Micro CoGen.

Quote from: vdubnut62 on June 18, 2017, 11:55:31 PM
Sorry Rob, I haven't been that deep in one of these. Yet. But I suspect from looking, that the whole shebang will have to come apart.
Sorry.
Ron.

Thanx Ron,

I had a look at it after I posted and I think you are right.  The flywheel has to come off to access the two bearings on that side.  Also looks like maybe the oil pump is hanging out over the end of the lower balance shaft, behind the flywheel.  Guess I'll be without use of this genertor for some time then.  Not up to major work like this at the moment.

Anyone here replaced these?  My engine recently started to make somewhat more gear clatter noise and I suspect I might have failing bearings inside.  What I want to know if this can be fixed without taking the flywheel off or any flywheel side covers?  Where the engine is mounted in the steel box frame I have access to the timing cover where the throttle control is, the rear cover under the electric starter motor, and the top cover.  I plan to look inside the rear cover first since both balance shafts are right there and can feel the bearing play at that access point.

Thanx for any suggestions.

Rob

Quote from: Tom on October 09, 2015, 04:41:22 PM
If your gon'na spin it just use a hand hack saw and work it back and forth to keep the chips cleared. Good to see ya around RCA.

Thanx for the welcome Tom.   If you do this outside I say let the chips fall where they may.  Haha.

Quote from: Tom T on October 09, 2015, 02:42:11 PM
A Porta Band Saw works good and no heat build up.

That is a tool I have never owned or had the experience of using.  I own three floor standing bandsaws, but not a portable.  I have seen them occasionally on sale at Princess Auto.

I cut a 1" diameter mild steel shaft with a cutoff wheel on an angle grinder out in the yard just yesterday and it didn't get the metal all that hot thanx to the heatsink action of the mass of the shaft.

With the ST-15 gen head on the floor or convenient open work surface, attach a hand held, variable speed (important)  power drill's chuck to the end of the generator shaft with some 2" duct tape which will work as a temporary coupling.  The OD of a typical 3/8" or 1/2" drill chuck will be close enough to the gen shaft diameter to allow flexible tape to bridge the gap. Open the drill Jacob's chuck fully so the three pincers are fully recessed, allowing the chuck to get as close as possible to the end of the generator shaft.  Have a friend steady and operate this drill to gently spin up the generator shaft (so as to not overtorque the tape coupler whilst getting the thing up to a goodly speed), while you cut it off at the right spot along it's length with a thin cutoff abrasive wheel in a handheld angle grinder. 

Make sure the key is removed from the keyway in the shaft.  Cut that to required length separately.

You will not heat the generator shaft to the point of damaging the bearing or anything else.  If you start melting the tape coupling take a break and let things cool.  You could have a container full of ice cold water at hand to keep this shaft cool (recommended).

This is how I would tackle this job.  No need to remove the armature from the ST-head.

If I didn't have these two power tools. I'd just use a hacksaw.  The shaft is soft enough.  If your cut is not outrageously out of true, the Lovejoy coupler will hide the evidence with no problems.  You could use technique to use the blade itself to get the shaft rotating, making use of flywheel action of the armature to keep it spinning.  This will encourage a nearly perfect straight perpendicular cut.

A friend could be employed with the 'no power tools' hacksaw technique to keep the shaft spinning with a piece of cord wrapped around the shaft, and modulated back and forth.

Good luck!

Parachuting Queen?  She should have used a golden parachute, ...made out of real gold.

AdeV,

Glad you were able to find another engine.  That is a score!  It will look impressive if you go through a detailed cleaning and painting.  I was surprised to read your prediction for a 100 RPM tickover.  That is a healthy flywheel on this engine so maybe.  I'm sure we'd all love to see a video of that.  Is this a typo?  You are no doubt aware not to operate it below it's minimum speed where a diesel engine starts to shudder and develop self destructive internal loads and overstresses. 

Looks heavy!

A voluntary recall like this might see some resistance like "You can have my Yanmar clone diesel engine when you can pry it from my cold dead fingers!"

Quote from: vdubnut62 on September 02, 2014, 12:20:41 PM
VERY nice work Rob!! 3kw is pretty significant.
BTW the "Night Crawlers" are new, PM me when you get the chance.
Ron.

Ron,

Pls check your email box.

rca

Due to health problems I have been unable to do much of anything this year on the nearly operational HAWT.  The system exhibited destructive tower resonance and was really oscillating like a standing wave on a skipping rope.  Left to run I'm sure this would have collapsed in short order, just like the 1940,Tacoma Narrows Bridge disaster.  Google 'Galloping Gertie'.

I have had to tinker with the new hollow, fiberglass Chinese blades since rain water got into one through a bolt hole through the root and really unbalanced the assembly.  I also had to re-machine the input shaft coupler to the first of the four pancake generators as it was causing a slight wobble (like a precessing gyro), of what is essentially a rotating flywheel and this wiggle was modulating the tower! 

The good news is that I don't think I'll have trouble getting 3kW+ out of this package since it already easily made 2500 watts on a short test in 'not so big wind'.

This summer I managed to get most of the work done to add six more guy wires which will be at 120 degree points and place a much more favorable angle where they attach as close to the tower below the spinning blade as practical.  I did pre-paint the two arms and support members before installation, however I do not possess a ladder long enough to get to the 21 foot long guy wire outrigger arms, so the support weld partway out is not finished nor painted yet on each of the two arms now in place.  Lastly I have to add a 13 foot extension pipe to the 8 foot arm that is out to the right at the tower tilt point as seen in the attached picture.  This will place one more guy like the other 120 degree ones and complete the guy package.  I have done this in such a way as to avoid planting 120 degree spaced guy wire anchors 50 feet from the tower and reducing the practical enjoyment of my field.

No further work at all on the larger BGT, VAWT.  I was held back by not having critical material needed for the blades which I finally scored last summer.

I must apologize that the videos I had linked to from some posts here are no longer available.  I'll have to remove or replace the links.  Those videos are not currently hosted.

I'll post again when there is more to tell.

rca

Quote from: Jens on January 04, 2014, 11:50:47 PM
Well you did indeed use the words " I sincerely hope" and "survives" but then you added 'doctoring'. I have no doubt that the first two quotes came from the place that you say they came from but the "doctoring" bit together with your previous words indicates (and I apologize if I somehow managed to mis-interpret your words) that you think chemo is generally a waste and only good to feed the pharmaceutical industry. Nothing could be further from the truth and I had to point that out.
No, my post came not from a "sharp contrast" to love but rather from a place that says that you don't know what you are talking about. It came from a deep desire to correct any doubts that anybody reading your post could have. Chemo is a viable treatment - which I have experienced first hand. Unfortunately, delaying treatment because of doubt instilled by a post can mean the difference between life and death.
Does chemo work all the time - no. Is it a viable treatment option with a good success rate - in many cases when the cancer is found in time it is.

Although we live in an area of the world where we are allowed to express our opinions, I think it is important to only express them when they do not directly harm another person. IMHO, your earlier post crossed that line and I felt compelled to object in the strongest words. Hopefully you can see where I am coming from.

I wouldn't be too concerned about people with cancer searching for treatment advice on the Microcogen Forum.  As for any opinions you may personally have about the pharmaceutical industry, it's relationship to medical doctors and the two permitted cancer treatments, Chemo or Radiation, well they are that, your opinions.  I have my own and they differ from yours.

Quote from: Jens on January 04, 2014, 08:25:11 AM

Quote from: rcavictim on January 03, 2014, 11:12:55 PM

Chemo is a powerful poison that kills all in it's tracks.  There is little doubt that it will 'work'.  Unfortunately they give it to sick people with cancer and then the idea is to see which of the two distortions kill the loved one first.  That treatment is not about saving lives, it is about enriching Big Pharma.  I am sorry that you have been suckered into this form of emotional torture.  Doctors are not allowed to do anything else or they lose their license.  I sincerely hope your family member survives the 'doctoring' that he is getting.
Rob

Rob, that is a pile of very smelly bovine excrement! Chemo has made huge advances over the years and I for one have (so far) been doing very well because of it!

Thank you Jens for pointing out, for those who are not aware, that different people are capable of different experiences and different thought patterns. This creates what is called contrast. This is not right or wrong.  It just IS.  Without contrast, nothing in Creation could be known, or seen.  By concentrating on "very smelly bovine excrement" you give it energy. You may find yourself immersed in it.  Be careful.

In my post I used the words " I sincerely hope" and "survives".  These were from a place of love, empathy and genuine concern.  The tone of your post came from a place of sharp contrast to love.

I am,
Rob

Quote from: hwew on January 03, 2014, 08:50:44 PM
I am so sorry to hear about your loss of your son. We have a family member going through chemo and it is hard on everyone since we don't know if the therapy will work. I have been taking life for granted for years. Now I realize how fragile life has become and When I wake up every morning I get thankful for having another day to live. For 2014 I want to wish everyone good health and a happy new year.

Henry

Henry,

It was my brother actually.  Three and change years younger than me.  He was the exercise nut in our family.  Walked a mile or more every day. Go figure.

Chemo is a powerful poison that kills all in it's tracks.  There is little doubt that it will 'work'.  Unfortunately they give it to sick people with cancer and then the idea is to see which of the two distortions kill the loved one first.  That treatment is not about saving lives, it is about enriching Big Pharma.  I am sorry that you have been suckered into this form of emotional torture.  Doctors are not allowed to do anything else or they lose their license.  I sincerely hope your family member survives the 'doctoring' that he is getting.

Don't worry about wearing out or losing this physical body.  When we are done we get a new one.  What we drive is not important.  It is how and where we choose to drive, and the accumulated experience we acquire along the journey that is important.

Rob

Wishing the forum and all who participate a prosperous New Year in 2014. 

2013 goes down as a really crappy year for me anyhow.  Got very little accomplished with my urgent energy projects due to health problems and I lost my only sibling to cancer.

Cheers,
Rob

You think BS stands for Briggs Stratton?  Let's just say when they in recent times stopped making a long lived, quality engine out of cast iron or at least steel cylinder liners in favor of a short lived disposable P.O.S., they did not have to change the company initials.