Micro CoGen.

Hi Guys...

My Deutz Fl 411 engine is bolted to a Lima 3kw 120/240 genset. After many years of use it is burning oil at 4L a day.. 
Parts are expensive... a starter is $1100 , Rings and gaskets have to be imported from Germany.

I am considering changing the engine to another brand...
Does anybody have any experiance with changing this engine out?

 Hey there RCA victim...

I will try to get a picture of it. The 15 hp JD engine looks like a knockoff off a Honda 13 hp.
It is gasoline and seems to run fine.  I put a propane carb on it and dicovered that it backfires through the intake. On propane you have to set the plug gap at 0.15 to stop the backfire.
Valve lash was out to lunch from new.  So far it has been a great little engine.
Propane being 0.70c/L I was considering a 6hp diesel from Princess Auto.  Ecodiesel website says he has Kissan listeroids I may consider one for congen.

  I have a Jian Dong 15 hp bought from princess auto . I converted it to propane and it is approaching 1 thousand hours as my main workhorse. It drives 2 dodge alternators for my battery bank.
I have tried many different automotive oils and found  white carbon deposits to be a problem.
Switching to walmart tech 2000 100% synthetic and had no more problems.
Last oil change was at 250 hrs and the oil was looked slightly dark. Burns a ounce 20 hours.

My diesel gensets and trucks /tractors etc used 15w40 in summer and Petro Can 0w30 in winter.
  Onetime I used 0w30 in the summer for field work... Low oil pressure but no damage was done.

Basically what I found over the years is to test a oil in your application by checking how well it pours and watching things like valve clearances.  Then extend the changes a little bit.

  For giggles take several brands of oil and put them in the freezer then try to pour...... you may be suprised....

 

Found some plans for a ice boat.  Oct 1958 of Popular Mechanics.

Now to figure out how route the exauhst and make a adapter to the drive shaft.

  Hi there

Do you know where a guy could track down some examples?

 What I have in mind...
adapt the leg to drive a battery charging alternator,
  The cooling water and exauhst would run into a barrel with a chimney to carry gases away.
Some sort of heat exchanger to transfer heat to a house...
  A 4 stroke engine would be cleanburning.

I saw  a similar thing done to make a ice boat in a 1960s' popular mechanics magazine.
Maybe one of you guys have seen the plans article?

This is just a idea that has been addressed somewhere...

How would a 4stroke outboard engine work for a cogen setup?
I can get 10hp chinese models for approx 2grand.
They are already silent, liquid cooled and compact.
Converting to propane or nat gas is theroetically possible.
In my case I would use it for charging a my 24 volt battery bank and heating my basement slab...
Lets explore the idea...got to be cheaper than a Freewatt unit..