Newbie to site, Surplus Center Yanmar 2TNV70-PGA info requested.

[Burt]

Great site, I read some positive things on the little Yanmars from Surplus Center, and ordered one. (Really wanted a 'roid, though.)  Going to be getting one of George B's 3KW PMG's (when he is restocked) and want to run the engine as slow as I can because for the most part I only need about 7-8 HP. Got the engine and am confused.

Surplus Center says it is a "PGA" model, but these do not exist in the manual.  I can't find them listed in the service manuals online, either.

They adverstise it as 13.4 HP at 3600 RPM's.  But the engine speed specs in the manual don't list any of them with this exact HP at this RPM.  They list the VH (3200-3600 RPM), VM (2000-3000 RPM), CH (3000-3600) and CL (1500 or 1800 RPM). 

I contacted tech support at Surplus Center and they said they had no other information.  On the engine plate itself there is nothing about "PGA", only "Engine Model 2TNV70-P" and "ENGINE FAMILY 7YDXLO.57V2N."  The only RPM listing has to do with fuel rate: "16.9 mm (cubed)/STROKE @ 7.5 KW/2400 RPM. 

Does anyone know what RPM range this engine really has?  Also, I need to get a stub shaft to mount a pulley and am hoping to find someone more reasonable in price than the $260 that I've found.  For the side load of a pulley, is a pillow block or flange bearing better?  THanks!!  Burt

[BioHazard]

I would love to find out the same info. Have you tried contacting Yanmar? This is the best I could find relating to your question, this generator uses the 2TNV70 engine at 1800 RPM for 5kw.
http://www.generatorjoe.net/product.asp?0=274&1=559&3=1106

Don't know if the engine is exactly the same, but they're running it at 1800....

[Henry W]

Hi Burt,

I was looking into one of these engines some time ago.

This is what I learned. With all the small 2 cylinder modern diesels it is best to run them at or around 200 rpm's above where peak torque is made. With the Yanmar you are looking at peak torque comes on at 2600 RPM's. So I would say 2600-2800 would be ideal for a 5.5k generator head.
Another thing you need to look at is the small modern 2 cylinder engines with genheads manifest flickering at 1800 rpms with the small modern 2 cylinder engines. This has been documented by some generator manufactures and engine manufactures I know.

You will get mixed oppinions about this but manufactures put lot of R&D in this.

Henry

[Burt]

Thank you for the input, that is a help. I also found that genset at the same site and about choked on the price...$8K, but "you save$995!"  I think I can build this one for about $2500. 

So I will plan on running about 2600-2700 and see if it is a good speed.  It seems every engine has a sweet spot that it just wants to run at--and I will start with this.  We are on pretty reliable power from the grid now...so I don't imagine having to use it a whole lot.  BUT, about ten years ago we had a big ice storm and we had a lot of people without power for three weeks and more.  New ENgland can get another hurricane, too. 

By the way, the other problem here is that most people are on wells, but without electricity have no means of getting the water out of it.  (We put in a simple pump: PVC pipe inside another, footvalve at bottom, etc.  Not fancy, but it works. It is secured inside the well casing, under the cap.) 

THanks for the help, and if anyone has a reasonbly priced source for stub shafts, that would be great!         

[Burt]

BTW, when I contacted Yanmar about getting a stub shaft they put me in touch with a dealer.  I may try them again regarding getting other info.  THanks.

[squarebob]

Here is the place for stub shafts and housings, ect.

http://www.hayescouplings.com/index.php

Bob

[billswan]

In case anyone missed the utube link   http://www.youtube.com/hayescouplings

Billswan

[Henry W]

Hayes Manufacturing Inc. is a great company to work with.

Get in touch with Mike Lawson. He is their Engineer.

231-879-3372

Yes they sell direct.

Henry

[BioHazard]

Thank you for the input, that is a help. I also found that genset at the same site and about choked on the price...$8K, but "you save$995!"  I think I can build this one for about $2500. 

My thoughts exactly. 

Instead of a stub shaft, what if you could machine some kind of pulley of the correct diameter to bolt directly to the flywheel, sorta how the listers do it? If you could attach a really heavy flywheel it might run better at slower speed. Sounds expensive though...

[Henry W]

It is possible to build a $2,500.00 genset that would normally cost over $6,000.00 if you are patent. Waiting for the deals of the life time is the hard part. The brand new Kubota Z482 power unit I bought in April of this year complete with 40 amp alternator, starter, radiator with brackets, air cleaner, stub shaft, two differant exhaust manifolds, two extra oil pans for differant applications and engine mounts cost me $700.00 plus driving to pick it up. Military trailer that I purchased for $200.00 with a Lister-Petter engine. Well I sold the engine for $300.00. So I made a $100.00. Hayes Housing with stub shaft was under $500.00. Pulleys around $200.00.

The complete Kubota Z482 power unit normally sells for well over $3,500.00 so I feel this was a once in a life time find.

Total investment so far around $1,450.00. Last big investment is the genhead and that will be under $600.00.
I have plenty of steel that I purchased for pennies on the dollar.
So you see it can be done if you are thrifty.

Jens made some good points though. And times it is best to find a good used genset complete.

Henry

[BioHazard]

Waiting for the deals of the life time is the hard part.

I think that's just about what these Yanmars are. I'm sure whoever makes that generator paid a lot more for the engine from Yanmar than we can buy them for at Surplus Center. I mean, even the listers made in 3rd world countries and come full of casting sand cost more. I'm quite curious as to where SC got them, or rather, what kind or who's surplus they were. What were these engines originally intended for? You can barely get a chinese air cooled diesel for that price.

Technically speaking, I could use one of those Surplus Center engines to build a completely free generator, because I have made a lot of money reselling stuff I bought from Surplus Center in the past.   Also, if you're making a generator it doesn't necessarily have to be as fancy as the commercial/marine version - like the digital display that $8,000 gen has. Do you really need that?

This very debate has been keeping me up at night. I want that engine from Surplus Center, just because I'll probably never find another one that cheap. Then again, craigslist keeps tempting me with used generators.....with none of that pesky figurin' out to do. I think the only sensible thing is to buy both.  

[vdubnut62]

Waiting for the deals of the life time is the hard part.

I think that's just about what these Yanmars are. I'm sure whoever makes that generator paid a lot more for the engine from Yanmar than we can buy them for at Surplus Center. I mean, even the listers made in 3rd world countries and come full of casting sand cost more. I'm quite curious as to where SC got them, or rather, what kind or who's surplus they were. What were these engines originally intended for? You can barely get a chinese air cooled diesel for that price.

Technically speaking, I could use one of those Surplus Center engines to build a completely free generator, because I have made a lot of money reselling stuff I bought from Surplus Center in the past.   Also, if you're making a generator it doesn't necessarily have to be as fancy as the commercial/marine version - like the digital display that $8,000 gen has. Do you really need that?

This very debate has been keeping me up at night. I want that engine from Surplus Center, just because I'll probably never find another one that cheap. Then again, craigslist keeps tempting me with used generators.....with none of that pesky figurin' out to do. I think the only sensible thing is to buy both.  

Masterful piece of justification!!
Ron

[Burt]

Thanks for the input, and it has been good to read the various points.      I don't have $8K to spend on a genset, but want to run my boiler and genset on the same fuel and have a reliable genset.  Here in rural Maine a lot of us have two tanks of fuel oil (1000 gal. total) and the #2 fuel oil stores well for long periods and runs fine in diesel engines.  Certainly the genset for $8K is going to be a lot fancier than what we will do, but I do think the $2500 is pretty close to what will do it, as junk yard parts are simply fun to make work imo.  The shocker is the price for a good ammeter!  Now that might run me over the budget! For us it is a rather fun project to get a radiator, fan, hosing, stub shaft, pulleys, pillowblock, etc., and weld up a frame and see what we can do.  We'll see.

But I do have a question: one of my friends is a power plant engineer for big power plants.  He's worked on a lot of small stuff, too.  He says that by using a serpentine belt and pulleys, the side load on the Yanmar will be no big deal.  A simply pulley mounted to the flywheel is adequate, in his opinion--but the stub shaft/pillow block is of course better.  Also, tomorrow I will hear from a Yanmar tech who may have the answer to the RPM question and which RPM series the engine is in.

BTW, the small Yanmar marine engines have a reputation around here for smoking horribly and some of the local boatbuilders (Downeast Maine) stopped using them due to this.  I do hope this Yanmar will perform better, being their industrial engine series.     

[squarebob]

If you just need a simple ammeter, here is one for $12.00
http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/PMD-200A/200-AMP-DC-PANEL-METER/-/1.html

The shunt that goes with it is $16.00
http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/SNT-200/200-AMP-SHUNT-50MV-200-AMPS//1.html

Freight is $7.00

For $35.00 you got a good meter. Just got this setup myself.

Bob

[RogerAS]

A fairly accurate amp meter can be built around a good analog sweep meter. All one needs to do is calibrate the swing with a DVM feeding across a length of conductor acting as a shunt. There are plans out there on the net. I have a meter from an old stereo working as one now. I have a mark at the C-20 rate and one at the C-10 rate for my bank.

R