Micro CoGen.

Flattered that you enjoyed it Lloyd, us 'bank managers' must think alike, I read your http://www.microcogen.info/index.php?topic=2344.msg26694#msg26694 some time ago and nearly split my sides. I was going to reply to the thread but it would have been a VERY long one about all the piles of Chinese cr4p that I've repaired for other people 

Cheers, Paul

PS Happy birthday 

Quote from: Lloyd on October 15, 2011, 10:12:03 PM
The one and only expert choice for Hydrometers is http://www.freasglass.com/

Lloyd

Thanks for that link Lloyd, I seem to have spent 10 years searching for a decent one. I work on a ship with five battery banks that must be checked weekly. I also have two battery banks at home which I log monthly and have yet to find an accurate hydrometer.

I've tried cheap ones and expensive ones but they all seem to give different readings, sure that's fine for indicating a dodgy cell but it sure would be nice to know what the SOC actually is.

Cheers, Paul

Him AdeV,

I really know nothing about this subject as, being 'off grid' I prefer the dedicated inverter/charger route but I did read this recently, which may be of help/interest

"The XL versions allow additional external battery packs to be attached. The UPS in this case needs to be informed how many external battery packs are installed so it can perform the functions outlined above, otherwise you shall experience the same issues of premature shut-down. To configure the number of external battery packs you need to use the APC UPS management software. Unfortunately APC do not specify their battery packs in terms of voltage and Amp-Hour, but you can work them out with a little Googling. You shall need to select the number of APC batteries that is the closest match for your bank."

It came from here http://www.navitron.org.uk/forum/index.php/topic,15204.msg170344.html#msg170344

Seems to know what he's talking about.

Good luck, Paul

Morning Bob,

people over here rave about this one http://www.smartgauge.co.uk/smartgauge.html they only do 12 and 24v or I'd buy one myself despite the cost.

Must be good as they have a contract to supply and fit them to military vehicles.

Cheers, Paul

That's a Ducati Tim, different beast altogether  Mate of mine has just bought a TS2 for his 'Off grid' property and was phoning me for advice. As it's a model I know little about I phoned up 'Mr Lister' another friend of mine who's been working on Lister's since he left school and they were still making ST's

What's 'the beef' on the TS says I, "great engine, good for 80,000h, keep loaded or the bores will glaze and it will pish out oil" what about faults, "later ones prone to rear oil seal failure, the charging system they fitted on some of them was cr4p and the nylon governor bush is prone to wear" what about rubber mounts says I "this model was designed for rubber mounts but after a couple of years they go soft get covered in oil/diesel, the copper work hardens and the exhaust snaps, PUT IT IN CONCRETE"

If it works for you Tim that's all that matters.

Cheers, Paul

Quote from: deeiche on September 15, 2011, 08:43:40 AM

Quote from: camillitech on September 15, 2011, 06:24:29 AM
That will be a late SR2 with the oil filter or an early SR2 that's had it fitted as an extra.

Cheers, Paul

looking at the SN posted in the auction I believe it is an ST2.  6567ST2A31-12

You are absolutely right, wasn't wearing my glasses  and never noticed the cylinder head bolts, 6567th unit of 1981, anticlockwise rotation.

Sorry chaps, Paul

That will be a late SR2 with the oil filter or an early SR2 that's had it fitted as an extra.

Cheers, Paul

Sounds like a great project Cujet but you do need proper deep cycle batteries for constant charging and discharging. Auto and truck batteries will soon die on you as they're not designed for constant cycling. NiCads are great but they don't work very well on inverter systems because they require higher voltages to charge them which can often lead to the over voltage trip coming in on some models of inverter.

My Trace SW4548e does have a NiCad setting to overcome this but not sure about yours. The capacities can also be a bit misleading as they will happily deliver power at much lower voltages than a conventional flooded lead acid battery. So for instance a 40Ah NiCad may actually have more usable energy than an 80Ah FLA, trouble is you may find some of your lights go very dim 

NiCad's cells are also only 1.2v so should be used in tens not six's, or is it 1.5v and should be used in eight's I should know as I have a set but they were never a success on my 12v wind turbine as the voltage was seldom high enough to charge them.

Not sure if and auto alternator would charge them properly either but I'm sure if you're determined enough and the stuff is for free there's gotta be a way 

Cheers, Paul

Morning Jeddon,

most definitely if you run your SR daily, and judging by your previous posts I think you do, unless you got the Harris turbine sorted 

You can try a little experiment once you do, harden up the mounting bolts and start her up, you should be able to put a wide coin on the rocker box like mine when she's running, though 800lb me be a little light for this test. Either way as your genny is running just back two of the mounting nuts off a quarter of a turn and watch your coin fall off, or at least you'll notice the vibration increase noticeably.

PS, love your video and SR2Tims 

Here's mine http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdkcO9tz4dg just bought it for £700, only 50hours use in 39 years. After having lain idle for ten years it started first time, it can be forgiven for being a little smoky as the fuel inside the injectors could have been as old as the genny 

Cheers, Paul

Hi guy's,

been visiting this excellent forum for a while now and just 'lurking' and I hate to be controversial on my first thread, but when I read this I nearly fainted 

Quote from: TimSR2 on July 28, 2011, 10:30:29 PM
No not concrete,   don't do it!  The vibration will produce stress cracks in manifolds, mounts  and other castings  in short order, and will telegraph through the earth no matter how many tons of rock you try to bolt it to.   You have to let her shake a little.   Use rubber engine mounts, or put it on a little trailer on pneumatic tyres.  Solid mounting is bad news.  Great little engine BTW. I have one here as my standby set. Mine is a 1976; it has 1500 hours on it. 

Whilst rubber or any kind of flexible mounting is fine for standby, occasional, intermittent or mobile use it is MOST DEFINITELY a big no no for 'off grid' long term use and must be avoided at all costs.



This is how it should be done according to RA Lister and this is how it must be done if you want decades, not years of trouble free motoring out of your Lister. One ton of concrete for a single and two for a triple or twin.

Trust me, I speak from experience of living 'off grid' for 25 years and from having personal friends who served with Lister for decades. Rubber mounts may be fine in boats or for 'mains failure' sets in shopping malls, hospitals and police stations where noise is an issue but if you don't want your manifolds to crack, your internal injector pipes to leak and your wiring to work harden then it has to be concrete.



This is my 1978 ST2 generator running with a coin on the rocker cover, not a glass of water  Before I bought it 15 years ago it had run 12 hours a day 365 days a year and has still not had the heads off, it has never cracked a manifold, broken a wire or been rewound. The only things I've ever replaced are the AC and DC brushes. This I know for a fact because I know the man who installed it new and serviced it from day one.

Having said all that my main set, Harry, a HR2 is rubber mounted but he only ever starts infrequently since we installed wind and hydro some years ago. If he were run daily he's be firmly bolted to Scotland via three tons of concrete 

Thanks for a great forum and sorry to disagree but this is a really important issue for LR's, SR's, ST's and HR's, of other models I have little knowledge.

Cheers, Paul