Greetings All,

Yesterday was exciting, we loaded the generator up to 62% rated power,
and she seemed to handle it vary well. Once I get a little further
along with the project, I plan on doing a 100% load test, but until
then, this will have to do

Only complaint so far is the beast is ungodly noisy! I have several
plans on how to reduce the offending emissions, but at least at this
point I know if the utility power goes out, I have a way of keeping
the house up and running like normal.

I've also updated the web-site with yesterday's work:
http://lerch.no-ip.com/ChangFa_Gen

(Look for the "Workday 5 & 6" link on the left of the main page)


Take Care,
James Lerch
http://lerch.no-ip.com/atm (My telescope construction, Testing, and Coating site)
http://lerch.no-ip.com/ChangFa_Gen (My 15Kw generator project)
Press on: nothing in the world can take the place of perseverance.
Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.
Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.
Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
Calvin Coolidge

"Ignoramus4745" wrote in message
...
forgot to say, check the legality of large fuel tanks that are large
enough to "serve as a roof". In my location, large fuel tanks are more
or less not allowed in my building zone. I just use jerry cans.

I am not really a big supporter of such laws etc, so do not take my
word as any sort of moral judgment even if you intentionally violate
your zoning/fire laws, but perhaps my message would help avoid
unpleasant surprises.

It might be just my area, but all generator tanks that I have seen
installed for the last decade or two have been double wall. Spill a few
gallons of diesel in your yard and you might find yourself involved in an
expensive mitigation project. This is one reason why I like LP gas and/or
natural gas for powering fixed engines.

It is hard to believe that it was once perfectly accepted (in these
parts anyhow) to pour gallons of used oil around the foundation of your
house to discourage termites.

Vaughn

On Tue, 19 Jul 2005 18:44:16 GMT, Ignoramus4745
wrote:

Very nice pictures. An interesting decision to weld the motor to the
frame instead of bolting it.

The diesel isn't welded to the frame, it is bolted. As is the
generator head as well.

The next step is to build another frame, that the existing sub-frame
will attach to via rubber motor mounts.

I am skeptical about muffling this engine
due to cooling issues.

I'm not too worried about the diesel, but the generator head does have
a lot of air flow thru it. So I'll have to be careful there. I'm
currently thinking of mounting the radiator on the side of the engine,
near the air outlet of the generator head. This plus a couple of fans
"Running Backwards" (IE they push air thru the radiator towards the
outside air) and some louvered panels should work.


Take Care,
James Lerch
http://lerch.no-ip.com/atm (My telescope construction, Testing, and Coating site)
http://lerch.no-ip.com/ChangFa_Gen (My 15Kw generator project)
Press on: nothing in the world can take the place of perseverance.
Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.
Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.
Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
Calvin Coolidge

On Tue, 19 Jul 2005 18:55:44 GMT, Ignoramus4745
wrote:

forgot to say, check the legality of large fuel tanks that are large
enough to "serve as a roof". In my location, large fuel tanks are more
or less not allowed in my building zone. I just use jerry cans.

Well, the tank I have in mind will only be 6" tall and 2 foot wide by
4 foot long (or so) . Maybe 25 gallons or so capacity.

All the portable generators I've seen have the fuel tanks located on
top of the engine. Mine will be similar, just a "little" bigger.....

I am not really a big supporter of such laws etc, so do not take my
word as any sort of moral judgment even if you intentionally violate
your zoning/fire laws, but perhaps my message would help avoid
unpleasant surprises.

One other thing, this won't be a permanently mounted generator next to
the house, it will be trailer mounted. So I'm not sure how the zoning
/ fire laws effect this as I travel from county to county, state to
state.

I can see why there is a concern about gravity feed fuel tanks, but I
have an 8 gallon gravity feed gasoline tank on my riding lawn mower.
I'm not sure if the analogy holds, but a fuel leak in either tank is
going to create a mess.


Take Care,
James Lerch
http://lerch.no-ip.com/atm (My telescope construction, Testing, and Coating site)
http://lerch.no-ip.com/ChangFa_Gen (My 15Kw generator project)
Press on: nothing in the world can take the place of perseverance.
Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.
Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.
Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
Calvin Coolidge

I didn't catch this whole thread but it looks like a fun project.
I'm curious how the final cost compares to buying a finished unit.
A friend of mine bought a china-diesel genset a year or so ago
and it was pretty much a turn-key operation. I don't remember the
price but I think it was quite reasonable. He uses it regularly
and it seems to be running well.

Another thing I am curious about is how long the love-joy
coupling lasts. I think you have a 2 cylinder diesel and I
suspect the coupling will be subjected to a fair amount of
pounding.

chuck

On Wed, 20 Jul 2005 15:53:00 +0000, Chuck Sherwood wrote:

I didn't catch this whole thread but it looks like a fun project.
I'm curious how the final cost compares to buying a finished unit.
A friend of mine bought a china-diesel genset a year or so ago
and it was pretty much a turn-key operation. I don't remember the
price but I think it was quite reasonable. He uses it regularly
and it seems to be running well.

Another thing I am curious about is how long the love-joy
coupling lasts. I think you have a 2 cylinder diesel and I
suspect the coupling will be subjected to a fair amount of
pounding.

chuck

These ChangFa diesels are single cyl engines, I have built one similar to
Lerch's genset, but mine is only 10Kw not 15Kw that he has.

I only wish I had purchased the bigger 12Kw or 15Kw than the smaller 10Kw
model I have. I was told that you need at least 2Hp/KW, since these
diesels are rate at 22hp at 2200rpm, I needed to reduce the engine speed
to match the 1800 rpm head I have. I didn't believe this engine could put
out the volt/Amp of a larger head, Damn.

Jeff
Spring Hill, Florida


--
A7N8X-Deluxe, AMD XP2500+ (Un-locked)
2x256mb Crucial PC3200 DDR ram
Palit-Daytona Ti4200/64M AGP

On Tue, 19 Jul 2005 23:28:54 GMT,
(James Lerch) wrote:

On Tue, 19 Jul 2005 18:55:44 GMT, Ignoramus4745
wrote:
SNIP

Well, the tank I have in mind will only be 6" tall and 2 foot wide by
4 foot long (or so) . Maybe 25 gallons or so capacity.

SNIP

Generally, fuel tanks (and oil tanks) should provide the least amount
of container "surface area" to help combat condensation. And deep
gets the most fuel out, and big flat tanks causes other unpleasantries
if the tank "vibrates" at engine speeds.

Besides, wood and shingles are cheaper than metal.

Take care.

Brian Lawson,
Bothwell, Ontario.