JI Case D188 Engine

[eluu69]

Hello All,

New here and must say, fascinated by this discussion board! It would appear there are some extremely talented mechanical and electrical minds participating in this forum. I must admit, the electrical aspects of building a diy gen set are daunting to me, but not so overwhelming that I'll back down now. Perhaps some further education may be in order ... we'll see 

So, a potential "hobby" ... get my feet wet sort of project to build a gen set for probable resale later. (what would I do with a 25kW set on my modest homestead?)

At this moment, I'm parting out a 1965 Case 530 Construction King Tractor Loader Backhoe with a trashed transmission. Thought I would hang on to the diesel engine, which runs very strong with little smoke, for a potential gen set.

For those unfamiliar with Case diesel engines, here are some of the basic specs;
- Open Chamber Combustion - 4 Cyl. - Valve in Head
- Cylinder Bore:  3-13/16"
- Stroke:  4-1/8"
- Displacement: 188 Cu. In.
- Compression Ratio:  17.5 to 1
- Cylinder Sleeves: Wet Type Replaceable
- Idle Speed:  600 RPM
- Full Load Speed:  2100 RPM (Torque Converter, which it was.)
- No Load Speed:  2250 RPM                        "
- Connecting Rod and Main Bearings:  Replaceable Precision Steel Back, Aluminum Liners
- Number of Main Bearings:  5
- Fuel Injection Pump:  Roosa - Master
- Fuel Injectors:  (Long Stem Multi-Hole) C.A.V.
- Governor:  Mechanical, Flyweight, (Integral Part of Injection Pump)

I've yet to separate the engine from the tranny (the engine is fully supported by the transmission) so don't know the flywheel size or the spline shaft size. The original primary hydraulic pump ran off the drive shaft at the front of the engine, so there is a small spline shaft there as well.

The documentation I have doesn't give this engine a horsepower rating, although I seem to remember reading somewhere it's at about 43, perhaps 40 when new.

Has anyone ever considered this engine for a get set or cogen?

LW

[rcavictim]

Hi LW,

Welcome!

You didn't say whether you have lived with and used this engine or just picked up the machine to part out an engine that all you know basically is it appears to run well.

That engine is gonna be a thirsty devil and fuel is expensive.  Unless you need a rather big genset for your "modest homestead' I'd consider repurposing it somewhere else where the power will be useful.  Sounds like a terrific candidate as a replacement power source for a gasoline engine in a car or pickup truck to me!  The engine is pre-smog regulations.  In my location such a swap would list the vehicle as a 'hot rod' and it would be exempt from emissions testing regs.  As an extra bonus it is also pre-computerized engine management which means basically just a starter motor and fuel solenoid. That makes it EMP Proof my friend!

Unless you basically trip over a useable 30-40 kVA generator head for scrap value or less I'd not proceed with making this into a generator unless I needed that kind of power on a regular basis.  There are lots of deals to be had on smaller plants or components more sized to your actual needs.

[eluu69]

Thanks for the 'welcome' rca! 

Well, this machine has been in the family since '78, so I'm quite familiar with it and performed most of it's maintenance since then (a bit slack on the transmission  )
I'm curious, what makes you think this engine will be a 'thirsty devil'? When operating it as a tractor, it didn't seem to consume excessive fuel, although granted, it didn't run at a consistent 1800rpm on a regular basis. Agreed, fuel is expensive.

I have the engine, it's off the tractor now and sitting nicely in the garage .. no doubt it's big, could weigh 4 or 500 pounds. Kept the starter, radiator (most likely will require replacement) and primary hydraulic pump.
We'll see what I trip over for gen heads in the next few months ... perhaps that will get this project off the ground.

Nice that it will be EMP proof as well, no computer, not even a fuel solenoid valve (manual shut off). Just have to keep the rest of the set electric and stay away from any digital components.

LW

[Ronmar]

Well one issue you may run into is the governor.  The governor, like most tractors probably does not have full throttle authority, so will not have all of the engines hp at it's disposal. It's response may not be all that precise so may not maintain frequency all that accurately with load changes...  Same issues people with PTO generators for their tractors run into.