Micro CoGen.

I took the flywheel and main bearing housing off my S1100 the other week.
I noted how the oil flows from the pump into the main bearing and out the other side where it takes that external pipe route to the top end.
I also noticed that the oil flow hole in the in-coming side of the bearing housing has a small circular recess in it, which looks like it is perfect for a rubber 'o' ring type seal. However, I could not find any 'o' ring. The plant room is very dark and the floor is dirty and oily, so I don't know whether I have lost the 'o' ring, or it never existed. The engine manual does not show an 'o' ring, so I am hoping that I don't need one for re-assembly, but if this is true, what is the purpose of the recess?
Does anybody have any knowledge or ideas on this?

Thanks,

    Mark

I'd like to have the alternator/inverter off this:-

http://portablegeneratordiesel.com/kipor-ig6000-6000-watt-inverter-generator/

Mark

I'm gonna have a look at the Kawasaki option. Not sure how it's going to score on the longevity front though.

Mark

I know that the EPA refused to class an engine running on vegetable oil as a vegetable oil engine. To them, a vegetable oil engine is a diesel engine running on vegetable oil, which is pretty much the truth.

I wonder if the same ruling applies to spark ignition engines. Does the EPA class a biogas engine as a gasoline engine. Does the EPA class a natural gas engine as a gasoline engine? If so, the problem is solvable. There are many gasoline engines that are EPA approved, and I can convert one of those.
However, when it comes to a biogas engine, the emissions generated are largely determined by the Digester. The engine will produces all kinds of emissions depending on what the digester gives it. Garbage in, garbage out (H2S in, Sulphuric acid out).

Anybody know of any water-cooled, EPA approved, 6kW (approx) biogas engines available in the US?

Mark

I have a client who builds containerized Anaerobic Digesters. They plan to use my Biogas CHP in the UK and Europe, but they also want to build a demonstrator for the US.
Does anybody know what procedures and requirements I need to satisfy in order for the EPA to be happy with my engine?

The engine is built from an industrial Chinese diesel, with spark ignition and woodward (US) controls and gas carburettor. The EPA would not tolerate the original diesel form of this engine, but it can no longer run on diesel.

I don't want to use an automotive gasoline engine converted to gas, but I will if I have to.

Thanks for any/all help.

     Mark

Jeff,

I would like to sell lots more of the glow-plugs.
The manufacturers special build had a very large minimum purchase quantity, and I need to recoup some of this massive investment.

I presume you have the right type of cylinder head (the one with the cold-start bolt in it)?

Mark

1) The recasting was all the manufacturers doing. I would have been happy with a 3/4" BSP threaded hoe in the casing, then use an external central heating water pump (probably controlled by a thermostat switch).
2) Yes, the water flows are in series. We either build a Flat Plate Heat Exchanger into the CHP or ask that the customer installs something (usually a coil in a hot water tank) similar to isolate the water circuits.
3) We mandate both.
4) Yes, we either use standard Central Heating System inhibitor, or automotive anti-freeze if we need to push the boiling point limit.
Thanks for your support and encouragement.

Mark

Bob,

Thanks for this.

I need to reduce the compression ratio to save the exhaust valve and seat (they burn-out if it's too high).
It's also going to be for a CHP build and we don't mind losing rotational efficiency because we need as much heat as we can get.

Mark

I have two technical questions that I'm sure are well within the knowledge and skill base of the members of this group:-

1) The hole for the lifting eye bolt on these Changfa type engines goes all the way through the casting (crank case). Would it be possible to use this hole for lubrication oil refilling? I don't like the dip stick hole method.

2) I plan to convert one of these Changfa type engines to run on biogas. One of the challenges I have to beat is to reduce the compression ratio down to around 11:1. What's the most economic way of doing this (I don't wan to have to change the crank shaft or con rod if I can avoid it)?

Thanks,

     Mark

Veggie,

Yes, the water flows through the mount casting. The whole crank case has been cast differently to provide a flange, but I don't see why anybody couldn't just drill and tap around the same area to provide an in-flow fitting on engines without this.

There's no adjustment in the belt whatsoever. It did worry me when I first saw it, but I haven't seen any issues with it yet.

Mark

Quote from: veggie on September 29, 2010, 03:52:54 PM
Jens,

That's a Changfa S1100 with the fuel tank and water hopper removed.
In place of the hopper is a plate with water inlet/outlet connections.

veggie

Veggie,

Yes, but slightly different. The water enters the engine at the bottom via the pump, and exits only at the top plate. See pictures

Mark

Jens,

The exhaust comes out the bottom left of the 'hot end', the radiator end with the Louvre panel.

The EGHE is cleaned by removing the top end cap (4 bolts). Each of the 27 tubes can then be cleaned using a flexible pipe brush. It can lift straight off without disconnecting the exhaust due to the flexible exhaust section. The lose soot then gets blown straight out the next time you run the engine.
If necessary, once the end cap is removed, the entire body of the EGHE can be removed if you disconnect the plumbing (one hose and one compression joint).

Mark

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uce4FQX4lQ8

All questions/comments welcome.

Mark

Jens, we've got a total of five 'friendly' test sites running chinese horizontal diesels. They have all got high pressure line fuel heaters. The first was setup in 2006, two more in 2008 and two recent ones.
The most recent two have also got glow-plugs which are used at every start and remain on for 30 seconds after the engine has started.
The first three engines all showed worse than expected piston ring wear at the first examination (can't remember exact how many hours), but did not need replacing at that time. Since then, they have been running on WVO/kerosene blends and the oil change interval has been shortened. There was also sooting and pitting on the exhaust valves and seats.
There is obviously a correlation between exhaust cleanliness and engine component wear. The high pressure line heater is critical to getting the exhaust clean while running, but didn't help when starting from cold. Getting the engine hot as quickly as possible, certainly reduced the amount of smoke from the exhaust.
It took a lot of testing to get the high pressure line heater temperature right. I got it too high once and found the engine to be behaving very strangely - I eventually got down to the cause of the problem - the heater was causing the fuel to expand so much that it was causing random extra pops (injections) from the injector.
The two most recent builds also have the injection timing advanced which has resulted in these engines giving less smoke with WVO than a standard one does with diesel.

Mark

Apologies for the blatant advertising.

I'm posting the link here because I know there are folks that will be interested in this from a technical point of view.
However, the video itself will be used for promotional purposes.

Mark