This is my first post here. Thanks for having me. I'm a lifelong mechanic, tinkerer, and fabricator but I'm new to small industrial engines.
I just picked up a nice '95 Z482-E engine out of a semi truck APU. I'm planning to use it to build a belt driven 5kw generator. I know the ideal plan would be to use a bearing supported stub shaft but my budget for this project doesn't really allow that, and I don't have the time available to fabricate one from scratch.
Looking around at various parts diagrams it looks like there are a number of Kubota tractors and other small equipment with the Z482 that drives the main power take off from a pulley attached to the flywheel. Same with other applications like Carrier reefers. From what I can tell most of these use simple V-belts. This tells me that these engines are designed to tolerate at least some side load on the crank. I haven't been able to find any info, though.
I'm thinking that I'd like to attach a ribbed belt pulley directly to the flywheel and use that to spin the generator. I understand that ribbed belts don't need a great deal of tension to work properly so this seems to me like it might work. I'd rather not sacrifice longevity of the motor.
What do you guys think?
I just picked up a nice '95 Z482-E engine out of a semi truck APU. I'm planning to use it to build a belt driven 5kw generator. I know the ideal plan would be to use a bearing supported stub shaft but my budget for this project doesn't really allow that, and I don't have the time available to fabricate one from scratch.
Looking around at various parts diagrams it looks like there are a number of Kubota tractors and other small equipment with the Z482 that drives the main power take off from a pulley attached to the flywheel. Same with other applications like Carrier reefers. From what I can tell most of these use simple V-belts. This tells me that these engines are designed to tolerate at least some side load on the crank. I haven't been able to find any info, though.
I'm thinking that I'd like to attach a ribbed belt pulley directly to the flywheel and use that to spin the generator. I understand that ribbed belts don't need a great deal of tension to work properly so this seems to me like it might work. I'd rather not sacrifice longevity of the motor.
What do you guys think?