bevel, and weld an inch and a half to it. I then weld the bottom back on. I had an indian friend that would make me a slightly longer pick up tube, as well. This increases the amount of oil in you crankcase. I would also upgrade the lube oil pump to a high proformance. If you were using that old Buick engine, the kit comes with gear lobes that are about a half inch longer. Since the oil pump for that engine is assessable from the outside of the engine, it is an easy change. Your engine not so much. Your engine also doesn"t have a flywheel. It came with an automatic transmission and a flexplate, which is to light for most other applications. Just because I"ve never seen a Century with a manual transmission, doesn"t mean that there never was any. Let"s imagine you can find a flywheel, and it"s heavy enough for what you want. Your engine was a front wheel drive block, so you will need to fabricate the housing for the flywheel. Basically an engine from the 1980"s is a terrible stationary power plant engine. I seriously recommend using an engine from the late 1950"s thru 1970 for any stationary power plant. Pay close attention to what controls your engine speed, cools your engine and lubricates your engine. Often after reusing an engine, I find that antifreeze is replaced with simple anti corrosion coolant. Your change in use may warrant a change in the heat setting of your spark plugs also, but that is something you can experiment with as you use it.

Replies:

• Re: making a power plant.. buickanddeere 14:43:06 11/24/12 (0)
• Re: making a power plant.. 36 coupe 03:13:42 11/24/12 (0)

Add a Reply Name: E-Mail: Subject: Comments: Optional Link URL: Link Title: Optional Image URL: Optional Video Title: Optional Video URL: Advanced Posting Options Email Notification: If you check this box, email will be sent to you whenever someone replies to this message. Your email address must be entered above to receive notification. This notification will be cancelled automatically after 2 weeks.   Advanced Posting Tools   Upload Photo  Select Gallery Photo  Attach Serial # List  Return to Post

TRACTOR PARTS	TRACTOR MANUALS

We sell tractor parts!  We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today. [ About Us ]