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Waynemak April 28th 05 07:29 PM

Propane engine question
 
I picked up a wisconsin 2 cylinder engine today its a propane engine, how do
you connect the propane. the motor is a Wisconsin THD engine looks real
nice, not sure what I would use it for but the price was right.



Waynemak April 28th 05 08:12 PM

Here is a picture of the engine
www.motherearthrecycling.net/thd/thd.htm

"Waynemak" wrote in message
...
I picked up a wisconsin 2 cylinder engine today its a propane engine, how
do you connect the propane. the motor is a Wisconsin THD engine looks real
nice, not sure what I would use it for but the price was right.




Chuck Sherwood April 28th 05 08:29 PM

I picked up a wisconsin 2 cylinder engine today its a propane engine, how do
you connect the propane. the motor is a Wisconsin THD engine looks real
nice, not sure what I would use it for but the price was right.



Sounds like a good engine for making a genset. How may HP?
chuck



Greg O April 28th 05 11:58 PM

Where does that black hose, coming out of the right side of the carb end up?
Greg


"Waynemak" wrote in message
...
I picked up a wisconsin 2 cylinder engine today its a propane engine, how
do you connect the propane. the motor is a Wisconsin THD engine looks real
nice, not sure what I would use it for but the price was right.




Bruce L. Bergman April 29th 05 12:17 AM

On Thu, 28 Apr 2005 15:12:04 -0400, "Waynemak"
wrote:

Here is a picture of the engine
www.motherearthrecycling.net/thd/thd.htm

"Waynemak" wrote in message
...
I picked up a wisconsin 2 cylinder engine today its a propane engine, how
do you connect the propane. the motor is a Wisconsin THD engine looks real
nice, not sure what I would use it for but the price was right.


In the top photo, that big hose that comes off the right side of the
carb and heads up is the Propane inlet - but it has to be after the
primary vaporizer/regulator at about 2 PSI max. You can NOT just
connect it straight to a barbecue cylinder without a primary
regulator.

(You might be able to get enough gaseous propane flow out of a
barbecue cylinder to run the engine without the cylinder icing up and
the pressure dropping off to nothing... But I wouldn't count on it.
To run this flat-out, you need a forklift style tank with a liquid
output fitting.)

The vaporizer is a large cylinder about the size of a quart paint
can, and it will have a separate set of 3/8" or 1/2" NPT water hose
fittings - in a car, you plumb it into the heater hoses and use waste
heat to vaporize the liquid propane feed from a "liquid" port on the
fuel tank.

If you want to test the engine for signs of life without spending
for an LPG vaporizer, do you have utility-fed natural gas at your
house? That's roughly 8" WC pressure, should feed right into the big
hose... ;-)

I saw a Corvair conversion where they ran the motor oil cooler lines
to heat the vaporizer, worked just dandy. Any waste heat source will
work, Automatic Transmission cooler lines or hydraulic system.

As to what you can do with the engine, it all depends on what kind
of governor system it has on it. If it doesn't have the fine-control
type flyball governor built in (which it looks like it might) forget
using it as a generator plant. You can get external governor systems
that will hold 1800/3600 RPM on the dot, but not for cheap unless you
scrounge it.

I can't tell, it looks like it has either the 6:1 reduction gearbox
or the end bell from a generator (that was removed) on the back end.
Though the engine looks suspiciously like Onan Green... Best use is
to find a good generator with a blown engine and bolt 'em together.

-- Bruce --

--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.

[email protected] April 29th 05 12:55 AM

On Thu, 28 Apr 2005 15:12:04 -0400, "Waynemak"
wrote:

Here is a picture of the engine
www.motherearthrecycling.net/thd/thd.htm

"Waynemak" wrote in message
...
I picked up a wisconsin 2 cylinder engine today its a propane engine, how
do you connect the propane. the motor is a Wisconsin THD engine looks real
nice, not sure what I would use it for but the price was right.


You will need the vapourizor/regulator assembly - other than that
looks good.

Waynemak April 29th 05 02:25 AM

It does have the built in governor, and it still has the bell from the
genset. There is no gear reduction on this, I contacted a dealer in Canada,
he said it was 16 to18.4 HP and they are still made. These are not cheap
new, or even rebuilt. They do come in gas versions, some have "dual fuel"
carbs. I found a price on a new carb but its not cheap, twice what the
engine cost.

here is the web sight of the information
http://wisconsinmotorscanada.ca/index.html
"Bruce L. Bergman" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 28 Apr 2005 15:12:04 -0400, "Waynemak"
wrote:

Here is a picture of the engine
www.motherearthrecycling.net/thd/thd.htm

"Waynemak" wrote in message
...
I picked up a wisconsin 2 cylinder engine today its a propane engine, how
do you connect the propane. the motor is a Wisconsin THD engine looks
real
nice, not sure what I would use it for but the price was right.


In the top photo, that big hose that comes off the right side of the
carb and heads up is the Propane inlet - but it has to be after the
primary vaporizer/regulator at about 2 PSI max. You can NOT just
connect it straight to a barbecue cylinder without a primary
regulator.

(You might be able to get enough gaseous propane flow out of a
barbecue cylinder to run the engine without the cylinder icing up and
the pressure dropping off to nothing... But I wouldn't count on it.
To run this flat-out, you need a forklift style tank with a liquid
output fitting.)

The vaporizer is a large cylinder about the size of a quart paint
can, and it will have a separate set of 3/8" or 1/2" NPT water hose
fittings - in a car, you plumb it into the heater hoses and use waste
heat to vaporize the liquid propane feed from a "liquid" port on the
fuel tank.

If you want to test the engine for signs of life without spending
for an LPG vaporizer, do you have utility-fed natural gas at your
house? That's roughly 8" WC pressure, should feed right into the big
hose... ;-)

I saw a Corvair conversion where they ran the motor oil cooler lines
to heat the vaporizer, worked just dandy. Any waste heat source will
work, Automatic Transmission cooler lines or hydraulic system.

As to what you can do with the engine, it all depends on what kind
of governor system it has on it. If it doesn't have the fine-control
type flyball governor built in (which it looks like it might) forget
using it as a generator plant. You can get external governor systems
that will hold 1800/3600 RPM on the dot, but not for cheap unless you
scrounge it.

I can't tell, it looks like it has either the 6:1 reduction gearbox
or the end bell from a generator (that was removed) on the back end.
Though the engine looks suspiciously like Onan Green... Best use is
to find a good generator with a blown engine and bolt 'em together.

-- Bruce --

--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.




Randy Zimmerman April 29th 05 03:18 AM

I have an identical model running on gasoline driving a Hobart welder. It
runs great despite its age.
Randy
"Waynemak" wrote in message
...
I picked up a wisconsin 2 cylinder engine today its a propane engine, how
do you connect the propane. the motor is a Wisconsin THD engine looks real
nice, not sure what I would use it for but the price was right.




Waynemak April 29th 05 03:32 AM

I sure would love to put it on my Bobcat welder, but it would take some
work. This one looks as if its had light use.
"Randy Zimmerman" wrote in message
news:SPgce.1150395$Xk.1025716@pd7tw3no...
I have an identical model running on gasoline driving a Hobart welder. It
runs great despite its age.
Randy
"Waynemak" wrote in message
...
I picked up a wisconsin 2 cylinder engine today its a propane engine, how
do you connect the propane. the motor is a Wisconsin THD engine looks real
nice, not sure what I would use it for but the price was right.






Brian Lawson April 29th 05 04:36 PM

On Thu, 28 Apr 2005 21:25:48 -0400, "Waynemak"
wrote:

SNIP

They do come in gas versions, some have "dual fuel"
carbs. I found a price on a new carb but its not cheap, twice what the
engine cost.



Hey Wayne,

I'd look just a bit more into this, or at least the statement about
"dual fuels". It is my understanding, from having owned two
"alternative fuel" Dodge mini-vans a few years back, that the term
dual fuel has to do with an operating mode for gasoline and propane,
or else gasoline and CNG (Compressed Natural Gas), and not propane
and/or CNG. Propane has none of the fuel additives that automobiles
(especially newer high tech economy vehicles) require for both
environmental and engine life. Instructions were explicit that the
vehicle should be started on gasoline and run for at least five
minutes before switching to propane, and for a short period at shut
down too. And then I had one that ran on natural gas (actually fuel
was CNG) didn't say that, but the operating range (distance) was so
low that you ended up using gasoline a lot of the time anyway. Here
in Ontario, "alternative fueled vehicles" ,new or used, are sold with
no Provincial Sales Tax, an 8% saving. But the resale value does
kinda suck as I recall.

I have no comments about the ability to operate on "plain" Natural Gas
(not CNG), except that there was a pump you could get for home use to
create the CNG. Took 10 hours for it to refill the vehicle tank, and
was expensive, so I never did buy into that. I certainly have seen
auxiliary power plants that ran on natural gas, but whether they ran
from a standard regulator "low pressure" line, or a high pressure
source I wouldn't know.

Take care.

Brian Lawson,
Bothwell, Ontario.

[email protected] April 30th 05 03:13 AM

On Fri, 29 Apr 2005 11:36:18 -0400, Brian Lawson
wrote:

On Thu, 28 Apr 2005 21:25:48 -0400, "Waynemak"
wrote:

SNIP

They do come in gas versions, some have "dual fuel"
carbs. I found a price on a new carb but its not cheap, twice what the
engine cost.



Hey Wayne,

I'd look just a bit more into this, or at least the statement about
"dual fuels". It is my understanding, from having owned two
"alternative fuel" Dodge mini-vans a few years back, that the term
dual fuel has to do with an operating mode for gasoline and propane,
or else gasoline and CNG (Compressed Natural Gas), and not propane
and/or CNG. Propane has none of the fuel additives that automobiles
(especially newer high tech economy vehicles) require for both
environmental and engine life. Instructions were explicit that the
vehicle should be started on gasoline and run for at least five
minutes before switching to propane, and for a short period at shut
down too. And then I had one that ran on natural gas (actually fuel
was CNG) didn't say that, but the operating range (distance) was so
low that you ended up using gasoline a lot of the time anyway. Here
in Ontario, "alternative fueled vehicles" ,new or used, are sold with
no Provincial Sales Tax, an 8% saving. But the resale value does
kinda suck as I recall.

I have no comments about the ability to operate on "plain" Natural Gas
(not CNG), except that there was a pump you could get for home use to
create the CNG. Took 10 hours for it to refill the vehicle tank, and
was expensive, so I never did buy into that. I certainly have seen
auxiliary power plants that ran on natural gas, but whether they ran
from a standard regulator "low pressure" line, or a high pressure
source I wouldn't know.

Take care.

Brian Lawson,
Bothwell, Ontario.

High volume low pressure gas service is used to run irrigation pump
engines all over the southwestern part of oilberta and in the oil
springs/petrolia area of Ontario. Lots of small non-commercial wells
have been harnessed for irrigation as well as co-generation systems.

As for propane, there is nothing required by a modern engine that is
not contained in straight propane - and dual fuel engines just start
easier cold on gasoline. Running them on gas until warmed up
eliminates the embarassing stumble/bumble and die you get when
accellerating hard with a cold evaporator when it ices up. Switching
to gasoline before shutdown makes sure you have fresh gasoline
available in the carb (talking older tech carbed engines here) to star
next time out.

The old dual fuel system had a crude way of switching from gasoline to
propane - when warmed up you just shut off the gasoline to the carb,
and when the engine started to stumble you turned on the propane.
Rushing the process, and getting the propane flowing while there was
still gasoline in the carb made for a real nasty rich stumble if it
didn't "flood" the engine right out.

I did a LOT of work on dual fuel (AS WELL AS STRAIGHT PROPANE) Toyotas
back in the late seventies to mid eighties.

Clare Snyder - just up the road in Waterloo, Ontario.


Waynemak April 30th 05 04:37 AM

I must say this group makes a big circle.
wrote in message
...
On Fri, 29 Apr 2005 11:36:18 -0400, Brian Lawson
wrote:

On Thu, 28 Apr 2005 21:25:48 -0400, "Waynemak"
wrote:

SNIP

They do come in gas versions, some have "dual fuel"
carbs. I found a price on a new carb but its not cheap, twice what the
engine cost.



Hey Wayne,

I'd look just a bit more into this, or at least the statement about
"dual fuels". It is my understanding, from having owned two
"alternative fuel" Dodge mini-vans a few years back, that the term
dual fuel has to do with an operating mode for gasoline and propane,
or else gasoline and CNG (Compressed Natural Gas), and not propane
and/or CNG. Propane has none of the fuel additives that automobiles
(especially newer high tech economy vehicles) require for both
environmental and engine life. Instructions were explicit that the
vehicle should be started on gasoline and run for at least five
minutes before switching to propane, and for a short period at shut
down too. And then I had one that ran on natural gas (actually fuel
was CNG) didn't say that, but the operating range (distance) was so
low that you ended up using gasoline a lot of the time anyway. Here
in Ontario, "alternative fueled vehicles" ,new or used, are sold with
no Provincial Sales Tax, an 8% saving. But the resale value does
kinda suck as I recall.

I have no comments about the ability to operate on "plain" Natural Gas
(not CNG), except that there was a pump you could get for home use to
create the CNG. Took 10 hours for it to refill the vehicle tank, and
was expensive, so I never did buy into that. I certainly have seen
auxiliary power plants that ran on natural gas, but whether they ran
from a standard regulator "low pressure" line, or a high pressure
source I wouldn't know.

Take care.

Brian Lawson,
Bothwell, Ontario.

High volume low pressure gas service is used to run irrigation pump
engines all over the southwestern part of oilberta and in the oil
springs/petrolia area of Ontario. Lots of small non-commercial wells
have been harnessed for irrigation as well as co-generation systems.

As for propane, there is nothing required by a modern engine that is
not contained in straight propane - and dual fuel engines just start
easier cold on gasoline. Running them on gas until warmed up
eliminates the embarassing stumble/bumble and die you get when
accellerating hard with a cold evaporator when it ices up. Switching
to gasoline before shutdown makes sure you have fresh gasoline
available in the carb (talking older tech carbed engines here) to star
next time out.

The old dual fuel system had a crude way of switching from gasoline to
propane - when warmed up you just shut off the gasoline to the carb,
and when the engine started to stumble you turned on the propane.
Rushing the process, and getting the propane flowing while there was
still gasoline in the carb made for a real nasty rich stumble if it
didn't "flood" the engine right out.

I did a LOT of work on dual fuel (AS WELL AS STRAIGHT PROPANE) Toyotas
back in the late seventies to mid eighties.

Clare Snyder - just up the road in Waterloo, Ontario.




stone May 2nd 05 02:49 AM


wrote:
On Fri, 29 Apr 2005 11:36:18 -0400, Brian Lawson
wrote:

On Thu, 28 Apr 2005 21:25:48 -0400, "Waynemak"
wrote:

SNIP

They do come in gas versions, some have "dual fuel"
carbs. I found a price on a new carb but its not cheap, twice what

the
engine cost.



Hey Wayne,

I'd look just a bit more into this, or at least the statement about
"dual fuels". It is my understanding, from having owned two
"alternative fuel" Dodge mini-vans a few years back, that the term
dual fuel has to do with an operating mode for gasoline and propane,
or else gasoline and CNG (Compressed Natural Gas), and not propane
and/or CNG. Propane has none of the fuel additives that automobiles
(especially newer high tech economy vehicles) require for both
environmental and engine life. Instructions were explicit that the
vehicle should be started on gasoline and run for at least five
minutes before switching to propane, and for a short period at shut
down too. And then I had one that ran on natural gas (actually fuel
was CNG) didn't say that, but the operating range (distance) was so
low that you ended up using gasoline a lot of the time anyway. Here
in Ontario, "alternative fueled vehicles" ,new or used, are sold

with
no Provincial Sales Tax, an 8% saving. But the resale value does
kinda suck as I recall.

I have no comments about the ability to operate on "plain" Natural

Gas
(not CNG), except that there was a pump you could get for home use

to
create the CNG. Took 10 hours for it to refill the vehicle tank,

and
was expensive, so I never did buy into that. I certainly have seen
auxiliary power plants that ran on natural gas, but whether they ran
from a standard regulator "low pressure" line, or a high pressure
source I wouldn't know.

Take care.

Brian Lawson,
Bothwell, Ontario.

High volume low pressure gas service is used to run irrigation pump
engines all over the southwestern part of oilberta and in the oil
springs/petrolia area of Ontario. Lots of small non-commercial wells
have been harnessed for irrigation as well as co-generation systems.

As for propane, there is nothing required by a modern engine that is
not contained in straight propane - and dual fuel engines just start
easier cold on gasoline. Running them on gas until warmed up
eliminates the embarassing stumble/bumble and die you get when
accellerating hard with a cold evaporator when it ices up. Switching
to gasoline before shutdown makes sure you have fresh gasoline
available in the carb (talking older tech carbed engines here) to

star
next time out.

The old dual fuel system had a crude way of switching from gasoline

to
propane - when warmed up you just shut off the gasoline to the carb,
and when the engine started to stumble you turned on the propane.
Rushing the process, and getting the propane flowing while there was
still gasoline in the carb made for a real nasty rich stumble if it
didn't "flood" the engine right out.

I did a LOT of work on dual fuel (AS WELL AS STRAIGHT PROPANE)

Toyotas
back in the late seventies to mid eighties.

Clare Snyder - just up the road in Waterloo, Ontario.




I was working on a dual fuel, gas/propane, 4 cylinder ford engine,
that ran fine on gas, but wouldn't idle on propane.

Do you have any ideas of what to check first?

Thanks.

I don't really know anything about the propane side of the thing.


[email protected] May 2nd 05 04:30 AM

On 1 May 2005 18:49:56 -0700, "stone" wrote:


wrote:
On Fri, 29 Apr 2005 11:36:18 -0400, Brian Lawson
wrote:

On Thu, 28 Apr 2005 21:25:48 -0400, "Waynemak"
wrote:

SNIP

They do come in gas versions, some have "dual fuel"
carbs. I found a price on a new carb but its not cheap, twice what

the
engine cost.


Hey Wayne,

I'd look just a bit more into this, or at least the statement about
"dual fuels". It is my understanding, from having owned two
"alternative fuel" Dodge mini-vans a few years back, that the term
dual fuel has to do with an operating mode for gasoline and propane,
or else gasoline and CNG (Compressed Natural Gas), and not propane
and/or CNG. Propane has none of the fuel additives that automobiles
(especially newer high tech economy vehicles) require for both
environmental and engine life. Instructions were explicit that the
vehicle should be started on gasoline and run for at least five
minutes before switching to propane, and for a short period at shut
down too. And then I had one that ran on natural gas (actually fuel
was CNG) didn't say that, but the operating range (distance) was so
low that you ended up using gasoline a lot of the time anyway. Here
in Ontario, "alternative fueled vehicles" ,new or used, are sold

with
no Provincial Sales Tax, an 8% saving. But the resale value does
kinda suck as I recall.

I have no comments about the ability to operate on "plain" Natural

Gas
(not CNG), except that there was a pump you could get for home use

to
create the CNG. Took 10 hours for it to refill the vehicle tank,

and
was expensive, so I never did buy into that. I certainly have seen
auxiliary power plants that ran on natural gas, but whether they ran
from a standard regulator "low pressure" line, or a high pressure
source I wouldn't know.

Take care.

Brian Lawson,
Bothwell, Ontario.

High volume low pressure gas service is used to run irrigation pump
engines all over the southwestern part of oilberta and in the oil
springs/petrolia area of Ontario. Lots of small non-commercial wells
have been harnessed for irrigation as well as co-generation systems.

As for propane, there is nothing required by a modern engine that is
not contained in straight propane - and dual fuel engines just start
easier cold on gasoline. Running them on gas until warmed up
eliminates the embarassing stumble/bumble and die you get when
accellerating hard with a cold evaporator when it ices up. Switching
to gasoline before shutdown makes sure you have fresh gasoline
available in the carb (talking older tech carbed engines here) to

star
next time out.

The old dual fuel system had a crude way of switching from gasoline

to
propane - when warmed up you just shut off the gasoline to the carb,
and when the engine started to stumble you turned on the propane.
Rushing the process, and getting the propane flowing while there was
still gasoline in the carb made for a real nasty rich stumble if it
didn't "flood" the engine right out.

I did a LOT of work on dual fuel (AS WELL AS STRAIGHT PROPANE)

Toyotas
back in the late seventies to mid eighties.

Clare Snyder - just up the road in Waterloo, Ontario.




I was working on a dual fuel, gas/propane, 4 cylinder ford engine,
that ran fine on gas, but wouldn't idle on propane.

Do you have any ideas of what to check first?

Thanks.

I don't really know anything about the propane side of the thing.

If it's an IMCO system it's likely not sized right - but possibly as
simple as adjusting the mixture.


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